Hoaxes, Scams, & Con Artists
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Hoaxes, Scams, & Con Artists
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"The fool doth think he
is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool."
Other Victor Lustig Scams
In 1922 Victor Lustig assumed one of his famous aliases as "Count" Victor Lustig. He traveled to Missouri and expressed a great interest in a dilapidated old farm. The bank had repossessed this farm and when Lustig offered $22,000 in Liberty bonds, they gladly accepted it. Lustig also asked the bank to exchange an additional $10,000 in bonds for cash to get the farm running. The bank obliged, but were unaware Lustig had switched envelopes. Lustig made off with both the cash and the bonds. The bank hired private detectives to find him and bring him back. The private detectives found him in a New York hotel room. During the long train ride back to Missouri, Lustig convinced the detectives that if the bank pressed charges that there would be a run on the bank by its depositors, and the bank would end up closing. Lustig then convinced them that they should give him $1,000 for the inconvenience of his arrest.
While in Montreal the "Count" arranged to have a Vermont banker named linus Merton pick pocketed. Lustig then played the hero and returned his wallet to Merton with its contents fully intact, therefore gaining his trust. Lustig told Merton about a money making scheme his cousin Emil was running. Lustig said his cousin worked at a bookie joint and was able to intercept the race wires and could find out the winners before the betting windows closed. With Merton on a winning streak, Emil announced he had to move due to his wife's illness. Merton could make one last bet. He placed one last large bet, and of course lost. Lustig took the banker for $30,000.
Lustig perfected the idea of the Rumanian Box, but did not create it. Lustig had a carpenter in New York make a box out of mahogany. The box measured 12 inches square and had a narrow slot cut in either end. One side of the box had a series of highly polished knobs and dials. In 1926 Lustig headed to Palm Beach, Florida. He decided to use the Rumanian box on a man named Herman Loller. He pulled the box out and explained that it was a money duplicating machine. Lustig told him that this was not counterfeiting and that banks would accept this money. Lustig inserted a $1,000 bill in one end of the box, and a piece of white paper in the other end. He then turned the knobs and dials and both the money and the paper were sucked into the box. Lustig then told Loller the paper had to soak in the chemicals for six hours. Six hours later the two men returned and Lustig turned the knobs and out came two identical bills. Lustig had Loller take the money to the bank to confirm that they were real. Lustig had previously concealed a 2nd bill in the box with carefully altered serial numbers so they matched. Loller paid Lustig $25,000 for the box. Lustig figured he had six hours to get out of town, but Loller thought he was doing it wrong. It took him weeks before he realized he was duped. In 1934 the United States was flooded with counterfeit bills. The secret service believed the man responsible was William Watts, a former pharmacist, who started counterfeiting whiskey labels during prohibition. The government didn't know how to find Watts, but knew his contact man was Count Victor Lustig. Lustig was arrested after a stakeout, and confirmed that Watts was the counterfeiter. Lustig claimed that he had nothing to do with this scam, yet he had a key for a locker in Times Square that held a set of plates and $51,000 in phony money. Lustig was sent to the federal house of detention in New York City. Almost immediately the funny money supply dried up. The police thought they finally had nailed Lustig. Lustig broke out of jail the day before his trial. His escape was carefully planned out. Lustig noticed that when the attendants brought clean bed sheets to the cells, they would ask how many beds were full and hand over the required number of sheets. When they came to collect the dirty sheets, they never counted how many were returned. A couple of weeks before Lustigs escape, he simply added one to the number of occupied beds and accumulated nine sheets that he stored in a slit in his mattress. At night when other prisoners were listing to a radio show, Lustig tore the sheets into long strips and made a rope. As part of the daily routine in prison, the prisoners were taken to the roof at noon for exercises. On the day of Lustigs escape, he claimed that he was ill and stayed behind. He then went down the hall to the bathroom and cut through the wire screening with a pair of wire cutters. He then securely fastened his rope to the third floor window and stepped outside onto a six inch ledge. He then proceeded to vigorously clean the windows with his white cloth. Suddenly the cleaning rag extended out into a long rope and Lustig lowered himself to the street below. Many thought he had fallen from the ledge, but he quickly bounced to his feet, took a bow, and then disappeared into the city. Lustig was caught twenty seven days later in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. His trial started December 5, 1935. The star witness was William Watts who relayed every detail of the counterfeiting scheme. Lustig interrupted the trial and plead guilty. Lustig and Watts were both sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Lustig was sentenced and additional five years for his escape and was sent to Alcatraz. On March 9, 1947, Lustig contracted pneumonia and died 36 hours later at the age of fifty seven, thus ending the career of one of the most notorious con artists.
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Created by: Sam Sanabria and Tracey Selby |
Farmer Count Lustig?
The Bookie Scam
The Rumanian Box
The Jail Break