Honesty Does NOT Pay...by GregK

I was recently forwarded a story about a contractor in Ohio that found $182,000 in depression-era currency hidden in the walls of a house that he was contracted to remodel. He notified the slumlord owner of the property of his find and, yep, you guessed it, she thanked him for finding HER money in the walls of HER house!! She magnanimously offered him 10% as a reward for his honesty, but it turned out that his honesty was, in his opinion, worth more like 40%. Their dispute became public and, long stupid story short, the heirs of the guy that originally put the money in the wall made a claim on the money, the courts got involved, yada, yada, yada.....the contractor ended up holding the bag.....pretty much an empty one!!

So here's my question(s).....
What motivates someone to be this painfully honest? Has this moron not lived long enough to learn that honesty DOES NOT pay? Was his 15 minutes of fame worth more than the $182,000? Was his picture in the Cleveland Plain Dealer worth losing a once-in-a-lifetime find? Is this even dumber than not knowing that Africa is a fucking continent? Am I only one that sees the stupidity in his actions? Am I just jaded?

The questions that pop into my head are endless when I read something this inane. Does that say something about me or am I not alone in my bewilderment?? Is he waiting for his reward in the afterlife or did he just not think it through? Does God even have $182,000 or do you think his interests have been hit by the recent global recession?