WEBVTT - How Did a Conman Sell the Brooklyn Bridge -- Over and Over?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam here. The twenty one century

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<v Speaker 1>is a scammers paradise. The Internet has made it easy

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<v Speaker 1>to snatch any dewy eyed persons. Dollars or identity were

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<v Speaker 1>only one phone call, malicious link, or credit cards swipe

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<v Speaker 1>away from fraud or extortion these days. But scams certainly

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<v Speaker 1>aren't a modern invention. Plenty of people in the past

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<v Speaker 1>fell victim to sneak oil salesman and smooth talkers. It

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<v Speaker 1>took a bit more effort to swindle people out of

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of dollars in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was possible, and longtime con artist George C.

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<v Speaker 1>Parker was a pro at it. At the time, millions

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<v Speaker 1>of immigrants seeking better lives entered the United States through

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<v Speaker 1>the Golden Door that is New York City. Largely impoverished

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<v Speaker 1>and hopeful, these immigrants were the perfect targets for opportunistic

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<v Speaker 1>tricksters like Parker. Cunning and ruthless. Parker took advantage of

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<v Speaker 1>naive immigrants and tourists by selling them buildings and monuments

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<v Speaker 1>that he never owned. To begin with, Parker's Brooklyn Bridge

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<v Speaker 1>grift likely began in the eighteen eighties. The ruse was

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<v Speaker 1>relatively simple. Parker would scout out marks who had recently

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<v Speaker 1>arrived in New York City, convinced them that he owned

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<v Speaker 1>the Brooklyn Bridge, and sell it to these eager investors

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<v Speaker 1>for as much as fifty thou dollars. He charmed his

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<v Speaker 1>victims into thinking that they would easily profit by charging

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<v Speaker 1>people for access to the bridge. Soon they would try

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<v Speaker 1>to set up poll booths on the roadway, But their

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<v Speaker 1>new venture, pitched as a lucrative business and promising start

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<v Speaker 1>to life in the Big Apple, was destined to fail.

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<v Speaker 1>Police would shut down their attempts to control the road,

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<v Speaker 1>and all their dreams of getting rich off of driver's

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<v Speaker 1>pocket change were dashed. It was such a pervasive grift

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<v Speaker 1>that eventually pro sessors of Ellis Island started handing new

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<v Speaker 1>arrivals cards warning them you can't buy public buildings or streets.

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<v Speaker 1>Parker was a career fraudster. At times he posed as

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<v Speaker 1>a prison warden or the captain of a ship. He

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<v Speaker 1>had at least six pseudonyms. In The New York Times

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<v Speaker 1>reported then a man named William mcclundie, also known as

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<v Speaker 1>io U O'Brien, was arrested. As it turns out, this

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<v Speaker 1>was just another one of Parker's aliases. In this case,

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<v Speaker 1>he used it to sell someone ten lots that Pete

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<v Speaker 1>didn't own, and detectives found Parker measuring a backyard in

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<v Speaker 1>Asbury Park. Another New York Times article reported only that

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<v Speaker 1>he was captured. He told the police he would have

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<v Speaker 1>been able to sell the place for seventeen thousand dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>It's unlikely that Parker sold Brooklyn Bridge as many as

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<v Speaker 1>two times a week for years, which some sources say

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<v Speaker 1>that he claimed to have done, but Parker did manage

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<v Speaker 1>to sell the bridge many times. He also sold the

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<v Speaker 1>Statue of Liberty, Madison Square Garden, Ulysses S. Grants Tomb,

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<v Speaker 1>and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But he couldn't avoid

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<v Speaker 1>getting caught, and he went to jail several times for larceny, forgery,

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<v Speaker 1>and impersonating a police officer. Of course, that didn't stop

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<v Speaker 1>his cons Parker escaped a stint at Raymond Street jail

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<v Speaker 1>one New Year's Day by putting on clothes that a

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<v Speaker 1>sheriff took off and then waltzing out the door. However,

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<v Speaker 1>after decades of scheming on fifty dollar check sent Parker

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<v Speaker 1>to prison for good. According to a contemporary news article,

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<v Speaker 1>the check quote bounced back with startling elasticity. Under New

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<v Speaker 1>York law, people convicted of a fourth felony had to

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<v Speaker 1>be imprisoned for life, so in a judge sentenced Parker

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<v Speaker 1>to life in Sing Sing. Parker died there in seven

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<v Speaker 1>and was buried at the prison cemetery. The Brooklyn Bridge

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<v Speaker 1>racket lost steam after the nineteen twenties, since more people

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<v Speaker 1>were aware that it was fraud, but Parker's infamy lives

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<v Speaker 1>on in a phrase that you might have heard if

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<v Speaker 1>you believe that I have a bridge in Brooklyn to

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<v Speaker 1>sell you. Today's episode is based on the article Meet

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<v Speaker 1>the con man who sold the Brooklyn Bridge many times

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<v Speaker 1>over on how stuff works dot com, written by Eve's

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<v Speaker 1>Jeff Cote. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio in

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<v Speaker 1>partnership with how stuff Works dot Com, and it's produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my Heart Radio,

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