George C. Parker was an infamous con man. He sold the Brooklyn Bridge countless times. He sold Ulysses S. Grant’s tomb. He sold Madison Square Garden. He sold the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He even sold the Statue of Liberty! Most often, the victims of his schemes were new immigrants who didn’t speak English and were unfamiliar with America’s public property laws. 

…but… was George C. Parker truly the prolific scammer he claimed to be? The internet sure thinks so! Normie C begs to differ.

Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: 

Asbury Park Press. “Capt. Parker Held For Extradition.” June 30, 1928.

Asbury Park Press. “Parker, Famous ‘Seller,’ Seized Here, Gets Life.” December 18, 1928.

Asbury Park Press. “Parker, Noted Confidence Man, Is Arrested Here.” June 29, 1928.

Brooklyn Daily Times. “Famous ‘Con’ Man Starts as ‘Lifer.’” November 23, 1928.

Brooklyn Daily Times. “Smartest Bunco Salesman Faces Life Term If Convicted.” July 8, 1928.

Brooklyn Eagle. “Albert Murch Dies.” August 11, 1931.

Brooklyn Eagle. “Brooklyn Bridge’s ‘Seller’ Sent to Sing Sing For Life.” November 23, 1928.

Brown, Peter Jensen. “Bridges, Bunco and Basso - a Gullible History of Selling the Brooklyn Bridge.” Early Sports and Pop Culture History Blog, October 1, 2020. https://esnpc.blogspot.com/2020/10/bridges-bunco-and-basso-gullible.html.

Cohen, Gabriel. “For You, Half Price - The New York Times.” The New York Times, November 27, 2005. https://archive.is/5GeA4.

Courier-Post. “Bunco Prince Faces Life For $150 Deal.” July 9, 1928.

Daily News. “Con Man Uses Love Notes To Gag Dupes.” July 8, 1928.

Detroit Free Press. “Selling Brooklyn Bridge.” November 23, 1928.

Ellery Queen Magazine. “Stranger Than Fiction.” November 2022. https://www.elleryqueenmysterymagazine.com/the-crime-scene/stranger-than-fiction-november-2022/.

Find a Grave. “‘Capt.’ George C. Parker (1860-1937).” https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/229047420/george_c-parker.

HISTORY, dir. Modern Marvels: Building the Brooklyn Bridge (S2, E20) | Full Episode | History. Modern Marvels. 2023. 46:00. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I-JFnbJ19U.

HowStuffWorks. “Meet the Conman Who Sold the Brooklyn Bridge — Many Times Over.” July 26, 2022. https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/conman-sold-brooklyn-bridge.htm.

IrishCentral.Com. “The Man Who ‘Sold’ The Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, and Ulysses Grant’s Tomb.” February 25, 2026. https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/man-sold-brooklyn-bridge-statue-of-liberty.

Lincoln Journal Star. “Bridge ‘Seller’ Is Caught in Law’s Net.” December 11, 1928.

Marysville Journal-Tribune. “Man Who ‘Sold’ Brooklyn Bridge Again in Jail; Other Old-Time Crooks Come to Grief In New York.” December 1, 1928.

Mimi Matthews. “The 19th Century Confidence Man.” June 20, 2016. https://www.mimimatthews.com/2016/06/20/the-19th-century-confidence-man/.

Minium, Alice. “The Untold Truth Of 19th-Century Conman George C. Parker.” Grunge, April 4, 2022. https://www.grunge.com/820192/the-untold-truth-of-19th-century-conman-george-c-parker/.

Naked History. “The Man Who Sold the Brooklyn Bridge.” https://web.archive.org/web/20190718114933/https://www.historynaked.com/man-sold-brooklyn-bridge/.

NYC Walks. “The Brooklyn Bridge — ‘If You Believe That, I Have a Bridge in Brooklyn to Sell to You.’” https://nycwalks.com/blog/the-brooklyn-bridge-if-you-believe-that-i-have-a-bridge-in-brooklyn-to-sell-to-you/.

Racing Nellie Bly. “Con Artist George Parker Sold Brooklyn Bridge And Famous Monuments.” Accessed April 24, 2026. https://racingnelliebly.com/strange_times/con-artist-george-parker-sold-brooklyn-bridge/.

Sifakis, Carl. Hoaxes and Scams: A Compendium of Deceptions, Ruses, and Swindles. Facts on File, 1993.

“Sing Sing Prison Admission Registers, 1865-1939.” n.d. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8922/.

The Brooklyn Citizen. “Man, Suing State, Charged With Forging Contracts.” September 18, 1930.

The Brooklyn Citizen. “News of the Day.” July 18, 1892.

The Brooklyn Citizen. “Nothing Heard of Criminal Who Skipped Jail.” January 3, 1906.

The Brooklyn Citizen. “Old Offender Once Again in Toils of Law.” July 7, 1928.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. “Once Sold Brooklyn Bridge And Lots in City Hall Park, Rest of Life May Be In Jail.” July 8, 1928.

The Brooklyn Daily Times. “Roamer, 58, Is Given Life For Forgery.” December 17, 1928.

The Houston Post. “Selling Brooklyn Bridge.” December 26, 1928.

The Mayfield Messenger. “Con Man Who ‘Sold’ Brooklyn Bridge Gets Life in Prison.” December 18, 1928.

The Miami Herald. “Dean of Slickers Given Life Term.” December 18, 1928.

The News Journal. “Former Resident of Shore Gets Life Term.” December 18, 1928.

The Saginaw News. “His Wasted Sales Talent.” July 10, 1928.

The Washington Post. “Life for Brooklyn Bridge Swindler.” December 18, 1928.

Times Union. “Big Claimant Against State Recognized by Judge Conway.” September 18, 1930.

Times Union. “Lifer Recalls Nervy Escape.” November 23, 1928.

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