American Outlaws: King Con
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Zevon Odelberg is a true crime podcast host and disability advocate. Zevon has cerebral palsy and he wants Kinda Murdery to be welcoming community for people with disabilities and for people living with challenges of any kind. Life can be hard, but being together makes it better.
Speaker 1: Warning, Kind of Murdery contains adult themes, explicit language, and
Speaker 1: descriptions of violence. It is not suitable for anyone, and
Speaker 1: we recommend you stop listening now.
Speaker 2: True crime with a dash of the paranormal, the garish,
Speaker 2: the strange in the darkly comic. A podcast that's about
Speaker 2: more than just murder. It's my very own pocket dimension,
Speaker 2: home to a curated collection of bizarre and compelling stories,
Speaker 2: the unsolved, the unsettling, and the unbelievable. I cover it
Speaker 2: all just so long as it's kind of murdery. Hello, everybody,
Speaker 2: welcome to Kind of Murdery. I'm your host, Zevin Odelberg,
Speaker 2: and I am so happy to have you here with me.
Speaker 2: These days, I don't know if it's because people have
Speaker 2: no attention span or what, but you'll see a top
Speaker 2: ten list, right and it'll start at number one and
Speaker 2: then go to number ten. I actually hate that, because
Speaker 2: I like the suspense of working my way from ten
Speaker 2: or one hundred or whatever it is up to one.
Speaker 2: But nevertheless, I'm gonna commit that same sin today because
Speaker 2: we are starting not with some little known confidence man,
Speaker 2: not with some anonymous grifter, but with arguably the most
Speaker 2: famous grifter in the history of grifting, and everybody knows
Speaker 2: that that is a profession that goes back almost as
Speaker 2: far as the oldest one. That's right. The subject of
Speaker 2: today's story is none other than Charles Ponzi himself. But
Speaker 2: I'm not here to tell you the story of how
Speaker 2: he invented the pyramid scheme exactly, So I'm not here
Speaker 2: to tell you the central Ponzi story. No, this is
Speaker 2: a tale of Charles Ponzi on the lamb, Charles Ponzie
Speaker 2: running from the law years after he was initially busted
Speaker 2: for defraud so many investors. That's right, it is time
Speaker 2: kind of murdery starts now. Charles Ponzi had escaped over
Speaker 2: land and sea. Wireless messages were dispatched by frantic officials
Speaker 2: at police headquarters and from the Attorney General's office in Boston, Massachusetts. Ponzi,
Speaker 2: the dapper Italian quote financial wizard of School Street, was
Speaker 2: wanted by the police back in nineteen nineteen. Everybody knew
Speaker 2: Charles Ponzi. His name was on the tongue of almost
Speaker 2: every man and woman in the United States. He had
Speaker 2: come to this country to make money. He had peddled fruit,
Speaker 2: waited on tables, worked as a clerk, and incidentally, which
Speaker 2: was not so widely known, had served time at Atlanta
Speaker 2: Federal Penitentiary for smuggling Chinese nationals. Now, he declared he'd
Speaker 2: gotten hold of the big idea, and this big idea
Speaker 2: was so vast, so audacious in conception, that the financial
Speaker 2: world stood aghast. It seemed impossible, a mad figment of
Speaker 2: the imagination. Ponzi, it was rumored, had started his career
Speaker 2: on a five cent postage stamp, but whether that was
Speaker 2: true or not, he now rolled up a business based
Speaker 2: upon the profits said to have accrued from the difference
Speaker 2: in value between foreign and domestic exchange notes in international
Speaker 2: reply coupons, which called for payments aggregating the stupendous amount
Speaker 2: of fourteen million dollars. Charles Ponzie promised a profit of
Speaker 2: fifty percent in forty five days. Money poured in so
Speaker 2: fast that it had to be stored in waste baskets.
Speaker 2: Vehicular traffic on School Street was stopped for two days
Speaker 2: while investors with fistsful of money fought to get into
Speaker 2: Ponzy's office. Police were called to keep the crowds in line.
Speaker 2: Charles Ponzi was riding on top of the world. He
Speaker 2: bought a magnificent house in Lexington, Massachusetts. He drove about
Speaker 2: in an expensive limousine. He installed a staff of servants
Speaker 2: at his home, and bought his wife magnificent Saint jewels.
Speaker 2: Somebody named a five cent cigar after him. It was
Speaker 2: even intimated that he might run for the office of
Speaker 2: governor of Massachusetts. Then the governor, always inconsiderate in cases
Speaker 2: of this kind, grew Suspicious investigations were started. Investors who
Speaker 2: had mortgaged homes and automobiles to get in on this
Speaker 2: get rich quick scheme grew alarmed. A run started, but
Speaker 2: the first notes presented for payment were promptly paid. More
Speaker 2: money poured into Ponzi's coffers. Policemen who were called to
Speaker 2: quell a near riot stayed and invested. Officials became frankly puzzled.
Speaker 2: Ponzi claimed he had secret agents stationed in all countries,
Speaker 2: buying international reply coupons in ways in which it would
Speaker 2: be impossible to trace. Foreign countries became worried. It looked
Speaker 2: as though existing financial standards of interest might be turned
Speaker 2: topsy Turvy investigators hesitated about calling Ponzi's scheme fraudulent. They
Speaker 2: honestly didn't know, but he might have discovered some secret
Speaker 2: way of manipulating the foreign exchange. However, patient investigation and
Speaker 2: proved his operations to be fraudulent, and the crash came.
Speaker 2: Ponsey was convicted of using the mails to defraud and
Speaker 2: received a sentence of five years. The Hanover Trust Company
Speaker 2: and several other Boston banks closed as a result of
Speaker 2: these wild speculations. Investors who'd made enormous profits were forced
Speaker 2: to make restitution. Ponzi himself went to jail. When released,
Speaker 2: he was re arrested and faced state indictment. There were
Speaker 2: more trials and more delays. Ponzi went to Florida and
Speaker 2: announced to the world that he would sell house lots
Speaker 2: at ten dollars a lot to pay back his investors.
Speaker 2: Money flowed in and more trouble followed. He was ordered
Speaker 2: back to Massachusetts to stand trial and mysteriously disappeared. The
Speaker 2: manhunt was on. Charles Ponzi had become a fugitive from justice.
Speaker 2: Once again. The Wizard occupied front page space in all
Speaker 2: the newspapers. There were plenty of rumors concerning his whereabouts.
Speaker 2: Most of these rumors were carefully investigated. It was said
Speaker 2: he had entertained at a roadhouse in New Hampshire. Late
Speaker 2: he had vanished in the direction of the Canadian border,
Speaker 2: driving an expensive, speedy roadster. Others said he was in Florida.
Speaker 2: There were reports he'd been seen in Paris, and one
Speaker 2: correspondent even insisted that he was in Rome. It began
Speaker 2: to look as though Charles Ponzi had well and truly
Speaker 2: escaped in Boston. Disgruntled and disillusioned investor's demanded action. Police
Speaker 2: Inspector John F. Mitchell was assigned to the case. Meanwhile,
Speaker 2: down on the Gulf of Mexico, the Sick Boss Don Vobis,
Speaker 2: a foreign ship flying the Italian flag, was leisurely making
Speaker 2: her way towards Galveston, the last port of call before
Speaker 2: returning to Italy. By the way, sik vos non vobis
Speaker 2: is Latin for you work but not for yourselves. On
Speaker 2: board the Sick Voss, disguised as a waiter, was Charles Ponzi,
Speaker 2: himself international man of mystery. He had Austin Powers beat.
Speaker 2: By about seventy five some odd years, Ponzi had escaped
Speaker 2: the man hunt by a very clever sk those were,
Speaker 2: after all, clever schemes, I mean, his true core competence.
Speaker 2: So here was the scheme. When news came that Ponzi
Speaker 2: was wanted back in Massachusetts, he was in Tampa, Florida.
Speaker 2: By luck, he happened to meet an old friend of
Speaker 2: his from Boston, one Italian Joe, to whom he explained
Speaker 2: his plight. I'll do my best, Joe promised him. But
Speaker 2: I don't know what that'll be. Lie low for a
Speaker 2: time and I'll see what I can do. A little later,
Speaker 2: Joe sought Ponzi again. This time his face was wreathed
Speaker 2: in smiles. I think it can be arranged, he said.
Speaker 2: There's an Italian ship in Port, the sick Voss von Voebis.
Speaker 2: She's returning to Italy within several weeks. I think I
Speaker 2: can get you a job on her on board as
Speaker 2: a waiter. Shall I try? Yes, Yes, said Ponzi. Only hurry.
Speaker 2: Wires were pulled and Charles Ponzi found himself on board
Speaker 2: the Italian ship, headed eventually for his native land and freedom.
Speaker 2: Charles Ponzi, the foppish, smooth face American, had disappeared. In
Speaker 2: his place was Andrea Luciana, dressed in the rough clothing
Speaker 2: of an ordinary seaman. It was a good disguise. Head
Speaker 2: and eyebrows were shaved. He wore long side whiskers and
Speaker 2: a mustache. Luciana was apparently what he represented himself to be,
Speaker 2: an ignorant foreigner who understood no English and was not
Speaker 2: particularly bright. The ship sailed from Tampa, Ponsey breathed a
Speaker 2: sigh of relief as he saw the shore recede in
Speaker 2: the distance. That night, he became acquainted with the young
Speaker 2: wireless operator on board the ship. Day by day he
Speaker 2: cultivated a friendship with his native born Italian until they
Speaker 2: were upon intimate terms. Night after night, he listened in
Speaker 2: on the wireless and heard the police searching for one
Speaker 2: Charles Ponzi. The Italian wireless operator said that the country
Speaker 2: seemed quite disturbed about this man Ponzi, and Luciana smiled.
Speaker 2: He was safe, His scheme had worked. His exaltation grew
Speaker 2: as he learned he had been located, first in one
Speaker 2: place and then another. The stupid American police had been
Speaker 2: completely fooled, and he Charles Ponzi had done it. He
Speaker 2: was safe, safe, but Ponzi, who had so successfully shut
Speaker 2: tight all avenues of information for the time being, had
Speaker 2: overlooked most important factor of all, which would make his
Speaker 2: escape a success or a failure. He had neglected to
Speaker 2: take his own egotism and conceit into consideration, and this
Speaker 2: egotism came to the forefront as he saw safety within
Speaker 2: his grasp and realized that once more he had outwitted
Speaker 2: the Massachusetts authorities. This feeling grew more intense as the
Speaker 2: police messages became more urgent and Ponsi appreciated the situation. Finally,
Speaker 2: he grew so pleased with himself that he was unable
Speaker 2: to keep his identity a secret for a moment longer.
Speaker 2: He was up in the wireless room. He had just
Speaker 2: listened to a long message reporting his whereabouts in some
Speaker 2: Midwestern city, and heard with Gusto the steps being taken
Speaker 2: to bring about his arrest. That Chap Ponsi has given
Speaker 2: the police a good chase, said the operator, as he
Speaker 2: removed the earphones from his head for a few moments.
Speaker 2: He's a bright chap, you think so, Ponsi glowed as
Speaker 2: he heard praise of himself. You think so. Something in
Speaker 2: Ponzi's tone made the operator turn Well, of course, I
Speaker 2: think so. He replied emphatically. He's a one clever guy. Listen,
Speaker 2: Ponsi said, softly, looking around to make sure they were
Speaker 2: not overheard. If I tell you something very secret, will
Speaker 2: you promise to keep your mouth shut? The operator nodded.
Speaker 2: Ponsey bent still closer. Do you know who I am?
Speaker 2: He asked? The operator smiled Andrea Luchana, the waiter. He said,
Speaker 2: not at all. I am Charles Ponzi, the financial wizard.
Speaker 2: The operator started, a gleam of admiration came into his eyes.
Speaker 2: Not that Charles Ponsi the police are looking for. By
Speaker 2: the way, everybody, forgive my terrible cartoon Italian accent if
Speaker 2: it helps it all. I am Italian myself. My father's
Speaker 2: mother's maiden dab was Brokhini. I just couldn't resist taking
Speaker 2: a stab at it here. But yes, it is bad,
Speaker 2: It is bad, bad, bad, So forgive me for that.
Speaker 2: So anyway, the operator says, not that Charles Ponsi, the
Speaker 2: police are looking for the same, replied Ponzi proudly. But
Speaker 2: don't you breathe a word of it to a soul.
Speaker 2: The operator swore, by all he held sacred, And then
Speaker 2: Ponsi talked and we'll find out what Charles Ponzie said
Speaker 2: after the break. Hey, everybody, we're back. Thank you for
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Speaker 2: helps in so many ways. And with that, it's time
Speaker 2: to get back to American Grifter Run Chucky Run. Charles
Speaker 2: Ponsi on the Lamb, kind of Murdery resumes now. Listen,
Speaker 2: Ponsi said, softly, looking around to make sure they were
Speaker 2: not overheard. If I tell you something very secret, will
Speaker 2: you promise to keep your mouth shut? The operator nodded.
Speaker 2: Ponsey bent still closer. Do you know who I am?
Speaker 2: He asked. The operator smiled Andrea Luchana, the waiter. He said,
Speaker 2: not at all. I am Charles Ponsei, the financial wizard.
Speaker 2: The operator started. A gleam of admir came into his eyes.
Speaker 2: Not that, Charles Ponsee. The police are looking for the same,
Speaker 2: replied Ponzy proudly. But don't you breathe a word of
Speaker 2: it to a soul. The operator swore by all he
Speaker 2: held sacred, and then Ponsey talked. Police Commissioner Edward Ugh
Speaker 2: Curtis of Boston knew what he was doing, and assigning
Speaker 2: Police Inspector John F. Mitchell to the State Attorney General's office.
Speaker 2: When the worldwide hunt for Ponzie started, Mitchell had a
Speaker 2: reputation for always getting his man. It was Mitchell who
Speaker 2: uncovered the famous automobile ring which encircled New England. It
Speaker 2: was Mitchell who brought to successful unraveling several Boston blackmailing plots.
Speaker 2: When Ponsey refused to return to Massachusetts and serve his sentence,
Speaker 2: Inspector Mitchell set the wheels of justice in motion. It
Speaker 2: was all done very quietly. Too much publicity would have
Speaker 2: defeated his purpose. Ponsey had boasted he would never come
Speaker 2: back to Massachusetts to serve his time. Mitchell intended to
Speaker 2: see that Ponsie did. The police officer was an ex
Speaker 2: experienced manhunter. He had run down and captured his query
Speaker 2: too often to be dismayed at Ponsy's disappearance, so Inspector
Speaker 2: Mitchell proceeded in a leisurely fashion. In a conference with
Speaker 2: Attorney General J. Benton and District Attorney Thomas C. O'Brien,
Speaker 2: he suggested that wanted circulars be sent out to police
Speaker 2: departments throughout the world. The officer took his time. He
Speaker 2: intended to be thorough. It was decided that Europe in
Speaker 2: particular should be heavily circularized because of the belief that
Speaker 2: Ponzi had gone to one of the many countries there.
Speaker 2: For the first time. Since Ponzie's disappearance, the toils of
Speaker 2: the law were slowly but surely closing in on the wizard.
Speaker 2: All unknowingly, Ponzi had made another serious mistake. He had
Speaker 2: forgotten the fact that back in nineteen oh eight he
Speaker 2: had grown a mustache. But for that he might have
Speaker 2: bluffed his way to freedom. Mitchell spent a lot of
Speaker 2: time and putting a great deal of thought on that
Speaker 2: police circular. Several conferences were held on the best way
Speaker 2: to circularize Ponzi. Boston knew him as a clean shaven chap,
Speaker 2: but Inspector Mitchell recalled that back nineteen oh eight, when
Speaker 2: he was arrested in Montreal for check forgery and mugged
Speaker 2: for the Rogue's Gallery, he'd worn a mustache. A mustache
Speaker 2: is a common disguise, and Inspector Mitchell acted upon the
Speaker 2: theory that Ponzi had forgotten all about this episode back
Speaker 2: in nineteen oh eight. After much deliberation, it was decided
Speaker 2: that the best insurest way to get Ponzi was to
Speaker 2: send out his description with the Montreal Rogues Gallery picture. However,
Speaker 2: unwilling to take chances, another circular with a picture showing
Speaker 2: Ponzi smooth shaven, was sent along with it. The circulars
Speaker 2: went out, Inspector Mitchell settled back to await development. One
Speaker 2: of the circulars scattered to the four corners of the
Speaker 2: world found its way eventually into the city room of
Speaker 2: a Texas newspaper office. Yet Ponzi's luck still held. Nothing
Speaker 2: happened at Galveston, who aroused his suspicions. The police knew
Speaker 2: nothing of that. He was certain after a brief touch
Speaker 2: at Houston, only one more port of call remained before
Speaker 2: the prow of the Italian ship would at last be
Speaker 2: turned towards Italy and certain freedom. Ponzi grew a trifle careless.
Speaker 2: He made still another mistake. He let drop the fact
Speaker 2: that he understood English, and the captain, who happened to
Speaker 2: overhear the remark, subconsciously made a mental note of it.
Speaker 2: It might be useful to have an interpreter on board
Speaker 2: in case of trouble with customs. Not that he expected
Speaker 2: any trouble, but it was just as well to be prepared.
Speaker 2: Day by day. As the chances of arrest grew less
Speaker 2: and less, Ponzi's egotism grew more and more pronounced to him.
Speaker 2: His freedom was sure. Those American police are fools, Ponsi
Speaker 2: repeated time after time to the wireless operator. Now his confidant,
Speaker 2: I have nothing to fear, now, absolutely nothing, and the
Speaker 2: operator agreed with him wholeheartedly. He was proud of his compatriot,
Speaker 2: and even more vain that Ponsi had taken him into
Speaker 2: his confidence. He read the police messages, which he still
Speaker 2: occasionally intercepted, with much zest and amusement as he realized
Speaker 2: that he, and he alone, was aware of the identity
Speaker 2: and whereabouts of the man who had aroused police all
Speaker 2: over the world. If only the operator had some confidant
Speaker 2: to whom he could have boasted a trifle about his knowledge,
Speaker 2: then his contentment would have been complete. Was not often
Speaker 2: that a wireless operator was the bosom friend of a
Speaker 2: man as famous as Charles Ponzi. But of course he
Speaker 2: would remain silent, hadn't he given his word. The ship
Speaker 2: put into Houston, where it was scheduled to remain only
Speaker 2: a few hours. The wireless operator planned to do a
Speaker 2: little shopping on shore. Ponsi met him just as he
Speaker 2: left his stateroom. Remember, he said, in a low voice,
Speaker 2: not a word, of course, not. The operator replied, a
Speaker 2: little hurt at this implied lack of confidence, Haven't I promised?
Speaker 2: And with that Ponsi had to be content. He walked
Speaker 2: over to the gang plank and watched the operator out
Speaker 2: of sight. Then he turned away with a sigh. He
Speaker 2: would have liked to have gone ashore with him, but
Speaker 2: that was too much risk with freedom so near. Although
Speaker 2: he felt there was little chance of discovery from the police,
Speaker 2: they were just too stupid. Still, it was just as
Speaker 2: well not to take chances. He reluctantly left the deck
Speaker 2: and went below. The operator drew a deep sigh of
Speaker 2: relief as his feet touched the solid ground and he
Speaker 2: heard the din of traffic a few blocks distant. It
Speaker 2: was good to be on land again, even if it
Speaker 2: was in a strange city where he knew no one.
Speaker 2: Then happened one of those unexplainable things that readers of
Speaker 2: fiction will call far fetched, and yet they occur frequently
Speaker 2: in real life. As the operator turned the corner, he
Speaker 2: bumped into an old acquaintance from Boston, John Smith, a
Speaker 2: former customs officer from that city. The wireless operator was
Speaker 2: overjoyed at the meeting. He learned that Smith was now
Speaker 2: a resident of Houston, was a ship chandler. His tongue
Speaker 2: continued to wag. He felt extremely friendly to this one man,
Speaker 2: whom he knew in this city. Without thinking In a
Speaker 2: burst of confidence, he confided the secret he had promised
Speaker 2: never to reveal. Charles Ponsey was on his ship disguised
Speaker 2: as a waiter. Smith was apparently unimpressed. He dismissed the
Speaker 2: subject without comment and turned to other topics. But Smith
Speaker 2: did quick thinking as he carried on a light conversation
Speaker 2: with the unsuspecting operator. He knew Charles Ponzi was wanted
Speaker 2: by the police. He knew also there was little chance
Speaker 2: of extradition once Ponzi got to Italy. Can't you meet
Speaker 2: me tonight for supper on a show? Smith asked. Finally,
Speaker 2: the operator's face clouded with disappointment. He was very sorry,
Speaker 2: but it would be impossible. The ship was sailing just
Speaker 2: as soon as they took their cargo on board, a
Speaker 2: matter of only an hour or two. Smith's eyelids barely
Speaker 2: flickered at this intelligence Another time, perhaps Smith was no
Speaker 2: longer interested in the operator. He had learned what he wanted,
Speaker 2: and there was little time in which to act. He
Speaker 2: glanced at his watch, pleading a previous engagement. The two
Speaker 2: men chatted a few seconds longer, and then parted. Smith
Speaker 2: waited until the Italian was out of sight. Then he
Speaker 2: hurried to the sheriff's office. Charles Ponsey is on board
Speaker 2: an Italian ship in the harbor, he said, as he
Speaker 2: burst into the sheriff's office. Here is that, so said
Speaker 2: the sheriff, And who is Charles Ponzi? Smith explained as
Speaker 2: best he could, but the sheriff took little interest and
Speaker 2: refused to take any action. He was sure it was
Speaker 2: a case of mistaken identity. He doubted his authority to
Speaker 2: board a foreign vessel. I don't reckon there's anything we
Speaker 2: can do, Smith, he said. At last, we'd best keep
Speaker 2: out of it. Let Massachusetts get our own criminals. We
Speaker 2: have enough right here to keep us busy. Undismayed, Smith
Speaker 2: took his leave and started for the newspaper. Officer. Time
Speaker 2: was going short. At the Houston Press, he met city
Speaker 2: editor web See Arts, and in Arts found that an
Speaker 2: interested listener. He told him the entire story. Sure I
Speaker 2: know about Ponzy, said Arts, fumbling among some papers on
Speaker 2: his littered desk. Here's the police circular that the Attorney's
Speaker 2: General's office sent me some time ago. Ponsey's on that boat,
Speaker 2: Smith said, earnestly, I'm certain of that. If he is
Speaker 2: we're gonna nab him, promised Arts. Foreign ship or no
Speaker 2: foreign ship, we should worry about that. If it really
Speaker 2: is Ponsey, it's a wail of a story, and one
Speaker 2: that every newspaper from coast to coast will play in
Speaker 2: the banner heads. And you say the boat is only
Speaker 2: here for a short time, Well let's go. Smith and
Speaker 2: Arts returned to the Sheriff's office. The sheriff was still there.
Speaker 2: This time. Arts did the talking. He was terse and
Speaker 2: to the point. He used very few words, and those
Speaker 2: few he did use were eloquent. The sheriff listened as
Speaker 2: Arts supplemented Smith's information and threatened immediate action if help
Speaker 2: was not forthcoming. Well said the sheriff, as Arts finished
Speaker 2: and stood waiting, watch in hand. I ain't got no
Speaker 2: time to go out on any such wild goose chases.
Speaker 2: But I'll let you have, my deputy sheriff. Please see,
Speaker 2: he called Hearts thinks there's a crook on board that
Speaker 2: form ship of the docks. Run down there with it.
Speaker 2: Well and see what you can find out. Whatever's done
Speaker 2: has got to be done in a hurry, warned Smith.
Speaker 2: Come on, Lacy, cried Arts. Moments count the door closed
Speaker 2: behind the two. More difficulties presented themselves. The streets were crowded,
Speaker 2: traffic was heavy. In the vicinity of the docks, the
Speaker 2: car stalled, A truck broke down ahead, halting the stream
Speaker 2: of slowly moving machines. Then a clear stretch of space,
Speaker 2: it looked as though they were going to make it.
Speaker 2: The speedometer rose to thirty five miles forty five and
Speaker 2: crept to fifty. Traffic snarled up again. The car shot
Speaker 2: through for the only open lane. A shrill whistle rang
Speaker 2: out above the din of traffic. A police officer, springing
Speaker 2: from somewhere, blocked the passage with uplifted hand. Damn growled Arts.
Speaker 2: As the screeching brakes brought the car to a sudden halt.
Speaker 2: A deep throated boat whistle sounded from the docks, still
Speaker 2: some distance ahead. Tell that fool to get out of
Speaker 2: the way. Arts demanded, that may be the boat, but
Speaker 2: the police officer had already recognized them and stood aside.
Speaker 2: The automobile started again with the exhaust wide open, gathered
Speaker 2: speed quickly, and rushed on. A few moments later, the
Speaker 2: car drew up beside the wharf, where the sick foss
Speaker 2: non Vobis had docked a few hours before. Her Berth
Speaker 2: was empty. The ship had sailed damn, said Arts again
Speaker 2: to no one in particular. Now what, asked Deputy Lacy
Speaker 2: a few moments later, as Arts bustled around, questioning some
Speaker 2: of the Steveadoors and long Shortmans. The boat's been gone
Speaker 2: some time. There was less cargo to take than they thought.
Speaker 2: That was probably the boat we heard while we were
Speaker 2: tied up in traffic. Anyway, she's gone. Perhaps it was
Speaker 2: a wild goose chase after all, suggested Lacey. We might
Speaker 2: as well just go back. We'll go back, agreed Arts.
Speaker 2: There's nothing further can be done here, but I'm going
Speaker 2: to follow that boat. I've found that she makes one
Speaker 2: more stop at New Orleans, back of the Sheriff's office.
Speaker 2: An hour or so afterwards, they discovered the sheriff, slightly discomfited,
Speaker 2: holding a telegram just received from the Attorney General's office
Speaker 2: in response to a request for Ponzi's description. It may
Speaker 2: have been Ponzi at that, admitted the sheriff ruefully. It
Speaker 2: sounds like him. Of course it was Ponzi, snapped Arts,
Speaker 2: and furthermore, I'm gonna follow that ship. By land of
Speaker 2: New Orleans. If it breaks me, I'm not gonna let
Speaker 2: a good story like this slip through my fingers. I
Speaker 2: want you to let Lacey go with me, but the
Speaker 2: sheriff hesitated. It entailed the expenditure of considerable money with
Speaker 2: a possibility of failure. Arts, surmising what was passing in
Speaker 2: the sheriff's mind, offered to finance the trip out of
Speaker 2: his own pocket. The offer was accepted. Arts and Lacey
Speaker 2: arrived in New Orleans considerably ahead of the steamer. At
Speaker 2: the customs house, they disclosed their identity and voiced their suspicions.
Speaker 2: A plan was discussed to get the suspected Italian waiter
Speaker 2: on shore. The boat came into port and was boarded
Speaker 2: in the usual manner by customs officials. Learning that Andrea
Speaker 2: Luciana was the only man according to the captain who
Speaker 2: spoke English, the customs official in charge ordered a man
Speaker 2: as short of the custom house with the papers. Andrea
Speaker 2: was given the mission. Meanwhile, two Texans were pacing the
Speaker 2: dock impatiently with the subterfuge work. Would Ponzi leave the
Speaker 2: ship under any circumstances. Now that Art and Lazy had gone,
Speaker 2: this far, they were determined to see it through. Just
Speaker 2: as the two were getting anxious, Lacey touched Arts on
Speaker 2: the arm. There's somebody coming off the ship now, he said,
Speaker 2: Is that our man? The two approached the rough looking foreigner,
Speaker 2: who had reached the dock and started toward town with
Speaker 2: some official appearing documents under his arm. What's the name
Speaker 2: of that ship, arts ass, pointing to the sik vos
Speaker 2: non vobis. The man stared at him stupidly and shrugged
Speaker 2: his shoulders. Mion non gabash, he said, and began to
Speaker 2: move on. Arts had already recognized him by the mustache
Speaker 2: and held him by the arm. Come on, he said, harshly,
Speaker 2: how do you get that way? You can't fool us
Speaker 2: with that line. Yes, cut it out, ordered Lacey, drawing closer.
Speaker 2: You know who you are. You're Charles Ponzi. Ponzi started
Speaker 2: imperceptibly as the officer pulled the wanted circular from his pocket.
Speaker 2: It's him, all right, said Arts. Mi andre a Lucian
Speaker 2: protested Ponzi. Mionnong kaby singlish. Oh shut up, said Lacy.
Speaker 2: By the way, side, note zeven here, I know that
Speaker 2: my fake Italian accent and fake Italian is just awful.
Speaker 2: Forgive me. Oh shut up, said Lazy, now sure of
Speaker 2: his ground. We've got you good. It was too bad
Speaker 2: you pulled that job in Montreal back in nineteen oh
Speaker 2: eight and then let the muggy with a mustache. It's
Speaker 2: a dead giveaway. Ponzie remained silent. Come on now, threatened Lacey,
Speaker 2: showing his badge come clean. Either you'll come across, or
Speaker 2: we'll let you stay in a town that hates your
Speaker 2: kind and eats them alive. What do you say to that?
Speaker 2: Ponzi finally got into a taxi cab and they were
Speaker 2: driven to a hotel where they talked the situation over.
Speaker 2: Lacey admitted that he had no authority to take him
Speaker 2: back to Texas, but told Ponzi that Italians were rather
Speaker 2: unwelcome in New Orleans, owing to some trouble that had
Speaker 2: been had in the Italian quarter. All in all, Ponzi concluded, Lacey,
Speaker 2: you stand a much better chance under mov Ferguson than
Speaker 2: you do here. They argued a bit more, and at
Speaker 2: the end of several hours, Ponsey decided to go back
Speaker 2: to Texas with them. As soon as they returned to Houston,
Speaker 2: The sheriff of Harris County put in a long distant
Speaker 2: telephone call to Boston Police headquarters asking if Inspector Mitchell
Speaker 2: wanted Ponzi. Mitchell wired to hold him and later sent
Speaker 2: another wire giving classifications and measurement. Word was sent back
Speaker 2: to Austin and Ponsey was under lock and key. Ponsey
Speaker 2: had been captured at last, but he was still two
Speaker 2: thousand miles away from Massachusetts, a state to which he
Speaker 2: had boasted he would never return. The telephone rang sharply
Speaker 2: and Inspector Mitchell's office in the State House on Beacon Hill, Boston.
Speaker 2: As he sat patiently waiting for a reply to his
Speaker 2: four telegrams asking where Charles Ponsee had been confined, The
Speaker 2: telephone rang again and again. Mitchell leaned over his desk
Speaker 2: and lifted the receiver from its hook. Hello, he said,
Speaker 2: It was the state house operator who answered, will you
Speaker 2: pay for a toll call from Texas? Mitchell replied that
Speaker 2: he would. There was a low hum on the line
Speaker 2: as he waited for the connection to be made broken
Speaker 2: by a series of clicks. His operators over the two
Speaker 2: thousand miles circuit kept the line open, then a receiver
Speaker 2: clicked Hello. A voice said, is this Inspector Mitchell? It is,
Speaker 2: replied Mitchell. This is Charles Ponzi. The voice continued, Well,
Speaker 2: you let me come back to Massachusetts in the custody
Speaker 2: of the sheriff here. Mitchell paused before answering. He saw
Speaker 2: Ponsey was up to his old tricks. He was positive
Speaker 2: that just as soon as he got outside the state
Speaker 2: of Texas, it would be goodbye. Ponzie. Hello, said Ponzie,
Speaker 2: Are you still there? Will you let me do it?
Speaker 2: Nothing doing? Charlie. Mitchell told him, you've pulled your last
Speaker 2: stunt with us. Is that so? Said Ponzie. Well, then,
Speaker 2: he taunted, you'll have to come down and get me.
Speaker 2: I won't come back. I'll fight first, all right, Charlie,
Speaker 2: said Mitchell, good naturedly, we'll fight. The inspector hung up.
Speaker 2: Hostilities between Charles Ponzi and Inspector Mitchell had been renewed.
Speaker 2: Ponsey put up a stiff fight to remain in Texas.
Speaker 2: The entire state seemed to have fallen under his hypnotic influence,
Speaker 2: and it was his boast that he would never go
Speaker 2: back to Massachusetts as long as Governor ma Ferguson was
Speaker 2: in power, but the Massachusetts authorities persisted. As Ponsie felt
Speaker 2: the long arm of the Attorney General's office reaching out
Speaker 2: for him, he dispatched telegram after telegram to Governor Alvin T.
Speaker 2: Fuller of Massachusetts asking for clemency. This proved unavailing, and
Speaker 2: he appealed to his native country, asking Mussolini to intercede.
Speaker 2: Inspector Mitchell was not finding the job quite as easy
Speaker 2: as he had anticipated. It looked for a while as
Speaker 2: though Ponzi would make good his boast. The Boston police
Speaker 2: departments were thwarted at every twist. In turn, they were
Speaker 2: asked to defend a case whose merits had already been
Speaker 2: decided by a Massachusetts court. At the first hearing, held
Speaker 2: on July tenth, nineteen twenty six, much to the surprise
Speaker 2: of Assistant Attorney General A. R. Shrigley of Massachusetts, the
Speaker 2: proceedings took on the color of a court trial. Action
Speaker 2: was postponed until after the Democratic election later in July.
Speaker 2: It was alleged that this was done to save the
Speaker 2: Italian vote. From then until Ponzi lost his last appeal
Speaker 2: in January nineteen twenty seven, his attorneys did all in
Speaker 2: their power to prevent his extradition to Massachusetts, but Ponzi lost,
Speaker 2: and Inspector Mitchell arrived in Houston to take the former
Speaker 2: financial wizard back to Boston. He had arrived not an
Speaker 2: instant too soon. Ponzi was still planning to defeat the
Speaker 2: forces of law and order. The jail was under construction,
Speaker 2: and there was Ponzi with twenty six other prisoners confined
Speaker 2: in a single cell. Mitchell happened in unobserved. The prisoners
Speaker 2: were gathered in a group, talking in low tone. All right,
Speaker 2: Charlie said Mitchell. We're all set to go, get your
Speaker 2: stuff ready. But Ponsey played for time. Let's wait over
Speaker 2: several days, he hedged, and go back by boat. Nothing doing,
Speaker 2: replied Mitchell. We're going out on the eleven thirty. It
Speaker 2: was already after eleven o'clock. I'm not going back with you,
Speaker 2: said Ponzie, still stalling for time. If you try to
Speaker 2: take me back to Massachusetts, I'll kill myself. I shall
Speaker 2: never go back to Boston alive. All right, Charlie returned Mitchell,
Speaker 2: not at all disturbed by the threat. You can suit yourself.
Speaker 2: It's nothing to me. My papers state I'm here for
Speaker 2: the body of one Charles Ponze, dead or alive. I'm
Speaker 2: going to take you back to Boston. If you want
Speaker 2: to bump yourself off, well that's your business, Ponsey looked thoughtful.
Speaker 2: Only don't forget Charlie. If you do do that, you'll
Speaker 2: go back in a box in the baggage car while
Speaker 2: I ride in the pullman, eating three square meals a
Speaker 2: day and knowing exactly where you'll stay put without watching. Ponsey,
Speaker 2: with less than half an hour before train time, had
Speaker 2: other objections, which Mitchell overrode in a more or less
Speaker 2: peremptory fashion. Fearful that Ritz might be served, the police
Speaker 2: officer took him to the railroad station at the same time,
Speaker 2: secretly holding a fast automobile in readiness filled with gasoline
Speaker 2: and oil, in which he planned to kidnap Ponsey for
Speaker 2: to be impossible to leave the city by train, but
Speaker 2: the financial wizard had played his last card. However, Ponsey
Speaker 2: remained defiant, even when a gun and some hundred cartridges
Speaker 2: were found concealed in the lining of his traveling bag,
Speaker 2: where they had remained hidden since nineteen twenty. Later, he
Speaker 2: confessed that a jail delivery had been planned for that
Speaker 2: very night, in which the prisoners counted on overpowering the
Speaker 2: attendants when they answered a sick call from the cell.
Speaker 2: Once the door was opened, the rest of the getaway
Speaker 2: would have been easy, but Mitchell's sudden arrival had prevented
Speaker 2: the plan from being carried out. They went back to
Speaker 2: Boston by train, locked in a compartment, where they remained
Speaker 2: until they reached Saint Louis. Here, they rode about town
Speaker 2: on a taxi until train time, and then were locked
Speaker 2: into a compartment of another train, in which they stayed
Speaker 2: until the train passed over the New York Massachusetts boundary line.
Speaker 2: But Ponsey had admitted his defeat long before that. He
Speaker 2: turned to Inspector Mitchell just after they left Texas behind.
Speaker 2: You've beaten me, Inspector, he said, simply. I told you,
Speaker 2: I would, replied Mitchell, without rancor, I told you so
Speaker 2: the day you telephoned me in Boston. You insulted the
Speaker 2: United States, you insulted the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and you
Speaker 2: got just what any man gets who starts out to
Speaker 2: beat the law. It can't be done, because there's no
Speaker 2: such thing as a perfect crime. Charles Ponzi, juggler of
Speaker 2: other people's millions, was now safely behind the stone walls
Speaker 2: at the state's prison at Charlestown, Massachusetts. The manicured fingers
Speaker 2: through which passed the life savings of many, were now
Speaker 2: occupied sewing on buttons in the knitting room at the
Speaker 2: prison factory. But although the steel gates of the prison
Speaker 2: would swing open for him once again at the conclusion
Speaker 2: of his sentence, he would not walk forth a free man.
Speaker 2: The doors of America had been forever shut to Ponzi,
Speaker 2: who had no respect for the laws of the United
Speaker 2: States and defied the authorities of Massachusetts. He had sacrificed
Speaker 2: his rights to citizenship and would be deported. Charles Ponzi
Speaker 2: would be released just seven years later, in nineteen thirty four,
Speaker 2: and he would live for another fifteen years after his release,
Speaker 2: until he finally died a broken man, in a charity
Speaker 2: hospital in Rio de Janeiro in nineteen forty nine. You'll
Speaker 2: forgive me if I don't shed a tear for Charles Ponzi.
Speaker 2: I'll see you back here on Thursday. I'm Zevan Odleberg,
Speaker 2: and this has been kind of murdery.
Speaker 1: If you write the show he subscribed on you and
Speaker 1: tell your friends. You can find us on social media
Speaker 1: at kindo Murdery or email at Kinomurdery at gmail dot
Speaker 1: com
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