Born a Crime

hustling because Bongani saw all
the angles and knew how to exploit
them. Like Tom, Bongani was a
hustler. But where Tom was only
about the short con, Bongani had
schemes: If we do this, we get that,
then we can flip that for the other
thing, which gives us the leverage
we need to get something bigger.
Some minibus drivers couldn’t pay
up front, for example. “I don’t have
the money, because I’ve just started
my shift,” they’d say. “But I need
new music. Can I owe you guys
some form of credit? I’ll owe you a
ride. I’ll pay you at the end of my
shift, at the end of the week?” So we