'Empire of Deception' author to visit Schaumburg Library May 20
It was one of the most successful cons of all time, and it happened right in our own sweet home, Chicago. Come and see why truth really is stranger than fiction as Canadian author Dean Jobb unravels the complex web of deceit woven by master swindler Leo Koretz, who bilked some of Chicago's wealthiest businessmen out of millions from 1916 through the 1920s. Jobb's' presentation is at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, in the Rasmussen Room of the Schaumburg Township District Library, 130 S. Roselle Road, Schaumburg.
This author visit is part of Jobb's book tour for "Empire of Deception," the true story of Koretz's epic con, which concluded with a scenario bizarre enough for a Hollywood script. Copies of Jobb's book will be available for purchase and signing following the presentation.
Registration is required for this free program. To register, call (847) 923-3347 or visit the Adult Information Desk on the library's second floor.
"Empire of Deception" takes place during a time when speakeasies thrived, Al Capone's empire was rising, and stock market gambling was rampant. Enter smooth-talking lawyer Leo Koretz. Smart, savvy and charismatic, Koretz's clients were some of Chicago's most prominent businessmen. When Koretz "accidentally" let it slip that he was making a fortune in timber and oil from the land he purchased in Panama, everyone wanted a piece of the pie. Koretz didn't even have to ask for the money - they practically begged him to take it. And take it, he did.
Thus was born the Bayano Timber & Oil Company, a lucrative Ponzi scheme that eventually fattened Koretz's bank accounts with upward of $30 million. When a few of his clients left to visit the Panama operation, Koretz headed to Nova Scotia, knowing well what they would find - nothing. The Bayano Timber & Oil Company didn't exist.
Come to the library to hear more about this amazing con and its astonishing aftermath from an award-winning writer and journalist. Visiting from Nova Scotia, Jobb is author of six previous books and has written for major American and Canadian newspapers and magazines, including the Chicago Tribune, American Journalism Review, the Globe and Mail, and National Post. His work as an investigative reporter has made him a three-time winner of Atlantic Canada's top journalism award.
"Nothing was as it seemed in Leo Koretz's make-believe world of mysterious syndicates and Panamanian oil fields," Jobb said. "Accounts written long after his death added fresh layers of myth and distortion, but I was determined to learn the truth about a larger-than-life figure who rarely, if ever, told the truth. The real story of the man who pioneered and mastered the Ponzi scheme is so gripping - and, at times, so incredible - that it needs no embellishment."