Criminalia

The phrase, "There's a sucker born every minute," is attributed to P.T. Barnum, but it could be about this episode: We're talking about con artists who swindled people into buying some really famous landmarks. George C. Parker sold the Brooklyn Bridge. Among Victor Lustig's most audacious scams was when he sold the Eiffel Tower. And a man known as Natwarlal made a name for himself selling the Taj...

They're called arsonists, torchers, pyromaniacs, and firebugs – and each of their stories is unique, in technique, in damage, and in motivation to set things aflame. Welcome to a new season of Criminalia, where we're talking about arson and the firebugs responsible for igniting illegal blazes throughout history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Those who considered themselves financially savvy in Chicago in the early 1920s wanted in on one investment: the Bayano River Syndicate. It was an exclusive investment, and centered around oil-rich lands in Panama. And a mild-mannered, balding, and bespectacled lawyer named Leo Koretz was the guy who held the key to investing in it. But Koretz wasn't who he seemed, and neither were his oil fields...

In this 2-for-1 inheritance scam special, Holly and Maria talk about William Cameron Morrow Smith and Oscar Hartzell, who, separately, bilked thousands of people out of millions of dollars, just by telling them they might be in line to receive a huge fortune. Spoiler alert on that: There was no fortune.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There was something about Mary, but despite her claims, it wasn't an inheritance, prestigious titles, peerage, or any aristocratic honors. Mary Carelton became famous-for-being-famous when the paparazzi and media of her day caught wind of a scandal involving her. It wasn't about her penchant for pretending to be a princess -- as it turns out, it was for bigamy. See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

You can't talk about confidence artists and their games without talking about one of the classics: the shell game. It's been called a lot of things over the decades, and during the time and place we're going to visit in this episode, it was 'thimblerig'. It's often portrayed as a gambling game, but it's actually a con used to fleece unsuspecting bettors. Samuel Bennett was one of the best-known 't...

In January of 1881, the Cincinnati Examiner described Charles Lewis Blood as a "very affable" man, but questioned his right to the title M.D. And the Boston Globe described him as having a, "national reputation for crooked work.” In fact, he did have career in crooked work. "Dr." Blood ran a long con peddling patent medicine he called, oxygenized air -- which was actually nitrous oxide. And it's n...

Jefferson 'Soapy' Smith had a different sort of destiny than his siblings, who were doctors and lawyers. Soapy led a dishonest life that included bribery and graft, fraud, theft, and extortion. When he discovered that he could make more money with less effort by being clever, he changed his line of work to running confidence games on gullible westerners, from soaps scams Colorado to fleecing prosp...

During the 19th century it seemed like the American West held endless possibilities for great wealth, and Americans were looking for that next big thing. Two Kentucky swindlers, taking advantage of gemstone fever, lured some of the country's biggest bankers and businnessmen -- and the founder of Tiffany & Co. -- into a jewel con with claims of having discovered a large deposit of diamonds. The...

Calling herself a financial agent, Sarah Emily Howe introduced the women of the greater Boston area to the Ladies’ Deposit Company, which potentially sounds a lot better than what it really was: a swindle. The Ladies' Deposit was a savings bank that promised women a very high interest rate on deposits – so high, it seemed to impossible. It relied on referrals, and Sarah used the deposits she colle...

Psst, buddy, want to buy some cheap gold? It may appear to be a gold bar on the surface, but in reality, what's for sale is something far less valuable. American Reed C. Waddell is credited with one of the most celebrated cons among cons – the goldbrick swindle. You'll never find a better deal! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Poyais: a magical place, and the picture of Caribbean paradise. And according to Scottish swindler Gregor MacGregor, it could all be yours … if you invested in his land, Poyais. In the early 19th century, MacGregor invented his own country, and then conned investors into buying the bonds of a country that did not exist. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Between the years 1869 and 1874, a man calling himself Lord Gordon-Gordon swindled the wealthy populations of Scotland, England, the United States, and Canada. Until he began pulling cons in the late 19th century, though, there isn't much information about this guy. We don't even know what his real name was. But we do know he had endless charm and charisma that helped him bilk people out of millio...

Ann O'Delia Diss Debar was a medium and a fortune teller who was once described by the famous performer Harry Houdini as, quote, “one of the most extraordinary fake mediums and mystery swindlers the world has ever known.” She made her name -- well, her many names -- as a spiritualist with occult powers, but she was 100 percent fraud. And from 1870 to 1910, she bilked people for millions of dollars...

Back in the mid-20th century, a widow named Susanna Mildred Hill began placing newspaper ads posing as a much younger woman looking for love. Once she had fraudulently won the affection of hundreds of pen pals, she asked each for a gift of money -- and she successfully did so for years. Known as the Lonely Hearts Scam, this con continues to be big criminal business. We're going to talk about roman...

Bill Rockefeller Sr. once bragged that he taught his sons about business by swindling them: "I trade with the boys and skin 'em. I want to make 'em sharp.” But the Rockefeller name and money were established not by Bill, but by his eldest son, John D. Rockefeller Sr., who founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870. Bill, himself, had no interest in things like family or work. He liked to roam, and c...

William Thompson certainly was not the first person involved in the con game. We can assume people have been tricking and cheating each other likely since there were people to trick and cheat. We really don’t know a whole lot about William’s life. He just sort of pops up in the historical record when he starts getting noticed around the streets of New York City -- which, as you might imagine, is n...

Legendary New York City police detective Thomas F. Byrnes once described Bertha Heyman as "one of the smartest confidence women in America." And she was considered among New York City police to be, “the boldest and most expert of the many female adventuresses who infested the country” at the close of the 19th century. Let's meet this so-called Confidence Queen. See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

His medical contemporaries once considered him to be a "clever, money-mad neuropath." But what makes Dr. Albert Abrams a bit different than other charlatans we’ll meet this season is that though he was dismissed within the medical community for quackery in his time, he probably wasn’t a guy running a con – at least not on purpose.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Their crimes may vary, but con artists have this one thing in common: the power of persuasion to take advantage of people. And in this episode, we’re talking about how one woman known as Madame Rachel took advantage of Victorian high society with her pricey promises of eternal youth.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite the fact that many priceless works are today carefully preserved and placed under heavy security and surveillance, there are numerous examples in history of thieves simply finding a way. Although the methods used to conduct art heists have evolved, sometimes it doesn’t take an ingenious Hollywood-esque plan involving rappelling through a skylight to make your mark. Sometimes, thefts are op...

It was a charming and persuasive man named William Thompson who is considered to have been the original confidence artist – although that’s a title that’s probably difficult to pin down. Welcome to a new season of Criminalia, where we'll be talking about master swindlers, offering things too good to be true throughout history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mask of a Faun may not be a piece that first comes to mind when you think of Michelangelo’s portfolio of work. But it’s an important one, because it's the first marble sculpture he made. And more than 450 years after Michelangelo chiseled the details, Mask of a Faun was looted by the Nazis, and it hasn’t been seen since. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The one thing that might be weirder than an original Salvador Dalí painting being stolen from the walls of the New York City Department of Corrections, is the fact that an original Salvador Dalí painting hung for nearly 40 years in the lobby of the Rikers Island jail complex in the first place. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Things are a little different on today's episode of our show: Today we're talking to Mo Rocca. Among the many interesting things he's involved with, Mo is the host and creator of the hit podcast "Mobituaries" and author of the New York Times bestselling book, Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving. Join us as we talk about historical crimes, obituaries, and Mo's favorite cocktail/mocktail. See om...