The Ten Commandments of Con

Victor Lustig was a prolific conman in the 1930s who was most notorious for laundering $134 million worth of counterfeit money for Al Capone. While reading Sean Mactire’s Malicious Intent: A Writer’s Guide to How Murderers, Robbers, Rapists and Other Criminals Think, I found Lustig’s list of commandments for successful conning.

1. Be a patient listener.
2. Never look bored.
3. Have the same political views as the victim.
4. Have the same religious views as the victim.
5. Talk about sex.
6. Avoid the subject of illness.
7. Never pry in to the victim’s private affairs.
8. Never boast.
9. Never be untidy.
10. Never get drunk.

This list intrigues me as I begin a “second career” as a web sales consultant and as a self-promoting author (as all need to be). Lustig’s goal was to control his public persona in private spaces; you can imagine him across a restaurant table from a mark, smiling and sawing at a top-notch steak.

“Sure,” he would agree in a way that validates your opinion. “That guy is a crook, and he should never have been elected. He’ll get his on Judgment Day.” He’d follow your gaze as it tracked the swaying backend of the waitress and wink at you knowingly.

Juicy material for sure!