The con-artist.

The very title reveals secret admiration and respect so many of us foster for the anti-heroes and less than savoury characters of genre movies and detective novels. That admiration extends to the so-called "perfect con", when the anti-hero pulls the wool over the eyes of an unsuspecting - and often undeserving - fool - and gets away unscathed. Characters like Sean Connery's Biggs in "The Great Train Robbery", Newman and Redford's tricksters in "The Sting", even Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lector in "The Silence of the Lambs", a modern-day vampire perpetually "disappearing" into the crowd after a most brutal final act. Woe to us. As cynical showman P.T. Barnum once remarked "There's a sucker born every minute" - a happy truth for the less than scrupulous. Like a poet his muse the con-artist plays his victim, reeling him so he falls for the ultimate charade, while the crook makes it rich. The victim, often so embarrassed - or implicated in the crime - fails to notify the police.

On this site we hope to give you a little insite to one character from con- artist history. Victor Lustig, a suave European who made a big splash selling some junk.