All true, PVDS was stupid about the ATM transactions and the rest of it, but he was between a rock and a hard place. If DJ demanded cash on the barrelhead for the boat trip that night, he had to come up with the money. Probably DJ wouldn't take a personal check and PVDS didn't have a thousand bucks lying around in spare change. He must have thought his position and the way the legal system worked would get them home free. Especially if they could blame it on somebody else. I wonder who thought up the security guard story.
Plus, he might not want to have written a check...would leave a paper trail. Cash would be safer, as long as the ATM wasn't checked out.