Bernard Madoff is all over the news for allegedly swindling up to $50 Billion from investors in his Asset Management business. The term Ponzi scheme fills the airwaves and print media in the description of what Mr Madoff is accused of perpetrating. If true, and he does say he did it, Mr Madoff's will have pulled off the most massive flimflam in history. That word, flimflam, is a bit quaint, correct?
It is most unfortunate that common English usage is akin to alphabet soup. Nearly everything is an acronym: SUV, ADD, ADHD, HDTV, HMO, DVR, DVD, et cetera, et cetera. If not acronymized (might as well make up my own word here), then words are truncated to a pitiful stub: slo-mo, lit (as in English lit), and perp come to mind. Some acronyms have become everyday words and the fact that it started as an acronym is unknown to many: scuba, modem, detox.
This fallout of this somewhat lazy English usage is not limited to rendering a less eloquent language. What is lost is the understanding, the full meaning, of the butchered word and its application. Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus is descriptive. Scuba is not. Scuba is just - a word. Might as well call it "lormit". It describes nothing.
Now, the digression I just put you through is not a consequence of my knowledge of Mr Madoff's penchant for acronyms nor have I heard that he was into scuba. It is because con man is short for confidence man. The full term -- confidence man -- not only tells you to hide your watch when you shake his hand but, most importantly, informs you as to how his scam actually works. He purposely sets out to gain your confidence, then he steals you blind.
Ever heard of George Parker? If not, then perhaps you've heard the popular retort that is directed to the gullible: "I have a bridge to sell you". George Parker sold the Brooklyn Bridge many times, sometimes twice a week. Police often had to stop the victimized buyers from erecting tollbooths on the famous bridge. He also sold other New York City monuments such as the Statue of Liberty, Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mr Parker inspired sufficient confidence to convince the marks that he was authentic.
Victor Lustig sold the Eiffel Tower twice and he sold several money printing machines. He also managed to trick Al Capone. Joseph "Yellow Kid" Weil used phony oil deals, women, race tracks, false identities to swindle many. Soapy Smith, from the old wild west days, fooled townspeople into thinking that some of the special soap bars he sold had a $1 or a $100 dollar bill wrapped around it. Someone, part of his confidence game, would exclaim that he had won $100. Then others would buy a soap bar and end up with ... soap. There was Frank Abagnale on whose life of playing confidence games they made a major motion picture, Catch Me if you Can.
Italian immigrant Charles Ponzi (1882-1949) was in and out of trouble during his misspent youth. Petty crimes mostly. Then he turned to the possibility of legally arbitraging in Postal Reply Coupons. What was illegal was convincing others to invest in his scheme and promising to double their money in 90 days. As long as he had more incoming stooges than investment returns to pay, he was in good shape. Ponzi was arrested, deported to Italy and died penniless.
These confidence men were only successful because they were able to connect with a mark that was driven by a bit of avarice or perhaps desperation. The confidence game was on when the victims gave in to trust the confidence man as a result of a gesture designed to garner that very trust. The victims all believed in something (and someone) that was too good to be true.
The term confidence man is due to a fellow called William Thompson. Mr Thompson was active in New York City in the 1840s. He dressed nicely, as many other confidence men also dress. The genial Mr Thompson would strike up a conversation with a mark for a period of time and then ask: "Do you have confidence in me to leave me your watch until tomorrow?" Many did.
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