A pair of New York money managers involved in their own Ponzi scheme used some of their profits to buy houses, horses, cars, and collectibles like rare books and $80,000 worth of Steiff teddy bears. We remember several other famous collector crooks who turned to crime because they needed more money to collect. There was a Bakelite jewelry man, a Gaudy Dutch man, and a Tiffany lamp collector. In each case, money from the sale of the collection was given to the victims as partial repayment.
A question from a reader: Does anyone know when the practice began of putting a warning on pottery similar to "For decorative purposes only. Not for food consumption?"
