Communication » 2A Interacting
VLepre - Remedial work and reinforcement (3)
by - (2011-02-06)
Up to 2 A - Remedial work and reinforcement
KING CON!
Victor Lustig, the king of cons, was one of the most imaginative criminals in history. He was born near Prague in 1890 and grew up in a middle-class family, where he learned to speak five languages fluently. However, he soon dedicated himself to crime and in 1920 he emigrated to the USA. In Missouri in 1922 he used his most famous alias, rich Austrian aristocrat "Count" Victor Lustig. Here did one of his jobs. He paid a bank $ 22,000 for a old farmhouse which nobody wanted to buy. He also asked the bank manager to lend him $ 10,000. They exchanged the envelopes with the money, but the one that Victor handed over contained no money and so he got away with both his original $ 22,000 and the bank's $ 10,000. Three years later he returned to Europe. In Paris he learned the Eiffel Tower was in poor condition and some politician wanted to demolish it. So, Lustig used that occasion to sell the Eiffel Tower. First, he asked a forger to make some false government notepaper. Then he pretended to be the "Deputy Director General of the Post Office" and wrote in secret to five companies which he thought might be interested in buying the Eiffel Tower and selling the metal from it. The five company director made their offers to buy the Tower. Lustig chose the highest one, took the cash and then escaped in Austria. He hoped the press would deal with his amazing con, but the businessman was so embarrassed to tell anyone what had happened. Afterwards he returned to Paris and sold the Eiffel Tower for a second time. This time the victim denounced all the facts to the police and Lustig had to flee to the USA. After many more imaginative crimes and lucky escapes, Lustig was arrested in 1935 and sent to Alcatraz prison. He stayed there until his death in 1947.
Victor Lustig, the king of cons, was one of the most imaginative criminals in history. He was born near Prague in 1890 and grew up in a middle-class family, where he learned to speak five languages fluently. However, he soon dedicated himself to crime and in 1920 he emigrated to the USA. In Missouri in 1922 he used his most famous alias, rich Austrian aristocrat "Count" Victor Lustig. Here did one of his jobs. He paid a bank $ 22,000 for a old farmhouse which nobody wanted to buy. He also asked the bank manager to lend him $ 10,000. They exchanged the envelopes with the money, but the one that Victor handed over contained no money and so he got away with both his original $ 22,000 and the bank's $ 10,000. Three years later he returned to Europe. In Paris he learned the Eiffel Tower was in poor condition and some politician wanted to demolish it. So, Lustig used that occasion to sell the Eiffel Tower. First, he asked a forger to make some false government notepaper. Then he pretended to be the "Deputy Director General of the Post Office" and wrote in secret to five companies which he thought might be interested in buying the Eiffel Tower and selling the metal from it. The five company director made their offers to buy the Tower. Lustig chose the highest one, took the cash and then escaped in Austria. He hoped the press would deal with his amazing con, but the businessman was so embarrassed to tell anyone what had happened. Afterwards he returned to Paris and sold the Eiffel Tower for a second time. This time the victim denounced all the facts to the police and Lustig had to flee to the USA. After many more imaginative crimes and lucky escapes, Lustig was arrested in 1935 and sent to Alcatraz prison. He stayed there until his death in 1947.