The Crime Book

68

THE SMOOTHEST

CON MAN THAT

EVER LIVED

THE SALE OF THE EIFFEL TOWER, 1925

V

ictor Lustig was a

specialist in tall tales, and

none of them were taller

than his plan to sell the Eiffel Tower

for scrap metal.

Born in 1890 in the town of

Hostinné, in what is now the Czech

Republic, Lustig became fluent in

several European languages and

moved to France. He started his

criminal career as a swindler

preying on wealthy travellers on

transatlantic ocean liners.

One of his lucrative scams

involved a money-printing

“invention”, which he claimed

printed perfect $100 bills. He

convinced gullible victims that

the device took several hours of

“chemical processing” to print

two $100 bills that he presented to

the targets. In fact, they were

simply real $100 bills that he had

loaded into the machine without

their knowledge.

Impressed by the results,

victims bought his machines for

as much as $30,000 (£322,000

today). It would take a few hours

for victims to realize that they had

been scammed – and when they

did, Lustig was long gone.

IN CONTEXT

LOCATION

Paris, France

THEME

Landmark scam

BEFORE

1901 William McCloundy, a

con man from New Jersey,

sells the Brooklyn Bridge to a

foreign tourist and is jailed for

grand larceny.

AFTER

1947 American con man

George C. Parker “sells”

New York public landmarks,

including the Brooklyn Bridge,

to wealthy foreign tourists

multiple times.

2010 Penniless Yorkshire truck

driver Anthony Lee attempts

to sell the Ritz Hotel in London

for £250 million and succeeds

in obtaining a deposit of

£1 million before he is caught

by the police.

Conning Capone

Although he was a talented and

slick con man, Lustig would

occasionally take significant

risks, such as revisting the

scene of his famous crime to

try and sell the Eiffel Tower

for a second time.

The audacity required for

this remarkable scam pales in

comparison to the nerve needed

to swindle Al Capone in the late

1920s, but that is exactly what

Lustig did. He convinced the

Chicago crime boss to invest

$50,000 to finance a stock deal,

with the promise that he would

double Capone’s money.

Unknown to Capone, Lustig

placed the money in a safe

deposit box and returned it

two months later, apologizing

that the deal he was banking

on had fallen through. Full of

admiration for Lustig’s integrity,

Capone rewarded him with

$5,000. Lustig had shrewdly

hoped for this outcome from the

beginning, but had taken a huge

risk when he tangled with

Capone. This caper secured

Lustig’s reputation as one of the

bravest con men in history.

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69

Victor Lustig was not only an

extraordinary “salesman” and a

charming, sophisticated operator; he

also had a talent for evading capture.

See also: The Crawford Inheritance 66–67 ■ Frank Abagnale 86–87

CON ARTISTS

Official business

Based in Paris in 1925, Lustig read

a newspaper story about how the

Eiffel Tower was rusting and

required repairs. It was built for the

1889 Paris Exposition and was

intended to be dismantled and

moved to another location in 1909.

Sensing an opportunity, Lustig

sent out letters on fake government

stationery to five businessmen in

which he claimed to be the Deputy

Director General of the Ministry of

Posts and Telegraphs. In the letters,

he asked for a meeting at the

prestigious Hotel de Crillon to

discuss a business contract.

Believing the opportunity to be

genuine, the five men all met with a

smartly dressed, courteous Lustig.

He revealed that the government

intended to sell the Eiffel Tower for

scrap metal and would take bids for

the right to demolish the tower. He

flattered their egos by claiming that

the five of them had been

recommended based on their

honest reputations.

Lustig had rented a limousine

and invited the men for a tour of the

tower. Lustig identified the most

socially and financially insecure

target, Andre Poisson, who

desperately wanted to join the

ranks of the Parisian business elite,

and who felt that this was the right

opportunity for him to do so.

The plan pays off

Poisson’s wife became suspicious

about the secret and hasty nature

of their dealings, sowing seeds of

doubt in her husband’s mind.

Lustig met with Poisson and “came

clean”, confessing that he wanted

to solicit a bribe for the contract,

hence the clandestine behaviour.

Reassured, Poisson not only paid for

the 7,000 tons of iron but also gave

the con man a hefty bribe.

Lustig correctly predicted that

Poisson would be too humiliated

to report the fraud. Six months later,

Lustig attempted to repeat the

scam but failed, narrowly avoiding

arrest. Lustig later moved to the US

to continue his criminal career. ■

Lustig’s Ten

Commandments

for con men

Be a patient listener

Never look bored

Wait for the other person to

reveal their political

opinions, then agree

with them

Wait for the other person to

reveal their religious views,

then agree with them

Hint at intimate details but

don’t follow up unless the

other person shows interest

Never discuss illness

unless a special concern

is shown

Never pry (they will tell you

all eventually)

Never boast, just let

your importance be

quietly obvious

Never be untidy

Never get drunk

I cannot understand

honest men. They lead

desperate lives full of boredom.

Victor Lustig

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