Awash in $100 Bills That Add Up to Zero

By Jim Dwyer
Published: April 23, 2010

For eight nights in March, the Allman Brothers played at the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights, and after the shows, their fans would come steaming along Broadway. One celebratory stop was at Coogan’s on 169th Street.

The crowds were good for business. They were swept into the usual tides of cops and politicians, neighborhood people and regulars from the hospital next door.

Near the end of the run, which included St. Patrick’s Day, the bar owners inspected a small pile of $100 bills that they had held out of their bank deposits. ...