Empire of deception : the incredible story of a master swindler who seduced a city and captivated a nation

The Resource Empire of deception : the incredible story of a master swindler who seduced a city and captivated a nation
Label
Empire of deception : the incredible story of a master swindler who seduced a city and captivated a nation
Title remainder
the incredible story of a master swindler who seduced a city and captivated a nation
Statement of responsibility
Dean Jobb
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
"It was a time of unregulated madness. And nowhere was it madder than in Chicago at the dawn of the Roaring Twenties. Speakeasies thrived, gang war shootings announced Al Capone's rise to underworld domination, Chicago's corrupt political leaders fraternized with gangsters, and yellow journalism only contributed to the excesses. The frenzy of stock market gambling was rampant. Enter a slick, smooth-talking, charismatic lawyer named Leo Koretz, who enticed hundreds of people (who should have known better) to invest as much as $30 million--upwards of $400 million today--in phantom timberland and nonexistent oil wells in Panama, close to the new Canal Zone. When Leo's scheme finally collapsed in 1923, he vanished, and the Chicago state's attorney, a man whose lust for power equaled Leo's own lust for money, began an international manhunt that lasted almost a year. When finally apprehended, Leo was living a life of luxury in Nova Scotia under the assumed identity of a book dealer and literary critic. His mysterious death in a Chicago prison topped anything in his almost-too-bizarre-to-believe life. Empire of Deception is not only an incredibly rich and detailed account of a man and an era; it's a fascinating look at the methods of swindlers throughout history. Leo Koretz was the Bernie Madoff of his day, and Dean Jobb shows us that the dream of easy wealth is a timeless commodity"--Provided by publisher
Writing style
Award
Arthur Ellis Award for Best Nonfiction, 2016.
Biography type
individual biography
Cataloging source
DLC
Dewey number
  • 364.16/3092
  • B
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
HV6692.K67
LC item number
J63 2015
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography

Context

Context of Empire of deception : the incredible story of a master swindler who seduced a city and captivated a nation

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