Ponzi's Scheme_ The True Story of a Financial Legend - Mitchell Zuckoff [139]
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“the two million inhabitants”: Ponzi, p. 148.
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blue steel pistol: “Ponzi Pays, Smiling, as Pi Alley Rages and Mob Beats Door,” Boston Herald, August 3, 1920, p. 1. Also Ponzi, p. 133.
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Another pocket: “Ponzi Stops Taking Money, Awaits Audit,” Boston Globe, July 27, 1920, p. 1.
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he stepped from the car: An account of the scene at Ponzi’s office on July 24, 1920, is contained in “Ponzi Has a Rival Next Door to Him,” Boston Post, July 25, 1920, p. 1. Although the story has no byline, the reporter’s knowledge of Italian and other details makes me suspect that it was written by P. A. Santosuosso, who also did significant later reporting on Ponzi for the Post.
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a mellifluous tone: Although the newsreel movies made of him were silent, news accounts of the day noted the quality and tone of Ponzi’s voice and its almost complete lack of an Italian accent.
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“a swirling, seething”: Mary Mahoney, “Ponzi Bothered None at All by Accounting: His Million-a-Week Business Carried Entirely on Handwritten Cards, No Ledgers,” Boston Traveler, July 29, 1920, p. 3.
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a man named Frederick J. McCuen: “Agent’s Profit Large: McCuen Got $10,000 for 21⁄2 Days’ Commissions; Has Not Turned Back a Cent to Ponzi Estate; Left Ponzi to Engage with Rival Concern,” Boston Evening Transcript, October 26, 1922.
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“would have made”: “Ponzi Has a Rival Next Door to Him,” Boston Sunday Post, July 25, 1920, p. 1.
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“They had me”: Ponzi, pp. 146–47.
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newly hired officers: Francis Russell, A City in Terror: 1919, the Boston Police Strike. New York: Viking Press, 1975, pp. 50, 112–13.
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Several patrolmen even moonlighted: Reports of police acting as agents for Ponzi are contained in numerous stories in the Boston Post and other newspapers, as well as “Bursting Golden Bubble Wins Gold Medal,” Editor & Publisher, June 4, 1921, p. 1.
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Captain Jeremiah Sullivan: “$100,000 Ponzi Gift to Charity,” Boston Sunday Advocate, August 1, 1920, p. 1.
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Inspector Joseph Cavagnaro: “Reported Investor Denies Depositing with Ponzi,” Boston Herald, August 24, 1920, p. 8. The story focuses on the denial of Richard Engstrom but also mentions Cavagnaro’s refusal to comment about his investments. The inspector’s name was first revealed in a list of investors published a day earlier by the Boston Post.
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Providing for his wife and four daughters: 1920 Boston Census, viewed online at www.ancestry.com.
Chapter Two: “I’m guilty.”
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born March 3, 1882, in Lugo: Numerous accounts give Ponzi’s birthplace as Parma, but in fact he was born in the smaller city of Lugo, where copies of his birth records and a certificate of family status and residence were obtained from the clerk’s office. See Comune di Lugo, Situazione di Famiglia Originaria, under Oreste Ponzi.
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a decidedly working-class neighborhood: Author’s visit to Lugo in August 2003 and accounts from city registrar Rosanna Rava.
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honor his maternal and paternal grandfathers: Pedigree chart based on Italian baptismal records, prepared by genealogist Carolyn Ugolini.
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employed in Lugo as a postman: Registro di Popolazione for Lugo, Italy, 1882.
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significantly more prominent stock: Pedigree chart based on Italian baptismal records, prepared by genealogist Carolyn Ugolini.
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“castles in the air”: Ponzi is an important source of information on his early life, and his accounts are consistent enough with verifiable facts to be considered reliable. Among the most complete reports can be found in: Ponzi’s autobiography; “Ponzi Tells How He Rose,” Boston American, August 9, 1920; “Ponzi Relates Story of His Life,” Boston Post, August 9, 1920, p. 16; and Charles Ponzi, “Ponzi’s Own Story of His Life Reads Like a Romance,” Boston Sunday Advertiser, August 8, 1920, p. 3.
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settled in Parma: Certifico di Stato di Famiglia Piu’ Certificato di Residenza. Lugo, Italy, for Ponzi family.
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a group of wealthy students: “Ponzi Tells