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The Beginning
Charles Ponzi's 1911 mug shot. Image courtesy of http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/In-Ponzi-We-Trust.html
Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi was born on March 3, 1882 in Parma, Italy. In 1903, having gambled away most of his life savings during his voyage to America, he arrived in Boston with $2.50 in cash and $1 million in hopes. He spent his first few years in the country working small jobs around the East Coast including being sign painter in Florida.
Quote
"Once, when I was in Florida, I got it into my head that I could make something painting signs. So I bought some cardboard and paint and started in. No, I never had the slightest experience, but I got away with it, satisfied folks, and made a little cash. And all the time I kept dreaming of the time I was going to do big things."http://www.mark-knutson.com/ponzi/images/ponzi.pdf
He eventually was hired as a dishwasher and worked his way up to waiter before being fired for shortchanging customers and theft and moving to Montreal in 1907, becoming an assistant teller in Luigi "Louis" Zarossi's Banco Zarossi. Soon, the bank failed and Zarossi ran off to Mexico with most of the bank's money, leaving Ponzi behind.
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Noone
January 02, 2013, 07:31:37 AMThank you for the history of our city.
BrooklynSouth
February 19, 2013, 03:48:08 PMPonzi was part of the Florida Land Boom too? Wow, that's great to know! Thanks for the article.
Charles Hunter
February 19, 2013, 07:42:04 PM"That clever American, Ponzi" was mentioned in a recent episode of "Downton Abbey" - as a possible way for a struggling manse owner to turn his fortunes around.
LibertyV
May 01, 2013, 11:22:27 PMSince the city adjusted the addresses by -200 in 1938, the 1300 block of main is now the 1100 block, the last picture in the story, shows the modern 1300 block not the 1926 1300 block that was between 1st and 2nd.