The ultimate con

April 18, 2024 7:38 AM

His real name appears to have been John McCarthy. And he was the con man who sold the Brooklyn Bridge. By Dean Jobb. (Previously on selling landmarks)
posted by bq (13 comments total)

His only regret is that he was born 148 years too early to get into cryptocurrencies.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 8:32 AM on April 18 [4 favorites]

I once wrote about this (pdf), though the only name I knew he used was George Parker.
posted by Paul Slade at 8:53 AM on April 18 [1 favorite]

His only regret is that he was born 148 years too early to get into cryptocurrencies.

It's funny - when I think of the crypto-grifters of today I have nothing but loathing in my heart, but I read about this dude and can only admire his particular brand of shamelessly continuing to sell properties he didn't own to people with more money than sense and his absolute refusal to ever learn a lesson.

Must just be the way that history adds a tint of romance to things like this.
posted by Navelgazer at 9:27 AM on April 18 [3 favorites]

The difference might be that this dude was selling something that, if real, would have actually been worth something. I never realized until now that 'selling the Brooklyn Bridge' actually referred to selling a share of the lucrative toll revenue. The point isn't to "own" the bridge, it's to tap into a stream of revenue the bridge is generating from everyone crossing it. I don't think crypto has any inherent value that doesn't in some way or another stem from speculation about what it might be worth in the future.

Maybe I spoke prematurely. Maybe this guy was too honest for crypto.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 9:39 AM on April 18 [3 favorites]

"Time turned the evil bastards into rogues, and 'rogue' was a word with a twinkle in its eye and nothing to be ashamed of."

-- Pratchett, who else
posted by Countess Elena at 10:05 AM on April 18 [9 favorites]

I have a feeling that if humans still exist thousands of years from now, one of the few people they’ll know about from our era will be John McCarthy, the man who sold a bridge. He’ll live in future pop culture, our civilization‘s Ea-Nasir.
posted by Kattullus at 10:14 AM on April 18 [2 favorites]

@Navelgazer "Must just be the way that history adds a tint of romance to things like this."

I read something to the effect that a distance in years adds romance to everything, including war and crime.
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 10:22 AM on April 18 [1 favorite]

Reminds me of the Noah Cross quote from Chinatown: "’Course I’m respectable. I’m old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough." Add to that the con game.

One thing that's gotten lost in time though is that back then - it wasn't unusual fora private party/company to own the rights to something infrastructure related like the Brooklyn Bridge, so it wasn't as far fetched as it would be today.
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:54 AM on April 18

Not so far fetched - a private company owns street parking in Chicago. The Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor is also privately owned.
posted by leaper at 11:21 AM on April 18

I have a feeling that if humans still exist thousands of years from now, one of the few people they’ll know about from our era will be John McCarthy, the man who sold a bridge.

There will be some junior high school teacher, trying to explain to a bunch of 12 year olds that in the olden days currency was backed by the value of real estate, and bridges were particularly valuable, like the exchange rate was fifty condos to a bridge or something, and counterfeit bridges were a big problem before money became obsolete, oh, and since they all have flying cars and teleporters they have to look at pictures of what bridges were so everyone knows what they're talking about

...you see kids, it's called a vomitorium because the romans would decadently eat until...
posted by AzraelBrown at 11:41 AM on April 18 [2 favorites]

I really believe we love a good con artist, just as long as we're not one of their victims.
posted by tommasz at 11:46 AM on April 18

His only regret is that he was born 148 years too early to get into cryptocurrencies.

He did create Lisp, though.
posted by atoxyl at 12:09 PM on April 18 [8 favorites]

I really believe we love a good con artist, just as long as we're not one of their victims.

I love a good con when it's in Robin Hood-esque service (The Sting) or a heist against a bad guy (Ocean's 11) or when you can't help but admire the chutzpah on display, but given that most cons aren't those, toss em to the sharks. (Looking at you, fake call center guys who got onto my mom's computer for "support" and then proceeded to run up everything they could.)
posted by drewbage1847 at 2:55 PM on April 18 [3 favorites]