“A Financial Falcon and Virtuouso Flimflammer”

In Lost and Found New York, James Stevenson sketches Charles Wyman Morse, who started business in shipping and ice and emerged as a prominent figure in various banks and trust companies at the start of the 20th century. Morse triggered, or at least helped trigger, the Panic of 1907. See How J. P. Morgan Tamed the Trust Companies.

In 1908 Charles W. Morse was sent to jail for his escapades, but he didn't stay long. One of his fellow prisoners would raise flimflamming to new heights: Charles Ponzi.