The King of the Bunco Men: Tom O’Brien’s Fatal Shot in Paris
Paris, 1895. Two American con men argue over the spoils of their latest swindle at a crowded railway station. One of them draws a gun. A single shot rings out—and the “King of the Bunco Men” becomes a murderer on French soil.
In this episode, Alexander Lawson traces the rise and fall of Tom O’Brien, one of the most successful confidence men of the late 19th century. From gold-brick scams at the Chicago World’s Fair to a high-stakes banco game in Paris, O’Brien’s trail of deception ends with a life sentence on the notorious Devil’s Island… and a quiet death far from the glittering hotels where…
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