Plumber Who Discovered Cash Stash in Walls of Church Calls Out Joel Osteen
A man who discovered a cache of cash in a Texas megachurch is irked at the silence coming from Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church.
“I wanted to hear [Joel Osteen] say, ‘You know, Justin, what you did was right. We understand what you did and what you could have done,’” the man said, according to KPRC-TV.
The man, whose identity has been withheld, said he hoped Osteen would comment on his good deed by reporting the find to the church and authorities.
“I feel like, at this point, I should have heard something,” he said. “I’m just a little upset.”
Houston police have said the discovery is linked to a 2014 theft in which $600,000was taken from the church’s safe.
Response on investigation at 3700 Southwest Freeway:#hounews pic.twitter.com/9rssUllblJ
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) December 3, 2021
Longtime parishioner Benito Rodriguez, however, said the find was not good news.
“I was discouraged the first time,” Rodriguez said of the 2014 theft. “I was discouraged and now I am more discouraged because they found it. It doesn’t make any sense.”
On Nov. 10, the plumber — who was doing repair work at the church — called into a local radio station to report the major find, according to KTVT-TV.
The plumber said he was working on a loose toilet and moved some insulation away when hundreds of envelopes fell from the wall.
“We went to go remove the toilet, and I moved some insulation away and about 500 envelopes fell out of the wall, and I was like, ‘Oh wow!’”
In a statement, Lakewood Church confirmed the discovery.
“Recently, while repair work was being done at Lakewood Church, an undisclosed amount of cash and checks were found,” the church said. “Lakewood immediately notified the Houston Police Department and is assisting them with their investigation. Lakewood has no further comment at this time.”
Lakewood Church has been led by Joel and Victoria Osteen since 1999.
Plumber who found money in wall of Joel Osteen’s Houston church says he deserves reward: https://t.co/2ZgRJNJATt pic.twitter.com/FSWmGJkTqq
— KLTV 7 (@KLTV7) December 5, 2021
Radio host George Lindsey, whose show was called by the plumber reporting the find, said the man is irked at the lack of response, according to The New York Times.
“Nobody said thank you,” Lindsey said. “Nobody has said a word to this guy. He has solved a case that has been on the books for seven years.”
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