Gaston Means

Gaston Bullock Means (July 11, 1879 – December 12, 1938) was an American private detective, salesman, bootlegger, forger, swindler, murder suspect, blackmailer, and con artist. While not involved in the Teapot Dome scandal, Means was associated with other members of the so-called Ohio Gang that gathered around the administration of President Warren G. Harding. Means also tried to pull a con associated with the Lindbergh kidnapping, and died in prison following his criminal conviction. 2Biography Gaston Bullock Means was born in Concord, North Carolina, the son of William Means, a reputable lawyer. He was also a great-nephew of Confederate General Rufus Barringer. He was in the first graduating class of Concord High School in 1896, graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1903, became a schoolteacher, then a travelling salesman. His life avocation, however, was that of a confidence trickster. J. Edgar Hoover once called him "the most amazing figure in contemporary criminal history" because of his ability to weave a believable, albeit fraudulent, story. In 1911, he talked himself into a job with a New York detective firm where he created reports that contained so many clues that they must either be investigated further (at a substantial cost) or denounced utterly. His reputation sprea