Grifters, Frauds, and Crooks

Richard Estep

Description

Power, Money, Sex: The Corrupt Trifecta! This captivating book uncovers the insidious web of deceit that infiltrates every facet of our nation's past and present. Immerse yourself in the stories of 50 of the most audacious frauds, cons, and lies!

Discover the dark underbelly of American history as you delve into the gripping pages of Grifters, Frauds, and Crooks: True Stories of American Corruption. From the heights of Wall Street to the heart of Main Street, from the hallowed halls of the Capitol to the battlefields of the military, and from the glitz and glamour of entertainment to the sanctity of science, no realm is immune to the clutches of corruption. Through meticulous research, this riveting account exposes both notorious figures and obscure swindles, including …

Bernie Madoff's infamous Ponzi schemes

Big Pharma scandals

the Black Sox

the dark secrets of the Catholic Church

Operation ABSCAM

the seedy underworld of the Mafia

Harvey Weinstein

Corruption in the White House

the Enron deceit

the shocking depths of NYPD corruption

Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker

the Lehman Brothers collapse

the Watergate break-in and cover-up

the Clinton/Lewinsky affair

J. Edgar Hoover’s abuse of power

the Sackler family’s opioid empire

and many other dishonest and duplicitous people and organizations!!

With more than 120 photos and graphics, Grifters, Frauds, and Crooks is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness. In the pursuit of money, influence, and fame, the line between right and wrong sometimes becomes blurred, leaving a trail of shattered trust and broken dreams. Take an illuminating journey into the cons, scams, and shady deals that have shaped our nation.

About the Author
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction

1. Overview: The Corrupting Influence of Power
2. Business
3. Education
4. Entertainment
5. Law Enforcement
6. Media
7. Medical and Pharma
8. Military
9. Organized Crime
10. National and Local Politics
11. Religious
12. Sex
13. Sports
14. Unions

Further Reading
Index

Sujets

• Con Artists
• Political Process
• Political Science
• Conspiracy Theories
• Frauds (film)
• Grifter
• Misconduct
• Conspiracy theory
• Criminology
• Organized Crime
• Crook
• Rogues
• Corruption

Informations

• Publié par: Visible Ink Press
• Date de parution: 20 juin 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781578598281
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

Contents
Introduction
The Man, the Myth, the Rascal
The Military-Industrial Complex
An Ill Wind
Fat Leonard
Dangerous Dave
Steal Big
The Windy City
The Real Scarface
King of the G-Men
An Offer You Can t Refuse
The Whistleblower
The Sheik, the Scam, and the Feds
Tammany Hall
Storm in a Teapot
Nixon s Plumbers
I Have No Recollection ...
Bill and Hillary
Governor of the People
The House of Trump
Cash in the Freezer
Quizzed
I Think I Killed Somebody
It Ain t Cool
Call Me Now!
Hollywood Predator
Epstein s Island
Spies Like Us
Sub Secrets
Black Sox, Green Bills
King of the Ring
Winter Wonderland
Tour de Lance
The Art of the Ponzi Scheme
Crash of the Titan
Up in Smoke
Wolf on the Prowl
Corrupt to the Max
The Enron Effect
Anti-Social Media
Off the Rails
The Organizer
The Root of all Evil
Sins of the Church
The Price of Admission
Something for the Pain
Bro, Please
Further Reading
Image Credits
Index
Introduction
At its inception in 1776, the United States was founded on the notion that it would be a fair and equal nation, a society free from corruption-as far as this could reasonably be achieved. The Founding Fathers found little to celebrate in the British systems and customs of government. At the seat of the British Empire, a person s success depended mostly on who their father was, their social standing, and the circumstances of their birth.
Although it was widely regarded (at least among its own elite) as one of the greatest forms of government in the world, the British system was clearly bloated and corrupt. Many accused it of being little more than a boys club-one in which privilege, status, and material wealth were of prime importance. After the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the Duke of Wellington famously remarked that the battle had been won on the playing fields of Eton, the elite private school attended by many of his officers.
The United States, it was hoped, was going to be different. The new nation was conceived as a meritocracy, a place of opportunity in which hard work, diligence, and no small amount of luck could see men such as George Washington and John Adams rise to hold the highest office in the land. In this great democratic experiment, there was no place for a king, wielding supreme power over his subjects; instead, there was to be a presidency, an office that would share power with a congress. This would provide checks and balances, reducing the possibility of a tyrant, such as the one they had overthrown, from gaining control. The leaders of the United States were intended to be the servants of the people, not their masters.
There would be growing pains, but there would also be much for Americans to be proud of in their new country. If the course of human history teaches us anything, however, it is that scandal and corruption are never far from the source of power, no matter which system of governance is in place. The likelihood of there being corruption should never be in doubt; it is simply a question of the degree to which it infiltrates the rooms and corridors of power.
Saying the name George Washington conjures up an image of trustworthiness, honest, and decency in the minds of most Americans. It is therefore all the more ironic that the city named after him, the very capital of the nation he helped found, has become a byword for corruption and dishonesty.
Our notions surrounding the character of the first president of the United States are mostly correct. Washington was revered as the man who had beaten the British army, the world s preeminent military machine, to secure the new nation s freedom and independence. As such, he rode a tidal wave of good will into office that few presidents since have enjoyed.
It is important for us to remember that Washington and his peers were being judged by the standards of their times, and the American public of the late 18th century was far less tolerant of what they perceived to be corrupt behavior than they are today. In the United States of the 21st century, not a single day goes by without fresh allegations and ironclad proof of political corruption being part of the 24-hour news cycle. It is so common and widespread that we have become inured to it. We are no longer surprised, let alone shocked, when the latest news story concerning corrupt behavior breaks.
Back in Washington s day, corruption and scandal were considered a much bigger deal than they are now. Citizens were less willing to cut their elected officials slack for their behavior. Politicians were expected to put service before self. By almost any measurable metric, George Washington s administration was among the least corrupt of any in U.S. history, yet that did not protect him from taking flak for some of his own actions and those of his associates. Even though he was about as clean as any president in history, as his time in office went on, the glow of Washington s hero status began to fade. Detractors slung mud in the hopes that at least some of it would stick. Inevitably, some did.
The Jay Treaty (1794), named after its architect, Chief Justice John Jay, was a prime focus of the American public s ire. In the aftermath of their Revolutionary War defeat, the British had abandoned a series of frontier forts. This abandonment was one of the conditions of their surrender, and when Redcoats reoccupied one of these installations, Washington deemed it unacceptable. There was still a strong British military presence in Canada, however, and despite the urging of his colleague Thomas Jefferson, the president knew that his fledgling nation was ill prepared for another war with the British.
The agreement Jay brokered would guarantee the British vacated the forts for good, but it bestowed trade benefits upon Britain in return. George Washington was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Sign the treaty, and he would be seen as being soft on Britain; refuse to sign and allow the British to reoccupy the forts, and he might spark a war that the United States was ill equipped to win. When the document went public, it was met with vitriol and hatred the intensity of which had not been seen since the outbreak of the War of Independence.
Making the president s life harder were accusations of pro-British corruption being part of the treaty negotiations. Copies of the treaty document were burned in the streets by angry crowds. Damned if he did, and damned if he didn t, Washington deliberated on the matter and ultimately chose to sign the treaty. Far from being corrupt, the president had done the right thing at the expense of his public standing. In doing so, he had endured false accusations intended to tarnish his image.
George Washington s presidency was arguably one of the least corrupt of them all, which meant that things could only get worse-and they did. Each changing of the guard in Washington brought new scandals, some large, some small, but they always came in one form or another. Today, the name of Washington (the center of government, not the man) brings up images of bureaucratic corruption and Machiavellian political intrigue. This begs the question: just how corrupt is the nation?
Just How Corrupt Is the United States?
One source we might look to for answers is Transparency International (TI), a nonprofit organization based in Germany. Pertaining to information and analysis on corruption, TI is widely regarded as one of the least biased sources available. The organization tracks and reports on corruption in a multitude of countries around the world and publishes its findings on a regular basis. TI maintains the Corruption Perceptions Index, or CPI, ranking nations on the basis of corruption in its public (i.e., government) sector. To what degree, CPI asks, do the country s leaders and civil servants leverage their position of authority to line their pockets or further their own private agendas?
The CPI assesses each country it studies on a scale, with scores ranging from 100, which means there is minimal corruption, down to zero, which indicates that a country s governing hierarchy is riddled with corruption. The results make for illuminating reading.
In both 2020 and 2021, the United States scored 67 out of a possible 100, ranking as the 27th most corrupt nation out of the 180 countries that comprise the CPI. This constitutes an all-time low score for the United States. Americans may be alarmed to note that the score had been steadily slipping. In 2017, the United States scored 75. The following year, 2018, it had fallen to 71; in 2019, it was 69. If the numbers are to be believed (and there are those who question their validity), then the United States appears to be on a downward spiral into ever-deepening corruption.
The United States maintained a score of 67 through the final year of the Donald Trump administration, and it stayed there through the first year of Joseph Biden s presidency. Trump had campaigned on a promise of, among other things, draining the swamp -rooting out the corruption that is entrenched and widespread throughout the public sector. If the CPI score of the United States is a valid indicator, it would appear that he was unsuccessful. It remains to be seen whether Biden can do any better.
On June 3, 2021, the White House issued a memorandum declaring corruption to be a threat not just to national security but to democracy itself. President Biden stated that countering corruption would be a core national security interest of the U.S. government going forward and that his administration would bring transparency to the United States and global finance systems; prevent and combat corruption at home and abroad; and make it increasingly difficult for corrupt actors to shield their activities.
The document outlined a broad strategy via which these goals would be approached. This would include modernizing and empowering governmental departments and agencies to m