
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Mark Lombardi, an up-and-coming conceptual artist, had everything to live for. He was finally gaining attention for his elegant, intricate diagrams uncovering shadowy entities behind global money-laundering. It was an unusual case in the art world, a late bloomer who developed his style after 40, now experiencing the rapid ascent of a younger artist. So why was the 48-year-old found dead, and his death ruled a suicide?
It could be seen as the ultimate conceptual art, an afterlife laugh at those who doubted him. He did, after all, carry business cards eerily portending the future, with the tagline "death defying acts of art and conspiracy." Or was he ultimately overwhelmed by the subject of his work: the money trails connecting some of the most powerful and corrupt people on earth? His drawings traced hot money, from Cold War funding to the heroin trade. But his most dogged scrutiny fell on the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, which he called the "Bank of Crooks and Criminals." It began as a small Pakistani merchant bank in 1972 but evolved into a global money laundry, bankrolling fraudsters, smugglers, and corrupt foreign officials – as well as CIA operations abroad. It was shut down by regulators in 1991. Since his death, Lombardi's masterwork on the rogue bank has been held at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Could it be responsible for his demise? The answer can only be found within Lombardi himself.
Don't want to wait for the next episode? Subscribe to get early releases and listen ad-free. http://brazen.fm/plus
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/
3.9
3535 ratings
Mark Lombardi, an up-and-coming conceptual artist, had everything to live for. He was finally gaining attention for his elegant, intricate diagrams uncovering shadowy entities behind global money-laundering. It was an unusual case in the art world, a late bloomer who developed his style after 40, now experiencing the rapid ascent of a younger artist. So why was the 48-year-old found dead, and his death ruled a suicide?
It could be seen as the ultimate conceptual art, an afterlife laugh at those who doubted him. He did, after all, carry business cards eerily portending the future, with the tagline "death defying acts of art and conspiracy." Or was he ultimately overwhelmed by the subject of his work: the money trails connecting some of the most powerful and corrupt people on earth? His drawings traced hot money, from Cold War funding to the heroin trade. But his most dogged scrutiny fell on the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, which he called the "Bank of Crooks and Criminals." It began as a small Pakistani merchant bank in 1972 but evolved into a global money laundry, bankrolling fraudsters, smugglers, and corrupt foreign officials – as well as CIA operations abroad. It was shut down by regulators in 1991. Since his death, Lombardi's masterwork on the rogue bank has been held at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Could it be responsible for his demise? The answer can only be found within Lombardi himself.
Don't want to wait for the next episode? Subscribe to get early releases and listen ad-free. http://brazen.fm/plus
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/
9,914 Listeners
1,548 Listeners
492 Listeners
3,691 Listeners
2,961 Listeners
286 Listeners
3,341 Listeners
104 Listeners
2 Listeners
19 Listeners
24 Listeners
327 Listeners
18 Listeners
68 Listeners
228 Listeners
44 Listeners
51 Listeners
16 Listeners
46 Listeners
69 Listeners
960 Listeners
147 Listeners
18 Listeners
530 Listeners
2 Listeners
136 Listeners
150 Listeners
23 Listeners
73 Listeners
526 Listeners
439 Listeners
337 Listeners