Download Empire of Deception: The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler Who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation AudioBook Free
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 warfare shootings released Al Capone's surge to underworld domination, Chicago's corrupt politics leaders fraternized with gangsters, and the frenzy of currency markets gambling was rampant. Enter a slick, smooth-talking, charismatic legal professional called Leo Koretz, who enticed hundreds of individuals (who should have known better) to invest around $30 million - upwards of $400 million today - in phantom timberland and nonexistent oil wells in Panama. When Leo's system finally collapsed in 1923, he vanished, and the Chicago state's law firm, a guy whose lust for electricity equaled Leo's own lust for money, began an international manhunt that lasted almost per year. When finally apprehended, Leo was living a life of luxury in Nova Scotia under the assumed personality of a reserve dealer and literary critic. His inexplicable death in a Chicago prison topped anything in his almost-too-bizarre-to-believe life. Empire of Deception is not only an incredibly abundant and detailed consideration of a guy and a time; it's a remarkable go through the methods of swindlers throughout record. Leo Koretz was the Bernie Madoff of his day, and Dean Jobb shows us that the dream of easy prosperity is a timeless commodity.
