by Amy Reading
6 “Humbug—the Mermaid—and no mistake”: New York Herald, August 11, 1842.
7 When the Herald announced: New York Herald, August 14, 1842.
8 “If the whole world”: Melville, “View of the Barnum Property,” p. 448.
9 “spurious relics”: James, Autobiography, pp. 94, 95. Emphasis mine.
10 “an ugly, dried-up”: Barnum, Life of P. T. Barnum, p. 212.
11 “continually finds himself”: Weschler, Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder, p. 60.
12 “a peculiar and masterly way”: Harris, Humbug, p. 56.
13 “like a revolving Drummond light”: Melville, Confidence-Man, p. 282.
14 “putting on glittering appearances”: Barnum, Humbugs of the World, pp. 8–9.
15 “Is this advertised commodity”: Cook, Arts of Deception, p. 103.
16 “vernacular philosophy”: Lears, “Birth of Irony,” p. 50.
17 There is no attempt to conceal: Staiti, “Illusionism, Trompe l’Oeil, and the Perils of Viewership,” p. 35.
18 “Your name was sent to me”: New York Times, November 25, 1887.
19 “I am dealing in articles”: Quoted in Gilfoyle, Pickpocket’s Tale, p. 212.
20 One steerer: Ibid., p. 204.
21 “I will trust you”: New York Times, November 25, 1887.
22 Another version was the “gold brick” swindle: New York Times, May 4, 1881.
23 Gerber suggested they return: State of Texas v. John Gerber, May 10, 1920.
24 Certainly it happened before: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 23, 1919.
25 The proceedings were routine: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 10, 1920.
26 Norfleet was standing: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 13, 1920.
27 “Some of the facts recited”: Brown, Judge Looks at Life, p. 46.
28 “a sombrero and a corduroy suit”: Mexia Evening News, January 25, 1921.
29 And yet, just a few days later: Lubbock Avalanche, May 20, 1920.
30 Within eleven days: Lubbock Avalanche, May 13 and 20, 1920.
31 “Ten years—the limit”: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 9, 1920.
32 The day he was to stand trial: Dallas Morning News, November 12, 1920.
33 The Associated Press article: The article does not appear in any of the Panhandle newspapers, including the Plainview Daily Herald, the Lubbock Avalanche, The Dallas Morning News, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, nor can it be found in any of the minor and major newspapers around the nation whose holdings have been digitally archived.
34 Mrs. J. F. Norfleet joined her husband: Plainview Evening Herald, December 12 and 29, 1919.
35 “He thinks himself philosophic”: Barnum, Humbugs of the World, pp. 16–17.
36 “It is a good thing”: Quoted in Bergmann, “Original Confidence Man,” p. 566.
CHAPTER FIVE
Double-Crossings
1 He sold the cattle at $23.75: Norfleet, Norfleet (1927), pp. 150–51.
2 Only a few weeks earlier: Los Angeles Times, February 1, 1921.
3 Anderson was an officer: Oakland Tribune, March 3, 1921.
4 “Chief Lips entered the department”: Los Angeles Express, April 7, 1906.
5 Anderson appeared puzzled: Modesto Evening News, March 3, 1921.
6 As Norfleet would later learn: Los Angeles Times, March 4, 1921; and Norfleet, Norfleet (1924), pp. 199–201.
7 After their indictment: San Francisco Chronicle, March 4, 1921.
8 “We were tempted and we fell”: Modesto Evening News, April 6, 1921.
9 “It seems this statement”: Los Angeles Times, April 7, 1921.
10 “a small, compact, quiet-looking”: Los Angeles Times, June 17, 1921.
11 “Her recital of the sacrifice”: Oxnard Daily Courier, June 17, 1921.
12 The defense rested: Los Angeles Times, June 23, 1921.
13 The decision was appealed: People v. Walter Lips; People v. W. J. Anderson; Modesto Evening News, April 19, 1922.
CHAPTER SIX
A Small History of the Big Con
1 “internationally known”: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 14, 1921.
2 “one of the smartest”: Oakland Tribune, March 2, 1928.
3 “one of the most dangerous”: San Francisco Chronicle, February 14, 1913.
4 as soon as he was able: Ibid.
5 In the first decade: Trenton Sunday Advertiser, July 19, 1908.
6 “well known to the police”: San Francisco Chronicle, December 10, 1904.
7 One son, John: Portland Morning Oregonian, August 25, 1909.
8 One of them would befriend: San Francisco Call, September 15, 1903.
9 He “died” by gunshot: San Francisco Chronicle, December 10, 1904.
10 He kept getting arrested: Los Angeles Times, March 16, 1912; San Francisco Chronicle, April 24, 1914; and Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 22, 1921.
11 Over the objections: Ruby and Brown, Spokane Indians, pp. 238–43.
12 Joseph Furey was the first: Portland Morning Oregonian, August 14, 1909.
13 Seattle-area newspapers: Portland Morning Oregonian, August 24 and 26, 1909.
14 Edward Clifford left: San Francisco Chronicle, February 14, 1913.
15 And yet just ten days: Los Angeles Times, February 14, 1913; Nevada State Journal, February 20, 1913; and San Jose Mercury News, February 23, 1913.
16 The following year, Joseph: Davenport Democrat and Leader, August 11, 1922.
17 “the greatest gambling place”: Dodge, How We Built the Union Pacific Railway, pp. 53, 116.
18 “a carefully set up”: Maurer, Big Con, pp. 5–11.
19 He set up some tables: Roenfield, “Benjamin Marks and the Hog Ranch.”
20 In 1898, he built: Smetana, History of Lake Manawa, pp. 120–21.
21 Mary’s refinement: Ibid., pp. 136–47.
22 Marks joined forces: Raymond A. Smith, Jr., “John C. Mabray,” pp. 123–39.
23 “Owing to a change”: Hawkins, Mabray and the Mikes, pp. 37–38.
24 “Play of 49”: Ibid., pp. 54–55.
25 Once the detectives: Makris, Silent Investigators, pp. 120–23.
26 Ben Marks was also tried: New York Times, December 19, 1911.
27 But the long trial: Daily Nonpareil, April 26, 1919.
28 One of them was Joseph: Hawkins, Mabray and the Mikes, p. 113.
29 “department store of gambling”: Richard C. Lindberg, Gambler King of Clark Street, pp. 34–53.
30 At a young age, McDonald : Ibid., pp. 11–13, 32, 39.
31 Most important, the Store: Ibid., pp. 29–30.
32 McDonald never held office: Asbury, Gem of the Prairie, pp. 142–51.
33 Coughlin and Kenna ran: Abbott, Sin in the Second City, pp. 161–74.
34 “one of Chicago’s landmarks”: Chicago Daily Tribune, October 31, 1917.
35 “Mr. Weil wore blue”: Chicago Daily Tribune, November 21, 1917.
36 When Mrs. Anna J. Weil sailed: Chicago Daily Tribune, October 27, 1918.
37 “Why they say he lost”: Chicago Daily Tribune, January 6, 1918.
38 In that instance, Weil’s: Richard C. Lindberg, Gambler King of Clark Street, p. 227.
39 “Mr. Furey’s chances”: Chicago Daily Tribune, November 15, 1918.
40 According to his self-mythologizing: Weil and Brannon, Con Man, pp. 20–40. 114 “the glass of fashion”: New York Times, September 10, 1907.
41 Jay Robert Nash: Nash, Hustlers and Con Men, pp. 256–57; and New York Times, July 21, 1907. See also “Passing of the Wireless Wire-Tappers,” pp. 363–64.
42 An obscure con man: Chicago Daily Tribune, August 23, 1905.
43 But the real inventor: Washington Post, January 15, 1905.
44 Bookmakers all across the country: New York Times, December 21, 1885.
45 In 1896, a well-coordinated: Chicago Daily Tribune, March 15, 1896.
46 “perhaps not a half dozen”: New-York Tribune, March 17, 1896.
47
“When the workmen”: Washington Post, April 5, 1896.
48 Similar exposés: See, for instance, National Police Gazette, March 29, 1902; and Los Angeles Times, September 14, 1902.
49 “valuable telegraphic equipment”: Chicago Daily Tribune, September 29, 1896.
50 As late as 1902: Los Angeles Times, September 14, 1902.
51 In 1905, a consortium: New-York Tribune, February 8, 1905.
52 “well known about the Tenderloin”: New York Times, April 20, 1907.
53 Like Weil, Fred and Charley: Asbury, Gem of the Prairie, p. 150.
54 Even after Walker: Hartford Courant, July 29, 1908.
55 “one of the shrewdest”: Hoover, “Man with the Magic Wallet,” p. 44.
56 Joseph Furey learned it: Nash, Great Pictorial History of World Crime, p. 411.
57 He contacted a plastic surgeon: Collins, FBI in Peace and War, p. 18.
58 “The trick by which he”: Hoover, “Man with the Magic Wallet,” p. 73.
59 In the mid-1930s: Nash, Great Pictorial History of World Crime, pp. 416–17.
60 publicly forswore con artistry: Bellow, “Talk with the Yellow Kid,” p. 41.
61 “I see how despicable”: “Yellow Kid Returns,” p. 20.
62 One time Nash came: Nash, Great Pictorial History of World Crime, p. 418.
63 “Crooked money disappears”: Sharpe, Chicago May, p. 1.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The Con Never Dies
1 But Norfleet couldn’t help notice: Norfleet, Norfleet (1927), pp. 188–91.
2 “Have Joe Furey”: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 22, 1921.
3 “Furey jumped through”: Ibid.
4 On January 24, 1921: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 25, 1921.
5 It was discovered: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 22 and 29, 1921.
6 “I can go back now”: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 6, 1921.
7 He made a full confession: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 3, 1921.
8 Furey hobbled into court: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 14, 1921.
9 he hobbled from the county jail: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March, 20, 1921.
10 As if resigned: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 18, 1921.
11 In May, just a few weeks: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 9, 1921.
12 Three days later, Governor: Los Angeles Times, May 9, 1921.
13 “Prison authorities said”: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 12, 1921.
14 According to legend: Wichita Daily Times, July 31, 1922.
15 On July 29, 1922: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 29, 1922.
16 Because his wife had long: Wichita Daily Times, July 31, 1922.
17 It was a deputy: Los Angeles Times, August 5, 1922.
18 “Some day you will read”: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 5, 1922.
19 Woolwine telegrammed District Attorney Brown: Brown, Judge Looks at Life, p. 46.
20 “I doubt it”: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 5, 1922.
21 “I’d hate to be as dead”: Reno Evening Gazette, August 5, 1922.
22 No, make that stomach: Ogden Standard-Examiner, August 6, 1922.
23 The New York Times mentioned: Oakland Tribune, August 5, 1922; and New York Times, August 6, 1922.
24 The undertaking firm: San Francisco Chronicle, August 6, 1922.
25 It was soon revealed: Los Angeles Times, August 7, 1922.
26 She was named administratrix: Los Angeles Times, August 10, 1922.
27 “Joe Furey is dead”: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 11, 1922.
28 “The king of bunco men”: Waterloo Evening Courier and Reporter, August 11, 1922.
29 “Tell this committee”: Dallas Morning News, February 10, 1925.
30 Six years after his death: Reno Evening Gazette, March 1, 1928.
31 “Furey is dead and buried”: Oakland Tribune, March 2, 1928.
32 “Joe Furey had been ‘dead’ ”: San Antonio Light, March 4, 1928.
33 Days later, in October 1921: Lubbock Avalanche, October 27, 1921.
34 Norfleet found himself in a race: Atlanta Constitution, October 21 and 22, 1921.
35 Norfleet and Flynn personally: Lubbock Avalanche, October 27, 1921.
36 His obituary remembered him: Jefferson City Post-Tribune, July 10, 1933.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Making of a Confidence Kingpin
1 The ranch was in dire straits: Norfleet, Norfleet (1927), pp. 298–99.
2 “short, rotund, affable”: Parkhill, Wildest of the West, p. 98.
3 “always a big-hearted”: Denver Post, April 21, 1924.
4 “generous and kind”: Denver Times, April 22, 1924.
5 “He would peel off”: Denver Post, April 21, 1924.
6 The mine had quickly proved: Colorado Springs Gazette, January 30, 1909, and November 5, 1911.
7 Each Saturday morning: Rocky Mountain News, April 21, 1923.
8 In the evenings: Parkhill, Wildest of the West, p. 98.
9 The ropers, spielers, and bookmakers: File folder 4, p. 35, Maiden Papers.
10 As early as 1895: Rocky Mountain News, October 17, 1895.
11 “the recognized leader”: Denver Times, July 1, 1901.
12 By the 1920s: Van Cise, Fighting the Underworld, p. 261; and Goodstein, Seamy Side of Denver, p. 124.
13 They’d work in Florida: File folder 20, p. 5, Maiden Papers.
14 In the 1920s, the newspapers called him: See, for instance, Denver Post, March 29, 1923.
15 He had come a long way: Blonger Bros., “True History of the Famous Blonger Bros.”
16 Between 1860 and 1870: Barth, Instant Cities, pp. viii, 135.
17 “crowding a century”: Quoted in ibid., p. 128.
18 The first thing a miner: Goodstein, Seamy Side of Denver, p. 23.
19 “a fleet of old shoes”: Rocky Mountain News, July 15, 1890.
20 “Ladies and gentlemen”: Roy D. White oral history. Mr. White was trained by Soapy Smith as a young man.
21 Afterward, they’d further sweeten: Dorset, New Eldorado, p. 394.
22 “non-ordained preacher”: Quoted in Goodstein, Seamy Side of Denver, p. 116.
23 “Winnings: $4,087”: Jeff Smith, Alias Soapy Smith, p. 128.
24 “After a man once comes”: Rocky Mountain News, September 8, 1893.
25 The Palace Theatre: Noel, City and the Saloon, pp. 37–38.
26 Chase hired a string: Joseph Emerson Smith, “Personal Recollections of Early Denver,” p. 14.
27 “a thoroughly tough, hard place”: Quoted in Secrest, Hell’s Belles, p. 136.
28 The two men coexisted: Jeff Smith, Alias Soapy Smith, p. 79.
29 From his tenure: Noel, City and the Saloon, p. 39; and Secrest, Hell’s Belles, p. 60.
30 By 1886, the fix: Secrest, Hell’s Belles, p. 149.
31 Police regularly staged raids: Rocky Mountain News, January 4, 1896.
32 He quickly went to work: Rocky Mountain News, March 20, 1890.
33 They owned it jointly: Rocky Mountain News, October 11, 1892.
34 “17th Streeters”: Whitacre, Denver Club, pp. 1–7.
35 One visitor to Denver: King, A Mine to Make a Mine, p. 28.
36 Even the 17th Streeters: Barth, Instant Cities, p. 147.
37 But the ore specimens: King, A Mine to Make a Mine, pp. 33–34, 60–61.
38 Colonists had used lotteries: Findlay, People of Chance, pp. 31–32. See also Fabian, Card Sharps, Dream Books, and Bucket Shops, pp. 113–28; and Lears, Something for Nothing, p. 70.
39 At the end of the eighteenth century: Chafetz, Play the Devil, p. 41.
40 By 1815, every town: Fabian, Card Sharps, Dream Books, and Bucket Shops, p. 114.
41 In 1830, there were only: Gordon, Empire of Wealth, p. 150.
42 In 1835, only three railroads: Ibid., pp. 148–50.
43 A full third of the tracks: Fraser, Every Man a Speculator, pp. 112, 120.
44 If, at the beginning: Zelizer, Morals
and Markets, p. 88; and Lears, Something for Nothing, pp. 97–146.
45 At the beginning of the war: Gordon, Empire of Wealth, p. 193.
46 “What do you think”: Sobel, Panic on Wall Street, p. 136.
47 Norvin Green, the president: Chandler, Nation Transformed by Information, p. 79; and U.S. Congress, Postal Telegraphs, p. 30.
48 In his private correspondence: King, A Mine to Make a Mine, pp. 61, 73, 77–78.
49 A customer would enter: Hochfelder, “ ‘Where the Common People Could Speculate,’ ” pp. 342–43.
50 While he waited: Teague, “Bucket-Shop Sharks,” p. 35.
51 What happened next: Fabian, Card Sharps, Dream Books, and Bucket Shops, p. 192; and Hochfelder, “ ‘Where the Common People Could Speculate,’ ” p. 344.
52 In the event: Lefèvre, “Bucket Shop Education,” p. 77.
53 And rival bucket shops: Geisst, Wheels of Fortune, p. 56.
54 “so infected with illegality”: Hochfelder, “ ‘Where the Common People Could Speculate,’ ” p. 351.
55 In just a few pithy phrases: Board of Trade of the City of Chicago v. Christie Grain and Stock Company.
56 As Christie pointed out: Christie, “Bucket-Shop vs. Board of Trade,” pp. 707–13.
57 The first official to win: Los Angeles Times, July 9, 1925.
58 Woolwine and his counterparts: Hochfelder, “ ‘Where the Common People Could Speculate,’ ” pp. 354–55.
59 In 1913, New York: New York Times, May 16, 1913; and Hochfelder, “ ‘Where the Common People Could Speculate,’ ” p. 355.
60 In Denver, they would not: Rocky Mountain News, May 13, 1919.
61 “sporty municipality”: Rocky Mountain News, August 6, 1895.
62 The Blongers were squeezed: Boulder Daily Camera, September 26, 1891; and Denver Times, April 7, 1892.
63 “You put that money”: Denver Times, January 11, 1921.
64 True to his word: Aspen Weekly Times, April 26, 1894.
65 Next, he arrested Ed Chase: Rocky Mountain News, May 8, 1894.
66 The following month: Denver Republican, May 11, 1894.
67 “moral, social, and legal”: New York Times, November 28, 1894.
68 “many buildings and parts of buildings”: Quoted in Knapp, “Making an Orderly Society,” p. 134.
69 Rumor had it: See Jeff Smith, Alias Soapy Smith, pp. 356–58, for a discussion of Soapy Smith’s attribution of the petition to Lou Blonger.