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The Sting Man
How did a Bronx hustler nearly bring down the US government?
The Sting Man tells the inside story of Mel Weinberg. From hustling on the streets of the Bronx to selling bogus businesses and sham investments around the world, Weinberg netted millions of dollars. So legendary were his skills that in the late 1970s he was recruited by the FBI to combat art thieves and counterfeiters. But the trail quickly led to even bigger targets. His legendary sting operation, Abscam, caught eight corrupt congressmen and senators. The scandal shook America to the core.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert W. Greene presents not only a thrilling account of the rise of the FBI's international con mastermind, but a vivid dissection of the underbelly of the American Dream. Can you really con an honest man?
The Sting Man tells the inside story of Mel Weinberg. From hustling on the streets of the Bronx to selling bogus businesses and sham investments around the world, Weinberg netted millions of dollars. So legendary were his skills that in the late 1970s he was recruited by the FBI to combat art thieves and counterfeiters. But the trail quickly led to even bigger targets. His legendary sting operation, Abscam, caught eight corrupt congressmen and senators. The scandal shook America to the core.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert W. Greene presents not only a thrilling account of the rise of the FBI's international con mastermind, but a vivid dissection of the underbelly of the American Dream. Can you really con an honest man?
336 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
October 8, 2014
In The Sting Man, Greene provides an all-inclusive account of Abscam. In 1978, Amoroso and other FBI agents created a con to catch white-collar criminals. They enlist the help of Melvin (Mel) Weinberg, a life-long confidence man, to structure their sting. Mel had been coning people since the age of six in 1931 when he would steal gold stars from the teacher's desk to hide his failure from his mother. He soon graduated into front-end scams building himself a large fortune. With Mel's help, the FBI formulate a scam in which two agents pose as the American representatives of an imaginary Arab sheikh who wishes to invest billions and find permanent asylum in America. Greene utilizes 237 interviews with Weinberg, FBI tapes and official court transcripts to trace how this con attracted elected public officials as well as the white-collar criminals it was originally designed to capture.
I picked up The Sting Man as it is the true story behind the upcoming film American Hustle. Before I found this novel in Barnes and Noble, I thought that American Hustle was a fictional movie and had never heard of Abscam before. Having finished the novel, I am amazed by the amount of corruption the FBI found. Numerous congressmen were named as possible targets and quite a few were actually convicted for trading money for pushing bills. The power of greed is examined deeply in this story. Weinberg's philosophy of man emphasizes that all men are powered by greed. The idea of obtaining large amounts of money causes men to push aside all rational and moral judgement. Weinberg also talks about how hope helps a con man. People would rather hope that the money will eventually come rather than entertain the notion that they are being conned. I found these two insights extremely interesting and knowing them makes me hope I'll be harder to con! All in all, The Sting Man, while at times dry due to it's journalist author, outlines one of the few events in which the FBI fought against the government directly and was engaging, making me truly interested in the subject, and chock full of facts, making me confident in my knowledge of this historical event.
www.anibelle.blogspot.com
I picked up The Sting Man as it is the true story behind the upcoming film American Hustle. Before I found this novel in Barnes and Noble, I thought that American Hustle was a fictional movie and had never heard of Abscam before. Having finished the novel, I am amazed by the amount of corruption the FBI found. Numerous congressmen were named as possible targets and quite a few were actually convicted for trading money for pushing bills. The power of greed is examined deeply in this story. Weinberg's philosophy of man emphasizes that all men are powered by greed. The idea of obtaining large amounts of money causes men to push aside all rational and moral judgement. Weinberg also talks about how hope helps a con man. People would rather hope that the money will eventually come rather than entertain the notion that they are being conned. I found these two insights extremely interesting and knowing them makes me hope I'll be harder to con! All in all, The Sting Man, while at times dry due to it's journalist author, outlines one of the few events in which the FBI fought against the government directly and was engaging, making me truly interested in the subject, and chock full of facts, making me confident in my knowledge of this historical event.
www.anibelle.blogspot.com
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January 25, 2014Better Than The Movie
The movie would have been better if it had hewed closer to the facts. Some of the actual meetings are even funnier in print than in cinema. My advice is to explore both and decide for yourself.
The movie would have been better if it had hewed closer to the facts. Some of the actual meetings are even funnier in print than in cinema. My advice is to explore both and decide for yourself.
February 6, 2014
An excellent and very thorough book that tells the story of Mel Weinberg, his life as a con artist and his involvement in the FBI sting called Abscam. The book came out in 1982, soon after the scandal broke (in early 1980). The details. Oh my goodness, there are a lot of details. Stink operations are often very complicated and involve a lot of people. So be prepared to be bombarded with many names. The events detailed in the book are often exciting, shocking and surprising. I enjoyed the story of Mel Weinberg more than that of Abscam. It took me a while to read the book because the amount of detail was a bit overwhelming. Fans of the film American Hustle who love American History and want to learn more about Abscam will appreciate this book.
Read my full review here: http://quellebooks.blogspot.com/2014/...
Read my full review here: http://quellebooks.blogspot.com/2014/...
March 8, 2014
This book is the true story behind "American Hustle." I did not finish this book. At first, I really enjoyed the antics of Mel Weinberg. But half way through the book it was too hard to keep track of everyone and became confusing.
February 23, 2017
I found this book at Dollar Tree. At times I became lost and flipped back to find out who-was-who. If it weren't for that, I'd give it four stars.
February 7, 2019
Completely brash in much of the language, this book is otherwise hilarious, not to mention fascinating. It is a complete telling of exactly how the FBI and Weinberg, (one of the country’s most successful con-men) take down many crooked congressmen through the largest scam to ever infiltrate the government leaders.
November 7, 2021
Książka nie dla mnie, dość nudna.
October 6, 2021
I may have read this when it was more current, but it is still a good lesson in crooks lining up for easy money.
December 11, 2015
Classic journalistic history. If newspapers are the first draft of history, books like this are the first final draft.
Greene spins out an episodic retelling of the Abscam scandal that gutted the Democratic Party in 1980, and paved the way for the end of forty years of that party's virtual ownership of the federal government. Other collateral effects included the wreck of plans to reinvent Atlantic City as an East Coast Las Vegas, disruption of the informally arranged campaign finance system that emerged after Watergate, exposure of the incestuous relationship of state politics on the East Coast with Organized Crime, and the rebirth of the FBI as an agency dedicated to fighting corruption and organized crime.
The linchpin of the book is Mel Wiesman, a talented petty conman whose success with franchise bank fraud lands him in the hands of the law. To escape jail time he agrees to work up a small sting operation with the feds, and through a mix of chutzpa and fearlessness grown out of not having to worry about getting caught, the sting operation grows into a two year saga that exposes corruption at all levels of government. The barest outline of the utter insanity of this investigation was dramatized in American Hustle, but the details are more interesting. What Greene delivers here is the coherence and timeline missing from the movie, and a better sense of the damage wrought by the operation.
I remember a pundit at the time saying that he was appalled by Abscam, but not because it revealed that politicians were corrupt. No, he was astonished by how cheaply congressmen could be bought. That angle which is not really of interest in the movie, is made very clear in the book. Not only were these politicians greedy, but there seems to be almost no depth too low for them to stoop for a pay off. As a real strength of the book, the FBI agents and pols are given a bigger role here. The interoffice rivalries and budget restrictions that hampered the investigation are fascinating, as is the revelation that the persons developed as marks were individually approved and chosen at some higher level of government that is never made clear. That is why the repackaging of this book as "the book that inspired the movie" is misleading: the movie captures the flavor of the sting operation, but the book is the story. Best yet, it is entirely how Wiesman saw the story of his own biggest sting evolved from a shabby storefront operation to a multi-jurisdictional sprawling monster that only ended because they couldn't keep up the pretense any longer.
As strong as the book is, it has its flaws. It is very much a product of its time, and the gender politics are just repellant. There is also a lack of organic organization within the book, so there are a lot of sketchy transitions from one phase of the scam into another. Part of this choppiness comes from Greene choosing to introduce those sections through a first person narrative of the idle thoughts of Weisman. Also, because this was written as a recap of recent history, and a history of the biggest news story of the year, Greene does not waste time introducing the reader to the congressmen since anyone interested in this book in 1982 would have enough grounding to know who Senator Williams was.
Other failings of the book are outside of Greene's control. At the time he was writing the massive structural damage Abscam did to the National Democratic Party was still developing. In retrospect Abscam was the end of the era where the Democrats were the party of ideas, and stripped them of any halo effect from the Republican Party's involvement in Watergate. Equally it was the end of the New Deal political consensus that government had a positive role in improving people's lives. The reaction was increased cynicism about politics, massive defections by the middle class from the party system, and the coalescence of the current conservative movement.
A very good book for what it is.
Greene spins out an episodic retelling of the Abscam scandal that gutted the Democratic Party in 1980, and paved the way for the end of forty years of that party's virtual ownership of the federal government. Other collateral effects included the wreck of plans to reinvent Atlantic City as an East Coast Las Vegas, disruption of the informally arranged campaign finance system that emerged after Watergate, exposure of the incestuous relationship of state politics on the East Coast with Organized Crime, and the rebirth of the FBI as an agency dedicated to fighting corruption and organized crime.
The linchpin of the book is Mel Wiesman, a talented petty conman whose success with franchise bank fraud lands him in the hands of the law. To escape jail time he agrees to work up a small sting operation with the feds, and through a mix of chutzpa and fearlessness grown out of not having to worry about getting caught, the sting operation grows into a two year saga that exposes corruption at all levels of government. The barest outline of the utter insanity of this investigation was dramatized in American Hustle, but the details are more interesting. What Greene delivers here is the coherence and timeline missing from the movie, and a better sense of the damage wrought by the operation.
I remember a pundit at the time saying that he was appalled by Abscam, but not because it revealed that politicians were corrupt. No, he was astonished by how cheaply congressmen could be bought. That angle which is not really of interest in the movie, is made very clear in the book. Not only were these politicians greedy, but there seems to be almost no depth too low for them to stoop for a pay off. As a real strength of the book, the FBI agents and pols are given a bigger role here. The interoffice rivalries and budget restrictions that hampered the investigation are fascinating, as is the revelation that the persons developed as marks were individually approved and chosen at some higher level of government that is never made clear. That is why the repackaging of this book as "the book that inspired the movie" is misleading: the movie captures the flavor of the sting operation, but the book is the story. Best yet, it is entirely how Wiesman saw the story of his own biggest sting evolved from a shabby storefront operation to a multi-jurisdictional sprawling monster that only ended because they couldn't keep up the pretense any longer.
As strong as the book is, it has its flaws. It is very much a product of its time, and the gender politics are just repellant. There is also a lack of organic organization within the book, so there are a lot of sketchy transitions from one phase of the scam into another. Part of this choppiness comes from Greene choosing to introduce those sections through a first person narrative of the idle thoughts of Weisman. Also, because this was written as a recap of recent history, and a history of the biggest news story of the year, Greene does not waste time introducing the reader to the congressmen since anyone interested in this book in 1982 would have enough grounding to know who Senator Williams was.
Other failings of the book are outside of Greene's control. At the time he was writing the massive structural damage Abscam did to the National Democratic Party was still developing. In retrospect Abscam was the end of the era where the Democrats were the party of ideas, and stripped them of any halo effect from the Republican Party's involvement in Watergate. Equally it was the end of the New Deal political consensus that government had a positive role in improving people's lives. The reaction was increased cynicism about politics, massive defections by the middle class from the party system, and the coalescence of the current conservative movement.
A very good book for what it is.
August 9, 2016
Another pick up on a whim read, but it left me disappointed. The subject could have been riveting, but it simply wasn't, the narrative style killed it for me.
The main character, Mel Weinberg, the Sting Man, could have, and should have totally absorbed me. A chancer and wide man, but with an infectious warmth and skewed moral code that draws you in.
But the book descends into a rather drab and tedious tale of political corruption, without any flair or colour.
I'm sure when this first came out it caused a sensation, but in this modern, cynical world of corruption and deceit revealed daily, it falls a little flat.
There are some interesting moments, but they are lost in a morass of straightforward factual narrative.
I wanted to enjoy this more, and I know there's a good book about this subject somewhere, but this wasn't it for me.
The main character, Mel Weinberg, the Sting Man, could have, and should have totally absorbed me. A chancer and wide man, but with an infectious warmth and skewed moral code that draws you in.
But the book descends into a rather drab and tedious tale of political corruption, without any flair or colour.
I'm sure when this first came out it caused a sensation, but in this modern, cynical world of corruption and deceit revealed daily, it falls a little flat.
There are some interesting moments, but they are lost in a morass of straightforward factual narrative.
I wanted to enjoy this more, and I know there's a good book about this subject somewhere, but this wasn't it for me.
January 14, 2014
Fascinating detailing of the Abscam investigation and the FBI's "secret weapon" con man, Mel Weinberg. The true story from which the movie "American Hustle" was based. The politicians in the movie had far higher morals and ethical standards than the real life politician scoundrels. It's both mind-boggling and depressing to learn the extent of corruption and self-centered personal grred amongst our US Congtressmen and Senators. A great deal of humor in the escapades that unfold in The Sting Man.
April 2, 2014
I saw "American Hustle" and wanted to find out more about the real story of Abscam because I was far too young when Abscam hit the news to remember anything about it. I picked up "The Sting Man" and thought I'd just skim it, but I started reading and got hooked. Mel Weinberg was such a character--so unapologetically a con man, which is somehow endearing. It was a really interesting book, and I'm now at least a little less likely to fall for a con...I hope!
September 27, 2016
Entirely too long. I was very disappointed with this book. Was hoping for much more.
April 25, 2020
Not a very good writer tbh
May 12, 2025
Vivid and hilarious expose' book about the ABSCAM operation of the early 80s that involved stuffy Feds, huge political stings, and one massively proud, sleazy NYC con man. But the man was a con master. Most horrifying is realizing that the government officials who took bribes and collectively embraced levels of greed that can only be called Olympic--and repellant--are all-American reflections of power corrupted. Despite the book doing nothing to sanitize the protagonist (unlike the movie), here, even in his depths of sociopathic thinking, he does not surpass the behavior of the sticky, drooling politicians. This is true horror fiction.
September 26, 2018
Interesting story. I liked the film based on it better. The first chapter overwhelms the reader with too much information. After that Greene alternates between journalistic reporting style and fictional narrative which I find irritating. He treats Weinberg as a fictional character, offering internal monologues and asides while also including transcripts of Weinberg's own version of events. Overall a good account of what happened, but the style just doesn't work.
Read
August 22, 2024DNF @ 64%
Started off well and was interesting. That changed when Mel Weinberg started working as the government’s sting man.
From then on, each chapter seemed to super fixate on the most minute details of and within each scam that it became boring and repetitive (and ground the pacing of the book to an almost stop).
It felt unnecessary to go to such lengths and, therefore, was not keeping my attention.
Started off well and was interesting. That changed when Mel Weinberg started working as the government’s sting man.
From then on, each chapter seemed to super fixate on the most minute details of and within each scam that it became boring and repetitive (and ground the pacing of the book to an almost stop).
It felt unnecessary to go to such lengths and, therefore, was not keeping my attention.
October 6, 2019
I finished the book, but it was a struggle. I couldn’t ever seem to get into it, partly because of the way the narrator was written, the mix of points of view, and finally, I know it’s the true story, well as much as you can trust the word of a con man, but it would’ve been more interesting and easier to follow if it has been written as a story instead of a collection of stories.
March 28, 2018
Really interesting to read the real account of the Abscam operation. It doesn't really give me much hope for the future of government corruption.... My biggest issues was keeping track of all of the people involved.
June 10, 2019
Learned quiet a bit about 'marks', swindles and the various ways people twist the truth to get what they want - and sometimes at a very high price.
Read
October 18, 2024book
August 30, 2015
Mel Weinberg is a complicated man. As he attests in this behind the scenes look at Abscam, all con-men are.
Right up front, there will likely be some who will not enjoy the sort of journalism that Greene (a journalist) that the Sting Man: Inside Abscam represents. The novel is not necessarily similar in form to the narrative of the film (American Hustle), which brought this story to life on the big screen. I enjoyed both, and at points I would consider many of the 'scenes' that the book provides to be even more incredulous and humorous than the film, which leaves out a lot of details (the book begins with the infamous court case and then structures the rest around different scenes from the life of Weinberg from a child to the crowning jewel (Abscam) of his professional career as a con-man). But I will also suggest that the material itself is packed with so much information as to almost come across as dry at points. This is a small criticism, if that.
The story of Abscam (and Weinberg, the man who pulled the whole thing together) is a story of greed. While most of the focus is on the sheer expanse of the corruption in Congress itself (which is truly frightening to consider), the journey into the mind and life of Weinberg ends up as a commentary on the nature of humanity itself. Weinberg's true genius was in understanding human nature and applying it to his game of deception. His success as in learning the rules and applying them, a fact that he suggest only worked because it could be applied universally. The reason he lasted so long without getting caught, and the reason why he was so successful (successful enough for the government itself to desire (need) his skills for their own purposes (despite his criminal past), is because he understood the two things that drive people to fall for a con: The presence (and allure) of hope, and the presence of a need.
Weinberg's own professional career was set in motion when he realized he could con his own mother by stealing gold stars to demonstrate an outstanding school achievement. While this opened him up to a world of possibilities, it was exposure to the luxuries of higher class living (on the other side of the tracks) that motivated him to declare that never again would he or his family (and future family) be without money. As he states, if he could not actually become a part of the higher class, he would at least live like one. And he never looked back.
The greatest part about this story is the complicated man. He is a criminal who exposes what many would see as the greater criminals (Congress), even though the two do not stand far apart. He is a man blinded by greed and sexual desire, who gave little consideration to some of the broken relationships that he left behind. And yet there is a moral chord or code that keeps him somewhat grounded along the way. It is this slight moral code that led to him being caught for the first time in his life. It is this code that keeps him struggling with the notion of family values and responsibilities and loyalty to his friends. It is the presence of that complicated person that sits underneath the deception (and he is clear, a con is based on mostly truth... it has to be in order to work) that helps reminds us of those parts of ourselves that we struggle with as well. Weinberg saw past the surface to see that we are at least a little bit like him and the corrupted Congress that he helped expose. And it is a humbling reminder to consider what his legacy teaches us, which is that the line between the good guys and the bad guys becomes a lot more blurry when we are looking in a mirror.
Right up front, there will likely be some who will not enjoy the sort of journalism that Greene (a journalist) that the Sting Man: Inside Abscam represents. The novel is not necessarily similar in form to the narrative of the film (American Hustle), which brought this story to life on the big screen. I enjoyed both, and at points I would consider many of the 'scenes' that the book provides to be even more incredulous and humorous than the film, which leaves out a lot of details (the book begins with the infamous court case and then structures the rest around different scenes from the life of Weinberg from a child to the crowning jewel (Abscam) of his professional career as a con-man). But I will also suggest that the material itself is packed with so much information as to almost come across as dry at points. This is a small criticism, if that.
The story of Abscam (and Weinberg, the man who pulled the whole thing together) is a story of greed. While most of the focus is on the sheer expanse of the corruption in Congress itself (which is truly frightening to consider), the journey into the mind and life of Weinberg ends up as a commentary on the nature of humanity itself. Weinberg's true genius was in understanding human nature and applying it to his game of deception. His success as in learning the rules and applying them, a fact that he suggest only worked because it could be applied universally. The reason he lasted so long without getting caught, and the reason why he was so successful (successful enough for the government itself to desire (need) his skills for their own purposes (despite his criminal past), is because he understood the two things that drive people to fall for a con: The presence (and allure) of hope, and the presence of a need.
Weinberg's own professional career was set in motion when he realized he could con his own mother by stealing gold stars to demonstrate an outstanding school achievement. While this opened him up to a world of possibilities, it was exposure to the luxuries of higher class living (on the other side of the tracks) that motivated him to declare that never again would he or his family (and future family) be without money. As he states, if he could not actually become a part of the higher class, he would at least live like one. And he never looked back.
The greatest part about this story is the complicated man. He is a criminal who exposes what many would see as the greater criminals (Congress), even though the two do not stand far apart. He is a man blinded by greed and sexual desire, who gave little consideration to some of the broken relationships that he left behind. And yet there is a moral chord or code that keeps him somewhat grounded along the way. It is this slight moral code that led to him being caught for the first time in his life. It is this code that keeps him struggling with the notion of family values and responsibilities and loyalty to his friends. It is the presence of that complicated person that sits underneath the deception (and he is clear, a con is based on mostly truth... it has to be in order to work) that helps reminds us of those parts of ourselves that we struggle with as well. Weinberg saw past the surface to see that we are at least a little bit like him and the corrupted Congress that he helped expose. And it is a humbling reminder to consider what his legacy teaches us, which is that the line between the good guys and the bad guys becomes a lot more blurry when we are looking in a mirror.
October 7, 2014
I should start this review by saying that I bought this book after seeing 'American Hustle'. While the movie is a distinctly fictional work that only sources an outline of events from reality, it stirred my memory of the ABSCAM scandal. I remember the 1970's (my childhood) as a time of one scandal after another that I was too young to understand, with one figure or another brought on trial after revealing themselves on grainy audiotapes, grainy videotapes, or both. So, with a bit of nostalgia and a sense of historical curiosity, I sought out the story of ABSCAM, and found an excellent source in 'The Sting Man'.
Author Robert W. Greene did an excellent job with the structure of the book by following the persona of Mel Weinberg, the real life con master at the center of the ABSCAM investigation. Through the lens of this complex man (criminal), Greene brings the reader through the jaded, cynical world of corrupt politics and shady wheeler-dealers. It is shocking to read the ambivalence of so many politicians to their own corruption, and perhaps more so considering that such despicable antics always continue to wait only one information leak away.
That said, the book does sometimes slow down while discussing the intricate details of the investigation. The saving grace of these tangents is that it helps the reader appreciate the twisted, serpentine world of deception in which corruption lives. If such investigative detail is a particular reader's cup of tea, add a star.
Author Robert W. Greene did an excellent job with the structure of the book by following the persona of Mel Weinberg, the real life con master at the center of the ABSCAM investigation. Through the lens of this complex man (criminal), Greene brings the reader through the jaded, cynical world of corrupt politics and shady wheeler-dealers. It is shocking to read the ambivalence of so many politicians to their own corruption, and perhaps more so considering that such despicable antics always continue to wait only one information leak away.
That said, the book does sometimes slow down while discussing the intricate details of the investigation. The saving grace of these tangents is that it helps the reader appreciate the twisted, serpentine world of deception in which corruption lives. If such investigative detail is a particular reader's cup of tea, add a star.
June 12, 2014
The Sting Man tells the true story of Mel Weinberg, possibly the most audacious crook in recorded history, and the inspiration behind the hit film, American Hustle.
It presents a forensic account of how this street urchin evolved, from small-time scams in his native New York, to being hired by the FBI and ultimately snaring congressmen and senators in what now, through the passage of time, seems like a pantomime ploy: that of the fake Sheikh. However it worked so spectacularly, that in the late 1970s the scandal shook the US to its core. As one of the taglines on the back cover tantalisingly asks: how did a Bronx hustler nearly bring down the US government? Quite.
Read more of my review on Bookmunch
It presents a forensic account of how this street urchin evolved, from small-time scams in his native New York, to being hired by the FBI and ultimately snaring congressmen and senators in what now, through the passage of time, seems like a pantomime ploy: that of the fake Sheikh. However it worked so spectacularly, that in the late 1970s the scandal shook the US to its core. As one of the taglines on the back cover tantalisingly asks: how did a Bronx hustler nearly bring down the US government? Quite.
Read more of my review on Bookmunch
June 12, 2014
The Sting Man tells the true story of Mel Weinberg, possibly the most audacious crook in recorded history, and the inspiration behind the hit film, American Hustle.
It presents a forensic account of how this street urchin evolved, from small-time scams in his native New York, to being hired by the FBI and ultimately snaring congressmen and senators in what now, through the passage of time, seems like a pantomime ploy: that of the fake Sheikh. However it worked so spectacularly, that in the late 1970s the scandal shook the US to its core. As one of the taglines on the back cover tantalisingly asks: how did a Bronx hustler nearly bring down the US government? Quite.
Bookmunch
It presents a forensic account of how this street urchin evolved, from small-time scams in his native New York, to being hired by the FBI and ultimately snaring congressmen and senators in what now, through the passage of time, seems like a pantomime ploy: that of the fake Sheikh. However it worked so spectacularly, that in the late 1970s the scandal shook the US to its core. As one of the taglines on the back cover tantalisingly asks: how did a Bronx hustler nearly bring down the US government? Quite.
Bookmunch
June 23, 2014
"The true history of Mel Weinberg, the greatest con man in the history of the world, as retold by Mel Weinberg, all about how Mel Weinberg took on those crooked bastards in Congress and beat them at their own game. Sincerely yours, Mel Weinberg."
Not since reading P.T. Barnum's autobiography have I enjoyed hearing someone blow their own horn so much. This is a great book, a fun read, and WOW, if Weinberg is to be believed (and plenty of investigative journalism backs him up, so why not?" practically the entire state of New Jersey was so crooked that "after they died, they must hafta screw them into the ground."
Not since reading P.T. Barnum's autobiography have I enjoyed hearing someone blow their own horn so much. This is a great book, a fun read, and WOW, if Weinberg is to be believed (and plenty of investigative journalism backs him up, so why not?" practically the entire state of New Jersey was so crooked that "after they died, they must hafta screw them into the ground."
December 29, 2013
The Sting Man is the story of Mel Weinberg, a master con-man in the 1970's who eventually gets caught and works out a deal with the FBI to use his skills to help them bust even bigger prey. The first part of the book that detail Mel's different cons and how he pulled them off is simply amazing. His later work for the FBI was no less impressive and was the backbone of the entire Abscam stings in the late 1970's. Overall, this is a very interesting book and it makes me even more interested in seeing American Hustle, which was based upon his work.
March 2, 2014
An excellent read. Literally hard to put down. This is the story of Mel Weinberg, the real-life con man character in Abscam who is the basis for the Christian Bale character in "American Hustle." If anything, the truth behind the movie is even crazier than depicted, and Bob Greene, the legendary investigative reporter and editor for Newsday, writes it for all it's worth. If you liked the movie, you'll love "The Sting Man."
May 5, 2014
I'm still not sure how I feel about this one. The content was really interesting but the whole thing seemed to drag for me. It took me forever to get through this, and it's a short book! I did watch the movie about halfway through the book and that actually seemed to help speed things along for me because it brought more life to the characters.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews