Trash leads to cash for Saugus biz owner

SAUGUS – There’s a woman in Medford this morning who has absolutely no idea that she’s about to get back $115,000 she may not know was lost.Leo Guarente, owner of the Junk Depot in Saugus, is to be the bearer of the money and the good news, although he admits to initially thinking otherwise.”Vegas!”That was the first thought that passed through Junk Depot owner Guarente’s mind when he opened up a hope chest he removed from a home in Medford last week.Inside, Guarente found 21 class E United States savings bonds from 1972 totaling $21,000. The bonds, which were issued from Charlestown Bank, are worth more than $115,000 today.But in an interview at his Saugus office on Friday, Guarente said he knows the right thing to do.”It’s unbelievable,” said Guarente, as he fanned the bonds out on his desk. “This is the find. Hopefully it’s going to change her life. It’s like a gift from heaven. ‘Here’s $115,000; you don’t have to live from Social Security check to Social Security check. Good karma. That’s what it’s all about.”There is a catch, however. Coincidentally, Guarente has been filming a pilot for a reality show called “From Trash to Cash” that he will be pitching to A&E. Today at 2 p.m. he and a film crew will be driving to Medford to give the bonds back to their rightful owner.”We already called her and told her we found something in the hope chest,” said Guarente. “She knows something is coming, but she does not know what it is. She’s all pumped for it. She doesn’t know what it is, and she told me the suspense is killing her.”Guarente said he found the bonds at the home of a woman whose mother had recently died. As they were removing furniture from the house, the woman went through the chest but didn’t find anything she wanted to keep.”They busted this hope chest open in front of the lady, she said, ‘I don’t want this. I don’t want that,'” said Guarente. “We got to the next job and emptied it and there was an envelope with all of these crisp, $1,000 savings bonds.”Guarente has owned Junk Depot since 2010, and employs four workers and has four trucks. While $115,000 may be the biggest find of his career, Guarente said his workers are no strangers to rare artifacts, including German half helmets, rare coins, gold and a 1960s jukebox.It’s this reason Guarente is trying his hand in show business.”That’s what they want to see on the show,” said Guarente. “That’s what people like. They like to see the find and the excitement of something new every time.”On Friday Guarente showed off a commendation he found from President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1951 to an Air Force Second Lieutenant, just one of the countless items people think are junk.”People give us a call if they want to clean out their basement or remove some stuff,” said Guarente. “We recycle the items or try and resell it at a yard sale or flea market ? we try to recycle 80 percent of our material.”Guarente said no matter what the state of the economy may be, there’s always going to be junk, which for him means business.”Everyone always has trash,” said Guarente. “No matter what, you’re either doing construction or the banks are foreclosing and people leave everything.”Guarente said his friend’s sister is a TV producer and after the two got together for a wedding recently, they came up with the idea for a reality show.”It’s about things we find and the value, and taking it to the appraisers,” said Guarente. “They’re doing the final edits right now on the scissor reel.”If all goes according to plan with the show, Guarente will have no problem going from “Trash to Cash.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].