While other con artists played cards or forged checks, George Parker hunted big. He sold the Brooklyn Bridge. And not just once, but legend has it — twice a week for several years. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Brooklyn Bridge was a true wonder of the world, a symbol of engineering might and the American dream. It was on this that the boldest con artist in the city's history played. Parker's target audience was fresh immigrants who had just landed on the shores from Ellis Island. They were disoriented, poorly spoke the language, but firmly believed that in America, money could buy absolutely anything. Parker approached them as a "successful businessman" who supposedly won the tender for construction but now had no time to manage the project. He offered an incredible deal: buy the rights to the bridge and set up his toll collection points (barriers) there. The logic was ironclad: thousands of people walk across the bridge every day; if he charged each 5 cents, the investment would pay off in a month.
Parker was a master of details. He set up a fake real estate office with convincing signs, had piles of 'official' documents with embossed seals. The price of the bridge varied depending on how much money the victim had — from 50 dollars to 50,000. He was so convincing that the New York police had to regularly respond to the Brooklyn Bridge to forcibly stop new 'owners' who had already begun setting up their booths to collect money and demanded payment from surprised passersby.
But Parker's appetite was not limited to bridges. His portfolio included sales to the Metropolitan Museum, General Grant's tomb, and even the Statue of Liberty. Once, he almost sold the statue to a businessman, convincing him that Lady Liberty was obstructing the harbor's expansion and that the government was ready to scrap her for metal. George was eventually caught and sentenced to life in Sing Sing prison. There, he became a true celebrity: inmates and guards adored listening to his stories, and he, until the end of his days, felt not like a criminal but a successful salesman who simply found a free niche in the market.
