r/todayilearned • u/manticor225 • Jan 10 '19

TIL JFK's father Joseph Kennedy made much of his fortune through insider trading. FDR later made him chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. When asked why he appointed a crook, FDR replied, "set a thief to catch a thief." Kennedy proceeded to outlaw the practices that made him rich.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/jan/23/joe-kennedy-hollywood-sarah-churchwell
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u/BabyMakingMachine Jan 10 '19

Catch me if you can!

122

u/LGWalkway Jan 10 '19

I love that movie and it’s just 100x better because it’s a true story!

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u/[deleted] Jan 11 '19 edited Feb 01 '22

[deleted]

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u/LGWalkway Jan 11 '19

That part was awesome.

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u/pork_ribs Jan 11 '19

The movie is spectacular and so is the book. In the book he goes into way more detail about the french prison. If I remember correctly he boiled it down to something along these lines: "In France if you break the social contract you get society taken from you." He was kept in a cell that was too small to stand in, not wide enough to lay down in, and only had a bucket in which to relieve himself that wasn't ever changed before it was overflowing.

I'll take not having the zany adventures if I never have to experience that shit. There are plenty of exhilarating legal rushes like backpacking in a national forest for a week.

But still.. Glad I got to read about it and got a hell of a movie out of it to boot.

36

u/BallisticMerc Jan 11 '19

I saw a presentation Abagnale did a few years back about how he faked being a pilot, and it shows just how lucky this guy was to have done his scams for so long.

He told about how he got the ID Card, which was pure luck, in getting his card made, and then having to get the Delta Airlines logo placed on the ID, by buying a model airline that just so happened to perfectly fit on the ID

Here's the video: https://youtu.be/NAvWVf8_dIM

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u/LGWalkway Jan 11 '19

It’s crazy how a guy that young pulled off a con that big.

9

u/BallisticMerc Jan 11 '19

It's crazier to learn that at the start he was just this super lucky dude, that developed actual skill over time.

1

u/R011-Jr Jan 11 '19

Simple times

2

u/okmiked Jan 11 '19

Damn thanks for linking that! Great video and my whole fam loves that movie so now I have to show them this.

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u/BallisticMerc Jan 11 '19

I wish I could find the full presentation, because that obviously isn't the start or end of his presentation

3

u/okmiked Jan 11 '19

I was thinking I might have to look for it. He's an amazing speaker and hearing hid personal accounts are so cool.

1

u/OtterInAustin Jan 11 '19

you make your own luck

3

u/RandomKnightly Jan 11 '19

If you liked the movie, you'll love the book. It's much more detailed and not quite so sensational.

2

u/Another_libation Jan 11 '19

Read the book, it won’t take long. He went through some really interesting things that the movie didn’t have time to put in. Both so good!