Yeshivaworld spoke with an individual last night, who told us an absolutely amazing story in which a NY State Trooper went above-and-beyond the call of duty. Mr. Schwartz (name changed) left Boro Park at approximately 1:00PM to return to his home in Montreal Canada. He stopped with his wife at a Boro Park Kosher food establishment, and purchased a few sandwiches so he would have food for the trip. He stopped at a NY State Rest Area near Albany to wash and eat his sandwiches. Naturally, his wife removed her diamond ring to wash her hands before eating. She placed the ring inside the bag from the food establishment, washed her hands, and sat down outside with her husband to eat their meal. They Bentched, threw their garbage out, got back into the car, and continued on their way to their home in Montreal. It was not until 11:30PM when she realized that she left her diamond ring in the bag – which was now thrown out! Her husband quickly called the NY State Police which gave him the phone number of the particular rest area. They called, and were told that all garbage was removed into their large garbage bins at the rest area. They were at a dead end. He called back the State Police, and they transferred him to a state trooper by the name of Leston Sheely (Troop B). For some strange reason, the Trooper took his name, cell number and description of the bag – with obvious Hebrew letters on it – and told him he was heading to the rest area to look for the diamond ring. The trooper arrived at the rest area, put on a pair of gloves and climbed INTO the garbage bin – and after a half hour of rummaging through dirty, smelly garbage, he found the diamond ring! The trooper called Mr. Schwartz with the good news, and made arrangements to pick up the ring the following day. Mr. Schwartz contacted Rabbi Bernard Freilich, special assistant to the Superintendent of the NY State Police and asked him to convey his sincere appreciation to the Trooper, the State Police Superintendent, and the NYS Governors office. “The good deed that this Trooper did must be commended”, Rabbi Freilich told Yeshivaworld. “In all my years working with law enforcement, I have never heard of an officer climbing into a garbage bin to look for a diamond ring – for someone he has never met!” Yeshivaworld feels that it would be a tremendous Kiddush Hashem if everyone would take a moment to show appreciation to the officer and send an email to [email protected] attention Trooper Leston Sheely (Troop B).
