The twenty-first C is a gouger ’s paradise . The internet has made it easy to kidnap any dewy - eyed person ’s dollar bill or individuality – we ’re only onephone call , malicious tie , or credit card swipe off from humbug or extortion . Butscamsaren’t a modern design . regrettably , spate of multitude in the past fell dupe to the notion of unscrupulous snake oil colour salesmen and smooth talkers . It took a bit more effort to nobble masses out of thousands of dollars in the previous 19th and early 20th centuries , but it was potential . And longtime gyp artist George C. Parker was a pro at it .
At the time , jillion ofimmigrantsseeking better life embark the United States through the " Golden Door , " better known as New York City . mostly impoverished and bright , these immigrant were arrant objective for timeserving tricksters like Parker . Cunning and ruthless , Parker took reward of naive immigrant and tourist by sell them buildings and monuments that he had never even owned . In the final stage , his misdeeds got him a life condemnation at Sing Sing Prison , where he died – but not before he made a pretty centime by evading the law and fool impressionable stranger .
The Grift and The Grifter
Parker’sBrooklyn Bridgegrift likely set out in the 1880s . The artifice was relatively simple : Parker would scout out mark who ’d lately arrived in New York City , win over them that he owned the Brooklyn Bridge , and sell it to these eager investorsfor as much as $ 50,000 . He charmed his victims into think they would easily profit by charge citizenry for access to the bridge deck . presently , they would seek to set up toll Booth on the roadway . But their new speculation – pitched as a remunerative occupation and promising start to life in the Big Apple – was destined to fail . constabulary would shut down their attempt to operate the route , and all their dream of getting copious off of machine driver ' pocket modification were dashed . Eventually , processors atEllis Islandstartedhanding new arrivalscards monish them , " You ca n’t buy public buildings or streets . "
Parker was a career criminal by any mensuration . At meter , he put as a prison warden or the captain of a ship . He had at least six anonym , including James J. O’Brien , Warden Kennedy , Mr. Roberts , and Mr. Taylor , according toan clause in the Olean Evening Times . In 1928,The New York Timesreported that a adult male key William McCloundy , also know as I.O.U. O’Brien , was pick up . As it turns out , this was just another one of Parker ’s false name – in this suit , one he used to sell Max Schmeyer 10 lots that he did not own . Detectives find oneself Parker measure out a backyard in Asbury Park . " Only that he was seize , he separate the police force , he would have been able-bodied to sell the piazza for $ 17,000 , " say anotherNew York Times article .
Parker was so good at his job that he managed to " deal " theStatue of Liberty , Madison Square Garden , Ulysses S. Grant ’s grave , and the Metropolitan Museum of Art , as well asfour piles in City Hall Park for $ 25,000 . But he could n’t avoid getting caught , and he give-up the ghost to jail several fourth dimension for larceny , counterfeit , and impersonating a police police officer .
Parker’s Downfall
It ’s unlikely that Parker sold the Brooklyn Bridge as many astwo times a calendar week for age , which some generator say that he claimed . After all , he lied for a sustenance – how much descent could anyone put in his claims ? But his Brooklyn Bridge con was successful many fourth dimension , and he had contemporary who were just as willing to pull off unsuspecting newcomers for a quick buck , includingReed C. Waddell and the Gondorf brothers .
However , after decades of scheming , a$150 checksent Parker to prison for good . According to the Olean Evening Times clause , the check " spring back with startling snap . " Under New York’sBaumes natural law , people convicted of a quaternary felony had to be imprisoned for life . So in 1928 , Judge Alonzo G. McLaughlin in the Kings County Court sentenced Parker to life in Sing Sing . Parkerdied in 1937and was buried at the prison necropolis .
The Brooklyn Bridge racket lost steam after the 1920s , since more people were aware that it was fraud . But Parker ’s infamy lives on in a idiom you might have discover : " If you consider that , I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you . "
