Listen, Fat: '60 Minutes' Is LYING to You About Obesity and Weight Loss
Katie Pavlich Has a GREAT Idea That Would Keep the Formerly Taxpayer Funded...
LOL: FactPost Wants You to Believe That Grocery Prices Have Already Increased By...
See You in Court! Michigan Judge Okay's White Man's Racial Discrimination Suit Against...
Sen. Mazie Hirono Declares Dan Bongino Is Not at All Qualified
CNN Lib Claims Lloyd Austin ‘Never Compromised American Lives'
BUSTED: Cali Judge Who Ruled Trump Must Fund Illegal Immigrants Has MAJOR Conflict...
SHOCKER: Comedian Bill Burr Suddenly Doesn't Want to Talk About Elon Musk ......
Flashback: Here's Chuck Schumer Arguing for Anti-Fraud Measures for Illegals
NH Teacher Union Head Says the Quiet Part Out Loud As She Rails...
WATCH: The New Naked Gun Trailer Drops With the PERFECT O.J. Simpson Joke
Flashback: Here's Nancy Pelosi Singing a (D)ifferent Tune on China, Trade Deficits, and...
‘Hmmm’: Adam Kinzinger Suspicious There Are No Tariffs on Russia
What a Peach! Watch Unhinged Leftist Crow About 'No FEMA' for Tornado-Impacted Red...
Tim Walz's Magical Media Tour Continues! He Tells MSNBC Voters Regret Electing Trump...

A mensch in full: New Jersey road paver testifies in lottery trial, but doesn't see a dime

The New York Times:

Perfeito Esteves was the fill-in guy on a paving crew laying asphalt on Interstate 80, a few miles from the Delaware Water Gap. It was his first day on the job, and a couple of the other men on the crew asked if he wanted to join their betting pool and chip in $2 for lottery tickets.

Perfeito Esteves didn’t chip in $2 for a winning lottery ticket.

Mr. Esteves figured he was just a short-timer and would work with that crew for only a week, so he said no. One of the co-workers he turned down, Americo Lopes, collected the others’ money, as he always did. Then, at the end of that week, Mr. Lopes quit, saying he needed foot surgery.

Mr. Esteves not only took Mr. Lopes’s place as a permanent worker on the crew, he became a linchpin in court when the other men sued Mr. Lopes over the $38.5 million he pocketed from a winning ticket.

Mr. Esteves, 42, who lives in Elizabeth, N.J., was not one of the plaintiffs. But he took the five co-workers’ side, testifying against Mr. Lopes, who lost the case on Wednesday and was ordered to share the winnings.

On Thursday, Mr. Esteves said that he had regrets — and some anger — about his decision not to buy into the betting pool. Mostly he grinned and shook his head when talking about how he had missed a chance at some serious money.

Advertisement

Perfeito may have missed the perfecta, but in the lottery of life he’s a winner.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Twitchy Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement