根據(jù)真實事件改編。

Joseph "Joey" Coyle (born 1953 in Philadelphia) was an unemployed longshoreman in Philadelphia who, in February 1981, found $1.2 million in the middle of the street after it had fallen out of the back of an armored car. His story was made into the movie Money for Nothing starring John Cusack and also a book written by Mark Bowden titled Finders Keepers: The Story of a Man Who Found $1 Million.

Joey struggled with a drug addiction for most of his adult life. He committed suicide by hanging himself in his basement on August 15, 1993.
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In real life, Joey Coyle and the mobster did not force the car into water, but simply drove to New Jersey and abandoned it. Also, in real life, three people saw Coyle find and take the money, unlike in the movie where the movie Coyle does stop to check to see if anyone was around when he found the money and sees nobody (in fact in the movie a homeless boy saw him, but was hidden from view).

Joey Coyle was with two men, not one, when he found the money, and unlike in the film, did not stop to make sure that nobody saw him, so three people saw him find and take the money.

Though the time frame in the film seems undefined, in real life, Joey Coyle found the money on 26 February 1981 and was arrested on 4 March 1981.

Joey Coyle uses the alias Frankie Santos. In real life, a friend named Frank Santos took him to the airport to flee. (There was no Monica in real life.)

The memorable scene in the bathroom where Joey Coyle puts on pantyhose to hide the money in did happen, but Coyle changed his mind and removed the hose before boarding the plane.

There was no Vinnie in real life. However, Joey Coyle did meet with a mob employee named Masi, whose father did deliver items to Laurenzi's father's business.

Joey Coyle was a drug user in real life, and killed himself in 1993. Also, in real life, Coyle was fair haired and colored his hair dark, in reverse of the film.


Joey Coyle did not live with his brother in real life. However, he fall through a ceiling when trying to hide the money. Other scenes with basis in reality include the policeman asking to be locked in the van to test its strength.