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