Empire of Deception
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57 played flappers and unmarried women “2 True Bills in $7,000,000 Fraud, Report,” Chicago Herald and Examiner, December 15, 1923.
58 He was so sympathetic “Koretz Liked the Ladies, but Liked ’Em Safely Married,” Chicago Evening American, December 15, 1923.
58 The poor woman “Love-Making Role Not in Leo Koretz’ Swindling Scheme,” Chicago Evening American, December 18, 1923.
58 never liked or trusted “Reviews 20 Years He Has Known Koretz, Beginning in School,” Chicago Evening American, December 14, 1923.
58 Now and then the thought “Friends Sorrow for Plight of Wife of Swindler; Aid Her,” Chicago Evening American, December 14, 1923.
59 became indignant at their lack “More Participators Tell Experiences with Koretz,” Chicago Evening American, December 15, 1923.
59 It was like a hot tip “3 True Bills Today to Raise Koretz Bail,” Chicago Evening American, November 28, 1924.
59 you could have told me “Koretz Secret—He Sold Shares Only to ‘Those He Loved,’” Chicago Evening American, December 14, 1923.
59 The few investors who sought “Koretz Vendor of False Mortgages, Is New Charge,” Chicago Evening Post, December 15, 1923.
59 Sure thing “Koretz N.Y. Victims Found,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 17, 1923.
60 I have never received “‘Close Friend’ of Koretz Tells How Family ‘Lost All,’” Chicago Evening American, December 19, 1923.
60 There was no turning back “The Making of a Criminal as Told by Koretz Himself,” Chicago Evening American, December 2, 1924.
60 business … was dull “Koretz Tells His Life Story,” Chicago Daily News, December 2, 1924.
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62 ALL CHICAGO SEEKS SOLUTION Chicago Daily News, July 26, 1919, quoted in Gary Krist, City of Scoundrels: The Twelve Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago (New York: Crown, 2012), 152.
62 I grabbed her Quoted in Krist, City of Scoundrels, 164.
63 Seldom has the populace “Watchman Confesses Murder of Child,” New York Times, July 28, 1919.
63 morons Krist, City of Scoundrels, 139.
63 There will be a general Chicago Daily Tribune, July 29, 1919, reproduced in Simon Baatz, For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder That Shocked Chicago (New York: HarperCollins, 2008), 200.
63 If the evidence shows Quoted in Baatz, For the Thrill of It, 200; and Krist, City of Scoundrels, 247.
63 subnormal Krist, City of Scoundrels, 140–41.
63 knowing his weakness Ibid.
63 a dastardly crime Sellers, The Loeb-Leopold Case, 239–40 (see chap. 2 notes).
64 I’m sorry Quoted in Baatz, For the Thrill of It, 201; and Krist, City of Scoundrels, 248.
64 exact and just Press response to the Fitzgerald sentence was compiled in a campaign pamphlet, “Judge Robert E. Crowe: His Platform and Record of Achievements,” dated September 15, 1920, 6–7, in Hal Higdon Research Papers on Leopold and Loeb case, ca. 1920–1980, series 3, box 2, Chicago History Museum.
65 vigorous and quick-tongued Lloyd Lewis and Henry Justin Smith, Chicago: The History of Its Reputation (New York: Blue Ribbon Books, 1929), 441, 461.
66 a professional occupation Editorial published March 30, 1926, quoted in Carroll Hill Wooddy, The Chicago Primary of 1926: A Study in Election Methods (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1926), 13.
66 the wild doings Paul Michael Green, “Irish Chicago: The Multiethnic Road to Machine Success,” in Ethnic Chicago, ed. Holli and Jones, 417 (see chap. 4 notes).
66 dictator-like office Lewis and Smith, Chicago, 441.
67 Fallen is Babylon! Quoted in Karen Abbott, Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America’s Soul (New York: Random House, 2007), 283.
67 aggressive, but with more education Wooddy, The Chicago Primary of 1926, 18.
67 brilliant record Quoted in “Judge Robert E. Crowe: His Platform and Record of Achievements,” 3–4.
67 Once upon a time Lloyd Wendt and Herman Kogan, Big Bill of Chicago (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1953), 11.
68 became as safe as the flivver Quoted in Sellers, The Loeb-Leopold Case, 241 (see chap. 2 notes). Flivver was slang for any car that was old, small, and cheap.
68 swift, uncompromising and stern Quoted from Chicago Evening American, March 12, 1918, in “Judge Robert E. Crowe: His Platform and Record of Achievements,” 4
68 anarchy “Indict 17 Negro Rioters,” New York Times, August 5, 1919.
69 the most fair-minded man The Chicago Defender, quoted in “Judge Robert E. Crowe: His Platform and Record of Achievements,” 5.
69 presided over a special grand jury “Haywood Surrenders; Bail Fixed at $10,000,” New York Times, January 6, 1920; “Indict Leaders of Communists,” New York Times, January 22, 1920; “Rose Pastor Stokes Indicted in Chicago,” New York Times, January 24, 1920.
69 the sixth largest German city Douglas Bukowski, Big Bill Thompson, Chicago, and the Politics of Image (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998), 62.
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70 the same glow of pride Swanberg, “The Fabulous Boom of Bayano,” 20 (see chap. 1 notes). Descriptions of suite 629 are based on press reports.
70 MADE FROM THE FIRST LOG Ibid.
71 YES, WE HAVE NO BAYANO “Koretz Dupes Get $400,000,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 14, 1923.
71 Each step you take in The Drake Quotations and descriptions of the Drake are drawn from Robert V. Allegrini, Chicago’s Grand Hotels: The Palmer House, Hilton, the Drake, and the Hilton Chicago (Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2005), 57–67; and The Blackstone and The Drake 1924, 34, 69, 134 (see chap. 1 notes).
71 Real millionaires “‘Love-Making’ Role Not in Leo Koretz’ Swindling Scheme,” Chicago Evening American, December 18, 1923.
71 I casually mentioned that oil “Koretz Tells Detailed Story of How He Worked Swindle,” Chicago Herald and Examiner, December 2, 1924.
72 They began to besiege me “10 Year Prison Term Confronts Koretz,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 3, 1924.
72 They thrust it on me “Koretz Admits 18 Years of Swindling,” Chicago Herald and Examiner, December 2, 1924.
72 this amount would be doubled “Launch World-Wide Hunt for Koretz, Who Swindled Chicago Business Men Out of Millions,” Chicago Evening Post, December 13, 1923.
73 Hooray! Look what I just got “Koretz N.Y. Victims Found,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 17, 1923; and “Say Koretz Planned Christmas ‘Clean-up,’” New York Times, December 17, 1923.
73 much persuasion “More Participators Tell Experiences with Koretz,” Chicago Evening American, December 15, 1923.
73 Now, look here, Leo “Koretz N.Y. Victims Found,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 17, 1923.
74 Questions were asked of me “Koretz on Stand Tells How He Worked Swindle,” Chicago Evening American, December 2, 1924.
74 prosperity band-wagon rolled along Frederick Lewis Allen, Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the Nineteen-Twenties (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1931), 181.
74 There is radio music Quoted in ibid., 78.
74 new age of locomotion “Life in Chicago Streets,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 29, 1923.
75 YOU SHOULD HAVE $10,000 William E. Leuchtenburg, The Perils of Prosperity, 1914–32 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958), 9.
75 It’s a racket Quoted in Roger M. Olien and Diana Davids Olien, Easy Money: Oil Promoters and Investors in the Jazz Age (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990), 11.
76 America is running through Christopher Tugendhat and Adrian Hamilton, Oil: The Biggest Business, rev. ed. (London: Eyre Methuen, 1975), 74–75, 77–78.
76 stark, staring, oil mad Quoted in Jules Tygiel, The Great Los Angeles Swindle: Oil, Stocks, and Scandal during the Roaring Twenties (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 14.
77 for more concentrated robbery Allen, Only Yesterday, 154. Harding’s creation of the word normalcy for normality is noted on
p. 126.
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78 They must, first of all Edwin H. Sutherland, The Professional Thief: By a Professional Thief (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1937), 56, n. 13.
78 live a chameleon existence Frank W. Abagnale, The Art of the Steal: How to Protect Yourself and Your Business from Fraud, America’s #1 Crime (New York: Broadway Books, 2001), 5, 14, 20.
79 must be able to make anyone David W. Maurer, The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man (New York: Anchor Books, 1999), 143.
79 must have something loveable Sutherland, The Professional Thief, vii.
79 would have propelled them Introduction to Maurer, The Big Con, ix–x.
79 an enterprising New Yorker The New York Herald coined the term in its coverage of Thompson’s fraud. See Gary Lindberg, The Confidence Man in American Literature (New York: Oxford University Press, 1982), 6; and Richard Rayner, Drake’s Fortune: The Fabulous True Story of the World’s Greatest Confidence Artist (New York: Doubleday, 2002), 47–48.
79 is a covert cultural hero Lindberg, The Confidence Man in American Literature, 3.
79 It is a good thing Ibid., 6 (emphasis in original).
80 They wanted something for nothing Quoted in the afterword to J. R. Weil and W. T. Brannon, Con Man: A Master Swindler’s Own Story (New York: Broadway Books, 2004), 329.
80 Nobody … would ever be eager Ben Hecht, Gaily, Gaily (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1963), 196–97.
81 We all crave easy money Quoted in Mitchell Zuckoff, Ponzi’s Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend (New York: Random House, 2005), 108.
81 PONZI HAD NOTHING ON LEO Halifax Herald, November 25, 1924, republished in the Halifax Evening Mail, November 25, 1924.
82 the whole thing falls down Sutherland, The Professional Thief, 62, n. 22.
82 There is never enough money Charles P. Kindleberger, Manias, Panics and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises (New York: Basic Books, 1978), 35.
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83 Four Reasons Why “What Is the Duty of the State’s Attorney? … Who Is the Man Judge Robert E. Crowe?” (1920). Campaign pamphlet preserved in the Wisconsin Historical Society Library Pamphlet Collection, Madison, WI, pp. 12–13.
84 I was just tired of her Quoted in Michael Lesy, Murder City: The Bloody History of Chicago in the Twenties (New York: W.W. Norton, 2007), 14.
84 regrettable error Quoted in Baatz, For the Thrill of It, 213–14 (see chap. 8 notes).
84 an asinine finding Ibid.
84 entirely unbefitting Ibid.
84 Justice has been done “Decree Noose for Wanderer, ‘Boob’s’ Killer,” Chicago Daily Tribune, March 19, 1921.
84 It is the finality Robert E. Crowe, “Capital Punishment Protects Society,” Forum, February 1925, reproduced in The Death Penalty: Opposing Viewpoints, 2nd ed., ed. Carol Wekesser (San Diego: Greenhaven, 1991), 41–46.
85 Cook County is extremely fortunate Quoted in Lesy, Murder City, 73.
85 referring to him as Judge Crowe For instance, see Clarence Darrow’s references to him at the Leopold and Loeb sentencing hearing, reproduced in Clarence Darrow, Attorney for the Damned (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1957), 30, 67. See also “Robert E. Crowe, Prosecutor, Dead,” New York Times, January 20, 1958.
85 Fighting Bob “Robert Crowe Services Set for Tomorrow,” Chicago Daily Tribune, January 20, 1958.
86 the most remarkable attempt “The Conspiracy That Failed,” Chicago Daily Tribune, April 20, 1923, reproduced in A Century of Tribune Editorials, 94 (see chap. 2 notes).
86 The end of the Lundin-Thompson Quoted in Bukowski, Big Bill Thompson, 133 (see chap. 8 notes).
86 Reports and rumors reaching me Quoted in Lindberg, To Serve and Collect, 169 (see chap. 2 notes).
86 my efforts to close hell-holes Wooddy, The Chicago Primary of 1926, 29 (see chap. 8 notes).
86 refer to Crowe as “Bobby” Ibid.
87 suspicion and cobwebs Bukowski, Big Bill Thompson, 140 (see chap. 8 notes).
87 difficult to refuse a favor Wooddy, The Chicago Primary of 1926, 12 (see chap. 8 notes).
87 as corrupt as the Thompson-Lundin Ibid., 98–101. Wooddy sets out allegations of corruption and patronage leveled against the Crowe-Barrett faction in detail.
87 call a halt to killing Quoted in Lesy, Murder City, 106.
88 caught fast trains “Raid Chicago Bucket Shops,” New York Times, June 3, 1923.
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89 touted his latest project The mocked-up page was reproduced in Chicago Daily Tribune’s December 17, 1923, edition under the headline “Koretz’s Wife to Tell Her Story to Referee Today.”
89 We were told that the big five “Launch World-Wide Hunt for Koretz, Who Swindled Chicago Business Men Out of Millions,” Chicago Evening Post, December 13, 1923.
90 When you wish the Bayano Leo Koretz to Alex Fitzhugh, June 7, 1923, reproduced on p. 6 of the grand jury indictment, dated February 1924, in United States v. Leo Koretz (see chap. 1 notes).
90 That is simply astounding Alex Fitzhugh to Leo Koretz, September 11, 1923, quoted in “Order ‘Koretz Plane’ Stopped,” Chicago Daily Journal, December 13, 1923.
90 All our boats are in “Claims Koretz Gave Wife Cash,” Chicago Herald and Examiner, December 28, 1923.
90 was interested in oil enterprises Affidavit of Basil Curran, dated June 16, 1924, filed in In the Matter of Leo Koretz, Bankrupt (Chicago) (see chap. 1 notes).
91 who were rich Robert A. M. Stern, Gregory Gilmartin, and John Massengale, New York 1900: Metropolitan Architecture and Urbanism, 1890–1915 (New York: Rizzoli, 1983), 261, 267.
91 neither the Grand Dukes Christopher Gray, “A Grand Hotel Recalls Its Roots,” New York Times, May 29, 2005.
92 He talked perpetually “N.Y. Victims of Koretz Say He Is There,” Chicago Evening American, December 17, 1923.
92 the wives of wealthy husbands “Arrest Mrs. Auerbach, Is Police Order,” Chicago Daily News, December 17, 1923; and “N.Y. Woman Tells of Tip on Flight of Promoter,” Chicago Evening American, December 17, 1923.
93 I thought he was just kind “Order ‘Koretz Plane’ Stopped,” Chicago Daily Journal, December 13, 1923.
93 He was a very kind man “More Participators Tell Experiences with Koretz,” Chicago Evening American, December 15, 1923.
93 of the rosy outlook “Launch World-Wide Hunt for Koretz, Who Swindled Chicago Business Men Out of Millions,” Chicago Evening Post, December 13, 1923.
93 an official of Standard Oil Investigators found Loomis’s June 9, 1923, letter to Matthews in Leo’s office in the Majestic Building in December 1923. It was reproduced in the Chicago Evening American’s December 14, 1923, edition, under the headline “Koretz Fled with Million in Boat; Hunt Woman Accomplice.”
94 By the way, judge Accounts of Leo’s conversations with Fisher are based on the following press interviews with the judge: “Wife’s Advice Keeps Judge from Quitting Bench for Koretz Job,” Chicago Evening American, December 15, 1923; “Judge Exposes Koretz Plot,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 16, 1923; “Koretz N.Y. Victims Found,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 17, 1923; “Lambs Sought Out Koretz and Begged for a Shearing; Got It,” Chicago Daily Journal, December 13, 1923.
95 the fundamental right Time Capsule/1923, 198 (see chap. 7 notes).
96 I want men “Oil Swindle Nets Millions,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 13, 1923.
96 I knew when they got there “Koretz Tells Detailed Story of How He Worked Swindle,” Chicago Herald and Examiner, December 2, 1924.
96 It doesn’t seem possible Ibid.
97 I talked Bayano “‘Guilty’: To Be Koretz Plea,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 2, 1924.
97 I knew the bubble would burst “10 Year Prison Term Confronts Koretz,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 3, 1924.
97 The losses had become so heavy “Koretz Admits 18 Years of Swindling,” Chicago Herald and Examiner, December 2, 1924.
97 I was disgusted “10 Year Prison Term Confronts Kore
tz,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 3, 1924.
98 we do not want to lose “Koretz Fled with Million in Boat; Hunt Woman Accomplice,” Chicago Evening American, December 14, 1923.
98 asked the State Bank The transactions that follow were reported in “Koretz Loot May Be $7,000,000,” Chicago Herald and Examiner, December 14, 1923; “Koretz Dupes Get $400,000,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 14, 1923; “Koretz Fled with Million in Boat; Hunt Woman Accomplice,” Chicago Evening American, December 14, 1923; and “Bootlegging Trail Leads Up to Koretz,” Chicago Daily News, December 18, 1923.
98 I knew it was all over “Koretz Tells Detailed Story of How He Worked Swindle,” Chicago Herald and Examiner, December 2, 1924.
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99 an attractive brunette This episode was widely reported. See, for instance, “Girl Offers Koretz Clue,” Chicago Evening Post, December 14, 1923.
100 Three of the six men Biographical information on members of the Bayano inspection group is drawn from the following press reports: “Oil Swindle Nets Millions,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 13, 1923; “Launch World-Wide Hunt for Koretz, Who Swindled Chicago Business Men Out of Millions,” Chicago Evening Post, December 13, 1923; “Here’s Story of Koretz, Business Hypnotist,” Chicago Evening American, December 14, 1923; “Cashed 40 Checks for $400,000,” Chicago Evening American, December 15, 1923; “Panama Never Heard of Wily Mr. Leo Koretz,” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 16, 1923; “Back from Bayanoland,” Chicago Daily News, December 18, 1923; and “Order ‘Koretz Plane’ Stopped,” Chicago Daily Journal, December 13, 1923.
100 I didn’t know just what “Chicagoans Sent to Big Paying Jobs, Borrow Carfare,” Chicago Evening American, December 18, 1923.
101 live like kings “Koretz Dupes Found a River,” Chicago Herald and Examiner, December 18, 1923.
101 He told us he wanted “Koretz Found, Belief of U.S. Authorities,” Chicago Daily News, December 19, 1923.
101 BON VOYAGE “Reveal Plan of Wizard to Buy Yacht ‘Speejacks,’” Chicago Evening American, December 18, 1923.