Yahoo! News - Homeless man found with fortune in pocketsOddly Enough - UK Reuters
Homeless man found with fortune in pockets
Thu Dec 5, 1:50 PM ET
MILAN (Reuters) - It was a rags to riches story at a hospital in northern Italy when a homeless man turned out to be carrying some $30,000 (19,000 pounds) in his pockets.
The 80-year-old bearded man was checked into the psychiatric ward of the hospital three days ago when he was found aimlessly wandering around the city of Como, police told Reuters on Thursday.
The man, apparently without family, had been living in a shelter and on the streets.
But to the hospital staff's surprise, they found 10,000 euros (6,300 pounds) and 40 million lire, equivalent to another 12,700 pounds, in his pockets.
"He said it was his life's savings," the police source said.
But the Bank of Italy has foiled a happy ending, by refusing to exchange the lire, which are no longer in circulation, for the euro currency because the man's identification papers expired 13 years ago.
Under Italian law, currency exchanges can only be carried out with proper identification and in many cases a tax number, which the homeless man does not possess.
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