Van Zandt sweet-talked the business elite of Logansport into getting their supporters to purchase, for $22,000, the site of a defunct lumber-mill site for his factory. He printed and sold stock certificates, especially to local townsfolk, like they were Venezuelan Bolívars. He invented dealer syndicates to put in false orders for the company’s cars, then had these phony companies sue the core business to lend legitimacy to their fabrications. He skipped out on debts. He publicized specious long-distance driving campaigns that may never have happened. And then he forged a backdated resignation and absconded to the east coast, where he convinced the Pennsylvania governor to deny extradition when he was arrested. Soon after, he died in New York of a sudden heart attack. His shenanigans led ReVere to bankruptcy in 1922, and all attempts to revive it were over by 1926.
from Car and Driver BlogCar and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/2f523RY
via IFTTT
0 comments:
Post a Comment