144:, and contained $ 1.2 million in $ 100 bills. They had fallen from one of Purolator's armored vans, on the Swanson and Porter Streets in South Philadelphia after the driver hit a speed bump. That night, Philadelphia Police Detective Pat Laurenzi began a neighborhood search after two eyewitnesses reported the make and model of the vehicle that Behlau was driving, a 1971
216:
In April 1983, Coyle filed a lawsuit against
Purolator, claiming that the company's negligence in not properly securing the money was the cause of his insanity. The suit, filed at a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, asked for $ 20,000 in damages. The following June, a federal judge dismissed the case,
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who was to instruct him on how to properly handle the money. Coyle gave
Riccobene $ 400,000, hoping the latter would have the $ 100 bills laundered down to smaller denominations by playing at a Las Vegas casino. After more than 500 tips from eyewitnesses, Laurenzi received a police report of Behlau's
183:
Coyle decided to leave town in fear of being caught by police or hunted by other mobsters. He turned to his friend
Francis A. Santos, who bought him a plane ticket and spent the night with him in New York City. On March 3, 1981, both men were arrested by FBI agents at the
192:. He was carrying $ 105,000 in 21 envelopes (each containing $ 5,000) that were stuffed inside a pair of cowboy boots he was wearing. Roughly $ 1,003,400 of the missing money was recovered; the remainder was never found. Belhau, Pennock and Masi were not charged.
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charge that was ultimately dropped. During trial, Coyle's lawyer Harold Kane argued that his client's actions upon discovering the money were motivated by insanity and not greed. On March 5, 1982, a jury found Coyle innocent by reason of
136:, Joey Coyle, an unemployed longshoreman, had been travelling with his friends and co-workers John Behlau and Jed Pennock, when he discovered two canvas bags on the side of a road, roughly one block from
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For much of his adult life, Coyle struggled with drug addiction, and had become despondent over the death of his mother in 1981. On August 15, 1993, Coyle was found dead from an apparent
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car in
Gloucester City. Belhau and Pennock later turned themselves in to the police, both revealing how Coyle found the money, as well as his interractions with Masi.
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interviewed Coyle, as well as family and friends closest to him about their experiences. His article "Finders
Keepers" was published as a three-part serial for
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Coyle gave away portions of the cash to family, friends and strangers, in addition to supporting his
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who, in
February 1981, found $ 1.2 million in the street, after it had fallen out of the back of an
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that police had issued a search for Belhau's car. After abandoning the vehicle in
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188:. At the time of his arrest, Coyle was attempting to check in for a flight to
440:"Anniversary of a Philly legend: The guy who found $ 1 million on the street"
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ruling that Coyle's mental injuries were caused by his own "weak" character.
396:"1981: Joey Coyle wasn't looking for $ 1 million. Until it fell off a truck"
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in
December 1986. Bowden later adapted the article into a 2002 book titled
731:"Joey Coyle, Found Fortune On Street, Learned Money Doesn't Buy Happiness"
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Coyle was charged with theft, conspiracy, receiving stolen property and
531:"Suspect is arrested at Kennedy Airport in the theft of $ 1.2 million"
355:"Suspect is arrested at Kennedy Airport in the theft of $ 1.2 million"
649:"The relatively true story based on the making of an actual movie"
163:. He later met with another friend, Carl Masi, who learned from a
316:"Joey Coyle, 40, Dies; Philadelphian Took Armored Car's Cash"
265:"Joey Coyle, 40, Dies; Philadelphian Took Armored Car's Cash"
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with a maximum sentence of seven years. Santos received an
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Finders
Keepers: The Story of a Man Who Found $ 1 Million
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Finders
Keepers: The Story of a Man who Found $ 1 Million
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Finders
Keepers: The Story of a Man Who Found $ 1 Million
92:(February 26, 1953 – August 15, 1993) was an unemployed
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584:"Purolator sued by man who found $ 1.2 million"
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72:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
699:Yardley, Jonathan (September 30, 2002).
140:. Both bags had been picked up from the
505:. Grove/Atlantic, Inc. pp. 35–36.
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739:. Associated Press. August 16, 1993.
353:Treaster, Joseph B. (March 5, 1981).
186:John F. Kennedy International Airport
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202:Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution
142:Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
802:Suicides by hanging in Pennsylvania
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468:Hopf, Janet (December 20, 2002).
394:Rowan, Tommy (January 12, 2017).
16:American longshoreman (1953–1993)
438:Orso, Anna (February 24, 2017).
246:in his South Philadelphia home.
613:UPI Archives (April 16, 1983).
582:UPI Archives (April 16, 1983).
529:Davila, Tito (March 5, 1981).
314:Pace, Eric (August 16, 1993).
263:Pace, Eric (August 16, 1993).
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114:, as well as a 2002 book by
169:Gloucester City, New Jersey
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659:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
619:United Press International
588:United Press International
535:United Press International
406:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
138:Purolator Armored Services
134:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
654:The Philadelphia Inquirer
401:The Philadelphia Inquirer
227:The Philadelphia Inquirer
177:Philadelphia crime family
807:Suicides in Philadelphia
797:People from Philadelphia
288:. Movies & TV Dept.
132:On February 26, 1981 in
615:"National News Briefs"
128:Discovery of the money
499:Bowden, Mark (2007).
474:Washington City Paper
647:(October 24, 1993).
220:In 1986, journalist
90:Joseph William Coyle
33:Joseph William Coyle
705:The Washington Post
286:"Money for Nothing"
689:, pp. 151–162
360:The New York Times
321:The New York Times
291:The New York Times
284:John Bush (2013).
270:The New York Times
244:suicide by hanging
211:temporary insanity
175:, a member of the
767:Money for Nothing
736:The Seattle Times
701:"Slugged Fortune"
512:978-1-55584-607-7
442:. BillyPenn.com.
107:Money for Nothing
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645:Bowden, Mark
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98:Philadelphia
94:longshoreman
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82:Longshoreman
67:(1993-08-15)
51:Pennsylvania
47:Philadelphia
812:1993 deaths
787:1953 births
747:October 21,
715:October 14,
687:Bowden 2007
669:October 14,
629:October 24,
598:October 24,
567:Bowden 2007
555:Bowden 2007
540:October 21,
484:October 14,
470:"Dumb Luck"
450:October 14,
416:October 14,
366:October 14,
327:October 14,
222:Mark Bowden
116:Mark Bowden
112:John Cusack
110:, starring
102:armored car
781:Categories
250:References
78:Occupation
39:1953-02-26
23:Joey Coyle
206:accessory
196:Aftermath
741:Archived
709:Archived
663:Archived
623:Archived
592:Archived
478:Archived
444:Archived
410:Archived
509:
238:Death
772:IMDb
749:2020
717:2020
671:2020
631:2020
600:2020
542:2020
507:ISBN
486:2020
452:2020
418:2020
368:2020
329:2020
62:Died
29:Born
770:at
159:to
150:FBI
96:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.