Many years ago, (1967 to be precise) George C. Scott starred in a movie called The Flim Flam Man. He played a backwoods con artist called Mordecai Jones “Master of Back-Stabbing, Cork-Screwing, and Dirty-Dealing-Dealing.” One of the most telling lines in the film was that “You can’t cheat an honest man.”
The Seller of the Brooklyn Bridge
George C. Parker (not Scott) was a real confidence trickster. He is said to have invented the scheme that involves selling the Brooklyn Bridge to unsuspecting suckers. His tactic was to produce forged documents showing that he was the owner of the bridge and then to sell his prized possession to people who bought his sales pitch. The deal was closed on the basis that the new owners would be able to make a fortune by charging tolls for using the bridge.
Museumofhoaxes.com says that Parker “claimed to have sold the Brooklyn Bridge twice a week for years. Some of his victims even went so far as to erect traffic barriers.”
Parker is said to have also “sold” The Statue of Liberty, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the tomb of General Ulysses S. Grant.
However, Parker could not outwit the police and was sentenced to life in prison.
Three-Card Monte
Far less elaborate than selling New York City landmarks is an old card trick. Three-card Monte is a variant of the ancient shell game, whose name has come down to describe any shady kind of dealing.
The con is deceptively simple. Three cards are placed face down, often a couple of black face cards and a red queen. The mark is told to “find the lady.” Other “players” are in on the swindle and place their bets as the dealer shuffles the three cards around. At the start of the scheme, the dealer makes it obvious where the queen falls until the dupe starts to bet.
That’s when the dealer starts to use sleight of hand until the person placing the bet has no hope of finding where the queen really is except through dumb luck.
The Fiddle Game
This is an elaborate two-person plan. The first one goes into an upscale restaurant dressed a bit shabbily. After his meal he tells the waiter he’s a travelling violinist who’s left his wallet back at his hotel.
He says he’ll leave his violin behind, his only means of earning a living, while he goes back to get his money. A nearby diner than swoops in and asks to look at the instrument. He declares it to be a rare and valuable violin, offers tens of thousands of dollars for it, but excuses himself because of an urgent meeting but leaves his card.
The scruffy “violinist” returns with the money for his meal. He is persuaded to part with his fiddle for a fraction of what the rube thinks it’s worth.
This scam is the basis for a song by The Streets entitled “Can’t Con an Honest John.”
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