by sarcasanova Tue Apr 20, 2010 10:16 pm
I make my living selling New York’s public landmarks to unwary tourists. My favorite object for sale is the Brooklyn Bridge, which I have been selling twice a week for years. I convince my marks that they could make a fortune by controlling access to the roadway. More than once police have had to remove naive buyers from the bridge as they try to erect toll barriers.
Other public landmarks I sell include the original Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grant’s Tomb, and the Statue of Liberty. I have many different methods for making my sales. When I sell Grant’s Tomb, for example, I pretend to be the general’s grandson. I have even set up a fake “office” to handle my real estate swindles, and I have produced impressive forged documents to prove that I am the legal owner of whatever property I am selling.
I am one of the most successful con men in the history of the United States, as well as one of history’s most talented hoaxers. My exploits have passed into popular culture, giving rise to phrases such as “and if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you”, a popular way of expressing a belief that someone is gullible.