Finders Keepers: The Story of a Man Who Found $1 Million

by Mark Bowden

Book Overview

Told in riveting, novelistic detail by the author of the best-seller Black Hawk Down, Finders Keepers is the widely acclaimed true story of an incredible week in the life of Joey Coyle, a down-and-out... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087113859X
• ISBN13: 9780871138590
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Truth stranger than fiction

Mark Bowden originally covered the true story of Joey Coyle and his demented $1.2 million find as a journalist. He then wrote this amazing account of the hapless Philly Longshoreman's botched and deranged attempt to keep the money. It's written in a pacey, manic style that conveys the drug-and-bizarre-circumstance fuelled whirlwind Joey found himself dropped into whilst driving back from a disappointing visit to his local dealer and discovering two unusual sacks at the side of the road contained over a million dollars in untraceable one hundred dollar bills. Applying a natural serendipity to the scenario, Joey decided to keep the money, seeing it as the will of his late Father. What follows is a story so unbelievable and, ultimately and ineluctably tragic, that it's impossible to put down. While the first half concerns the absolute insanity, excitement, and visceral thrill of the find, complete with Joey vowing to tell no one - then immediately doing the exact opposite and telling every single person he meets - paving the way for the inevitable second half: Joey's capture by the authorities. What follows is a truly fascinating analysis of public opinion, consensus morality, and the true definition of right and wrong, as the court drama unfolds and journalists from all over America pose the irresistible question: What Would You Do? Unusually concise for Mark Bowden, it's still a wonderfully written account of an amazing story, tinged with comedy, stupidity, and tragedy.

Finders Keepers

The Book Finders Keepers is about a young man named Joey Coyle. This twenty-eight year old boy was addicted to a drug called methamphetamine. It all began on February 26, 1981. Joey woke up in his bed at his house on Front Street in South Philly. This day started off just like all the others, but Joey didn't know that this day would change his life forever. Joey and his friends, John Behlau and Jed Pennock went for a ride to a dealer's house, since Joey ran out of drugs and was getting quite nervouse. When they got to the house they found he wasn't home and decided to take back roads home. as they drove past the Purolator Armored Car Company on Swanson Street, they noticed a little yellow tub in the middle of the road. Inside the tub were two big white canvas bags. Joey was always picking up things so they stopped and Joey got out picked the two bags out from the tub and read the tags on them "Federal Reserve Bank". The boys went back home and opened the bags. they were shocked at what they found. The two canvas bags held a total of 1.2 million dollars! The most money Joey and his friends had ever seen! So joey being a normal human being had to tell all his friends, his girlfriend and his family. Soon almost everyone he knew, about him finding all the money. That next day the incident was on the news. THe T.V. announced 1.2 million dollars fell off the back of a Purolator Armored Car yesterday afternoon. As soon as Joey heard this he started felling anxious, nervous, and scared people would be after him to take what he called "his money". After all he had found it and in his mind the rule was "Finders Keepers" Joey got so scared of getting caught he asked his friend Carl Masi if he could help him. Masi said he could ask his friend, one of the most notorious organized crime leaders in Philadelphia, Mario "Sonny" Riccobene. Masi said Sonny could take the bills to Las Vegas and get them broke down to smaller bills, since all of it was in 100's. Joey gives him 1/3 of the money and hides the rest in different places. The story gets out and the police start to catch up with Joey. Joey tries to get out of the country with the help of a friend and fly to Acapulco, Mexico. Just as Joey is getting on the plane the FBI caught him. Joey is charged with theft, conspiracy to commit theft and receiving stolen property. In the trial the defense pleads insanity and the prosecution persist on the charges. Will Joey get out on insanity or will the prosecution get through to the jury? Will all the money be returned? The story has a tragic ending because it was all too much for a simple kid from South Philly. Through a sequence of events, this day started Joey spiraling out of control. He no longer could make any rational choices. It was all about the money that he thought was a gift from God and hyis father who had died years before. I would recommend this book because it shows what is wrong and right and puts down the line. It also shows that any type of

I Know What I Would Do!!

What would you do if you found over a million dollars lying by the side of the road in a yellow metal tub? I know what I would do, but I?m not saying. This is the dilemma 28 year-old Joey Coyle found himself in with two of his friends while driving down a side road in Philadelphia. Joey?s answer was very simple: ?Finders Keepers?. This is an exciting true-life story from the author who also wrote the book ?Black Hawk Down?. In February 1981, over a million dollars in unmarked bills fell off the back of an armored truck in South Philadelphia. Joey Coyle, a popular, working-class, young man who?s addicted to drugs, goes from rags to riches, and eventually becomes somewhat of an urban hero. Joey finds himself in a drug-enhanced frenzy for the next week trying to decide what to do with all the money. The story is actually quite funny at times. Joey has a hard time keeping the money a secret, and tells just about everyone he meets about it. Will this be Joey?s downfall or saving grace? Joey does get involved with the wrong people, as the entire city becomes swept up in the search for the money. What happens to Joey takes several different turns and this story has many unexpected surprises in store for us. What an riveting story! This is a remarkable story of an ordinary young man who comes face to face with an extraordinary opportunity, and has the make the decision of right from wrong? Or does he? I recommend this one to anyone who enjoys a good true-to-life thriller. Joe Hanssen

Breezy book with an edge

I received this as a Christmas present, and what a neat present it was!I started reading this obviously fictional book about this unemployed meth addict Philadelphian dockworker named Joey who finds $1.2 million in unmarked unsequential $100 bills laying on the street -- a $1.2 million which literally fell off the back of the truck. He immediately enters into all these improbable and zany adventures, capped by an arrest at the airport as he's getting ready to fly to Acapulco! During his trial, his attorney opts for a temporary insanity defense, which the jury buys because the guy's buddies testify he "went bananas" for a week when he found the money.Yet this comedy has an edge to it -- the tragedy of "men who were raised to go to work out on the docks like their fathers and uncles and older brothers, only there's no work for them on the docks anymore, and there's nothing else they know how to do.... It's a story about addiction, about the belief that there is a shortcut to true happiness."When I got to the Epilogue, I was quite surprised to find that this obviously fictional story was true! The author tells what happened after the trial, and how Joey's story was literally Disneyfied -- and how his good fortune turned out to be his tragic ruin.The typeface used is a bit distracting since there is no "1" -- and unlike ancient typewriters, instead of the small "L," the capital "I" is used: thus $100 is $I00 and 314 Dunfor Street is 3I4 Dunfor Street.This is a great book because it encompasses universal themes -- Joey is a Greek tragic figure whose internal flaws, despite his good fortune, emerge to undo him. Many of us, likewise, have envisioned what we would do if sudden riches came upon us.

What if a complete idiot found a million dollars?

Another great book from Mark Bowden. But this time, I listened to the book as the author narrates it himself. He does a great job delivering this fascinating tale that he briefly covered as a young newspaper reporter. Later in his career, he did a retrospective series about the episode that became the basis for the very forgettable movie starring John Cusack, Money for Nothing. Bowden does a terrific job of reconstructing for the reader (or listener) the very private lives and moments of the story's principles. While few of the characters are very sympathetic, they nonetheless are, at least presented by Bowden, fascinating to follow. It's no Blackhawk Down, but it's a well-woven yarn.