Ponzi's Scheme_ The True Story of a Financial Legend - Mitchell Zuckoff [148]
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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. 89–95.
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“And he was my most”: Ponzi, p. 90.
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Soon Ponzi had Massachusetts branch offices: “Attacks Testimony of His Former Secretary,” Boston Traveler, October 25, 1922, p. 1. Also, Kenny, p. 193.
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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.
Chapter Nine: “Always reaching for the moon”
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the Supreme Court took: Leonard Levy, Emergence of a Free Press, Oxford University Press, 1985.
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“protect a man in falsely”: Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919).
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one that would take a heavy toll: The story of Curley’s feud with Edwin Grozier and the Post is told in Kenny, pp. 165–75 and in Beatty, p. 414. Valuable information also came from a March 7, 2003, interview with Mary Grozier.
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Louis and Charlotte Blass: “Ponzi Winners Include Coupon Wizard’s Wife,” Boston Traveler, August 24, 1920, p. 1; “Two Witnesses Sought in Ponzi Case Disappear,” Boston Herald, September 12, 1920, p. 1; “Sued for $90,000 by Ponzi Trustee,” Boston Globe, March 8, 1925; “Blass Denies He Was an Agent for Ponzi,” Boston Globe, November 9, 1920; 1920 U.S. Census records.
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Henry Neilson: “Many Attend Ponzi Hearings,” Boston Traveler, August 19, 1920, p. 1; “To Quiz Other ‘Stars’ of Ponzi Sales Force,” Boston Traveler, September 17, 1920; “Reported Investor Denies Depositing with Ponzi,” Boston Herald, August 24, 1920, p. 8; “Neilsen [sic], Ponzi Agent, a Witness Today,” Boston Globe, September 17, 1920, p. 1.
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Charles Ritucci, who ran the Plymouth office: “South Shore Invests in Ponzi’s Coupon Scheme,” Boston American, July 31, 1920, p. 2.
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the North End branch: Cunningham v. Commissioner of Banks, 144 N.E. 447; “History of Hanover Trust Company and Ponzi,” Boston Evening Globe, August 31, 1920, p. 1.
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index-card system: “Ponzi to Be Called in Federal Hearing,” Boston Globe, September 22, 1920.
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In May alone, 1,525 investors: 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.
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“A little dollar could start on a journey”: Ponzi, p. 93.
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If flight or surrender crossed his mind: Only much later would he recognize his hubris, writing of this time period, “But I lacked judgment and caution. I thought I’d reach for more. It was there in plain sight. I did not look beyond it. If I did, I did not see. I must have been blinded by ambition and conceit.” Ibid., p. 89.
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“The average man is never satisfied”: Ibid., p. 89.
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Gneccos and the Donderos had poured: List of Unsecured Creditors, in Summary of Debts and Assets of Charles Ponzi in Bankruptcy, Schedule A, Case 28063, on file at the National Archives and Records Administration in Waltham, Massachusetts.
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a tentative step toward flight: Nancy Wrynne, “Ponzi’s Home Life Is Simple and Devoid of Ostentation,” Boston Sunday Herald, August 1, 1920.
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“What was I going to do?”: Ponzi, p. 109.
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He consoled himself with a story: Ibid., p. 114.
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a vacant house on Slocum Road: Details of the house come in part from a June 3, 2003, tour of the home and property records found at Lexington Town Hall. The amount and method of Ponzi’s purchase of the house was long subject to dispute, but the figure of thirty-nine thousand dollars was ultimately deemed most credible by the bankruptcy trustees. For purchase and decoration