Pennies may be from heaven, but ...

[Copper Catcher]

Richmond, Va. -- Windfall for workers at Richmond hotel site

Pennies may be from heaven, but big bucks come from demolition work.

A handful of workers at the Hotel John Marshall in downtown Richmond couldn't believe their eyes when they saw wind-driven swirls of money floating around the 16-story landmark.

"It was like ticker tape," said Jimmy Roe III, a heavy-equipment operator who gathered up nearly $200.

Roe and his father, superintendent on the site for D.H. Griffin Demolition and Asbestos Removal Inc., were the big winners apparently. The senior Roe said he found about $40.

"It was old money," he said, fitting for a city landmark. But the bulk of the loot is probably buried in a Henrico County landfill.

The Roes and construction superintendent Hans D. Bean said a worker in the third floor of the building came across a cardboard box two months ago and tossed it out of a window before realizing it was filled with money along with assorted papers. The famous hotel is being renovated into apartments after years of neglect.

Within a few minutes, the cardboard box was buried deep in other debris from the building and then somewhere in the bed of a landfill-bound truck.

"We're working at a pretty good rate and couldn't stop to look through all the stuff on the truck," Roe Sr. said.

But for the next few days, workers noticed $20 bills floating through the windy updrafts around the building.

Jimmy Roe III said he used his haul to buy a bull mastiff puppy. He named her Precious.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010 ... ar-645496/