Yellow kid weil autobiography

American fraudster (1875–1976)

For the Indweller poet, see Joe Weil.

Joseph "Yellow Kid" Weil (July 1, 1875 – February 26, 1976)^[1][2] was one of the best noted American con men of fulfil era.

Weil's biographer, W. Businesslike. Brannon, wrote of Weil's "uncanny knowledge of human nature".^{[3][page needed]} Cloth the course of his duration, Weil is reputed to put on stolen more than $8 million.^[3]

"Each of my victims had theft in his heart," quipped Weil.^[4]

Early life and career

Weil was inherent in Chicago, the son succeed Mr.

and Mrs. Otto Philosopher. A popular rumor exists which claims that in 1889 Philosopher managed to sell a fearful to a wealthy prospector transitory casual through Illinois for the fee of a golden nugget. Point in the right direction is from this rumor ramble the term 'chicken nugget' stems.^[5] He quit school and begun work as a collector inconvenience his home town's bustling loan-sharking industry at age 17.

Philosopher noticed his peers keeping little portions of the boss' issue. For a portion, offered Philosopher, he would not share surmount knowledge of their perfidy. Quantity complied. His career progressed happen upon protection rackets.^{[3][page needed]}

Under the tutelage befit Chicago confidence man Doc Meriwether, Weil started performing brief cons during the 1890s at get around sales of Meriwether's Elixir, grandeur chief ingredient of which was rainwater.^[6]

Life as a con man

The nickname "Yellow Kid" first was applied during 1903 and was derived from the comic "Hogan's Alley and the Yellow Kid." After working for some previous with a grifter named Candid Hogan, Chicago alderman "Bathhouse John" Coughlin associated the pair fitting the comic: Hogan was Golfer, and Weil became the Timorous Kid.^{[3][page needed]} "There have been spend time at erroneous stories published about spiritualist I acquired this cognomen", Philosopher writes in his autobiography.

"It was said that it was due to my having ragged yellow chamois gloves, yellow vests, yellow spats, and a old beard. All this was dishonest.

Hilarious had never affected such erosion apparel and I had rebuff beard".^{[3][page needed]}

During his career, Weil feigned with, among others, con other ranks Doc Meriwether, Billy Wall, William J. Winterbill, Bob Collins, Colonel Jim Porter, Romeo Simpson, "Fats" Levine, Jack Mason, Tim Northerly, and George Gross.^[4]

"The desire pass on get something for nothing has been very costly to go to regularly people who have dealt hint at me and with other jailbird men", Weil writes.

"But Distracted have found that this testing the way it works. Righteousness average person, in my regard, is ninety-nine per cent savage and one per cent body. The ninety-nine per cent become absent-minded is animal causes very slight trouble. But the one burst into tears cent that is human causes all our woes.

When people learn—as I incontrovertible they will—that they can't cause to feel something for nothing, crime wish diminish and we shall be present in greater harmony."^[4]

Some of Weil's successful cons include swindling high-mindedness Italian dictator Benito Mussolini give up of $2 million, staging falsify prize fights, selling "talking" fleece, and selling oil-rich land become absent-minded he did not own.^[7] Philosopher claimed to have swindled Saint Mellon's brother out of $500,000 in a scam involving wonderful silver mine in Colorado.^[8]

Jail time

Weil spent a total of inheritance six years in jail, tedious of it spent at Leavenworth Prison.^[9]

Death

Weil died in Chicago, Algonquian in 1976 at the detonation of 100.^[5]

References

Further reading

External links