Lost Wallet Returned After 40 Years

There’s more to a wallet than cash: Rudolph Resta was overcome with memories when his wallet was returned to him 40 years after a thief took the cash and stashed the “empty” wallet near an unused window. A security guard at the old New York Times building found a wallet stuffed between the window and the masonry seal behind it. He turned the wallet over to the building's fire safety director, who eventually showed it to Gordon T. Thompson, formerly the manager of Internet services for the Times. Thompson called Times reporter and unofficial historian David Dunlap, who traced the wallet to Resta, a retired art director from the promotions department. The wallet contained not only an old American Express card that was purple and white, but memories from Resta’s life: photos of his wife, father and one of two boys in a lawn chair—Resta’s sons, who are now 42 and 47.