Schaumburg library hosts author of fascinating story on 1920s Chicago swindler

Dean Jobb teaches journalism at King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and he formerly was an investigative reporter for the Halifax Chronicle Herald.

But even he had never envisioned a story as juicy as the one he uncovered while doing research at the Nova Scotia archives.

“I still remember going through the card catalog, and I came across a card about this Chicago swindler — Leo Koretz — and his Nova Scotia connection,” Jobb said Friday in a phone interview.

“The more I read, the more I thought what a fantastic story this is,” he added. “As notorious as he was, he's all but forgotten in Chicago.”

Not anymore. Jobb's new book, “Empire of Deception: the Master Swindler who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation” comes out next week.

He will be launching the book at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Standard Club in Chicago, before meeting with readers in Schaumburg on May 20.

Jobb is the latest author to appear as part of the Schaumburg Township District Library's series that features nonfiction authors who have written books about the Chicago area, called “Chicagoland: Read All About It.”

He will discuss his book and sign copies, starting at 6:30 p.m. in the library's Rasmussen Room. Admission is free, but preregistration is recommended.

Jane Rozek, the librarian who manages the Illinois collection and specializes in Schaumburg Township history, created the series and she works hard to find authors who appeal to different tastes and interests.

“I felt this fascinating local story would be a great fit for our Chicagoland series,” Rozek said.

Emma Boyer, publicist for Algonquin Books, says advance copies of the book have generated lots of excitement. It's been reviewed in Vanity Fair, The New York Times Book Review and The Associated Press to name a few, and Amazon selected it as a “best pick” for May.

All of which pleases Jobb, though he describes himself as incredibly lucky to have stumbled across the story.

Koretz has been called the Bernie Madoff of his day, with his ability to bilk millions out of rich investors. Between his charm and fast talking, and the setting — 1920s Chicago — Jobb had rich material to mine.

In doing research, Jobb started with the Nova Scotia Archives — Koretz ran off to Nova Scotia with his loot, living a lavish lifestyle under an assumed name and acting as a book dealer and literary critic, until he was caught.

But Jobb soon began pouring through the six daily newspapers published in Chicago at the time, which provided him with nearly a story a day on Koretz and his scheme.

“Here's guy who lied through all of his adult life,” Jobb says. “My job was to tell the true story.”

Koretz was a German immigrant, a contemporary of other successful Chicago businessmen, including Dr. Scholl and Oscar Meyer. Jobb said the only way Koretz could keep pace with them was by lying.

“It's a great, untold story that happened in a period that people are interested in, the 1920s,” Jobb says, “and it still resonates today.”

He adds that he hopes Koretz's story reminds people that history does repeat itself and perhaps the book can serve as something of a cautionary tale.

But in the end, he thinks readers will like Koretz, just as Chicago socialites did back in the Roaring Twenties.

“He was such a good crook, so audacious and brazen,” Jobb says, “that people will be pulling for him.”