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
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