Historic Crimes

Lustig pictured center Victor Lustig, who preferred to be called Count Lustig, in spite of having no claim to the title, was an early 20th century confidence man. To hear some tell it, he was one of the greatest con artists of all time. He was always smooth and composed–the antithesis of the fast-talking con man. It was this poise combined with a knack for swindling that earned him a reputation as the man who sold the Eiffel Tower twice. While not exactly true, he did earn a pretty penny running scams. The 81-story wrought iron Eiffel Tower was designed and constructed for the 1889 World's Fair . Even before construction began, there were people who hated it. One group even called it a monstrosity. It was quite an unusual structure for Paris at the time. It would definitely stand out, but construction commenced anyway. Victor Lustig was born the January after construction on the monument ended. Lustig got the idea for his most famous con while reading about the Eiffel Tower in...

Frank Abagnale There have been con artists in history presumably as long as there have been people. When an opportunity to con people out of money or other resources is presented, there is bound to be a person or persons who are willing to take advantage of the opportunity. Some con artists stick to small swindles, taking little money and attracting little attention. Other con artists, like those mentioned in this article, go for the bigger swindle. They make a lot more money, but they sure do attract a lot of attention. *Note: The term con artist is derived from confidence artist. They are called such because of their ability to gain a person's confidence before robbing them of their resources. Famous Con Artist in History: Frank Abagnale Jr. Frank Abagnale Jr. was made famous by the book Catch Me If You Can and the subsequent film. His character is much exaggerated and dramatized in both. However, he was a real con artist and he was quite good at it. Frank Abagnale Jr...