93
| Universal Postal Union: A history of the UPU and the advent of International Postal Coupons can be found at www.upu.int. Also Herman Herst Jr., “Charles Ponzi and His International Postal Reply Coupon Scheme,” Speaking of Stamps Column,
Stamps,
December 9, 1995, p. 8.
|
95
| cost the Spaniard thirty centavos: Ponzi frequently told the same story of how the idea came to him and how he investigated its likelihood of success by sending three dollars abroad. The most complete account is from Ponzi, pp. 67â70. See also Mabel Abbott, “Ponzi's Profits on $9,522,590 of Investorsâ$45,” New York
World,
November 26, 1924. For details of the Austrian example, see “Mr. Ponzi and His âPonzied Finance,' ”
Literary Digest,
August 21, 1920, p. 47.
|
96
| Ponzi was deep in the hole: Ponzi, pp. 68â69.
|
96
| fifteen hundred dollars in loans: “Ponzi Sent to Europe No Representative,”
Boston Globe,
September 29, 1920.
|
96
| they might steal it: “Ponzi Tells His Story,”
Boston Evening Transcript,
November 27, 1922, p. 1.
|
97
| “They could not limit the number of coupons”: Ponzi, p. 69.
|
97
| “Environment had made me rather callous”: Ibid., p. 70.
|
98
| Uncle Ned's Loan Company: “Ponzi Pawned Watch, Rings to Get Start,”
Boston Sunday Herald,
August 15, 1920. The story does not say the diamond rings belonged to Rose, but it is reasonable to infer that they were hers, in light of a separate story, “Mrs. Ponzi Would Not Take Gems,”
Boston Post,
November 22, 1922. In that story, Lillian Mahoney, the wife of one of Ponzi's salesmen, testifies that Rose had three diamond rings when she lived in Somerville. Also: Rosenberg's first name and background, which were not included in the
Herald
story, come from U.S. Census records obtained through www.ancestry.com.
|
98
| debts approached three thousand dollars: “Made All His Money in Past Seven Months,”
Boston Sunday Globe,
August 8, 1920, p. 17.
|
99
| Seeing the angry look on Daniels's face: Ponzi, p. 73. The account of Daniels's December 1919 loan, which would play a pivotal role in Ponzi's downfall, was pieced together from numerous sources, including: “Ponzi Partnership and Receiver Hearings On,”
Boston Traveler,
October 1, 1920; “Ponzi Criminal Trial to Start Soon, Belief,”
Boston Traveler,
October 2, 1920, p. 1; “Ponzi to Tell More on âPartnership Deal,' ”
Boston Traveler,
October 5, 1920, p. 1; “Insist Daniels Tell Disposition of $55,000,”
Boston Traveler,
October 9, 1920, p. 1; “Bar Witnesses as Spectators During Trial of Ponzi Case,”
Boston Traveler,
October 26, 1922, p. 1; “Ponzi Sent No Representative to Europe,”
Boston Globe,
September 29, 1920; “Ponzi Tells How He Borrowed Millions,”
Boston Globe,
September 30, 1920; “Figures of Auditor Rittenhouse,”
Boston Globe,
October 5, 1920.
|
101
| extracting gold from seawater: The story of the Reverend Prescott Ford Jernegan comes from sources including “Get Rich Quick Schemes of Boston Yesterdays: Gold from Sea Water,”
Boston Herald,
August 2, 1920. Also Diana Ross McCain, “Fortune Sucked from the Sea Was a Golden Scam,”
Hartford Courant,
November 18, 1998, p. 11, and Shoshana Hoose, “All That Glittered in Lubec,”
Portland Press Herald,
November 5, 1995, p. 1G.
|
103
| a smooth talker named Ferdinand Borges: “Get Rich Quick Schemes of Boston Yesterdays: Rubber, Coffee and Pineapples,”
Boston
Herald,
August 3, 1920.
|
104
| robbing Peter to pay Paul: John Bartlett, comp.
Familiar Quotations,
10th ed., rev. and enl. by Nathan Haskell Dole. Boston: Little, Brown, 1919; found at Bartleby.com.
|
104
| The ad had been placed by Sarah Howe: “Get Rich Quick Schemes of Boston Yesterdays: Mrs. Howe's Bank for Ladies Only,”
Boston Herald,
August 7, 1920.
|
105
| William Franklin Miller: Robert Jay Nash,
Hustlers and Con Men.
New York: M. Evans and Company, Inc., 1976, pp. 195â203. Also “Get Rich Quick Schemes of Boston Yesterdays: 520 Per Cent,”
Boston Herald,
August 3, 1920, and Mary Darby, “In Ponzi We Tru$t,”
Smithsonian,
December 1, 1998, p. 134.
|
106
| C. D. Sheldon: Morgan Marietta, “The Historical Continuum of Financial Illusion,”
American Economist,
March 1, 1996, p. 79; “Montreal Detective Believes Ponzi's Story; Always Thought Him Guiltless; Cordasco Says Scheme Was That of Zarossi,”
Boston Globe,
August 12, 1920; Herbert Baldwin, “Ponzi No Martyr,”
Boston Post,
August 13, 1920, p. 10.
|
107
| International Security Company: “Know Today Receiver in Ponzi Case,”
Boston Post,
August 18, 1920, p. 1. On p. 72 of his autobiography, Ponzi mistakenly says he included two other names on the original registration papers, when in fact he did not add the names until March. The question of whether he had silent partners would become significant months later at his trial, but the general consistency between his trial testimony and the account in his autobiography suggests that his erroneous statement about when he named the partners was an innocent mistake. Indeed, there are several instances in his autobiography where his sequence of events is contradicted by the record, but in no case do the discrepancies result in significant conflicts.
|
107
| He was pleased that the transaction: Ponzi, p. 72.
|
108
| “We are all gamblers”: Ponzi, p. 76.
|
108
| a point of never directly soliciting: Ponzi, p. 75.
|
108
| Someone knocked on the door: “Ponzi Wins Avowal of Confidence,”
Boston Post,
November 1, 1922, p. 9. Also Ponzi, pp. 75â76.
|
111
| thirty-two-year-old Giberti: Information about Giberti's life, including his date of immigration and his family, comes largely from the 1930 census; he was not counted in 1920.
|
111
| Giberti's net worth: “Ponzi Wins Avowal of Confidence,”
Boston Post,
November 1, 1922, p. 9.
|
112
| A shiver of panic: Ponzi's feelings during his meeting with Giberti come from Ponzi himself; see Ponzi, p. 75. Giberti also offered an account of their first meeting in court testimony. See “Seek Flaws in Testimony of Giberti,”
Boston Traveler,
November 2, 1922, p. 1. Also “Ponzi Wins Avowal of Confidence,”
Boston Post,
November 1, 1922, p. 9.
|
112
| “I was selling my dollars at about sixty-six cents”: Ponzi, pp. 75â76.
|
113
| a total of $1,770: “Ponzi in Sharp Cross-Examination,”
Boston Globe,
November 6, 1922. Also Ponzi, p. 76. An accountant for Ponzi bankruptcy receivers, Charles Rittenhouse, claimed that Ponzi paid only 40 percent interest during his first three months in business. Ponzi, however, maintained that he always paid 50 percent. In those first three months he took in just over seven thousand dollars, or less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the total.
|
113
| Giberti put up only ten dollars: “Seek Flaws in Testimony of Giberti,”
Boston Traveler,
November 2, 1922, p. 1.
|
113
| a pivotal moment in the career: This passage might be open to interpretation and dispute, but it is based on a careful reading of Ponzi's actions before, during, and after his scheme. Among the significant elements in considering him overly impetuous and ethically challenged but not a premeditated swindler are small yet telling details such as his claiming only his watch at the pawnshop (see below). Later, he makes even clearer the absence of intent to follow the fly-by-night path of William Franklin Miller by purchasing his Lexington home, canceling his planned visit to Italy, and bringing his mother to the United States.
|
114
| returned to Uncle Ned's pawnshop: “Ponzi Pawned Watch, Rings to Get Start,”
Boston Sunday Herald,
August 15, 1920, p. 1.
|
115
| just four hundred dollars: “Ponzi Tells His Story,”
Boston Evening Transcript,
November 27, 1922, p. 1.
|
115
| a Massachusetts bureaucrat named Frank Pope: “Ponzi Has a Rival Next Door to Him,”
Boston Sunday Post,
July 25, 1920, p. 1.
|
116
| skeptics would doubt Sarti's existence: Ponzi first mentioned Sarti during his 1922 trial, and his existence was never proved. Indeed, prosecutors at Ponzi's 1925 trial informed the jury that no evidence could be found that a Lionello Sarti had entered the United States in Boston, Portland, or Philadelphia, though Ponzi objected that the search was far from exhaustive and should not be limited to those ports. See “McIsaacs to Testify for Ponzi,”
Boston Traveler,
November 28, 1922, p. 1. Also “Coakley on Stand, Believes Ponzi Was Solvent,”
Boston Globe,
November 28, 1922, p. 1; “Denounces Ponzi . . . as Embodiment of a Lie,”
Boston Globe,
November 30, 1922; “State Rests in Ponzi Case,”
Boston Globe,
February 21, 1925. Ponzi does not name Sarti in his autobiography but provides a description of his supposed deeds that fits with trial testimony. See Ponzi, p. 81.
|
116
| “Each satisfied customer”: Ponzi, p. 76.
|
116
| $5,290 in new investments: Monthly investment totals come from the federal audit that led to the closure of the Securities Exchange Company and were evidence at Ponzi's 1922 trial. Also “How the Bubble Grew,”
Boston Evening Transcript,
November 6, 1922, p. 24.
|
116
| sum came from the life savings:
In re Ponzi,
268 F. 997 (District Court, Massachusetts, November 12, 1920). Also “Ponzi Named Dead Man as Partner,”
Boston Globe,
September 30, 1920.
|
117
| Ponzi returned to Uncle Ned's: “Ponzi Pawned Watch, Rings to Get Start,”
Boston Sunday Herald,
August 15, 1920, p. 1.
|
117
| He died on February 13, 1920: Interview with his great-grandson John Gnecco, April 22, 2003.
|
117
| On March 9 he wired ten thousand lire: “Receipts Produced by Ponzi,”
Boston Post,
August 3, 1920, page 2.
|
118
| He assigned John A. Dondero: “Ponzi Liberal with Bonuses,”
Boston Herald,
September 23, 1920.
|
118
| To further satisfy Daniels:
In re Ponzi,
268 F. 997 (District Court, Massachusetts, November 12, 1920).
|
118
| afraid that the Fidelity Trust Company:
In re Ponzi,
268 F. 997 (District Court, Massachusetts, November 12, 1920). Also “Ponzi Named Dead Man as Partner,”
Boston Globe,
September 30, 1920.
|
118
| Fidelity Trust brought a lawsuit:
In re Ponzi,
268 F. 997 (District Court, Massachusetts, November 12, 1920).
|
119
| “Does anyone accept funds”: “Police Relief Ass'n May Return Ponzi's $250 Gift,”
Boston Daily Globe,
August 27, 1920, p. 5.
|
119
| five Boston police inspectors and a lieutenant: “Five Police Inspectors and One Lieutenant Caught in Ponzi Net,”
Boston Herald,
August 29, 1920, p. 1; “Ponzi's Records in Girl's Home,”
Boston Post,
August 15, 1920, p. 1; “Four Inspectors Are Named,”
Boston American,
August 28, 1920, p. 1; “Creditors to Grill Ponzi,”
Boston Herald,
September 8, 1920, p. 3.; “Ponzi Evidence Laid Before Grand Jury,”
Boston Globe,
September 30, 1920.
|
120
| Acid was drilling: “Charles Ponzi Now Patient âDe Luxe,' ”
Boston Globe,
November 10, 1921; “Ponzi in Surgeons' Care,”
New York Times,
November 12, 1921, p. 23.
|
120
| On March 24, three months: “Ponzi Was Warned in April Not to Speculate,”
Boston Globe,
August 11, 1920, p. 8. See also “Closing of Bank Ruffles Ponzi's Accustomed Calm,”
Boston Herald,
August 12, 1920, p. 1, and “Post Office Authorities, Fearing Ponzi's Escape, Chafed at Inaction Here,”
Boston Herald,
August 13, 1920, p. 14. In his autobiography, Ponzi recounts a visit by a postal inspector accompanied by police. In it, he describes how he spun an elaborate, fanciful financial story about how he could take $1 million and buy coupons in France, sell them in the United States, and turn profits for himself, his agents, the United States, France, French bond buyers, and the Universal Postal Union. He concluded the story by claiming to have told his supposedly awestruck visitors, “If you can show me where the entire transaction results in a loss to anyone, I'll buy each one of you a Stetson hat.” Ponzi, pp. 82â88.
|
121
| Clementi Viscarello ran into cook: “Clash over Woman at Ponzi Trial,”
Boston Traveler,
October 21, 1922, p. 1.
|
121
| Canal Street butcher Amarco Cataldo: “Ponzi on Trial in State Court,”
Boston Globe,
January 19, 1925.
|
121
| South End bricklayer Ricardo Bogni: “Sub-Agent Is Sure State Ruined Ponzi,”
Boston Traveler,
November 2, 1922, p. 2; “Defence to View Ponzi Documents,”
Boston Post,
November 2, 1922.
|
122
| Rose came by . . . Abe Rhodes . . . Antonio D'Avanzo: “Ponzi Winners Include Coupon Wizard's Wife,”
Boston Traveler,
August 24, 1920, p. 1.
|
122
| More than ten thousand dollars a week: “Says Ponzi Kept No Record of Receipts,”
Boston Globe,
September 21, 1920, p. 1.
|
122
| The agency sent him a doe-eyed eighteen-year-old: “Well-Known Men Got Big Hauls from Ponzi,”
Boston Post,
August 25, 1920, p. 1; “Ponzi Clerk Still Hopeful,”
Boston Traveler,
August 16, 1920, p. 4. Lucy Meli's feelings toward Ponzi were never expressed publicly, but they can be gleaned from her extensive testimony at his trials, where she consistently supported him and expressed her belief in his honesty.
|
123
| April receipts would exceed $140,000: Monthly investment totals come from the federal audit that led to the closure of the Securities Exchange Company and were evidence at Ponzi's 1922 trial. “How the Bubble Grew,”
Boston Evening Transcript,
November 6, 1922, p. 24.
|
123
| Lamb, a thirty-three-year-old English immigrant: “Lawrence Man Backs Ponzi,”
Boston Sunday American,
August 8, 1920, p. 2; “Ponzi Criminal Trial to Start Soon, Belief,”
Boston Traveler,
October 2, 1920, p. 1; “One Ponzi Agent Got $200,000 Commissions,”
Boston Globe,
October 1, 1920; “Lamb Testifies as Ponzi Witness,”
Boston Globe,
November 24, 1920.
|
123
| chronic thief and con man Louis Cassullo: “Swell Ponzi's Assets $15,500,”
Boston Post,
September 6, 1920, p. 18; “Two Witnesses Sought in Ponzi Case Disappear,”
Boston Herald,
September 12, 1920, p. 1; Ponzi, pp. 89â95.
|
123
| “And he was my most”: Ponzi, p. 90.
|
124
| Soon Ponzi had Massachusetts branch offices: “Attacks Testimony of His Former Secretary,”
Boston Traveler,
October 25, 1922, p. 1. Also, Kenny, p. 193.
|
125
| suspended sales of reply coupons: “Questions the Motives Behind Ponzi Scheme,”
Boston Post,
July 26, 1920, p. 1; “Federal Officials Scout Ponzi Claim,”
Boston Post,
July 31, 1920, p. 1.
|
