Louis H. "The Fixer" Blonger, who would become one of the leaders of the longest running confidence rings in the American West, started his life on May 13, 1849 in Swanton, Vermont. When the boy was just five, the family moved to the lead mining village of Shullsburg, Wisconsin. When the Civil War  broke out "Lou” was just 15, but enlisted in the Union Army. He soon found himself playing a musical instrument called a fife, helping to keep the marching pace of the soldiers. A Fifer was a common job of those boys who were too young to fight.

After the war, the fast-talking Lou joined up with his older brother Sam and the pair moved westward, hoping to make their fortunes in the many mining camps of Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. For the next two decades they moved from camp to camp taking various jobs working in saloons and mines, while doing a little prospecting, plenty of gambling, and practicing a number of con games in cities across the West -- from Deadwood, South Dakota; to Silver City, New Mexico; to San Francisco, California.

During their vast travels, they reportedly met many of the more famous Old West personalities such as Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, and the Earp brothers. For a short time the Lou and Sam even served as lawmen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they were said to have provided protection for Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp after their infamous Earp Vendetta Ride.

By the 1880’s the brothers had settled in Denver, Colorado, where they were running a saloon on Larimer Street and later on Stout Street. By the 1890’s, the Blonger Brothers had become wealthy men from investments in mining claims and profits from their popular Denver saloons, which catered to gamblers and also provided "painted ladies” for their customers. They had also pocketed a significant amount of money from their various games of fraud and graft practiced on many a hapless miner.

While in Denver, they practiced their cons widely, competing heavily with the already established Soapy Smith Gang. Eventually they took over control as the king-pins of the Denver underworld and when Soapy Smith moved on in 1896, they consolidated the city’s competing gangs of confidence men into a single organization.

Operating their "business” as a "big store" con, or fake betting house, central facilities were established complete with betting windows, chalkboards for race results, and ticker-tape machines. Here, the gang members would convince unsuspecting customers to put up large sums of cash in order to secure delivery of promised stock profits or winning bets on horse races. It was this practice that is portrayed in the movie, The Sting.  Additionally, Lou had a number of men working for him that profited as pickpockets, shell-game experts, and a number of other small time con games. Lou's operation was so tight, that no one was able to operate in the city without gaining his permission and "donating” a share of their proceeds.

Continuing to wield their power, the Blonger Brothers influenced elections and political appointments in  order to protect their racket and shield their gang members from prosecution.

In 1904, a man named Adolph W. "Kid” Duff became Blonger's second-in-command. Duff was an experienced hand, having long been a member of several other Colorado gangs and well known as a gambler, opium dealer and pickpocket. Together, the pair increased the profits of the "organization.”

By 1920, Lou Blonger had grown so powerful that many said he "owned” the city of Denver and was, by that time, able to fix any arrest with a phone call and was making thousands of illegal dollars a year in his extensive confidence games. Lou even had a private telephone line in his office which ran directly to the chief of police.

Though his success went on for decades, it would finally end in 1922 when District Attorney Philip S. Van Cise circumvented the corrupt Denver politicians and established his own "secret force” of local citizens. Funded by private donations, Van Cise’s men were able to arrest 33 confidence men, including Louis Blonger and "Kid” Duff.   

A highly publicized trial followed, where Louis Blonger and many of the other gang members were convicted and sentenced to prison at Cañon City, Colorado. Both Lou Blonger and "Kid” Duff received sentences for 7 to 10 years. Just five months after going to prison, Blonger died on April 20, 1924 at the age of 74. Duff, in the meantime, was out on bond pending another court case and committed suicide.  Lou’s older brother Sam had died some ten years earlier.



Burials in Colorado: Burials in Fairmount Cemetery (Denver, Colorado), Lou Blonger, Ray Bridwell White, William Byers, Henry White Warren
The Fixer
The Fixer and Other Stories
The Fixer - Series One - 2-DVD Set ( The Fixer - Entire Series 1 ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Great Britain ]

Jean Henri Latude, often called Danry or Masers de Latude (23 March 1725 – 1 January 1805) was famous both as a prisoner of the Bastille and for his escapes therefrom.

He was born at Montagnac in Gascony. He received a military education and went to Paris in 1748 to study mathematics. He led a dissipated life and endeavoured to curry favor with the marquise de Pompadour by secretly sending her a box of poison and then informing her of the supposed plot against her life. The ruse was discovered, and Mme de Pompadour, not appreciating the humour of the situation, had Latude put in the Bastille on 1 May 1749.

He was later transferred to Vincennes, whence he escaped in 1750. Retaken and reimprisoned in the Bastille, he made a second brief escape in 1756. He was transferred to Vincennes in 1764, and the next year made a third escape and was a third time recaptured. He was put in a madhouse by Malesherbes in 1775, and discharged in 1777 on condition that he should retire to his native town.

He remained in Paris and was again imprisoned. A certain Mme Legros became interested in him through chance reading of one of his memoirs, and, by a vigorous agitation in his behalf, secured his definite release in 1784. He exploited his long captivity with considerable ability, posing as a brave officer, a son of the marquis de la Tude, and a victim of Pompadour's intrigues. He was extolled and pensioned during the Revolution, and in 1793 the convention compelled the heirs of Mme de Pompadour to pay him 60,000 francs damages. He died in obscurity at Paris in 1805.

The principal work of Latude is the account of his imprisonment, written in collaboration with an advocate named Thiry, and entitled "Le Despotisme dévoilé, ou Mémoires de Henri Masers de la Tude, détenu pendant trente-cinq ans dans les diverses prisons d'état" (Amsterdam, 1787, ed. Paris, 1889). An English translation of a portion was published in 1787. The work is full of lies and misrepresentations, but had great vogue at the time of the French Revolution. Latude also wrote essays on all sorts of subjects.

Jean-Henri Masers de Latude (1725-1805), ou, Le fou de la liberte: Enquete historique et psychologique (French Edition)
Jean-Henri Chevalier de Latude, 1789 Giclee Poster Print by Antoine Vestier, 18x24
Der Enthüllte Despotismus Der Französischen Regierung, Oder, Merkwürdige Geschichte Des Herrn Von Latüde: Während Seiner Unverdienten 35 Jährigen Gefangenschaft ... Staatsgefängnissen (German Edition)
The Life of Henri Masers De Latude, Who Was Imprisoned Thirty-five Years. To which is added some account of the Bastille.

Con artists make money through deception. They lie, cheat and fool people into thinking they've happened onto a great deal or some easy money, when ­they're the ones who'll be making money. If that doesn't work, they'll take advantage of our weaknesses -- loneliness, insecurity, poor health or simple ignorance. The only thing more important to a con artist than perfecting a con is perfecting a total lack of conscience.

What does the average con artist look like? Despite what you may think, he isn't always a shady-looking character. A con artist is an expert at looking however he needs to look. If the con involves banking or investments, the con artist will wear a snappy suit. If it involves home improvement scams, he'll show up wearing well-worn work clothes. Even the basic assumption that the con is a "he" is incorrect: there are plenty of con women too.

You might think you can spot a con artist because he's someone you instinctively "don't trust." But the term con artist is short for confidence artist -- they gain your confidence just long enough to get their hands on your money. They can be very charming and persuasive. A good con artist can even make you believe he is really an old friend you haven't seen in years.

Con artists do share certain characteristics, however. Even the best con can only go on for so long before people start getting suspicious. For that reason, con artists tend to move frequently. They may have a job that allows this, or they might claim to have such a job. Railroad worker, carnival worker and traveling salesman are all parts con artists play to cover up their constant relocations.

It would be impo­ssible to catalogue every con, because con artists are inventive. While many cons are simply variations on ones that are hundreds of years old, new technologies and laws give con artists the opportunity to create original scams. Many cons tend to fall into a few general categories, however: street cons, business cons, Internet cons, loan cons and home improvement cons.

Street Cons

These are cons that usually happen quickly in a public place. They generally involve the loss of small amounts of money -- a few hundred dollars is a good take for a street con. The victim is usually approached by a stranger who has an offer, makes a bet, or is reacting to something seemingly random and unrelated that has happened nearby. This "random" event is, of course, something the con artist set up well ahead of time.

Street cons include:

• The Pedigree Dog
  A stranger walks into a bar with a dog trailing him on a leash. He asks if the owner can watch his dog for a few minutes while he places a bet or attends to a business deal. While the stranger is gone, a second con artist arrives and notices the dog. He claims to be an expert on dog breeding, and says that this dog is worth hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. He asks the owner if the dog is for sale because he'll pay top dollar. The entire scam hinges on the bar owner's greed. The assumption is he'll see the chance to buy the dog from the unsuspecting owner for a low price, then sell the valuable dog to this "expert breeder." He tells the dog expert to come back later, then offers to buy the dog when its owner returns. The dog's owner sells it, but the "expert" never comes back to buy it. The two con artists walk away with a few hundred dollars, and the bar owner gets stuck with a "mutt." In Neil Gaiman's novel "American Gods," two characters discuss this con using a violin instead of a dog.
  
  
• The Pigeon Drop
  There are several variations of this con, but they all start with the victim and the con artist both spotting something of value lying around. It's usually an envelope or bag full of money, but it could be a diamond ring. The con artist tries to get the victim to notice the envelope first, making him less likely to suspect that the con artist planted it. A second con artist may get involved as the victim and the first con artist decide to split up the found money, demanding a fair share since he saw it too.
  
  At this point, the cons will suggest that everyone put some of their own money into the envelope as "good faith money," to show that they're financially responsible people. Once all of the money is in the envelope, it is divided into thirds and returned to the victim and the two con artists. However, through sleight of hand and a distraction, the victim gets an envelope full of paper scraps.
  In the ring variation, the con artist claims to have some expertise in jewelry assessment, and proclaims the ring to be worth several hundred dollars or more. However, not having time to sell or pawn the ring, the con artist offers to let the victim buy out his half. So the victim pays what he can to the con artist and keeps the "valuable" ring, which is actually a cheap fake. The victim, or "pigeon," is "dropped" and left with nothing.
  
  
  
• Three-card Monte
  In this famous street con, a con artist has a table with three cards in front of her. One card is flipped over to reveal that it is the Ace of Spades (or any other card). The victim places a bet that he can keep an eye on that card while the con artist quickly rearranges the cards on the table. If the correct card is picked, the victim wins. Friends of the con artist play the game, sometimes winning, sometimes losing, to give the victim the impression that it is a fair game he might win if he has a sharp eye. In reality, the con artist is a master of sleight of hand, able to switch cards without the victim noticing. No matter how carefully he watches, the victim will never pick the right card unless the con artist wants him to. Variations include the use of shells (a "shell game" is sometimes used to mean any kind of deceptive scam) or cups with the victim trying to spot a quarter, a pea or a ball held within one of the shells.

Sting Shift: The Street-Smart Cop's Handbook of Cons and Swindles
CONS Street Sign ~ Personalized Family Lastname Sign ~ Gameroom, Basement, Garage Sign Novelty** METAL ALUMINUM
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