Jason Buzi, aka @HiddenCash, will pay Whittier…
Jason Buzi, aka @HiddenCash, will pay Whittier $5K for park damages
"Cash hunters search all over Penn Park in Whittier for #HiddenCash stashed in Pez dipsensers and lunch boxes in the park bushes on Thursday July 10, 2014. Hundreds of people searched through the bushes all over the park. (Staff Photo by Keith Durflinger/Pasadena Star-News)"
By Venusse Navid | Venusse.Navid@sgvn.com |
PUBLISHED: July 15, 2014 at 7:14 p.m. | UPDATED: September 1, 2017 at 3:40 a.m.
Jason Buzi, the mastermind behind Hidden Cash, agreed to pay the city of Whittier $5,000 Tuesday toward damages caused by nearly 1,000 people who participated in a cash hunt Thursday night at Penn Park, city officials said.
The city accrued about $6,700 in total cost after extra police officers were called to work overtime to handle the chaos. About $1,700 of the total was due to the overtime.
"We appreciate (Buzi) stepping up and taking responsibility for damages that occurred," Whittier City Manager Jeff Collier said.
Park damages included sprinkler heads, plants and fencing, Collier said. City crews are continuing to make repairs and clean up the park.
"It was past the park hours and we weren't able to clear the park until after midnight," Collier said. "Even after that, there were people arriving wanting to go into the park so we had to post police officers throughout the night and have them there to keep people out."
The cash hunt also posed a problem for police who were handling normal emergency calls.
Officers blocked off access to Greenleaf Avenue near Bailey and Hadley streets when a tweet was sent out by Hidden Cash to search for loose money near the fox statue.
Collier said that when he went back to the park the next day around 9 a.m., scavengers were still arriving to search for cash.
"I spoke with people who came from Long Beach and Valencia, so people had driven quite a distance to get there," Collier said.
Collier said had there been any injuries at the hunt, he had no idea how paramedics or fire would have been able to access the area due to the gridlock.
Collier and Whittier Police Chief Jeff Piper had to walk from the police station to Penn Park, which is nearly a mile, because they could not get emergency vehicles past the traffic.
"It was an overwhelming experience and I think lessons were learned by Mr. Buzi," Collier said. "I appreciate the fact that he's rethinking his night drop and locations."
— Staff Writer Peter Fullam contributed to this story.
Venusse Navid