Scams Schemes Scumbags

A Light-hearted Look At Con Artists Through The Ages by Pat Silver-Lasky & Peter Betts Cartoons by Peeby Since civilization first spilled a trickle of coins through man’s fingers and placed a value on objects, some rapacious rogue has been eager to pick a pocket through swindles, tricks and cons. To the con artist, money is like seawater: the more one drinks, the thirstier one becomes. Do you have a sneaking admiration for people who get away with such tricks? You may laugh at other people’s foolishness, but how susceptible are you? Wouldn’t you consider, buying a box guaranteed to print money if you saw the bills rolling out? Or accept an acre of land in the center of a town you’d never seen, if it were being given away free? Wouldn't you like to know some of the tricks these conmen and conwomen pulled? (Not that you want to pull them yourselves, you understand, but just so you’ll be on guard.) This book dishes the dirt on the biggest fraudsters in history. Bold artists of the scam who used swindles as a short cut to riches. They followed a golden rule, with 'Avarice' at the beginning of their alphabet––and trapped their victims through their own greed. Discover in these pages a world of tricksters who beguiled the avaricious with their inventive scams. The men and women revealed in these pages did not always profit from their nefarious efforts, but a few made a fortune in jail, writing their memoirs.

Would you buy a box that printed money, or accept an unseen acre of land because it was being given away? Would you turn down a quick buck for something just a smidge outside the law––or refuse that super-sized TV because it fell off the back of a truck? Since civilization first spilled a trickle of coins through man’s fingers and placed a value on objects, rapacious rogues have been eager to pick a pocket through swindles, tricks and cons––and for every conman there’s a sucker ready to buy into that ‘sure thing’. $cam$ $cheme$ $cumbag$ dishes the dirt on some of the biggest fraudsters in history who offered a shortcut to riches. You’ll meet the inventive Rhodocanakis who created his ancestors’ past––and thereby, his own future. Profligate Madame Thérèse who made millions with only one brick. The Red Baron who took 14 years to prove he owned 17,000 square miles of Arizona and died a pauper. And Bernie Madoff who ran the biggest Ponzi scheme ever. Avarice was at the beginning of their alphabet. You’ll laugh at the suckers’ mistakes––but are you about to be the next eager victim? For these stories we have dipped into the bubbling cauldron of histories of the great prevaricators, scam artists and grifters of the past and present. There are so many more that it would fill a second book. So look for it soon. Pat Silver-Lasky & Peter Betts.

Pat Silver-Lasky wrote as a team with her late husband, Hollywood screen writer and author, the late Jesse L. Lasky, Jr., son of the film pioneer. Together they wrote four books including best seller, The Offer, 8 films, nearly 100 TV scripts. Born in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., Pat wasted 4 1/2 years at University of Washington, Stanford University and Reed College - where she produced and directed their first play. Pat lived in London since the 1960’s and has duel citizenship. She lectured on script writing at several Universities, was Script Consultant and guest lecturer at the London Film School for eight years and her book, Screenwriting For The 21st Century was published in the UK in March, 2004. Her latest thriller novel, Ride The Tiger is out now in all ebook formats and paperback at Amazon. Pat now lives in Orange County with her husband painter/cartoonist, Peter Betts.