Ponzi's Scheme
Page 39
Steve Bailey of the Boston Globe made me a banking reporter despite my unbalanced checkbook, a job that eventually set the stage for me to tackle this subject. For their enduring support, special thanks to Allan Zuckoff, Jeff Feigelson, Brian McGrory, Naftali Bendavid, Joann Muller, Chris Callahan, Ben Bradlee Jr., Wil Haygood, Jim and Deb Kreiter, Paul Kreiter, Jo Kreiter, Reita Ennis, Helene Atwan, Joe Kahn, Kate Shaplen, Dan Field, Collen Granahan, Ruth and Bill Weinstein, Jeff Struzenski, Amy Axelrod, Brooke and Eric Meltzer, and all my colleagues, students, and friends at Boston University.
My mother, Gerry Zuckoff, was a bookkeeper, and I suspect she would have seen the flaws in Ponzi’s plan her first day on the job. This book is dedicated to my father, Sid Zuckoff, who taught me to appreciate history and to value ideas and ideals. My daughters, Isabel and Eve, kept me happy and grounded in the present when my mind wandered to the past. My wife, Suzanne, is my Rose.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MITCHELL ZUCKOFF is a professor of journalism at Boston University. He is co-author of Judgment Ridge, which was a finalist for the Edgar Award, and author of Choosing Naia, a Boston Globe bestseller and winner of the Christopher Award. As a reporter with The Boston Globe, he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of numerous national honors, including the 2000 Distinguished Writing Award from the American Society of Newspaper Editors. He lives outside Boston with his wife and two daughters.
Also by Mitchell Zuckoff
JUDGMENT RIDGE: THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE DARTMOUTH MURDERS
with Dick Lehr
CHOOSING NAIA: A FAMILY’S JOURNEY
Copyright © 2005 by Mitchell Zuckoff
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Zuckoff, Mitchell
Ponzi’s scheme: the true story of a financial legend / Mitchell Zuckoff.
p. cm.
Includes index.
1. Ponzi, Charles. 2. Swindlers and swindling—Biography. 3. Swindlers and swindling—United States—Biography. 4. Ponzi schemes—United States—History. 5. Commercial crimes—United States—Case studies. I. Title.
HV 6692.P66Z83 2005 364.16'3—dc22 [B] 2004046770
Random House website address: www.atrandom.com
eISBN: 978-1-58836-448-7
v3.0