1 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of iHeartRadio and 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: Grimm and Mild from Ari and Manky. 3 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 2: It rose up from below, a sentinel of sweeping steel 4 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:25,240 Speaker 2: and promise. The Brooklyn Bridge soared, a stately giant that 5 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,720 Speaker 2: welded the two banks of the East River together. It 6 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 2: was the longest suspension bridge ever created, an eighth Wonder 7 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 2: of the World, according to some, It became a point 8 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:38,200 Speaker 2: of pride for New York and one of the most 9 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 2: recognizable landmarks around, especially to those who had just arrived 10 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 2: on America's shores. The bridge had become just as iconic 11 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 2: as Lady Liberty herself. Immigrants saw these towering figures as 12 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 2: symbols of possibility. They arrived in ship after ship because 13 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 2: they understood America to be a place of opportunity, as 14 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 2: did the conmet who waited for the newcomers at the docks, 15 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 2: some of whom, as we've talked about before on this show, 16 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 2: went about trying to sell them that very bridge. The 17 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:11,759 Speaker 2: scammers who preyed upon the dreams of these sea weary 18 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 2: travelers and convinced them that they've had a bridge to 19 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 2: sell were a dime a dozen, so much so that 20 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 2: the processors of Ellis Island began warning people about them 21 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 2: and others to be on the lookout for. It was 22 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 2: evident that the American dream was ripe for exploitation. Immigrants 23 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 2: arrived believing they were starting over, that their new lives 24 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 2: were about to begin, and some, like Bertha Hayman, relished 25 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 2: in starting over again and again and again. Bertha was 26 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 2: committed to the hustle. A daughter of Prussia, she made 27 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 2: her way to the United States in eighteen seventy eight. 28 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 2: She was an immigrant too, landing wide eyed at the 29 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 2: docks like so many before her, but she wasn't one 30 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 2: to be scammed the opposite. In fact, Umbertha was known 31 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 2: to be quite the talker, a bullish and brazen woman 32 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 2: who made it her life's work to ingratiate herself with 33 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 2: wealthy men. She was money driven, and in the golden 34 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,280 Speaker 2: era of industrialization, she knew that some of these men 35 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:19,800 Speaker 2: of Old New York had some cash to spare. So 36 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 2: Bertha donned her finest garb and played the part of 37 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:27,799 Speaker 2: a rich mourning widow, often talking herself into endless lines 38 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:32,760 Speaker 2: of credit, gifts and forged checks. The issue she often 39 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 2: told her marks was that of course, she had the money, 40 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 2: she was just struggling to access it. But she was 41 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:42,519 Speaker 2: charming and her looks were thought to be disarming by some, 42 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 2: and this got her a long way. She stayed at 43 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 2: the finest hotels, had a maid, and worked her way 44 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 2: around the city. Her hard work involved less sweat and 45 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 2: more pearls. As bold as she was, it's perhaps no 46 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:00,160 Speaker 2: surprise that she became a known quantity to the New 47 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,919 Speaker 2: York City Police Department. Alberta was in and out of jail, 48 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:07,639 Speaker 2: but never stayed too long, and somehow managed to still 49 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 2: keep bilking fortunes behind bars. The name she made for 50 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 2: herself horrified and impressed many, to the point that she 51 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 2: was eventually given her own one woman theater show. In it, 52 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:23,919 Speaker 2: she played herself recounting her capers and life of crime 53 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 2: for all to enjoy. For this, she earned a paycheck 54 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:32,839 Speaker 2: fair and square. It seems that in America, newcomers could 55 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 2: become anyone. It's long been a place of reinvention. It 56 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 2: still is today. But as you'll see, some took this 57 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 2: quite literally, and not all for reasons you might expect. 58 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 2: I'm Lorn Vogelbaum. Welcome to American Shadows. The Brooklyn Daily 59 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 2: Eagle didn't mention her name, but her story was a 60 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 2: cautionary tale for you youngsters across the city. The newspaper 61 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 2: reported that she was a gal of sixteen off for 62 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 2: an afternoon outing at P. T. Barnum's Great American Museum. 63 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 2: It was one of the most famous places in all 64 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 2: of New York City. There, visitors were greeted with a 65 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 2: collection of sights, sounds, and stories that prickled across their 66 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:23,559 Speaker 2: imaginations like goosebumps on the skin. Many people her age 67 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 2: had never been to a city, let alone held court 68 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 2: with a giantess, dwarf, or mermaid in New York, though 69 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 2: anything was possible. She was alone that day, which wasn't 70 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 2: terribly uncommon. In the eighteen forties. Many young folks had 71 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 2: been moving into the city to find new work opportunities, 72 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 2: and there they sought out entertainment too. While she watched 73 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,160 Speaker 2: to play at the museum, a man saddled up to her. 74 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:51,279 Speaker 2: He appeared to be a gentlemanly fellow and taking the 75 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,359 Speaker 2: time to point out what was going on to us. 76 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,479 Speaker 2: This encounter probably wouldn't feel dissimilar to sitting with a 77 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 2: chatty moviegoer, but she couldn't quite shake him. He was 78 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:04,720 Speaker 2: so knowledgeable and so generous that she assumed he worked 79 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 2: at the place, and she didn't want to be rude. 80 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 2: By the time the play was over, it was dark. 81 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 2: She had never intended to stay this long. The girl 82 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 2: was stuck now, not wanting to travel alone, but not 83 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 2: exactly excited to be traveling with this strange man. He 84 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 2: insisted on walking her home, which she allowed him to do, 85 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 2: but he didn't stop at her front door. He allowed 86 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:31,480 Speaker 2: himself in, brushing past the maid and installing himself in 87 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:35,480 Speaker 2: her parlor, and there he sat at ease, but only 88 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 2: for a few minutes, until the girl's father appeared. Both men, 89 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,359 Speaker 2: of course, were shocked to see the other, and only 90 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:44,920 Speaker 2: then did the intruder realize that the jig was up, 91 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:48,880 Speaker 2: and that his night of persuasion and intended predation had 92 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 2: come to an end. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle went on 93 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:54,599 Speaker 2: to plea with Barnum to be more dutiful to his 94 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 2: visitors and safeguard them against opportunists. These people were a 95 00:05:58,839 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 2: social scourge, the paper implied, and they were multiplying. Things 96 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:09,200 Speaker 2: were changing quickly in nineteenth century America. Industrialization was providing 97 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:12,840 Speaker 2: jobs where family farms were beginning to fall short, and 98 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:16,919 Speaker 2: young people were migrating into cities. Here they were on 99 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 2: their own, dislocated from the watchful eyes of their families 100 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 2: and communities. Most of them were on their own for 101 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 2: the first time in their lives. They moved into hotels 102 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 2: and boarding homes. They went to work, they went to bars, 103 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:34,160 Speaker 2: they went to dance halls. They were performing independence and 104 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:36,719 Speaker 2: a new kind of adulthood that the country had never 105 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 2: seen before. As a way to meet the needs of 106 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:44,360 Speaker 2: this ballooning teenage population, dozens of etiquette manuals were published 107 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:48,080 Speaker 2: around how to take care of oneself. These books spelled 108 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:52,279 Speaker 2: out rules for living, how to eat, dress, work, and court. 109 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:55,600 Speaker 2: They would become respectable members of society if only they 110 00:06:55,600 --> 00:07:01,040 Speaker 2: could follow the rules. These newcomers were hopeful, and they 111 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 2: were often naive. Urban life was ripe for anonymity, and 112 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 2: sometimes this anonymity became an opportunity for crime. The etiquette 113 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:15,720 Speaker 2: manuals warned the newly arrived about the dangers of confidence men. 114 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 2: These were opportunistic swindlers, wolves in sheep's clothing, seemingly charitable 115 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 2: strangers who only dropped their masks when it was a 116 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:28,800 Speaker 2: minute too late. Confidence men were nothing but clever actors 117 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 2: performing charity on the stage of New York City's streets. 118 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 2: There they hustled to get whatever they wanted by becoming 119 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 2: whomever their unsuspecting victims wanted them to be. The tools 120 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 2: of their trade were a bit of psychology and perhaps 121 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 2: some fancy tailoring. The term confidence man or con man 122 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 2: for short, first appeared in eighteen forty nine, coined by 123 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 2: the New York Press. The paper was documenting the court 124 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 2: trial of William Thompson, whose game had been to win 125 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 2: the confidence of a stranger as to borrow his watch 126 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 2: and walk away laughing. The paper suggested men like him 127 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 2: were becoming more common. By the eighteen sixties, police captains 128 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 2: estimated that there were twenty five hundred professional criminals living 129 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 2: and operating in New York. They became a quirky, dangerous 130 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 2: feature of the city that needed to be kept under watch. 131 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 2: And there was one man, a son of Brooklyn, who 132 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 2: had become one of the most famous cons of the 133 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 2: ma all. What made him different was that money wasn't 134 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 2: his end game, but rather something much deeper. The mirror 135 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:50,319 Speaker 2: was doing its job in it. The young man gazed 136 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 2: at his reflection. He raised his eyebrows, jutted his chin, 137 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:57,679 Speaker 2: and pulled his shoulders back. He tried a few more postures, 138 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 2: a few more faces. His looking glass was a tool. 139 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,520 Speaker 2: In time, it would become his constant companion, his fiercest ally, 140 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 2: a means of social lubrication and upward mobility. In it, 141 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 2: he saw not who he truly was, but carefully crafted 142 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 2: image of everyone he ever wanted to be. As he 143 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 2: looked at himself and studied his newest disguise, the mirror 144 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 2: gave him even more ideas of who he could become. 145 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 2: That day, at nineteen years old, he would be a 146 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 2: recently appointed US consular agent to the fictitious Portabrey's Morocco, 147 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 2: a fairly straightforward claim, aided by the fact that Google 148 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 2: Maps had yet to be invented. Who he really was 149 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 2: at the beginning was someone a bit more humble. He 150 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:50,000 Speaker 2: was a pint sized kid named Stephen Jacob Weinberg born 151 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 2: in eighteen ninety in Brooklyn. He lived in a plain neighborhood, 152 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 2: on a plain block, in a plain two story home. 153 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,120 Speaker 2: Nothing about his origin would suggest he would ever or 154 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 2: eke out a life beyond the most ordinary of existences. 155 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:07,320 Speaker 2: His family was working class, and his dream of becoming 156 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 2: a doctor was pretty out of reach, so he took 157 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 2: on everyday service jobs, making a buck in the same 158 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:16,880 Speaker 2: way many other folks did at the time. Not much 159 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 2: about him was notable except for his imagination. He dreamed 160 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 2: of a world outside of his block. He wished for power, 161 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:29,440 Speaker 2: He wanted to steam, respect, to instill all, and he 162 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:33,319 Speaker 2: wanted to fast track his way to it all. At 163 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,040 Speaker 2: his house in Brooklyn, he began stuffing his closets with 164 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:40,040 Speaker 2: a clever array of uniforms. He had trousers and coat tails, 165 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:43,880 Speaker 2: brass buttons, and military jackets. He had an extensive collection 166 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:47,439 Speaker 2: of shoes and ties and other trappings of important fineries. 167 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,280 Speaker 2: But if one looked close enough, they could see that 168 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:55,680 Speaker 2: something might be askew, a button missing the wrong shoe color, 169 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:00,400 Speaker 2: ribbons pinned the wrong way. But these thoughts would quickly 170 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:04,199 Speaker 2: quiet once Stephen began to speak as he unraveled yarns 171 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:08,840 Speaker 2: that captivated anyone in earshot. By twenty one though, he 172 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:14,240 Speaker 2: was frequently wanted by police for his impersonation tactics, but amazingly, 173 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:18,480 Speaker 2: he never tried very hard to hide himself. He continued 174 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:21,560 Speaker 2: to reside in his old neighborhood and never legally changed 175 00:11:21,559 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 2: his name. Though he went by many, he never changed 176 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:28,679 Speaker 2: his signature, mustache, or dyed his hair. The police assumed 177 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 2: he wouldn't be foolish enough to go home when they 178 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:34,439 Speaker 2: were looking for him, but they were wrong. By all accounts, 179 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:37,880 Speaker 2: he lived quite comfortably, close to his parents and surrounded 180 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:42,200 Speaker 2: by all of his costuming. In nineteen fifteen, the U. S. 181 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:44,560 Speaker 2: Navy received a phone call from a man claiming to 182 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:48,760 Speaker 2: be Romania's consul general in New York. The caller claimed 183 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:51,200 Speaker 2: that Queen Mary had asked that he pay his respects 184 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:54,360 Speaker 2: to the US military by touring and inspecting the USS 185 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,680 Speaker 2: Wyoming battleship, which was docked nearby in the Hudson River. 186 00:11:58,559 --> 00:12:03,200 Speaker 2: The Navy obliged and brought aboard Stephen, the hero of 187 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:06,400 Speaker 2: our story and certainly the hero of his own, was 188 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 2: greeted by rows of troops who stood at attention to 189 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:12,120 Speaker 2: meet him. He was a commanding sight in his light 190 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:16,240 Speaker 2: blue uniform in admiral's hat. When he was sufficiently pleased 191 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:18,720 Speaker 2: with the tour, he announced to everyone that he would 192 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:21,280 Speaker 2: be throwing a dinner party for military officers at the 193 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:26,640 Speaker 2: astor hotel in Times Square, and they were all cordially invited. This, 194 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 2: of course, would be on the Romanian consulate's dime. The 195 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:34,080 Speaker 2: night came and the festivities kicked into high gear, and 196 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:37,520 Speaker 2: the party was short lived. Though Stephen had been brazen 197 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:39,760 Speaker 2: enough to publish an announcement about the party in the 198 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,720 Speaker 2: pages of the New York Times using his own name. 199 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:47,400 Speaker 2: That evening, two detectives stormed into the room and dragged 200 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:51,880 Speaker 2: him away. By all accounts, Stephen never broke character the 201 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:55,920 Speaker 2: whole time, until one story claims he told officers that 202 00:12:56,000 --> 00:13:00,199 Speaker 2: he wished they could have waited until after dessert. Ring 203 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:02,800 Speaker 2: to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the captain of the wyoming 204 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 2: was thoroughly impressed. He told the paper, all I can 205 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:08,280 Speaker 2: say is the little guy can put on one hell 206 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:12,199 Speaker 2: of a tour inspection and this was just the beginning 207 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 2: of a much longer career. Two years later, he would 208 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:17,719 Speaker 2: end up in jail for forging the name of a 209 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:20,640 Speaker 2: US senator on a job recommendation to become a local 210 00:13:20,679 --> 00:13:24,120 Speaker 2: bank teller. In nineteen twenty, he would be arrested in 211 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:26,960 Speaker 2: a park for wearing a navy uniform with stripes all 212 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:31,160 Speaker 2: askew upon arrest, he told a half truth that he 213 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 2: wasn't really an officer, but in reality a doctor. He 214 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 2: was only a short prison stint away from his next adventure, 215 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 2: which took him to Peru. Here he conned his way 216 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 2: into the role of a sanitation expert for an American 217 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:48,760 Speaker 2: engineering company. He spent wildly throwing extravagant parties and living 218 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:52,320 Speaker 2: the high life on the company dime. It seems like 219 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:55,160 Speaker 2: you just can't put a price on charisma and charm, 220 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:58,800 Speaker 2: in two things that Stephen was very rich with. Indeed, 221 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:09,040 Speaker 2: in later years, Stephen would talk about his depression, his mania, 222 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:12,240 Speaker 2: and the life saving chemical cocktail that came in the 223 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:16,160 Speaker 2: midst of what he called perking up. He was prone 224 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 2: to the blues. His ego was fed by the dopamine 225 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 2: hits that came from playing someone else. A uniform brought 226 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:28,360 Speaker 2: him admiration, Fancy titles brought reverence. A new backstory made 227 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 2: him the most interesting man in the room, not some 228 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:35,240 Speaker 2: poor kid from Brooklyn. Laying in bed one morning and 229 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 2: on sure of his next move, he read about a princess. 230 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,080 Speaker 2: She was coming to New York from Afghanistan, and though 231 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:44,640 Speaker 2: the press was enamored with her, arrival, Sho had been 232 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:48,440 Speaker 2: met by Cool Latitude from the US government in July 233 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 2: nineteen twenty one. Afghanistan was a newly minted sovereign nation. 234 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 2: Princess Fatima and her sons, it seems, were somewhat distant 235 00:14:56,840 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 2: relations to the crown and weren't high on the priority 236 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 2: list for all the state craft and red carpets. She 237 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 2: wanted to meet President Warren G. Harding, but her invite 238 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 2: hadn't materialized, and it was there not far from dreaming himself, 239 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:14,720 Speaker 2: but Stephen decided he was going to make this dream 240 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 2: of hers happen. He was shortly out the door, blue 241 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:23,000 Speaker 2: uniform pressed and face freshly shaven as soon he arrived 242 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:26,000 Speaker 2: at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where he canned his way 243 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,680 Speaker 2: into her suite. He was there on behalf of the 244 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:32,040 Speaker 2: Secretary of State, he said, and promised to personally take 245 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 2: her to Washington, but first she needed to hand over 246 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:39,000 Speaker 2: ten thousand dollars for tribute gifts. He then made a 247 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 2: few phone calls. First was Robert woods Bliss, an underling 248 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:46,600 Speaker 2: to the Secretary of State, who Stephen told that he 249 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 2: was calling as the State Department Naval Liaison officer and 250 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,600 Speaker 2: that Princess Fatimah was with him. She was amenable to 251 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:56,280 Speaker 2: meeting with the President. Stephen reported, and that he would 252 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:59,120 Speaker 2: go ahead and contact the President's office directly to arrange 253 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 2: a meeting. Robert, who assumed he had missed an order 254 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:06,960 Speaker 2: from above, went to work. Soon thereafter, the Secretary of 255 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 2: State briefed the President on Afghanistan in preparation for her arrival. 256 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:15,280 Speaker 2: Stephen meanwhile rented a luxurious private rail car to bring 257 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:18,840 Speaker 2: the princess and her family to Washington. He installed them 258 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 2: in an expensive hotel suite before quickly making tracks over 259 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 2: to the State Department offices. Upon arrival, he told them 260 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:28,400 Speaker 2: he had come at the behest of several senators who 261 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:30,680 Speaker 2: wanted to encourage the government to show a bit more 262 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 2: gracious diplomacy. Princess Fatimah wanted to meet the Secretary of State, 263 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:39,240 Speaker 2: which she soon did, and then the entire unlikely troop 264 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 2: was on their way to the White House's front door. 265 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:46,320 Speaker 2: The photo record shows a smiling court on the White 266 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,480 Speaker 2: House lawn, the President and the First Lady, the Princess 267 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 2: and her sons, and Stephen all smiling for the hardings. 268 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 2: This was a somewhat unexpected development. The President had just 269 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:01,120 Speaker 2: returned home from a camping trip and ended the day 270 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:04,960 Speaker 2: a lot more decadently than it had started. By bedtime, 271 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 2: he had inherited an entire collection of cashmere shawls, finely 272 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:12,320 Speaker 2: knotted rugs, and brightly colored turbans of plus, had had 273 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:16,920 Speaker 2: an audience with Royalty, and as the records show, Princess 274 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:21,880 Speaker 2: Fatima was very pleased as well. Stephen Chatty, as always, 275 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:25,160 Speaker 2: relished the moment and worked to ingratiate himself to every 276 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 2: one in the room, which was quite odd behavior for 277 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:31,399 Speaker 2: a man in uniform. But before any side eyes turned 278 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:35,440 Speaker 2: into real questions, he was back out the door. Stephen 279 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:37,800 Speaker 2: stayed on with the princess and telling her that he 280 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:39,919 Speaker 2: was granted a leave of absence from his job so 281 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:43,000 Speaker 2: he could be her personal secretary and adviser and her 282 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,560 Speaker 2: physician if she and her sons ever needed one, for 283 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:49,040 Speaker 2: he also happened to be a medical doctor. It took 284 00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 2: about two months for Fatima to begin articulating her concerns 285 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:57,880 Speaker 2: about Stephen. The bills weren't adding up, gifts weren't being delivered. 286 00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:01,639 Speaker 2: He seemed to be ghosting her. He was giving her 287 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:06,360 Speaker 2: conflicting information. Law enforcement realized the Brooklyn address he gave 288 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 2: the Princess matched that of the city's most notorious serial impostor. 289 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:15,920 Speaker 2: He was quickly handcuffed and charged for impersonating a naval 290 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:20,360 Speaker 2: officer and sentenced to two years in prison. Stephen's father 291 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:24,439 Speaker 2: appealed for psychiatric treatment instead, and Stephen insisted that he 292 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 2: never committed these impostures out of ballas they stemmed from, 293 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:31,879 Speaker 2: he said, his manic depressive episodes from which he had 294 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:36,399 Speaker 2: long suffered. The judge didn't buy this. He thought the 295 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:39,680 Speaker 2: claim was just another one of Stephen's stories, a creative 296 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:42,440 Speaker 2: fiction to help him slink through the world and many 297 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,920 Speaker 2: important doors. Like the chameleon he had proven himself to be. 298 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 2: We can look at Stephen's life as one long piece 299 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:58,679 Speaker 2: of performance art. We can also admire his stamina. He 300 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:02,199 Speaker 2: was as crafty as he was beguiling. He dressed for 301 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:06,119 Speaker 2: every part, he played if imperfectly, and crafted his moves 302 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:10,720 Speaker 2: around tactical omission. For example, though he claimed to be 303 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:13,040 Speaker 2: a pilot and he was never seen flying a plane 304 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:16,720 Speaker 2: as a sanitation expert, he was never down in the trenches. 305 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:21,639 Speaker 2: He was gregarious, friendly, and nothing but a consummate gentleman. 306 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:26,080 Speaker 2: He couldn't help, but like the guy. This is exactly 307 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:30,320 Speaker 2: how silver screenstar Pola Negri felt about a certain physician. 308 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:34,280 Speaker 2: When her sweetheart, Rudolph Valentino died at a New York hospital. 309 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:39,600 Speaker 2: She was heartbroken, and when this sweet and concerned doctor 310 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:43,200 Speaker 2: showed up, she couldn't help but be taken by him. 311 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:46,760 Speaker 2: Stephen had introduced himself and offered his services in this 312 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,320 Speaker 2: dark moment. He installed himself in an extra bedroom in 313 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:53,720 Speaker 2: her hotel suite, and there he tended to her. He 314 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 2: took her temperature and ordered things from the pharmacy. He 315 00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:00,080 Speaker 2: kept her fed and rested. On the day of her 316 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 2: beloved's funeral, among the throngs of tens of thousands, Stephen 317 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:08,200 Speaker 2: escorted Pola to Rudolph's casket. He also found time to 318 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:10,479 Speaker 2: set up a first aid station for folks who might 319 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:14,600 Speaker 2: be feeling faint of heart, But he was soon recognized. 320 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:18,080 Speaker 2: After all these years, the police were finally getting hit 321 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:22,320 Speaker 2: to his jib. Though the con was up, Pola refused 322 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:25,840 Speaker 2: to press charges. He had never accepted her offer for payment, 323 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:29,680 Speaker 2: after all, nor had he improperly conducted himself in her presence. 324 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:33,440 Speaker 2: In fact, as she told the American Medical association multiple 325 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:36,000 Speaker 2: times when they tried to go after him. He was 326 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:39,879 Speaker 2: the best doctor she had ever had. This was something, 327 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:43,080 Speaker 2: of course, that he had always dreamt of being a doctor, 328 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:48,480 Speaker 2: that old dream dashed early in childhood. It seems, through 329 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:53,200 Speaker 2: a convoluted route, he had finally made it. Stephen would 330 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,680 Speaker 2: continue to compulsively imposture for the rest of his life. 331 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 2: It's ironic that his end came in a quiet moment 332 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:04,480 Speaker 2: of obscurity in older age, in the night time, at 333 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:09,119 Speaker 2: a thankless job as an anonymous overnight motel clerk. To 334 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:12,280 Speaker 2: say that he never made anything of himself would be misleading. 335 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:15,760 Speaker 2: The whole point was to make many things of himself. 336 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:20,720 Speaker 2: Stephen once told a reporter that, and I quote, one 337 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:24,200 Speaker 2: man's life is a boring thing. I've lived many lives. 338 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:31,919 Speaker 2: I'm never bored. There's more to this story. Stick around 339 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 2: after this brief sponsor break to hear all about it. 340 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,640 Speaker 2: The golden age of the side show had something for everyone, 341 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,399 Speaker 2: and while it was in the habit of promising audiences 342 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:49,160 Speaker 2: the world's tallest man or oldest woman, Martin Cooney promised 343 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:53,240 Speaker 2: them a different kind of person, potential future presidents or 344 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 2: the next great industrialists. All packaged up in the bodies 345 00:21:57,119 --> 00:22:02,480 Speaker 2: of sickly premature babies. Down on the sandy shores of 346 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:05,640 Speaker 2: Coney Island, Martin and his team of nurses were hard 347 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:09,560 Speaker 2: at work. Here. Right on the board walk, Martin had 348 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:15,120 Speaker 2: installed a permanent exhibit he called the Inventorium. Barkers would 349 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,040 Speaker 2: beckon passers by to stop and take a look inside. 350 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:22,000 Speaker 2: Each season, the babies were hawked to visitors in the 351 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 2: same way as all of the other spectacles, with a 352 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:28,280 Speaker 2: quarter to be paid for the price of admission. There 353 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,879 Speaker 2: they'd meet rows of palm sized newborns, bedecked in pink 354 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:35,879 Speaker 2: and blue and encased in glass. And while some found 355 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:39,679 Speaker 2: this framing abhorrent, Martin had good reason to draw up 356 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:42,879 Speaker 2: such an attractive pitch. He was in the business of 357 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:47,639 Speaker 2: saving the tiniest lives. It cost about fifteen dollars a 358 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 2: day to care for each baby in the facility. He 359 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,439 Speaker 2: never charged parents for the care of their children, and 360 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:56,720 Speaker 2: he paid his staff of nurses well, and still he 361 00:22:56,800 --> 00:23:00,480 Speaker 2: had enough money left over to plan his expansion. The 362 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 2: whole scene felt both fragile and other worldly, and was 363 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 2: a smash hit among the general public. For many many years, 364 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:14,400 Speaker 2: Medical professionals often criticized the exhibit and particularly dangerous imitations, 365 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,880 Speaker 2: but the truth was that hospitals weren't able to provide 366 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:22,680 Speaker 2: the extensive availability of incubators nor the dogged care that 367 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:26,119 Speaker 2: Martin and his teen did. They were able to provide 368 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,320 Speaker 2: round the clock support and took in the most desperate 369 00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:33,359 Speaker 2: cases in the city if they were lucky. Local hospitals 370 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,560 Speaker 2: might have one incubator, that is, if it was available 371 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:41,480 Speaker 2: and wasn't prohibitively expensive to operate. In all, he helped 372 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:45,960 Speaker 2: over sixty five hundred premature babies survive, an eighty five 373 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:50,600 Speaker 2: percent success rate that pioneered the study of neonatology in America. 374 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:54,160 Speaker 2: He's considered to be the father of the field, a legend, 375 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:57,840 Speaker 2: and a lab coat. It might be surprising to hear, then, 376 00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 2: that Martin had no medical life. He is also said 377 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:04,600 Speaker 2: to have lied about his birthplace and changed his name 378 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,879 Speaker 2: a few times, and created himself anew upon his arrival 379 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,480 Speaker 2: to New York City. It's hard to figure out exactly 380 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 2: who he was beyond his own telling, which it seems 381 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:20,480 Speaker 2: changed over the years. What is certain among all of that, though, 382 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:24,240 Speaker 2: is that he had long been interested in babies, It's 383 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,439 Speaker 2: been said that he studied under French doctor Pierre Constantboudin, 384 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:31,960 Speaker 2: who pioneered moving incubators from the chicken coop into the hospital. 385 00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:35,920 Speaker 2: This new technology was a hit at the eighteen ninety 386 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:39,040 Speaker 2: six World's Fair and eventually went on the road with 387 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:43,359 Speaker 2: Martin at the Helm. He experienced some success on the 388 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:46,679 Speaker 2: road and had some misses too. It was when he 389 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:50,040 Speaker 2: arrived at Coney Island, though, that his potential truly ignited, 390 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 2: and the crowds were so happy to be there to 391 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:56,960 Speaker 2: look on with their hot dogs and grilled clams. The 392 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:01,119 Speaker 2: inventorium closed down for good in nineteen forty three. It 393 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:04,080 Speaker 2: was that year that Cornell Hospital opened up the first 394 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 2: neonatal unit in the world, which meant that those babies 395 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:10,400 Speaker 2: and ones who would need care in the future had 396 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:13,480 Speaker 2: a place where they could go. After Martin, whoever he 397 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:18,119 Speaker 2: really was, was long gone, and wouldn't you believe it, 398 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:22,160 Speaker 2: some of these babies, with the truth of Martin's genius, 399 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:25,160 Speaker 2: grit and kindness at the core of their own story, 400 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:29,000 Speaker 2: are still alive today. 401 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:39,040 Speaker 1: American Shadows as hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. This episode was 402 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:43,160 Speaker 1: written by Robin Miniter, researched by Taylor Haggerdorn and produced 403 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:47,639 Speaker 1: by Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mankey, 404 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:51,760 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, 405 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:56,280 Speaker 1: visit grimminmile dot com. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit 406 00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:01,359 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.