HONESTY WATCH : Taxi Stand

Talk about tourists going home with good memories of America--how about that Claudio Taffarel?

Not only did Taffarel have a superb World Cup as goalie for the victorious Brazilian team, but he found a truly honest taxi driver, Juan Blanco of Santa Ana.

Last Monday, the day after the championship at the Rose Bowl, Taffarel climbed into Blanco’s cab for a ride from an Anaheim hotel to the one in Fullerton where the Brazilian team was staying. He climbed out $60,000 lighter, having left a fanny pack containing the cash, family passports and a World Cup gold medal. It’s not clear why anyone would tote $60,000 in cash around Southern California, but that’s what the goalie did.

Blanco found the pack hours later, opened it and understandably suffered temptation. But after fantasizing about what he could buy with $60,000, and showing off his find to his brother, he headed back to the hotel where he had dropped Taffarel. Although the soccer player’s only description of the cab was that it was white and yellow, police had tracked down the taxi company, which was paging its drivers.

Blanco handed over the treasure to a police officer at the hotel, but Taffarel insisted on meeting the cabby and thanking him. The goalie handed out a $1,000 reward, plus souvenir tie clasps and a Brazilian team sweat shirt, as well as autographing the shirt Blanco was wearing.

After years of bad raps on Southern California, the World Cup play in Pasadena provided a refreshing change. So did Blanco’s honesty.