In the early hours of November 16, 2012, Leroy Dukes was making his nightly rounds as part of the nighttime custodial crew cleaning American First National Bank in Arlington when he glanced inside one of the trash cans behind the teller counter.
There, according to a criminal complaint filed recently in federal court, he spotted $300,000 in cash divided into two plastic-wrapped bundles.
Typically, he would have left the bag just outside the bank's door until he finished cleaning. On this night, he took the garbage outside to his boss' car, where he snuck the cash into his sweatshirt bundled in the back seat.
It didn't take long to burn through nearly $30,000. By the time he was interviewed by an FBI agent later that day, he had already purchased two cars, one for himself, one for his girlfriend, and given various amounts to family and friends, according to the criminal complaint.
That's unfortunate for Dukes, since the government formally charged him with one count of bank theft yesterday and is seeking repayment of the cash. At a custodian's salary, it will take a couple years to earn back what he spent, and it's unlikely the feds will be so patient.
Dukes faces a maximum 10 years in prison. Court documents don't say what happened to the bank teller who "inadvertently" left two bundles of cash in the trash, but one imagines that American First National frowns upon such things.