1 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey. They've been 3 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:24,640 Speaker 1: around for ages, from investment schemes to fake car warranties. 4 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: There's never been a shortage of scammers eager to fleece 5 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: people out of their life savings and hard earned cash. 6 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: In the late eighteen and early nineteen hundreds, the influx 7 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:39,600 Speaker 1: of immigrants provided con artists a never ending supply of victims. 8 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: George Parker had been born to immigrants, but that didn't 9 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: stop him from praying on people just like his parents. 10 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:50,199 Speaker 1: If anything, his childhood had provided enough insight to use 11 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: against them. People fleeing their homeland usually just wanted a 12 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: better life. Most didn't speak English, and they certainly didn't 13 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,680 Speaker 1: know their way around New country. For Parker, it all 14 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:06,679 Speaker 1: added up to easy targets. He paid ship stewards to 15 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: scope out potential victims, mostly those looking to buy a 16 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: piece of the American dream. The more naive or desperate, 17 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: the better. All the stewards had to do was give 18 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: them Parker's contact information. He set up phony real estate offices, 19 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: complete with official letterhead and very realistic paperwork, coupled with 20 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: his ability to charm just about anyone with a little 21 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:33,040 Speaker 1: false empathy, Parker raked in the cash, but he wasn't 22 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: selling homes. No, his scams focused on something else. The 23 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 1: first impressions are everything and the first two things Newcomer 24 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:44,680 Speaker 1: saw as they arrived at New York salis Island, where 25 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge, and that 26 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: knowledge gave him something to work with. Selling the bridge 27 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: became his most famous scam. Look, I know it sounds 28 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: like no one should fall for such an obvious con 29 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:04,560 Speaker 1: but he at official looking paperwork, and he chose desperate people. Plus, 30 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: he used the fact that both Manhattan and Brooklyn claimed 31 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 1: ownership of the bridge, muddying the legal waters. This left 32 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:15,079 Speaker 1: just enough wiggle room for Parker to slide through the cracks. 33 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 1: Parker convinced to the immigrants they could make a fortune 34 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:22,079 Speaker 1: by erecting toll boots at either end of the bridge. 35 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: He told prospective buyers that while he had greatly enjoyed 36 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 1: building the bridge, he didn't have a head for business 37 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: or the desire to maintain it. He pretended the endeavor 38 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: was just too stressful. To sweeten the deal, he sold 39 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 1: it relatively cheap too. A sensing Parker needed to unload 40 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,800 Speaker 1: a burden for a good price, helped solidify the scam. 41 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: The buyers would simply sign a piece of paper fork 42 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: over their savings, and Parker would disappear. The victims didn't 43 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: realize they'd been taken until they tried to build toll 44 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: booths on the bridge. I can only imagine their embarrassment, outrage, 45 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: and despair when police not only removed them, but informed 46 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: them they had been had. While there's no data on 47 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: how many times he actually ran this scam, Parker, being 48 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: such a stand up guy, later bragged that he sold 49 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 1: the bridge at least twice a week. He claimed to 50 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: have swindled over fifty thousand dollars over the course of 51 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: those couple decades at the turn of the twentieth century, 52 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,240 Speaker 1: and the bridge wasn't the only landmark he used. The 53 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: Parker sold the Statue of Liberty, Madison Square Garden, the 54 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,519 Speaker 1: Metropolitan Museum of Art, and even President Ulysses S. Grant's tomb. 55 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: Usually for that last con, he pretended to be the 56 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: former president's grandson. Justice almost caught up with him in 57 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 1: after and arrest her fraud. He sat quietly in the courtroom. 58 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: Witnesses say he was so calm that no one paid 59 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: him much tension, and that's when Parker casually picked up 60 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: a coat and cap that a policeman had set down 61 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: on a bench. Wearing this new attire, he strolled right 62 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: out of the court room and onto the street. Police 63 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: in different cities arrested him a few more times after that. 64 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: He served two short sentences, always returning to his previous 65 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: lifestyle upon release. Then, in nineteen twenty eight, Parker tried 66 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: to cash a worthless check for a hundred and fifty dollars. 67 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: His previous convictions finally caught up with him, and he 68 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: was sentenced to life at Sing Sing. This time he 69 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: didn't try to escape. Maybe, at sixty eight years old 70 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: he had grown tired. Whatever the reason, he enjoyed the 71 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:32,719 Speaker 1: rest of his days boasting to the other inmates about 72 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,919 Speaker 1: how had sold the Brooklyn Bridge and taken naive immigrants 73 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 1: life savings. There's no shortage of names for them, hustlers, shysters, fraudsters, 74 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: and con artists, to name a few. According to psychologists, 75 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: they all share some of the same traits, to varying degrees, psychopathy, narcissism, 76 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 1: and machiavellianism. It's a combination referred to as dark personality traits, 77 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:02,839 Speaker 1: and the darker the personality, the more successful the con 78 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, Welcome to American Shadows. Gaston Bullock Means 79 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:22,359 Speaker 1: wanted for nothing from the time of his birth in 80 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: July of eighteen seventy nine. His parents were exceptionally wealthy 81 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: and part of Concord, North Carolina's most elite of social circles. 82 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,919 Speaker 1: By the time Gaston turned ten, everyone who met the 83 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: bright and well educated boy thought the same thing. He 84 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 1: was self centered and meaner than how Servants and neighbors 85 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:46,400 Speaker 1: avoided him as best they could. Gaston later recalled that 86 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:49,560 Speaker 1: one of his fondest childhood memories was stealing money from 87 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 1: his mother's purse and waiting for her to notice. To 88 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 1: his amusement. Instead of blaming her son, Mrs Means accused 89 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,039 Speaker 1: the maid he had watched in delight as his mother 90 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: mercilessly pastised the young woman. No matter how much the 91 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:07,280 Speaker 1: maid cried or proclaimed her innocence, Gaston remained unmoved to 92 00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 1: tell his mother the truth. When his mother fired her, 93 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:14,719 Speaker 1: he felt a sense of power and pride to the 94 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:17,839 Speaker 1: relief of the household servants. Gaston left for the University 95 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:22,360 Speaker 1: of North Carolina in the reprieve was short lived, though, 96 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:26,359 Speaker 1: finding college tedious, he quit during his third year and 97 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: returned home in nineteen hundred. His parents were well off, 98 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 1: but they insisted their son work for a living. He 99 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:36,960 Speaker 1: bounced from job to job, finally settling on a superintendent 100 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 1: position at the local elementary school. Two years later. His 101 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:43,279 Speaker 1: father used his connections to land his son a job 102 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:47,039 Speaker 1: as a salesman for a textile merchant. The job required 103 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:50,039 Speaker 1: the Gaston moved to New York City and traveled extensively 104 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:53,920 Speaker 1: throughout the United States. He relocated to Chicago in nineteen 105 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: o nine after a girlfriend sued him for breach of promise, 106 00:06:57,200 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: which was a fascinating bit of law from the time 107 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: that allowed a woman to sue for damages if her 108 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,839 Speaker 1: fiance broke things off. To see our episode Vindicated for 109 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: more on that. Gaston later married another woman, Julie Patterson, 110 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: in nineteen His performance as a salesman was lacking, and 111 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: before the company could fire him, Gaston quit. He took 112 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 1: an entry level job at the William Burns Detective Agency 113 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,400 Speaker 1: in New York Burns had been the chief of the 114 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:28,560 Speaker 1: Secret Service and had an excellent reputation, perfecting his power 115 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:31,480 Speaker 1: of persuasion and charm as a salesman and in deceiving 116 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: a girlfriend. Paled when it came to the opportunities that 117 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 1: presented themselves at his new job. World War One had 118 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: started by nineteen fourteen, and although the United States wouldn't 119 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: join in until nineteen seventeen, tensions with Germany were high. 120 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: The media was inundated with propaganda warning the public of 121 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: Germany's attempts to infiltrate the US with spies. Anti German 122 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: sentiment seemed to be everywhere. Immigrants were harassed, and German 123 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 1: goods boycotted. In nineteen fifteen, seeing an opportunity to make 124 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: some serious money, Gaston reached out to the Germans. A 125 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:10,920 Speaker 1: German naval attache and sub Rosa had of espionage in 126 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,280 Speaker 1: the US offered the rookie detective a job as a spy. 127 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 1: He'd be handsomely paid for passing along valuable information he 128 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: learned from Burns and the Detective Agency. Gaston became Agent 129 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 1: thirteen and used his connections to place German spies at 130 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 1: New York's shipyards, where the US built submarines. There, spies 131 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:36,559 Speaker 1: had insight into American technology and plans. He also served 132 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 1: as a propagandist to persuade Americans and other people that 133 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:44,280 Speaker 1: the US had violated neutrality laws. Gaston organized the American 134 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:48,080 Speaker 1: Peace Society and circulated stories that the Americans were providing 135 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 1: supplies to the British ships in the harbor. The cash 136 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:54,679 Speaker 1: rolled in, but the money served little purpose if he 137 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: couldn't show it off, so he rented an entire floor 138 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:02,320 Speaker 1: of a swanky Manhattan hotel just for himself. He left 139 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 1: his wife at home alone to recover from the still 140 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 1: birth of their first child. Gaston's flamboyant lifestyle and work 141 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 1: with the American Piece Society caught the attention and the 142 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 1: scrutiny of the press. It didn't take long for his 143 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: dealings with the Germans to come to light. Though had 144 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: been caught, Gaston minimized his actions. No one had been hurt, 145 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 1: he insisted, after all, the United States hadn't yet gone 146 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:30,320 Speaker 1: to war. He said that he had also been double 147 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: crossing the Germans by acting as a spy for the Americans. 148 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:36,880 Speaker 1: Gaston talked his way out of going to jail for 149 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 1: espionage But his extortion and double crossing of both countries 150 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:45,960 Speaker 1: weren't the only things the press uncovered. They had discovered 151 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,080 Speaker 1: his possible involvement in the death of Maud King, a 152 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 1: wealthy lumber tycoon's widow. Gaston had met the woman through 153 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:57,200 Speaker 1: his wife. With first hand knowledge of how schemes worked, 154 00:09:57,400 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: he had swooped in to prevent a group of khan 155 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:03,720 Speaker 1: men from swindling the widow. Seeing his own opportunity, he 156 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 1: worked hard at gaining the older woman's trust, first as 157 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:09,280 Speaker 1: the husband of a close friend, and then as a 158 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: friend in his own right. Eventually, he convinced her to 159 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: let him handle her finances. While she trusted him, it 160 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:19,560 Speaker 1: didn't take long for her other hired help to see 161 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:22,920 Speaker 1: right through Gaston. They suspected him of stealing from her, 162 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: though he repeatedly assured her he was not. To smooth 163 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:29,959 Speaker 1: things over, he invited her to a barbecue and rabbit 164 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 1: hunt at his family's home in North Carolina. He even 165 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:37,160 Speaker 1: purchased a gun for her, as he might suspect the 166 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:40,960 Speaker 1: hunt ended in tragedy. Gaston claimed he had left the 167 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:43,199 Speaker 1: gun in a cradle of a tree for her, and 168 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,880 Speaker 1: but somehow mus King shot herself in the back of 169 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 1: the head. His family still maintained their prominence in the area, 170 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:55,200 Speaker 1: so it comes as no surprise that the coroner ruled 171 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:59,600 Speaker 1: the death an accident. The media, however, didn't share that opinion. 172 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:05,080 Speaker 1: When Gaston returned to New York, authorities arrested him. Not 173 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,080 Speaker 1: only had they uncovered that had stolen over four hundred 174 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 1: thousand dollars from Missus King, but that had faked a 175 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:15,760 Speaker 1: new will naming himself as a beneficiary. New York authorities 176 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:19,440 Speaker 1: exhumed and re examined her body. Since the crime happened 177 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:24,320 Speaker 1: in Concord, the trial was set there. Undaunted, New York 178 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:28,360 Speaker 1: sent their best prosecutors. Ballistic evidence proved that it would 179 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:30,640 Speaker 1: have been impossible for Missus King to shoot herself in 180 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 1: the back of the head. And now this might have 181 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:37,280 Speaker 1: looked bleak for anyone else, but Gaston and his family 182 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:40,760 Speaker 1: weren't ready to throw in the towel. In fact, they 183 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 1: were just getting started. Gaston was a practiced and convincing liar. 184 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:50,600 Speaker 1: He played the victim, telling the jury that the entire 185 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:53,880 Speaker 1: case had been engineered by German agents determined to bring 186 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:57,200 Speaker 1: him down for double crossing them. He painted himself as 187 00:11:57,200 --> 00:11:59,719 Speaker 1: a true American patriot who had been caught up in 188 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 1: world politics. Meanwhile, his father, a prominent attorney with deep pockets, 189 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:09,800 Speaker 1: convinced the court of his son's innocence. The jury acquitted Gaston, 190 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 1: and despite evidence and motive, he walked free and went 191 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:17,559 Speaker 1: back to his job at the detective Agency. But having 192 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:23,720 Speaker 1: gotten away with espionage and murder, Gaston felt invincible. Ine 193 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:28,280 Speaker 1: he defrauded the Southeastern Express Company for fifty seven thousand dollars. 194 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,240 Speaker 1: He claimed he sent cash in a package to Chicago. 195 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,760 Speaker 1: When the box arrived with nothing inside except blocks of wood, 196 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:38,480 Speaker 1: Peep shrugged and said someone else had to have made 197 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:42,680 Speaker 1: the swap. The money he stole was nice, but he 198 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:46,600 Speaker 1: began to get restless. Then his boss took on a 199 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:50,079 Speaker 1: new job as the head of a newly created government department, 200 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:54,079 Speaker 1: the Bureau of Investigation or b I in Washington, d c. 201 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:58,719 Speaker 1: The predecessor to the FBI. Gaston went with him as 202 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:03,880 Speaker 1: a special agent. The opportunities to shake down criminals proved endless. 203 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:07,560 Speaker 1: Gaston promised them had fixed their cases for a fee 204 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 1: each time he collected the money, and welched on the promise. 205 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:14,800 Speaker 1: His victims were hardly in any position to complain. After all, 206 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:18,599 Speaker 1: then there were the bribes to guards at federal warehouses 207 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 1: to have liquor released, while most other agents brought in 208 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: a paycheck amounting to seven dollars a day roughly two 209 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:29,319 Speaker 1: hundred and thirty in today's money. Gaston owned a Georgetown mansion, 210 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:34,240 Speaker 1: had three servants, a Cadillac, and a chauffeur. He wasn't 211 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 1: the only crook in high places, though. The President Harding 212 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 1: brought along close business associates from Ohio when he moved 213 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:46,240 Speaker 1: into the White House, most with dubious reputations. Along with 214 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:49,320 Speaker 1: the President's Attorney General, Henry Dougherty, the group of men 215 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:52,760 Speaker 1: met at the now infamous Little Greenhouse on K Street. 216 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:57,560 Speaker 1: The place became the gang's headquarters. They officially said they 217 00:13:57,559 --> 00:14:00,400 Speaker 1: gathered to play poker, but a game of cars was 218 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:05,079 Speaker 1: just the cover. While they smoked cigars and drank outlawed liquor. 219 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: They made shady deals, selling pardons, paroles, and permits. They 220 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:13,679 Speaker 1: negotiated deals on liquor, and they met up with their mistresses. 221 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:18,079 Speaker 1: Gaston thrived in the environment, fitting right in with the 222 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 1: gang from Ohio. He answered to Jess Smith, one of 223 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:25,240 Speaker 1: Dougherty's henchmen. The two hit it off and became partners 224 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:29,160 Speaker 1: in many successful scams. His title as a b OI 225 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:32,680 Speaker 1: agent gave Gaston the opportunity and power to search and 226 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:35,920 Speaker 1: investigate areas he wouldn't normally have had access to as 227 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: a mere detective. Part of the scam entailed getting information 228 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 1: on bootleggers and setting up meetings with Smith where they'd 229 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:47,640 Speaker 1: be offered protection for a hefty price. Of course, Smith 230 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:50,280 Speaker 1: instructed the bootleggers to leave their payments in a fish 231 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:54,040 Speaker 1: bowl that sat inside an empty hotel room. Then Gaston 232 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:57,680 Speaker 1: would collect the money, sometimes as much as sixty dollars 233 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:01,120 Speaker 1: a day. He extorted a hundred twenty five thousand from 234 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 1: another bootlegger, promising to keep him from serving time as usual, 235 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:08,160 Speaker 1: He had never had any intention of keeping his word, 236 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 1: and the bootlegger went to prison anyway. Gaston never tried 237 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:16,400 Speaker 1: to hide the money he had scanned. Instead, he flaunted it, 238 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:19,440 Speaker 1: though he insisted he had come into it legally, of course, 239 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:22,560 Speaker 1: but all the excess caught the attention of the v 240 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:26,160 Speaker 1: o I's newest and fastest rising star, who wanted to 241 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:31,160 Speaker 1: clean up the agency, j Edgar Hoover. The Justice Department 242 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:33,680 Speaker 1: was so corrupt it had earned the nickname the Department 243 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:38,080 Speaker 1: of Easy Virtue. Despite Hoover's threats, Gaston and the Ohio 244 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,960 Speaker 1: Gang didn't take him too seriously. Besides, they weren't about 245 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:46,240 Speaker 1: to give up their lifestyle anytime soon. Gaston and Hoover 246 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:49,360 Speaker 1: loathed each other in a way that only such extreme 247 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:54,960 Speaker 1: adversaries can, and so when Gaston was suspended and subsequently 248 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:58,960 Speaker 1: arrested in four for violating the Volstead Act formerly known 249 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:02,600 Speaker 1: as the National Prohibition Act, Hoover felt a certain satisfaction. 250 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:07,280 Speaker 1: Gaston had also been called upon to testify before the Senate, 251 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:11,480 Speaker 1: as he wasn't the only one under scrutiny. Attorney General 252 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:14,160 Speaker 1: Dougherty and the activities at the Little Greenhouse on K 253 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:19,680 Speaker 1: Street were also under investigation. During his testimony, Gaston claimed 254 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: he had kept every report written during his time at 255 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: the Bureau. The judge asked for him to turn over 256 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:29,400 Speaker 1: those documents. Gaston promised he would, though he had no 257 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: intention of turning over anything. Most likely, the records he 258 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 1: claimed would clear him and implicate others never even existed. 259 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: That June, the first of many trials prosecuting Gaston means 260 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 1: for extortion and violating prohibition began in July. The jerry 261 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:48,640 Speaker 1: found him guilty on both counts and sentenced him to 262 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 1: four years in an Atlanta, Georgia, federal prison and handed 263 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:55,840 Speaker 1: him a ten thousand dollar fine. Ever, the con man 264 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,400 Speaker 1: Gaston worked on the warden there, earning cozy quarters and 265 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:03,120 Speaker 1: privileges is not afforded to the other inmates. Hoover may 266 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:05,960 Speaker 1: have won the battle, but as far as Gaston was concerned, 267 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:10,200 Speaker 1: the war was far from over. Nothing. It seems even 268 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 1: life behind bars was going to stop him from being 269 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:19,360 Speaker 1: a con man as he had with the Germans. Gaston 270 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:22,679 Speaker 1: became a spy for the warden. In turn, he was 271 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:26,719 Speaker 1: permitted time outside the penitentiary, and mostly to testify against 272 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:30,960 Speaker 1: his fellow prisoners. On one occasion in six, he spent 273 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 1: an entire month at a New York Park Avenue apartment 274 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:38,960 Speaker 1: in exchange for testimony on a high profile case. In seven, 275 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:42,400 Speaker 1: with his criminal connections and family wealth, he worked out 276 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 1: another deal overnight. All the remaining charges against him were dropped, 277 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 1: much to Hoover's dismay. But if Gaston found that there 278 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:54,000 Speaker 1: had been any lesson to be learned from his time 279 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,359 Speaker 1: in prison, it was how not to get caught. Next time, 280 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:02,000 Speaker 1: he planned his next scheme. La Red's Scare had just 281 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:06,480 Speaker 1: started in America, and Gaston smelled an opportunity. He contacted 282 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:09,439 Speaker 1: the head of the National Civic Federation and made an offer. 283 00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:13,640 Speaker 1: He sold himself as the quintessential person who tracked down 284 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 1: and exposed communists across the country. Soon Gaston had a 285 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:21,960 Speaker 1: new job and a healthy budget. But instead of traveling 286 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:24,920 Speaker 1: the country and filling out the required reports, he stayed 287 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:27,639 Speaker 1: at home with his family and faked the reports, lifting 288 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:31,680 Speaker 1: information from newspaper articles. But the end of ninety one 289 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:35,199 Speaker 1: had defrauded the department of two hundred thousand dollars and 290 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:38,440 Speaker 1: deposited a hundred and ten thousand into various bank accounts. 291 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:42,960 Speaker 1: His wife found that spending more time with her husband 292 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:46,199 Speaker 1: wasn't a good thing. She often called the police to 293 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 1: protect her and the children from physical harm. During one incident, 294 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:55,000 Speaker 1: Gaston struck a police officer. It's not clear how Gaston 295 00:18:55,119 --> 00:18:58,320 Speaker 1: escaped going back to prison, either from domestic abuse or 296 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:03,160 Speaker 1: defrauding yet another company, but he remained untouchable and always 297 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:07,360 Speaker 1: on the lookout for a scam. He found one when 298 00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:11,680 Speaker 1: a sensational kidnapping case captivated the nation. On March one 299 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: of ninety two, twenty month old Charles Augustus Lindberg Jr. Disappeared. 300 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:19,879 Speaker 1: The b o I arrived, taking the ransom note and 301 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:24,240 Speaker 1: other evidence found at the scene. Through his wife's social connections, 302 00:19:24,359 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 1: Gaston met with Evelyn Walsh McLean, a close friend of Lindbergh's, 303 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:32,560 Speaker 1: as well as Emery Land, a naval officer and Lindbergh's cousin. 304 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:35,399 Speaker 1: He convinced the two that he could recover the baby 305 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:38,520 Speaker 1: using his experience as a detective and his first hand 306 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:43,840 Speaker 1: knowledge of criminal behavior, which wasn't incredible. I suppose the 307 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:47,360 Speaker 1: two collectively handed over a hundred and four thousand dollars. 308 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:52,000 Speaker 1: In return, Gaston wrote fake reports on his daring exploits 309 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,760 Speaker 1: while tracking the kidnappers across the country. When the money 310 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,000 Speaker 1: ran out, he tried to convince McLean to give him 311 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,520 Speaker 1: another thirty five thousand dollars. Her lawyers saw through him 312 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:05,959 Speaker 1: and notified the b l I. By now, Hoover had 313 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,720 Speaker 1: taken over the bureau and, as you can imagine, was 314 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,360 Speaker 1: very interested in his adversary's latest scheme. He immediately had 315 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:18,480 Speaker 1: Gaston arrested for larceny and sent to Northeastern Penitentiary in Louisbourg, Pennsylvania. 316 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,439 Speaker 1: The accommodations weren't nearly as comfortable, since the warden didn't 317 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:26,919 Speaker 1: fall for the con man's charm, and word about his 318 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:31,040 Speaker 1: turning spy on fellow inmates in Atlanta got around. Soon 319 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:37,639 Speaker 1: Gaston's health deteriorated. In September of nineteen thirty four, officials 320 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:41,720 Speaker 1: transferred him to the federal facility at Leavenworth, Kansas. Gaston 321 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,240 Speaker 1: attempted to get the warden on his side, but found 322 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:46,640 Speaker 1: his luck no better than it had been in Pennsylvania. 323 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:51,320 Speaker 1: In ninety six, he applied for parole several times, but 324 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:56,160 Speaker 1: the board denied every request. In y eight, his health 325 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,080 Speaker 1: continued to fail, landing him at the U. S Hospital 326 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:03,159 Speaker 1: for Defective Delink Quince in Springfield, Missouri. That fall, he 327 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,879 Speaker 1: had surgery to remove gall stones. Then, on December twelfth, 328 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:10,480 Speaker 1: at the age of just fifty nine, Gaston Bullock Means 329 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 1: died from heart failure. In the end, neither charm nor 330 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:23,520 Speaker 1: money allowed him to cheat death. Even while he sat 331 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:27,480 Speaker 1: in that Atlanta prison, Gaston had been desperate to stay relevant, 332 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:31,000 Speaker 1: something modern day psychologists might agree as part of that 333 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:36,200 Speaker 1: dark personality. Triad, and his opportunity came on August two 334 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:42,040 Speaker 1: of three, when President Harding died. The President and his wife, 335 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 1: Florence were staying in the Presidential suite at San Francisco's 336 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:49,320 Speaker 1: Palace Hotel. Florence was reading the Saturday Evening Post to 337 00:21:49,359 --> 00:21:52,720 Speaker 1: her husband as he sat in bed. He had been 338 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:56,520 Speaker 1: feeling rather ill lately, complaining of shortness of breath, and 339 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,439 Speaker 1: doctors blamed a case of food poisoning, but he had 340 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,560 Speaker 1: been under rests. A word had spread about his moments 341 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:06,200 Speaker 1: of irritability, and as many affairs had come under scrutiny, 342 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:09,000 Speaker 1: he was worried that had worked himself into an underlying 343 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:14,880 Speaker 1: heart condition and about re election. When Florence paused during 344 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:18,280 Speaker 1: an article, he encouraged her to go on. She looked 345 00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:22,160 Speaker 1: up only to watch him shut her and fall over dead. 346 00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:26,639 Speaker 1: The First Lady summoned a doctor. His physicians examined the 347 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,639 Speaker 1: body and determined President Harding had suffered a heart attack 348 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:34,280 Speaker 1: or stroke. When doctor suggested an autopsy, when the First 349 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:37,199 Speaker 1: Lady refused, what good would it do if they had 350 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:40,679 Speaker 1: already agreed on a cause of death. Instead, she ordered 351 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 1: his body embalmed. When the news hit Gaston immediately partnered 352 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:49,919 Speaker 1: with one May Dixon Thacker, a writer. He hired her 353 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:53,840 Speaker 1: to ghostwrite an outrageously libelous book called The Strange Death 354 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:58,200 Speaker 1: of President Harding. In the book, Gaston claimed that the 355 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:01,600 Speaker 1: First Lady had murdered her husband over his many love affairs, 356 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 1: including one that had resulted in a child. The press 357 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:09,080 Speaker 1: and public loved the story, necessitating Florence Harding to repeatedly 358 00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:12,640 Speaker 1: defend herself. She not only had to deal with the 359 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: humiliation of her husband's affairs, but also with the accusations. 360 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:21,119 Speaker 1: The nation was appalled and enthralled had the First Lady 361 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:26,720 Speaker 1: killed the President? Backer came out in three to discredit 362 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,720 Speaker 1: the book, and after Gaston refused to pay her for services, 363 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:33,439 Speaker 1: swindling her out of the bestseller's profits, She said that 364 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,119 Speaker 1: Gaston had used just enough detail from his time in 365 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:38,119 Speaker 1: d C To make it appear that he was a 366 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:42,240 Speaker 1: firsthand observer of the Harding's lives. Truth be told, he 367 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:46,800 Speaker 1: had never known the President or ever met the First Lady. Later, 368 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,159 Speaker 1: one of Harding's doctors admitted to giving the President stimulants, 369 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:54,320 Speaker 1: including some on the night of his death for Florence, 370 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:57,760 Speaker 1: though the admission came too late. She had died just 371 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:01,239 Speaker 1: one year after her husband, followed to the grave by 372 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: the dark Rumor that wouldn't go away, a rumor created 373 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:09,200 Speaker 1: by Gaston for a fast buck and a whole lot 374 00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:14,840 Speaker 1: of attention. There's more to the story. Stick around after 375 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:23,440 Speaker 1: this brief sponsor break to hear all about it. It 376 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,280 Speaker 1: started with a quote from the Bible. While on a 377 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:29,880 Speaker 1: business trip in eighteen sixty seven, George Hull found himself 378 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:33,080 Speaker 1: locked in a debate with a revivalist preacher. The preacher 379 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:36,399 Speaker 1: quoted a passage from Genesis about giants that once roamed 380 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:40,200 Speaker 1: the earth. Being an atheist, Paul called the preacher out, 381 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:44,200 Speaker 1: I'm not here to debate whether the passage was meant 382 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:47,160 Speaker 1: to be figurative, but the preacher insisted that it meant 383 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:50,400 Speaker 1: that a race of excessively tall humans had ruled the planet. 384 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 1: The Hull was dumbfounded. The man's naivety kept him up 385 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,840 Speaker 1: half the night. He couldn't help but wonder if he 386 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:02,119 Speaker 1: created a fake giant. The devout man of faith believe 387 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:04,760 Speaker 1: it was real. The more he thought about it, the 388 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:07,280 Speaker 1: more he was convinced he could pull it off. If 389 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:09,560 Speaker 1: he made the figure from stone, he could pass the 390 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:13,440 Speaker 1: sculpture off as a petrified corpse, and if people flocked 391 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:15,920 Speaker 1: to revival tents, then perhaps they'd flocked to see the 392 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:20,480 Speaker 1: giant for a small admission fee. Of course, the endeavor 393 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:24,399 Speaker 1: took Hall two years and three thousand dollars. First, he 394 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:27,720 Speaker 1: bought a five ton block of gypsum from Fort Dodge, Iowa. 395 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,160 Speaker 1: He had the slab ship to Chicago and hired another 396 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:33,560 Speaker 1: man who agreed to help create the giant for a 397 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:37,679 Speaker 1: cut of the profits. Hall served as the model and 398 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 1: two sculptors spent most of the summer of eight on 399 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:44,080 Speaker 1: the project. The completed statue was of a large naked 400 00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:46,960 Speaker 1: man lying on his back, one leg crossed over the other, 401 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:50,080 Speaker 1: and one hand resting on his stomach. To make the 402 00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:54,000 Speaker 1: giant look ancient, the sculptors used sulfuric acid a hole 403 00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:56,240 Speaker 1: drove pins into the arms and legs to give the 404 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 1: appearance of pores in the skin. The final project wagh 405 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:04,880 Speaker 1: three thousand pounds and measured ten ft long. Now all 406 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:08,920 Speaker 1: Hull needed to do was bury it. He decided on Cardiff, 407 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:12,320 Speaker 1: New York, an area well known for many fossil discoveries. 408 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,920 Speaker 1: The location would only bring validity to the giant. He reasoned. Finally, 409 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 1: he contacted a cousin living in the area for help. 410 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:24,760 Speaker 1: After receiving the statue that chilly November, William Newell waited 411 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:28,399 Speaker 1: until nightfall. Then he and a few other relatives buried 412 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: the giant near a barn, wedging it between tree roots, 413 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,160 Speaker 1: a location that gave the impression the tree had grown 414 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:38,200 Speaker 1: around the petrified giant, and then he waited on Hall 415 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:42,879 Speaker 1: for further instructions. A year later, Hull wrote to Newell 416 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:47,240 Speaker 1: and the time had come to discover the giant. On 417 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:51,080 Speaker 1: October six of eighteen sixty nine, Newell hired workers to 418 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:53,840 Speaker 1: dig a new well right where he had buried the giant. 419 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:56,840 Speaker 1: It didn't take long for them to discover the sculpture, 420 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:01,840 Speaker 1: mistaking it for a petrified indigenous man. But the more 421 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:05,560 Speaker 1: they dug, the more they noticed the sheer size. No 422 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:09,439 Speaker 1: living man had ever been ten feet tall. From there, 423 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:13,879 Speaker 1: the news spread. Newell played his part of humble farmer perfectly. 424 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:17,560 Speaker 1: At first, he claimed that the giant should be reburied, 425 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:19,760 Speaker 1: which allowed his neighbors to talk him out of it. 426 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 1: He pretended that they had convinced him of the historical 427 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:26,439 Speaker 1: nature of the situation. The Syracuse newspaper printed the story, 428 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:30,720 Speaker 1: then the national papers, and just as Hull had imagined, 429 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:34,840 Speaker 1: people flocked to see the giant. Newell charged them fifty 430 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:38,399 Speaker 1: cents apiece. In the first week alone, twenty five hundred 431 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:43,240 Speaker 1: people paid admission to the farm. Then the offers rolled in. 432 00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:46,840 Speaker 1: Hull arrived in Cardiff for the negotiations, and the men 433 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:49,280 Speaker 1: agreed to sell a three fourth stake on the giant 434 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:52,440 Speaker 1: to a syndicate of business men for thirty thousand dollars. 435 00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:57,120 Speaker 1: Experts followed the crowds, including a renowned New York State 436 00:27:57,119 --> 00:28:02,840 Speaker 1: geologist and Rochester University professor. A one Syracuse expert claimed 437 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:05,479 Speaker 1: the giant wasn't a man, but a statue carved by 438 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,320 Speaker 1: French Jesuits who had been to the area centuries before. 439 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:13,000 Speaker 1: As experts examined the giant, residents began to recall a 440 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:16,840 Speaker 1: few things that did not add up, mostly that Hull 441 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:19,000 Speaker 1: had moved a large crate through the area to his 442 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:23,399 Speaker 1: cousin's farm a year earlier. Then reporters uncovered that Newell 443 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:25,960 Speaker 1: had begun moving large sums of money to his cousin. 444 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:30,920 Speaker 1: Shortly after charging people admission to the farm, Newell took 445 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:33,919 Speaker 1: the giant on the road, where larger audiences paid to 446 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:37,600 Speaker 1: see it. A mining engineer commented that gypsum would have 447 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:42,240 Speaker 1: deteriorated quickly in the card of farm's soil. Famed paleontologist 448 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:45,080 Speaker 1: doth Neil Charles Marsh barely took a few glances at 449 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:47,600 Speaker 1: the giant before stating that not only was it of 450 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:52,720 Speaker 1: recent origin, but a total fraud, a hoax or not. 451 00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:56,880 Speaker 1: One man remained genuinely interested in the giant and offered 452 00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:59,560 Speaker 1: to buy it. He had a collection of hoaxes and 453 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:02,959 Speaker 1: add things that made him really good money, but Newell 454 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:08,000 Speaker 1: and Hull turned him down. The man p t Barnum, 455 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:10,840 Speaker 1: so he made his own giant and displayed it in 456 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 1: his Manhattan museum. The sign outside the case invited viewers 457 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:18,480 Speaker 1: to decide for themselves. Was it a statue, a petrification, 458 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:22,640 Speaker 1: a stupendous fraud, or The sign asked was it the 459 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:29,560 Speaker 1: remains of a former race. Barnum's replica outsold the original. Soon, 460 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:33,960 Speaker 1: Barnum's sculptor created and sold even more copies, and just 461 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:39,040 Speaker 1: like that, Hull's original wasn't unique anymore. Still, he had 462 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:41,920 Speaker 1: accomplished what he set out to do and pocketed some 463 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:45,560 Speaker 1: twenty tho dollars along the way, but he would never 464 00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:50,000 Speaker 1: achieve the same amount of success again. George Hull died, 465 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:53,920 Speaker 1: but his giant can still be seen if you're interested. 466 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:58,160 Speaker 1: It's at the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Just 467 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:02,160 Speaker 1: a plain old hunk of rock with an enormous reputation. 468 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:11,520 Speaker 1: American Shadows is hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. This episode was 469 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:15,640 Speaker 1: written by Michelle Muto, researched by Ali Steed, and produced 470 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:19,920 Speaker 1: by Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mankey, 471 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:24,240 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, 472 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:27,320 Speaker 1: visit grim and Mild dot com. From more podcasts from 473 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:31,400 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 474 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:33,080 Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts.