1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Today's episode 4 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:22,440 Speaker 1: is a rather epic tail a really brazen behavior. Uh. 5 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: It features fraud at a level that would be almost 6 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: impossible to pull off in today's world of instant communication. 7 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: And this is the story of Cassie Chadwick. But that 8 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: was not her real name, And in fact, naming convention 9 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 1: is tricky here because she switched up her identity so often, 10 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: so normally we're gonna go by the name she was 11 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: using at the time we were speaking about because she 12 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: changes over to a lot of aliases along the way. 13 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: This is actually along the lines of a question a 14 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: listener asked us recently where they were like when in 15 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: the days before we had the today's completely connected world, 16 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 1: and like photographs of people that could just be sent 17 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 1: around instantly, were people able to just walk out of 18 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:09,319 Speaker 1: town and assume a new new identity. And that answer 19 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 1: was basically yes, yes, huh. And we'll see like the 20 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 1: one one of the times that really tripped her up, 21 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: which didn't involve photographs, Yeah, uh, And another time, was 22 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: just that she was so bold to the point of 23 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:33,319 Speaker 1: just ridiculousness. People started catching onto what was so. Cassie's 24 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: birth name was Elizabeth Bigley. She was born on October tenth, 25 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty seven, and Eastwood, Ontario, in Canada. The Eastwood 26 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: area is now part of a larger collective of towns 27 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 1: and communities that's known as Norwich. Her father worked for 28 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: the Grand Trunk Railway, which connected Toronto to Montreal in 29 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: the eighteen fifties, and he was a section boss. Okay, 30 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: I'm gonna step outside of the history talk for one 31 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 1: second to like have this moment where like is that 32 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: Grandfunk Railroad got their name? Which is just my child 33 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 1: of the seventies question, because I had not heard of 34 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: it before. Elizabeth was one of five children. She had 35 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: a brother and three sisters. Elizabeth went by Betsy as 36 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 1: a young child, and she allegedly had a fairly flexible 37 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:22,080 Speaker 1: relationship with the truth From quite a young age. She 38 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: was known as something of a fiber, and she began 39 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: telling lies to get cash when she was just a 40 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 1: young teenager. Her sister Alice, later in life, claimed that 41 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: she had seen Betsy practicing other family members signatures over 42 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: and over on various occasions, although part of me was like, 43 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: who hasn't done that? I used to practice my parents 44 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: signatures just because I thought that was how you learned 45 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: to make a signature. I was terrible at it. The 46 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: one time in my entire life that I tried to 47 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: fords a note from my mother excusing me from school, 48 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: it no, it was I was immediately like, this will 49 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: never work. See, I don't think I ever tried it. 50 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: I just wanted to try copying the way people wrote like. 51 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: It was just oh, I didn't take the letter to school. 52 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: It was clear to me no one was buying that. 53 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: But I mean I never even was like I'm gonna 54 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:15,959 Speaker 1: use this and try to do a letter that. I 55 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,799 Speaker 1: just never planned to use them that way. So her 56 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: first known fraudulent bank account was open when she was fourteen, 57 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 1: and she did this in the town of Woodstock, Ontario. 58 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 1: This is about fifteen miles or north of her home. 59 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,240 Speaker 1: She walked into a bank with a small amount of 60 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: money and a letter that claimed she was inheriting money 61 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 1: from her uncle in England, and then she opened up 62 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 1: an account, and then she proceeded to write a whole 63 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: lot of bad checks. It did not take long for 64 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: the establishments where Elizabeth had done business to realize that 65 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 1: her checks were no good, so the fourteen year old 66 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: fraudster was arrested for forgery, but because of her young age, 67 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: she was released without too much in the way of punishment. 68 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: It was kind of a warning, and don't do this again. 69 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: At the age of twenty two, she once again assumed 70 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: with the role of fake heiress, and this time to 71 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:10,119 Speaker 1: support her claim, she paid to have expensive letter head 72 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: printed for the fake letter of notification of her inheritance 73 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: to make it look like it came from an actual 74 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:19,359 Speaker 1: attorney's office. She also had calling cards printed up that 75 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,839 Speaker 1: identified her as an heiress, and the same as before, 76 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 1: she opened up a checking account based on this false information, 77 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:28,480 Speaker 1: then wrote a lot of bad checks at various merchants, 78 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 1: and this time, instead of just buying things, she also 79 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:34,560 Speaker 1: got cash by writing checks over the amount of the 80 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: purchase price of the thing that she was buying and 81 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 1: then having the shopkeepers give her the difference. I think 82 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: that's like a scam that continues to be practiced today 83 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: by various people, and I'm sure she didn't invent it either. Eventually, 84 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Bigley's older sister, Alice, got married to a man 85 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: from Cleveland, Ohio, and Alice moved there, so Elizabeth slashed 86 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 1: Betsy also decided that she would move to Cleveland and 87 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: live with them, and once she was the United States, 88 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: that's when her career in fraud really began. First, she 89 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 1: used her sister's furniture as collateral for a bank loan. 90 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,040 Speaker 1: Like she basically wrote up what each of the pieces 91 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:12,920 Speaker 1: were and what they were worth, and she used that 92 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:15,359 Speaker 1: she didn't actually physically carry the furniture with her to 93 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,479 Speaker 1: the bank, but she basically handed over this note that 94 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: said you you have ownership of this against this loan. 95 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 1: And when Alice's husband realized what Elizabeth had done, he 96 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: kicked her out. This is also when she started using 97 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 1: alias is. The first identity that Elizabeth assumed in Cleveland 98 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 1: was Madam Lydia de Vere. Under the pseudonym, she claimed 99 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 1: to be psychic and started a business telling fortunes. Elizabeth 100 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: as Lydia married a man named Dr. Wallace Springsteen in 101 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: eight two, and at that time she started going by 102 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: the name Lydia Springsteen. But this marriage immediately brought problems 103 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: due to a very foolish miscalculation on Elizabeth's part. So 104 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:00,279 Speaker 1: when the nuptials were announced in the newspaper for the 105 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,599 Speaker 1: Plain Dealer, complete with a photo of the happy couple, 106 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 1: people that Lydia had fleece saw the notice and immediately 107 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: went after the Springsteen's trying to get their money back. 108 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: It appears that Dr. Springsteen had been completely unaware of 109 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:19,159 Speaker 1: his new bride's shady dealings, and so the marriage ended 110 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:23,040 Speaker 1: abruptly after twelve days, with Elizabeth a k A. Lydia 111 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 1: kicked out of the house. The divorce was finalized early 112 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,279 Speaker 1: the following year, and a new identity was soon born. 113 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: This time she was still posing as a psychic, but 114 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:37,239 Speaker 1: she took the name Madame Marie La Rose. Madame Lauroux 115 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:40,720 Speaker 1: soon found herself another husband in John R. Scott, who 116 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: was a farmer, and that marriage actually lasted four years. 117 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:47,039 Speaker 1: The pair were already divorced when Elizabeth gave birth to 118 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,279 Speaker 1: a child in six It is not known who the 119 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: father of the child was. It was a boy named Emil. 120 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:57,280 Speaker 1: After Emil was born, Elizabeth took on yet another identity, 121 00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: and this was Lydia Scott. She once a end claimed 122 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:03,479 Speaker 1: to be able to tell fortunes, and Emil was sent 123 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:08,720 Speaker 1: to live with relatives. In eighty nine, while living in Toledo, 124 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 1: Elizabeth slash Lydia forged a promissory note for several thousand dollars, 125 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 1: signing the name of Richard Brown of Youngstown, Ohio. She 126 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 1: used a connection that she had made as a clairvoyant 127 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: to help her cash the note, and after this was 128 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 1: successful the first time around, she did the same thing 129 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:29,240 Speaker 1: several more times. She and her accomplice were caught, but 130 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: the man named Joseph Lamb was acquitted as it appeared 131 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 1: that he actually didn't know that he was participating in fraud. 132 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:39,240 Speaker 1: He thought he was cashing legitimate notes. Elizabeth slash Lydia 133 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: was convicted and she served time, but she got out 134 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 1: of her sentence early on parole. She first started using 135 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: the name Cassie as soon as she got a prison 136 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,240 Speaker 1: and that's the name that she's most commonly known as 137 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:53,520 Speaker 1: in the historical record. She used the last name Hoover 138 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 1: when she got out of prison and moved back to Cleveland. 139 00:07:57,280 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: This time, instead of hanging a shingle as a psychic 140 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,840 Speaker 1: at clairvoyant, she opened up a brothel, but when she 141 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: met a doctor named Leroy Chadwick, who was a widower. 142 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 1: She gave him a very sanitized version of her story. 143 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 1: She was still going by Cassie Hoover, but she told 144 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: him that the home that she ran was a boarding 145 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: house and not a brothel, and then she feigned shocked 146 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 1: when he assured her that everyone knew it was a brothel, 147 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 1: and she begged him to help her get away from it. 148 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 1: She definitely did get away from it, and we'll talk 149 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:29,840 Speaker 1: about her transition to a life of wealth after we paused. 150 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:37,960 Speaker 1: Very quick word from a sponsor. Right before the break, 151 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: we mentioned that Cassie had met a doctor named Leroy Chadwick, 152 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:45,840 Speaker 1: and Cassie and Leroy married in and this marriage opened 153 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,040 Speaker 1: up a whole new world to the grifter. Cassie, her 154 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 1: husband had society connections. His house was on Euclid Avenue 155 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:55,840 Speaker 1: in a very wealthy neighborhood. Also, I see it referred 156 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 1: to as Millionaires Row. And the marriage had been really 157 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 1: pretty so most of Dr Chadwick's friends first met Cassie 158 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: as LeRoy's wife. Leroy and Cassie traveled to New York 159 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:11,680 Speaker 1: together in the spring of nineteen o two. This trip 160 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,520 Speaker 1: ended up being really momentous, but not in a good way. 161 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 1: While visiting the city, she decided to pay a visit 162 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:22,439 Speaker 1: to Andrew Carnegie, a lawyer that she knew through Leroy. 163 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: He was named James Dillon went with her. Dylan, it appears, 164 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 1: was not privy to the scam that she was hatching. 165 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:32,840 Speaker 1: He waited outside the mansion at one and fifth in 166 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:37,000 Speaker 1: a carriage. Cassie entered, spoke with the housekeeper under the 167 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 1: guise of asking for a reference for a main she 168 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,680 Speaker 1: was considering hiring, and then returned to Mr Dillon in 169 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:47,680 Speaker 1: the waiting carriage. Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish born steel 170 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:50,000 Speaker 1: tycoon who had moved to the United States as a 171 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:53,480 Speaker 1: teenager and made his own fortune. His name is popped 172 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:55,520 Speaker 1: up on the show many times over the years, and 173 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: you've probably seen it or heard it in relation to 174 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,720 Speaker 1: grant funding. And that's because he eventually focused on using 175 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:05,240 Speaker 1: his wealth for philanthropy, and the foundation that he established 176 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 1: continues and supports all kinds of causes. So yes, at 177 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:12,360 Speaker 1: some point he will be his own episode of the show. Yeah, 178 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,440 Speaker 1: I'm pretty fascinated by his story. But at the time 179 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:18,840 Speaker 1: that Cassie went to the Carnegie home, Andrew Carnegie was 180 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 1: widely recognized as one of the wealthiest men in the world, 181 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,360 Speaker 1: and when Cassie returned from this social call, during which 182 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:28,440 Speaker 1: she had not ever met Andrew Carnegie, she had a 183 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: two million dollar promissory note allegedly issued by the man. 184 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 1: Cassie used this document to fraudulently acquire a lot of money. 185 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:41,200 Speaker 1: Cassie visited multiple banks in the Eastern United States, and 186 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 1: using this promissory note as proof of her worth, was 187 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 1: able to get financial advances against it. Of course, the 188 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:51,440 Speaker 1: question of why such a powerful and wealthy man would 189 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 1: offer a random woman so much money did come up, 190 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:58,559 Speaker 1: but Cassie Chadwick had an answer ready for that situation. 191 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 1: She told those who inquired that she was actually the 192 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:06,840 Speaker 1: illegitimate daughter of Mr. Carnegie. And this was actually sort 193 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: of a brilliant lie because she knew that no banker 194 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:13,400 Speaker 1: was going to be willing to go to Andrew Carnegie 195 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:17,440 Speaker 1: and ask this wealthy and important man for verification of 196 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: what was considered a really tawdry fact at the time. 197 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:22,720 Speaker 1: They would never ask such a man if he had 198 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:27,440 Speaker 1: an illegitimate child, simply out of politeness. Additionally, thinking Cassie 199 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:30,280 Speaker 1: was a wealthy and important new client. Many of the 200 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:33,120 Speaker 1: banks she conned also wanted to keep her secret for 201 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:36,800 Speaker 1: her and the whole time, Andrew Carnegie had no idea 202 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: how much money was trading hands, just through the mention 203 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:44,080 Speaker 1: of his name and a falsified document. The lawyer who 204 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 1: had gone with her, that was James Dillon uh had 205 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:53,920 Speaker 1: been basically a clueless corroborator. Cassie counted on his surprise 206 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,480 Speaker 1: and awe at this reveal, which she made when he 207 00:11:56,559 --> 00:11:59,640 Speaker 1: questioned her after the visit to the Carnegie mansion that 208 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:02,720 Speaker 1: Andrew Carnegie was her father. She told him it was 209 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:05,280 Speaker 1: a secret that he must tell no one, but she 210 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:07,560 Speaker 1: counted on him being unable to keep that kind of 211 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: information to himself. She wanted to feed the rumor mill 212 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:17,160 Speaker 1: and build up her story. Yeah, completely horrendous behavior, but 213 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,040 Speaker 1: part of me has to respect her thought process here 214 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:22,920 Speaker 1: where she's like, I know, I'm gonna build this fiction 215 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:26,320 Speaker 1: out so that it seems really galvanized if anybody tries 216 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 1: to question me. So here's how the actual con worked. 217 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 1: Chadwick walked into the Wade Park Bank of Cleveland, and 218 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:36,839 Speaker 1: she presented a box of forged notes allegedly signed by 219 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:40,000 Speaker 1: Andrew Carnegie and promising her various sums of money, including 220 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 1: that one from that visit to his home, and she 221 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:46,800 Speaker 1: handed them to a cashier named Ira Reynolds. The cashier 222 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:50,240 Speaker 1: took the papers, issued a receipt for them, describing all 223 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:53,160 Speaker 1: of the information contained therein and also the fact that 224 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:56,360 Speaker 1: Andrew Carnegie's signature was on them. Now, that right up 225 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 1: from Reynolds meant that Chadwick then had an official bank 226 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,640 Speaker 1: document that validated her fraudulent claim. So she was able 227 00:13:03,679 --> 00:13:06,840 Speaker 1: to use that document, which was a legitimate document, though 228 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: it it legitimized fake things uh to go to other 229 00:13:11,559 --> 00:13:15,320 Speaker 1: banks with proof that she was worth millions in order 230 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:18,840 Speaker 1: to get them to lend her large sums of money, 231 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:21,760 Speaker 1: and in some cases she would use borrowed money from 232 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 1: one bank to make payments to another, kind of circulating 233 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:27,760 Speaker 1: some of this money around and keeping the whole charade 234 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:32,520 Speaker 1: going Domino style. One of the primary forged documents in 235 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:36,640 Speaker 1: this whole scheme reads this way, quote no, all men, 236 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 1: by these presents that I Andrew Carnegie of New York City, 237 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: do hereby acknowledge that I hold in trust for Mrs 238 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 1: Cassie L. Chadwick, wife of Dr Leroy S. Chadwick of 239 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: eighteen twenty four Euclid Avenue, City of Cleveland, County of Cuyahoga, 240 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:54,520 Speaker 1: and State of Ohio, properly assigned and delivered to me 241 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,960 Speaker 1: for said Cassie L. Chadwick by her uncle Frederick R. 242 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,280 Speaker 1: Mason and his lifetime now to cease, which property is 243 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,280 Speaker 1: of the appraised value of ten million, two hundred and 244 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:09,120 Speaker 1: forty six thousand dollars, then lists various bonds and railway 245 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:12,440 Speaker 1: interests that make up this sum. It goes on to say, 246 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:16,280 Speaker 1: quote the income from the above described property I agree 247 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 1: to pay over to said Cassie L. Chadwick semi annually 248 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 1: between the first and fifteenth days of June and December 249 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: of each year during the life of this trust, without 250 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,880 Speaker 1: any deduction or charges for services or expense of any kind. 251 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:32,160 Speaker 1: And then the document goes on to state that should 252 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:35,880 Speaker 1: Andrew Carnegie die, Cassie will receive all of the assets 253 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 1: that it named. This was, of course, not the only 254 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:42,320 Speaker 1: document she forged. It was one of many forged documents 255 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 1: that she used to claim a personal fortune that simply 256 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 1: did not exist. It wasn't until a banker in Brookline, 257 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:52,520 Speaker 1: Massachusetts checked around and made inquiries that her scam was 258 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:57,680 Speaker 1: finally uncovered. He had been suspicious, but his investigation revealed 259 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:01,600 Speaker 1: that she had accumulated millions dollars of debt off of 260 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:06,440 Speaker 1: posing as the unacknowledged child of Andrew Carnegie. The Massachusetts 261 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: banker named Herbert Newton sued Cassie Chadwick, and this started 262 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: an avalanche of creditors coming forward and catalyzed a federal investigation. 263 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:19,520 Speaker 1: Cassie was arrested in New York City, which had become 264 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 1: a second home to her, shortly after the scandal broke, 265 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:25,040 Speaker 1: and at the time she was wearing a money belt 266 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:30,600 Speaker 1: containing one hundred thousand dollars cash. The primary crime that 267 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:34,120 Speaker 1: was cited in the charges involved the Citizens National Bank 268 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:38,560 Speaker 1: of Oberlin, Ohio. This institution had loaned Cassie eight hundred 269 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: thousand dollars and consequently had to declare bankruptcy. The conspiracy 270 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:46,520 Speaker 1: charge also involved two men who worked at the bank 271 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:50,520 Speaker 1: in Oberlin. Bank president Charles Beckwith and cashier A. B. 272 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: Spear were also accused. Beckwith and Spear had endorsed fraudulent 273 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:59,360 Speaker 1: notes presented by Chadwick bearing the forged signature of Andrew 274 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:03,400 Speaker 1: Carnegie on December tenth, The New York Times ran back 275 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,880 Speaker 1: with story he had confessed to federal authorities that yes, 276 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 1: he had conducted transactions with Chadwick, but that he had 277 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:14,560 Speaker 1: done so based on documents that she provided. She had 278 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:18,400 Speaker 1: indicated that citizens National Bank of Oberlin would be made 279 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:21,400 Speaker 1: the trustee of her five million dollar estate and that 280 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:24,440 Speaker 1: all the related documents would be given to the bank 281 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:28,280 Speaker 1: on July one, three. So that was that was what 282 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 1: Beckwith said that she had told to him. Correct. And 283 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,360 Speaker 1: where this whole thing gets a little bit uh dicey 284 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 1: is the fact that Chadwick promised both Charles Beckwith and 285 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:45,120 Speaker 1: the cashier ab Spear each ten thousand dollars a year 286 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 1: for handling her financial affairs as beneficiaries of this scheme. 287 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 1: This is where they legally became co conspirators. An article 288 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 1: that ran in the New York Times on December sixte 289 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 1: n four described a meeting between the Oberlin President, Mr. Beckwith, 290 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:04,480 Speaker 1: and Cassie in the latter's jail cell. And it did 291 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:08,800 Speaker 1: not go as you might expect. It read when a 292 00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:11,720 Speaker 1: man whose bank and whose private fortune have been wrecked 293 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:13,840 Speaker 1: stood face to face with the woman who is charged 294 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: with having been responsible for the wrecking. The two look 295 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:20,560 Speaker 1: steadily at each other for a moment, then they shook hands. 296 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:24,240 Speaker 1: You got us into an awful fix, said the aged banker. 297 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: It looks as if it were time for you to 298 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:30,960 Speaker 1: tell all you know. Cassie did not offer up any 299 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: information in response to this, and in according to this account, 300 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: back With continued, You've ruined me, but I'm not so 301 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:40,520 Speaker 1: sure yet you were a fraud. I've stood by you 302 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:42,960 Speaker 1: to my last dollar, and I do think now is 303 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,480 Speaker 1: the time for you to make known all. I always 304 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 1: told you I didn't like the idea of your changing 305 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:51,800 Speaker 1: attorneys so often, get a good one and keep him. 306 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:55,040 Speaker 1: I wanted to include this exchange because it speaks to 307 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:59,320 Speaker 1: just how good Cassie was gaining the confidence of the 308 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 1: people she frauded, even after this man had become a 309 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:06,560 Speaker 1: pariah to his peers, both in the banking community in 310 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:10,680 Speaker 1: the community at large, because his bank had really damaged 311 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:15,399 Speaker 1: a lot of people who had their money there. Uh, 312 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:18,120 Speaker 1: and it was all because of his involvement with Cassie Chadwick, 313 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:20,719 Speaker 1: But he still wanted to give her the benefit of 314 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,919 Speaker 1: the doubt. We'll talk some more about how Beckwith was 315 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,840 Speaker 1: drawn into the scheme and then strung along. But first 316 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:36,480 Speaker 1: we are going to have another little sponsor break. In 317 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 1: a write up from the Philadelphia North American, written while 318 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:42,000 Speaker 1: Cassie's case was still playing out, so this was a 319 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: contemporary account, the paper printed this quote, This extraordinary performance 320 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,639 Speaker 1: was accomplished by a woman fifty years old, with neither 321 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:54,280 Speaker 1: physical beauty nor personal charm, by one whose taste in 322 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:58,159 Speaker 1: dress totally lacking in discernment, who is rather deaf and 323 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:01,800 Speaker 1: harsh voice, and who, when it all excited, speaks without 324 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:06,439 Speaker 1: regard to grammar. So she was so charmless, how was 325 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:09,280 Speaker 1: she able to convince these shrewd bankers to hand over 326 00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:11,960 Speaker 1: so much money. There were a lot of theories that 327 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,119 Speaker 1: she used hypnotism or a similar device to control the 328 00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:17,520 Speaker 1: actions of the men that she did business with, But 329 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:19,440 Speaker 1: it really does seem to have come down about her 330 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 1: being really smart about human nature and offering Beckwith and 331 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:27,440 Speaker 1: Spears a significant annual income to manage her financial affairs. 332 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 1: Cassie gave her marks a buy in. Of course, they 333 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:33,399 Speaker 1: wanted her story to be real. They wanted it to 334 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 1: be true for their own benefit. Plus with them, as 335 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,159 Speaker 1: with all the banks involved, she had been willing to 336 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:42,680 Speaker 1: accept loans with really high interest rates. The banks thought 337 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:44,160 Speaker 1: they were all going to make a lot of money 338 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:47,679 Speaker 1: off of these deals, and even once suspicions arose in 339 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:52,000 Speaker 1: some cases at that point, fear of feeling or looking 340 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:54,800 Speaker 1: foolish seems to have made many of the people who 341 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:57,920 Speaker 1: had made these bad decisions to trust her stay silent. 342 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:02,040 Speaker 1: Having known people who were the victims of fraud, like 343 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:08,640 Speaker 1: the shame of having been defrauded is powerful, yes, indeed so. Additionally, 344 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 1: Cassie Chadwick was so good at developing her story that 345 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:14,800 Speaker 1: it really drew people in back. With described how she 346 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:17,560 Speaker 1: first told him that she was related to Carnegie. She 347 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: kept a portrait of an elderly man in her home, 348 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:24,000 Speaker 1: and she started their conversation with thereby hangs a tale. 349 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:28,640 Speaker 1: When the banker noticed it while visiting her home. Cassie 350 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:30,679 Speaker 1: then spun a yarn about how the man in the 351 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:34,439 Speaker 1: portrait was an uncle, the one referenced in the forged 352 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:38,800 Speaker 1: Carnegie document, and that the uncle, despite not being wealthy himself, 353 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:43,160 Speaker 1: was always providing money to her family. While on his deathbed, 354 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:46,080 Speaker 1: this uncle, she claimed, told Cassie that she was in 355 00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:49,040 Speaker 1: fact Carnegie's daughter, and that he had been funneling money 356 00:20:49,119 --> 00:20:54,400 Speaker 1: from the tycoon who felt guilty or fearful of being 357 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:58,680 Speaker 1: exposed to the family in exchange for silence in the matter. 358 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:04,480 Speaker 1: Even in his confession, just as the conversation with Cassie 359 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:07,880 Speaker 1: and jail, Beckwith was really reluctant to believe that this 360 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:12,359 Speaker 1: Cassie Chadwick who he entrusted, was a criminal. He seemed 361 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:16,479 Speaker 1: convinced that someone else must have been deceiving all of them. 362 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:18,920 Speaker 1: And then this lines up with his comment to Cassie 363 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 1: that she shouldn't have changed attorneys so often. He seemed 364 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:24,200 Speaker 1: to be indicating that he thought one of her lawyers 365 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:27,720 Speaker 1: was really the one behind the fraud. And even though 366 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:31,639 Speaker 1: the problems with Chadwick's money began to evidence themselves before 367 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:35,600 Speaker 1: her arrest, Beckwith continued to believe her assurances that everything 368 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:38,680 Speaker 1: was going to get fixed. She claimed at one point 369 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:41,080 Speaker 1: that a man named William Baldwin in New York was 370 00:21:41,119 --> 00:21:43,160 Speaker 1: one of the trustees of her estate and that they 371 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,480 Speaker 1: needed to contact Mr Baldwin to get everything turned over 372 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:50,480 Speaker 1: to the bank in Oberlin. After several unsuccessful attempts to 373 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:53,560 Speaker 1: reach the mythical Mr Baldwin, Beckwith and two other bank 374 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,040 Speaker 1: officials traveled to New York to meet with Cassie and 375 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:58,159 Speaker 1: her attorney, which is a Mr. Powers, and they were 376 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,879 Speaker 1: supposed to meet with Baldwin himself. But though Cassie seemed 377 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:04,719 Speaker 1: to be cooperating to get the bank the money it needed, 378 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:08,640 Speaker 1: at the last minute a problem arose. She told beckw 379 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 1: that the documents needed to resolve the issue were in 380 00:22:11,359 --> 00:22:14,000 Speaker 1: the possession of her husband back in Ohio. So this 381 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:17,320 Speaker 1: whole trip had been a bust, and this was just 382 00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:21,440 Speaker 1: the first in a series of concocted complications that kept 383 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:24,280 Speaker 1: Cassie from making good on her debts with Beckwith's bank. 384 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:27,560 Speaker 1: As he attempted to secure the funds that she owed, 385 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:30,400 Speaker 1: he met with a new excuse at every turn, including 386 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,199 Speaker 1: at one point the introduction into the ruse of a 387 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,359 Speaker 1: Pittsburgh banking firm that allegedly had power of attorney and 388 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:38,960 Speaker 1: had to be included in the proceedings in order to 389 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:41,600 Speaker 1: make the Citizens National Bank of Oberlin the trustee of 390 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:45,280 Speaker 1: her estate. At this point, the Oberlin Bank's ready cash 391 00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:49,520 Speaker 1: was depleted and Beckwith was in serious trouble. At one point, 392 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:52,920 Speaker 1: during a meeting called with the Citizens National Bank directors 393 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:57,400 Speaker 1: and Chadwick at the Chadwick Residents, Cassie claimed that Charles 394 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 1: Beckwith was in an adjacent room with poison and a 395 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:03,960 Speaker 1: revolver in his possession, and that he intended to take 396 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 1: his own life back with When confronted by the bank, 397 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,280 Speaker 1: colleague said that he had merely idly suggested that idea, 398 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:14,639 Speaker 1: but wasn't serious. In any case, this whole diversion worked 399 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:17,399 Speaker 1: because the meeting ended and there was no resolution to 400 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:22,120 Speaker 1: the financial issues between the bank and Cassie. In his statement, 401 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: as he told his story, beck Was said quote, I 402 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:29,159 Speaker 1: am either an awful dupe or a terrible fool. I 403 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 1: know I have done wrong, but although crushed, I do 404 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,760 Speaker 1: not propose to be made a scapegoat to shield the 405 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:38,399 Speaker 1: sins of others. Beckwith, who was pretty elderly at this 406 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:41,679 Speaker 1: time that all of this was playing out, was described 407 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:46,840 Speaker 1: as incredibly distraught and tearful. Charles Beckwith died before the 408 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,280 Speaker 1: charges against him were taking a trial. The cashier who 409 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:53,520 Speaker 1: had also been charged, which was a B Spear, pled 410 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:57,400 Speaker 1: guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison. According 411 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:01,480 Speaker 1: to news reports, Spear's wife went insane because of the 412 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:05,879 Speaker 1: stress of the situation. Once Cassie was in custody. Not 413 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,719 Speaker 1: only were back within spear questioned, but as you may 414 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:12,600 Speaker 1: have been wondering, yes. Andrew Carnegie was summoned to appear 415 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:15,399 Speaker 1: before a federal grand jury to answer questions in the matter. 416 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 1: He said that he had never met Cassie Chadwick, and 417 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:21,560 Speaker 1: he seemed mostly offended that anyone who had seen the 418 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:24,480 Speaker 1: fraudulent letters that Cassie claimed he wrote would think that 419 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:28,879 Speaker 1: he had such poor spelling and punctuation. Later on, he said, quote, 420 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:31,639 Speaker 1: if anybody had seen this paper and really believed that 421 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:33,720 Speaker 1: I had drawn it up and signed it, I could 422 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:36,840 Speaker 1: hardly have been flattered. He also stated that he had 423 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:41,160 Speaker 1: not signed such a note in thirty years. Cassie's trial 424 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:45,359 Speaker 1: began on March six, and it lasted two weeks. Andrew 425 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:49,600 Speaker 1: Carnegie attended the proceedings. She pleaded not guilty and denied 426 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:52,560 Speaker 1: that she had ever claimed that Andrew Carnegie was her father. 427 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 1: She was found guilty of conspiracy to to fraud and 428 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:58,679 Speaker 1: National Bank and was sentenced to fourteen years in prison 429 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:03,879 Speaker 1: and find seventy thousand dollars. While in prison, Chadwick was 430 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:05,919 Speaker 1: still allowed to keep a lot of the items that 431 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:09,360 Speaker 1: she had gained through her criminal enterprise, particularly her rather 432 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:13,040 Speaker 1: impressive wardrobe. But though she enjoyed a lot of lavish 433 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:17,280 Speaker 1: possessions while she was incarcerated, she still had problems. Her 434 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:21,879 Speaker 1: health really rapidly declined. In mid September of nineteen o seven, 435 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:25,240 Speaker 1: it was reported that she experienced a nervous collapse while 436 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:28,840 Speaker 1: speaking with her son Emil, who was visiting her. After 437 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:33,000 Speaker 1: this collapse, she experienced a temporary blindness, but doctors at 438 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,880 Speaker 1: the prison reported that she recovered less than a month later. 439 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:40,920 Speaker 1: On October seven, the papers reported that due to heart 440 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:45,360 Speaker 1: disease and a weak stomach, she was weak and experiencing 441 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:50,320 Speaker 1: doubts of delirium. Cassie Chadwick died in the Ohio Penitentiary 442 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:54,159 Speaker 1: in Columbus, Ohio, on October tenth, nine seven. It was 443 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:56,880 Speaker 1: her fiftieth birthday, and she had been in a coma 444 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:00,080 Speaker 1: in those last hours leading up to her death, and 445 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:02,560 Speaker 1: while she was attended by hospital staff, no one from 446 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 1: her personal life was there. Her son Emil, was informed 447 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:08,080 Speaker 1: of her condition prior to her death, and he was 448 00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:10,800 Speaker 1: expected at the hospital, but he didn't arrive until after 449 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:14,720 Speaker 1: her passing. It may never be known exactly how much 450 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:18,080 Speaker 1: money Cassie Chadwick was able to get through fraudulent means. 451 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:21,119 Speaker 1: A New York Times special that ran that ran the 452 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:24,560 Speaker 1: year she was arrested speculated that based on all the 453 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:27,240 Speaker 1: reported disclosures, it could have been as much as twenty 454 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:30,800 Speaker 1: one million dollars. But estimates over the year, over the 455 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:33,959 Speaker 1: years have really been all over the place. Yeah, And 456 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,439 Speaker 1: some of the difficulty pinning it down to is that 457 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:39,840 Speaker 1: shame that we talked about earlier. There were a lot 458 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:42,679 Speaker 1: of people that also offered her personal loans, thinking she 459 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:46,200 Speaker 1: was a wealthy and important person, and it's believed that 460 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:49,320 Speaker 1: a lot of them never pursued the issue because they 461 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:53,920 Speaker 1: were too embarrassed that she had made fools of them. Uh. 462 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:56,399 Speaker 1: One of the other problems in assessing the real extent 463 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:59,639 Speaker 1: of her ill gotten fortune was the difficulty that authorities 464 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:03,360 Speaker 1: had in finding all of it. Various items like trunks 465 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:06,920 Speaker 1: and satchels that were believed to contain valuables were difficult 466 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:09,520 Speaker 1: to track down, as Cassie had left a number of 467 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:12,400 Speaker 1: them with various people over the course of her masquerade 468 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:16,359 Speaker 1: as an heiress. Her body was transported back to Ontario 469 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:19,000 Speaker 1: to be buried, which was in accordance with her wishes. 470 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:24,119 Speaker 1: The name on her gravestone reads Elizabeth Bigley. As for 471 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:28,120 Speaker 1: Cassie's husband, Dr Leroy Chadwick, he attempted to get distance 472 00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:31,400 Speaker 1: from Cassie. As soon as this scandal broke. He basically 473 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:33,480 Speaker 1: left for Europe to get away from the whole business. 474 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:37,040 Speaker 1: But eventually he did return home, and while he really 475 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:39,560 Speaker 1: had no knowledge of his wife's trail of fraud while 476 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,720 Speaker 1: it was happening, creditors still pursued him to try to 477 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: get their money back. In late summer of nineteen o eight, 478 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:49,640 Speaker 1: Leroy Chadwick declared bankruptcy. Do you also have listener mail? 479 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:53,199 Speaker 1: I do. It's way more upbeat than being defrauded by 480 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:58,199 Speaker 1: a horrible person. Um this listener mail is beautiful and 481 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:00,359 Speaker 1: I will explain why. And it comes from our listener, Arebara. 482 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:03,520 Speaker 1: She says, Greetings Holly and Tracy. I love your podcast. 483 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:04,879 Speaker 1: I found it less than a year ago and have 484 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,720 Speaker 1: been working through the back catalog in between new episodes. 485 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:10,480 Speaker 1: I was super excited by the Skelly Michael episode in 486 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:12,920 Speaker 1: December as I am a native of Ireland very near 487 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:15,720 Speaker 1: to Skellic Michael, and I have visited this remarkable island 488 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:18,640 Speaker 1: twice once when I was twelve, and again thirty years 489 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,240 Speaker 1: later in when I took the photos that grace the 490 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:23,159 Speaker 1: front of this card. So that's why I love it. 491 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:28,760 Speaker 1: It's like a custom postcard with her gorgeous photography on it. Um. 492 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:30,760 Speaker 1: That's me next to the rock ray split with her 493 00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:33,560 Speaker 1: lightsaber in the last Jedi. That rock is actually known 494 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:36,560 Speaker 1: as the Whaling Woman. On my first visit, the seat 495 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:38,680 Speaker 1: crossing to the island was so rough I thought we 496 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:41,880 Speaker 1: would capsize and drown. But my recent ish second visit 497 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,800 Speaker 1: was much smoother, although my husband is still traumatized by 498 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:47,680 Speaker 1: the sheer stone steps. I now live in the UK, 499 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:51,400 Speaker 1: hence the stamps. They're very cool. Um Game of Throne stamps. 500 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:54,400 Speaker 1: Lovely to hear you talk about my home on your podcast. 501 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:57,320 Speaker 1: This is so cool one. Those Game of Throne stamps 502 00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:00,480 Speaker 1: are beautiful too. Again, I love that she has beautiful 503 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,840 Speaker 1: pictures of skelling Michael three. I understand her husband's fear 504 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:06,120 Speaker 1: of those steps. As you'll recall in that episode, I 505 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 1: commented that I would be terrified to be there. Uh. 506 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:12,800 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you could 507 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:15,680 Speaker 1: do so at History podcast at how stuff works dot com. 508 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:17,840 Speaker 1: You can also find us across the spectrum of social 509 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: media as Missed in History and Missed in History dot 510 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:22,720 Speaker 1: com is the place to go if you would like 511 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:27,280 Speaker 1: to visit our entire back catalog, the full archive of episodes, 512 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:29,680 Speaker 1: more than a thousand of them going way way back 513 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:32,080 Speaker 1: to previous hosts, and any of the ones that Tracy 514 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,320 Speaker 1: and I have worked on. Will also have some show 515 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:36,560 Speaker 1: notes with some references that we've used along the way. 516 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:38,880 Speaker 1: So come out and visit us at missed in History 517 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:46,840 Speaker 1: dot com. For more on this and thousands of other topics, 518 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:56,680 Speaker 1: visit how staff works dot com.