The Confidence Game

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The Confidence Game Page 36

by Maria Konnikova


  The chapter also mentions cons taken from original interviews conducted by the author between 2013 and 2015, with Michael Shermer, Preet Bharara, Jason Hernandez, Robin Lloyd, Renée, Leanne ten Brinke, and several anonymous sources. All other con accounts come from assorted news stories.

  CHAPTER 2: THE PUT-UP

  The account of Sylvia Mitchell’s exploits draws on a number of sources: court transcripts and documents, in addition to contemporary news coverage. Demara’s stories continue to draw on the original sources listed in the introductory chapter. Additional con accounts come from original interviews conducted by the author between 2013 and 2015, including anonymous interviews, as well as conversations with Sandip Madan and Moran Cerf. The rest of the con stories rely on extensive news coverage.

  CHAPTER 3: THE PLAY

  Samantha Azzopardi’s story has been compiled from international news sources over a number of years. The stories of Joan and Alexis rely on original interviews conducted by the author in 2014. The rest of the cons are drawn from news accounts.

  CHAPTER 4: THE ROPE

  The story of Matthew Brown derives from news sources, along with two interviews conducted by the author in 2015 with individuals purporting to know Brown from childhood—but with shady enough backstories that the author suspects them of being Brown himself, on one occasion hidden behind sunglasses in Skype video, and on another in a series of e-mails that never quite added up. The Cazique of Poyais appears courtesy of several books and news stories, and the Nigerian prince and Cassie Chadwick come, as do many of the older cons in this book, from Jay Robert Nash’s Hustlers and Con Men, an important older account of many original con games. All information about Glafira Rosales relies on interviews with Ann Freedman, Rosales’s defense attorney, Freedman’s attorney, and multiple court documents. The story of Rudy Kurniawan is based on original interviews with Wilf Jaeger, Michael Egan, and Jason Hernandez, conducted by the author in 2014, alongside court records and transcripts. The chapter also includes cons based on original interviews with Apollo Robbins and Tyler Alterman, conducted by the author in 2013 and 2014. The rest of the cons derive from news accounts, including Herbert Brean’s exposé of Marvin Hewitt in Life, from April 12, 1954, “Marvin Hewitt, Ph(ony) D.”

  CHAPTER 5: THE TALE

  Paul Frampton’s story is based on a collection of contemporaneous news accounts from the UK, the United States, and Spanish-language sources in Buenos Aires, as well as documents from UNC Chapel Hill. Thierry Tilly’s story is compiled from English and French news sources. Dave and Debbie’s tale stems from original interviews conducted by the author in 2013. And the caper in the Sun comes from contemporaneous news sources, as well as Matthew Goodman’s The Sun and the Moon.

  CHAPTER 6: THE CONVINCER

  The account of William Franklin Miller’s escapades was compiled from several years’ worth of contemporaneous newspapers, mainly the New York Times. The rest of the cons in the chapter were taken from news sources, and the story of Lustig and Capone from Hustlers and Con Men. This chapter also references Simon Lovell’s account of his gambling and con techniques as well as Charles Mackay’s Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.

  CHAPTER 7: THE BREAKDOWN

  Frank Norfleet’s story is based largely on his 1924 autobiography, Norfleet. The rest of the cons derive from news sources.

  CHAPTER 8: THE SEND AND THE TOUCH

  The story of Glafira Rosales and Ann Freedman was compiled through an extensive series of original interviews conducted by the author over the course of 2014 and 2015, with Ann Freedman, her lawyer Luke Nikas, the lawyers for Glafira Rosales and Jimmy Andrade, and a number of art experts, including the head of IFAR, Sharon Flescher, along with close readings of relevant transcripts and court documents. The Teton Dam account is taken from the congressional and official reports on the disaster.

  CHAPTER 9: THE BLOW-OFF AND THE FIX

  Oscar Hartzell’s story is based on both Hustlers and Con Men and news accounts. The stories of fraud derive from a combination of news accounts and original interviews with Ivan Oransky conducted by the author in 2014. The psychological studies in this chapter are supplemented by original interviews with Robin Dunbar, conducted by the author in 2014.

  CHAPTER 10: THE (REAL) OLDEST PROFESSION

  The story of Bebe and C. Thomas Patten relies on historical documents combined with Bernard Taper’s account in The New Yorker, from January 17, 1959, “Somebody Is Going to Get It,” as well as Hustlers and Con Men. David Sullivan’s story relies on his 2010 talk at the Commonwealth Club, as well as multiple original interviews conducted by the author in 2015, with Joshua Jelly-Schapiro and Jennifer Stalvey. This chapter also owes a debt to William James’s The Varieties of Religious Experience.

  INDEX

  AARP ref1, ref2, ref3

  Abagnale, Frank ref1

  Abbas, Ali ref1

  Aberle, Peter ref1

  academia ref1

  Acker Merrall and Condit ref1

  affect heuristic ref1

  AIDS ref1

  airfare ref1

  Albright, Linda ref1

  alpha ref1

  Alterman, Tyler ref1

  Ammon, Robert ref1, ref2

  Anastasia, Countess ref1

  anchor effects ref1

  Andrade, Jimmy ref1

  Anfam, David ref1, ref2

  Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare), ref1, ref2

  ants ref1

  anxiety ref1

  approach-avoidance model ref1

  Arkes, Hal ref1

  Armstrong, Lance ref1

  art fraud ref1, ref2

  Rosales in ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  Arthur, Harold ref1, ref2

  Asahi Shimbun, ref1

  Ashkin, Julius ref1

  attentional focus ref1

  attribution theory ref1

  Auster, Paul ref1

  authority ref1, ref2, ref3

  Axelrod, Robert ref1

  Azzopardi, Bruce ref1

  Azzopardi, Samantha Lyndell ref1, ref2, ref3

  as human trafficking victim ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Baby Jessica ref1

  Bacon, Francis ref1, ref2

  Bailey, William ref1

  Bailly, Jean ref1

  bait and switch ref1

  Baker, Richard Brown ref1

  Banbury, Jen ref1

  Barbero, Francesca ref1

  Bar-Hillel, Maya ref1

  Barnum, P. T., ref1

  Barrett, Mervyn ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  belief ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  belonging ref1

  Bem, Daryl ref1, ref2, ref3

  “Ben’s Story,” ref1

  Bergamo, James ref1

  Bergantiños brothers ref1, ref2, ref3

  Bergstrom, Oscar ref1, ref2, ref3

  Bernhardt, Sarah ref1

  bets ref1

  Beyth, Ruth ref1

  Bharara, Preet ref1

  Bhootnath ref1

  biases ref1, ref2

  confirmation ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  gambler’s fallacy ref1, ref2

  hindsight ref1, ref2, ref3

  optimistic ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  self-serving ref1, ref2

  social prejudices ref1

  status quo ref1

  Bibby, Nick ref1

  Bible ref1

  Birmingham, George ref1

  Black Bag ref1

  Blair, Jayson ref1

  Blau, Mrs. Alan James ref1

  blow-off ref1

  Blumer, Catherine ref1

  Bolton, Gary ref1

  bomb detector ref1

  Bond, Charles ref1

  Borga, Franco ref1

  brain ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Brandt, Gus ref1

  breakdown ref1, ref2, ref3

  Breman, Adolph ref1

  Brennan, Joe ref1

  Brinkley, John ref1

>   Brock, Timothy ref1, ref2

  Brockner, Joel ref1

  Brown, Adam ref1

  Brown, Matthew Edward ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  as Von Anhalt ref1

  Brown, Derren ref1

  Browne, Mary T., ref1

  Bruner, Jerome ref1

  bubbles ref1, ref2

  Buffett, Warren ref1

  Bundy, Ted ref1

  Burger, Jerry ref1

  Burns, Mollie ref1

  butterflies ref1

  BuzzFeed, ref1

  Calhoon, Richard ref1

  Calvary Ranch ref1

  Campbell, Joan Marie ref1

  Campbell, Kelly ref1

  Capone, Al ref1, ref2, ref3

  Carmean, E. A., ref1, ref2

  Carnegie, Andrew ref1

  Carnegie, Dale ref1, ref2

  Carney, Bruce ref1

  Carr, Sarah ref1

  Carro, Gregory ref1

  Catch Me If You Can, ref1

  caterpillars ref1

  Cayuga, HMCS ref1, ref2

  Cerf, Moran ref1, ref2

  Chabris, Christopher ref1

  Chadwick, Cassie ref1

  Chaiken, Shelly ref1

  chameleon effect ref1

  change strategies ref1, ref2, ref3

  Chaucer, Geoffrey ref1

  Chen, Peter ref1

  choices ref1, ref2, ref3

  Chonko, Lawrence ref1

  Choong, Lee ref1, ref2

  Christie, Richard ref1

  Cialdini, Robert ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  Clore, Gerald ref1

  Codol, Jean-Paul ref1

  cognitive dissonance ref1

  Cohen, Steven ref1

  coins ref1, ref2

  commons ref1

  communities ref1

  Confidence Man, The (Melville), ref1

  confirmation bias ref1, ref2, ref3

  Consumer Fraud Research Group ref1

  control, illusion of ref1

  conversations ref1

  convincer ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Cooke, Janet ref1

  corporate fraud ref1

  Craigslist ref1, ref2

  credibility ref1

  creeping determinism ref1

  Crichton, Judy ref1

  Crichton, Robert ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  Crichton, Sarah ref1

  cuckoo finch ref1

  cults ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  culture ref1

  Cummine, Andrew ref1

  Curry, Robert ref1

  Dal Cin, Sonya ref1

  dark triad of traits ref1, ref2

  psychopathy ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Davis, Barbara ref1

  Dean, Jeremy ref1

  DeBruine, Lisa ref1

  decision making ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Dedalus Foundation ref1, ref2

  default effects ref1, ref2

  Demara, Ferdinand Waldo, Jr., ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13

  Crichton and ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  at monasteries ref1, ref2, ref3

  as navy surgeon ref1, ref2, ref3

  “papering” tactic of ref1

  as prison warden ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  school gifts from ref1

  Demara, Ferdinand Waldo, Sr., ref1

  Demara, Mary McNelly ref1, ref2

  determinism, creeping ref1

  Deveraux, Jude ref1

  De Védrines, Christine ref1

  De Védrines, Ghislaine ref1, ref2

  “Diddling” (Poe), ref1

  disasters ref1

  disrupt-then-reframe ref1

  Dittisham Lady, ref1, ref2

  door-in-the-face ref1, ref2

  Drake, Francis ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Dunbar, Robin ref1, ref2, ref3

  Dunning, David ref1

  Dutch tulip mania ref1

  Dylan, Bob ref1

  Ebola crisis ref1

  Egan, Michael ref1

  Eiffel Tower ref1

  Ekman, Paul ref1, ref2, ref3

  elaboration likelihood model ref1

  elder fraud ref1

  Elizabeth I, Queen ref1

  Emler, Nicholas ref1, ref2

  emotions ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

  anticipation of ref1

  donations and ref1

  stories and ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  endowment effect ref1, ref2

  entrapment effect ref1

  environment ref1

  Epley, Nicholas ref1, ref2, ref3

  Epstein, Seymour ref1, ref2

  Erdely, Sabrina Rubin ref1

  Evans, Elizabeth Glendower ref1

  even-a-penny scenario ref1, ref2

  exceptionalism ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  expectancies ref1, ref2

  exposure ref1, ref2

  Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (Mackay), ref1

  Eyal, Tal ref1

  Facebook ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

  facial expressions ref1, ref2, ref3

  Fallon, James ref1

  familiarity ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Farms Not Factories ref1

  FBI ref1, ref2, ref3

  fear ref1

  Feldman, Robert ref1

  Fenimore, Karin ref1

  Festinger, Leon ref1, ref2, ref3

  Fetzer, Barbara ref1

  Figes, Orlando ref1

  Fischhoff, Baruch ref1, ref2

  Fiske, Susan ref1

  Fitzgerald, Alan and Eilis ref1

  Fitzgerald, Elizabeth (Madame Zingara), ref1, ref2

  fix ref1

  Folt, Carol ref1

  football ref1

  foot-in-the-door ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Frampton, Anne-Marie ref1, ref2, ref3

  Frampton, Paul ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9

  Frank, Jerome ref1

  Franklin, Benjamin ref1, ref2

  Franklin Syndicate ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Fraser, Scott ref1

  Freedman, Ann ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

  Freeman, Jonathan ref1

  French, John ref1, ref2

  Fund for the New American Century ref1

  future ref1

  predicting ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Galinsky, Adam ref1

  gambler’s fallacy ref1, ref2

  Gant, Robert ref1

  Geis, Florence ref1

  genetics ref1

  Gerard, Harold ref1

  Gerhartsreiter, Christian ref1

  Gifford, Adam Lord ref1

  Gilbert, Daniel ref1, ref2

  Gilligan, Andrew ref1

  Gilovich, Thomas ref1

  Glass, Stephen ref1, ref2

  Goetzinger, Charles ref1

  Gondorf, Fred and Charles ref1

  Goodrich, Judge ref1

  Gordon, John Steel ref1

  gorilla experiment ref1

  gossip ref1, ref2, ref3

  Goya, Francisco ref1

  Grazioli, Stefano ref1

  Great Imposter, The (Crichton), ref1, ref2, ref3

  Green, Melanie ref1, ref2

  Green Dot cards ref1

  Greg ref1

  grifter ref1

  grooming ref1

  groups, belonging to ref1

  Guillotin, Joseph ref1

  Gur, Ruben ref1

  Gurney, Edmund ref1

  Hancock, Jeffrey ref1

  Hansen, Chris ref1

  Hanson, Robert ref1

  happiness ref1, ref2, ref3

  Hare, Robert ref1

  Harley, Richard ref1

  Harlow, E. T., ref1, ref2

  Hartzell, Oscar ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

  Haugtvedt, Curtis ref1

  Hauser, Marc ref1

  health ref1

  health products ref1

&
nbsp; hedge funds ref1

  Heilbroner, Robert ref1

  Herbert, David ref1

  Herschberg, Jenks ref1

  Herschel, John ref1

  Herschel, William ref1

  Hewitt, Marvin Harold ref1

  Hill, Richard ref1

  hindsight bias ref1, ref2, ref3

  Hines, Kelly Smith ref1

  Hobbes, Thomas ref1

  Holmes, Oliver Wendell ref1

  Hone, Richard ref1

  Hopkins, Budd ref1

  hot-hand fallacy ref1

  Houdini, Harry ref1, ref2, ref3

  How the Mind Works (Pinker), ref1

  How We Die (Nuland), ref1

  Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Its Limits (Russell), ref1

  HumInt ref1, ref2

  Hunt, Shelby ref1

  Hurd, Judge ref1

  Hustlers and Con Men (Nash), ref1

  Ickes, William ref1

  identifiable-victim effect ref1

  identity theft ref1, ref2, ref3

  immoral behavior ref1

  information priming ref1

  insects ref1

  insider trading ref1, ref2, ref3

  intelligence ref1

  Internet ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR), ref1, ref2

  interrupted tasks ref1

  investments ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Iraq War ref1

  IRS and taxes ref1, ref2, ref3

  It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, ref1

  Jacobson, Lenore ref1

  Jaeger, Wilf ref1, ref2

  Jagatic, Tom ref1

  Jahoda, Marie ref1, ref2

  Jamal, Karim ref1

  James, William ref1, ref2

  Jarvik, Murray ref1

  Jelly-Schapiro, Joshua ref1, ref2, ref3

  Joan ref1

  Johns Hopkins Magazine, ref1

  Johnson, Paul ref1

  Johnson, Samuel ref1

  Jones, Robert ref1

  Jonke, Eric ref1

  Journal of Vibration and Control, ref1

  judgments ref1, ref2, ref3

  like-dislike ref1, ref2, ref3

  about trustworthiness ref1

  juries ref1

  Kafka, Franz ref1

  Kahneman, Daniel ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

 

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