The guy that "found" the phone picked it up and turned it on. The new phone has over 2x the resolution, so despite it being disquised in a faux case, it probably was evident that he had something unique in his hands.

He should've turned it over to the bartender or immediately to the police.

If the engineer was in on it (and I don't think he was) it brings into play a litany of industrial secrets law, which actually would be far worse for Gizmodo.