Episode 07 — Charles Ponzi: The Scheme that Sold the Dream

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Charles Ponzi: The Scheme That Sold the Dream

True crime meets history, psychology, and one unforgettable mugshot.

Boston, 1920. The sidewalks boiled in the summer heat, and thousands crowded School Street with cash in hand—bank clerks, widows, dockworkers—all chanting one name: Charles Ponzi. For one blazing season, he was a financial messiah. Within months, his empire collapsed, and his name became the crime itself: the Ponzi Scheme.

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📚 Show Notes & Sources

📰 Historical Records & Coverage

• Boston Post (1920) — glowing praise, then exposé on Ponzi’s past
• St. Joseph Observer (1921) — Ponzi scandal reaches national infamy
• Daily Times (1949) — obituary & last words in Rio de Janeiro
• U.S. Federal Court Records — Mail fraud charges & sentencing
• Ellis Island Passenger Logs — Ponzi’s 1903 arrival in Boston
• Canadian Court Records — Forgery conviction, Bank Zarossi collapse

🏛️ Research Tools

• Library of Congress — Newspaper archives of 1920s Boston
• Massachusetts Historical Society — School Street / Financial District history
• National Archives (NARA) — Immigration & prison records
• Boston Public Library — Boston Post circulation & local coverage

🧠 Criminal Psychology: Key Theories

• Charisma Effect
  → Cialdini, Influence
  Why a confident smile beats hard math every time.
• Social Proof & Herd Behavior
  → Bandura, Social Learning Theory
  When thousands line up on School Street, skepticism switches off.
• Commitment Bias & Sunk Cost Fallacy
  → Kahneman & Tversky, Prospect Theory
  Why investors double down even when red flags wave.
• Greed vs. Desperation
  → Merton, Strain Theory
  Were Ponzi’s victims greedy, or just chasing the prosperity always out of reach?
• Con Artist Archetype
  → Jung’s Persona Theory
  Ponzi lived the mask of “financial genius” until it became indistinguishable from the man himself.

👤 Charles Ponzi Mugshot

https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/charles-ponzi

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