Nary a mineral collector is unfamiliar with Washington Roebling. The public identifies him with the Brooklyn Bridge, as the one who supervised its construction. Mineral collectors, however, are more apt to know Roebling for something else-the phenomenal mineral collection that he assembled and that eventually passed to the Smithsonian Institution. How many of you, though, have heard of George Parker and William McCloundy? Famous mineral collectors? No. Vaunted mineral dealers? Nope. They were con men, who, in the early 1900s, made their living selling New York City's landmarks to unwary immigrants. And their favorite "inventory" item was-Roebling's own Brooklyn Bridge, which they "sold," on average, twice a week. New York's finest often became aware that Parker or McCloundy (who was also known as "I.O.U. O'Brien") had struck again when some unsuspecting soul set up a barrier on the bridge to collect tolls. Both Parker and McCloundy eventually took a trip over another bridge-one over the Hudson-to Sing Sing, where they spent much of their remaining days. In criminal court, they were convicted of fraud. But, civilly speaking, these tricksters violated a number of contractual warranties when they sold something that they did not own.
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机译：纳里（Nary）是一位矿物收藏家，不熟悉华盛顿罗布林（Washington Roebling）。公众认为他是布鲁克林大桥的监督者。然而，矿物收藏家更容易了解Roebling的其他东西-他收集的惊人的矿物收藏品，并最终传给了史密森学会。但是，你们当中有多少人听说过乔治·帕克和威廉·麦克劳迪？著名的矿物收藏家？否。有志的矿产经销商？不。他们是骗子，在1900年代初期，他们靠卖掉纽约市的地标给生疏的移民为生。他们最喜欢的“库存”物品是Roebling自己的布鲁克林大桥，他们平均每周两次“出售”。纽约最好的人经常意识到，帕克或麦克劳迪（也被称为“ I.O.U. O'Brien”）再次遭到打击，这是因为一些毫无戒心的人在桥上设置了收费障碍。 Parker和McCloundy最终都在哈德逊河上的另一座桥梁– Sing Sing上旅行，在那里度过了剩余的大部分时间。在刑事法庭上，他们被判犯有欺诈罪。但是，从民事角度来说，这些骗子在出售自己不拥有的东西时违反了许多合同保证。
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