From Trusting to Cautious
Mohamed Cheema's son Adil Cheema, sits at the counter, with Wayne's old lighter, found in the bathroom with burned spoons, used to fuel his drug addiction which cost the store over $15,000 through stolen lottery tickets. Adil used to lighter to burn his name into the counter.
Working at the Vacero gas station on West Main, Mohamed counts his blessings with an optimistic air, yet something has changed in this man since coming to Rochester ten years ago. From trusting his customer’s almost unconditionally, working in the high-crime neighborhood on West Main Street has changed his disposition deeply.
While not obvious to the outside observer, Mohamed has had more than his fair share of trialing circumstances.
As mentioned in “Religious Conflictions in Everyday Life,” Mohamed hired one employee four years ago, by the name of Wayne Johnson. Not only did he scratch the lottery tickets, but he also harbored a dangerous background and dangerous drug addiction.
“He had a bad habit to scratch the tickets, for what? He has no children, no family, no friends,” Mohamed recalls, clearly upset.
At the end of the four years, of having Wayne as a employee, Mohamed admits that there were signs along the way showing Wayne as an untrustworthy employee. Mohamed remembers that Wayne did not sleep, which was part of the reason he loved being at the store so much.
“Now, I know he couldn’t sleep because of his drug addictions,” Mohamed says, “I found some weird things in the bathroom, burned spoons, weird lighters.”
Last year, Wayne was stabbed while working at the Vacero one night, Mohamed took him into his home, paid for his medical expenses and trusted him with his family. Soon after Wayne recovered, Mohamed found Wayne scratching the lottery tickets without paying for them.
Soon after Mohamed fired Wayne in September of 2010, he discovered that Wayne was also a registered sex offender.
“I learned one thing, very important, I have to change my habit to trust people quick,” Mohamed says of his learning experience with Wayne.
"If somebody rob or steal from you, he’s going to pay," Mohamed sums up his conception of ultimate justice.
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