Stanley Clifford Weyman
Encyclopedia
Stanley Clifford Weyman was an American
multiple impostor
who impersonated public officials, including the United States Secretary of State
and various military officers.
Weyman was born as Stanley Jacob Weinberg on November 25, 1890 in Brooklyn, New York
. His parents could not afford college tuition. He worked mainly in nondescript jobs but on occasion ventured to become somebody in the higher social ladder.
In 1910, Weyman's first imposture was as US consul representative to Morocco
who dined in the finest restaurants of New York City
. He was eventually arrested for fraud
.
Next Weyman took a role of both a military attaché
from Serbia
and a US Navy lieutenant
so the identities could use each other as a reference. He was soon caught.
Weyman was released the second time in 1915. He then became Lt Commander Ethan Allen Weinberg, consul general for Romania
. He inspected the USS Wyoming and invited everyone to a dinner in the Astor Hotel
. The advance publicity alerted the Bureau of Investigation
and federal agents arrested him at the party. He was heard to complain that they should have waited until dessert. He got a year in jail.
In 1917 he took the mantle of Royal St. Cyr, a lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. He was arrested when he was on an inspection tour in the Brooklyn armory
because a suspicious military tailor had alerted the police.
Weyman was paroled in 1920. Shortly afterwards he forged credentials to become a company doctor in Lima, Peru
. There he threw lavish parties until his credit ran out and he was arrested.
In 1921 he noticed Princess Fatima of Afghanistan
who was visiting the US and was trying to get an official recognition. The US State Department mainly ignored her. Weyman visited her as a State Department Naval Liaison Officer, apologized for the oversight and promised to arrange an appointment with the president. He managed to convince the princess to give him $10,000 for "presents" to State Department officials. He used the money for a private railway carriage to Washington DC and an opulent hotel room in the Willard Hotel for the princess and his entourage.
Weyman proceeded to visit the State Department, dropped names of prominent senators
and succeeded in getting the appointment, first with Secretary of State
Charles Evans Hughes
, and on July 26, 1921 president Warren G. Harding
received Princess Fatima. Weyman's minor mistakes in the protocol
aroused some suspicion, but when the press released his picture alongside the other dignitaries, the jig was up. He was indicted for impersonating a naval officer and sentenced to two years in jail.
In one case the Evening Graphic newspaper called for Weyman to get an interview with the visiting Queen Marie of Romania. He gained admittance as the Secretary of State and the paper got its interview.
In 1926 Weyman appeared at Rudolph Valentino
's funeral and attached himself to his grieving lover Pola Negri
as a personal physician. He issued regular press releases on her condition and established a faith-healing clinic in Valentino's house. Pola Negri did not condemn him after he was exposed.
During World War II
Weyman was sentenced for seven years in prison for offering advice to draft dodgers -- he told them to feign various medical conditions.
In 1948 Weyman made up credentials to become a journalist for the United Nations
at Lake Success
. He got acquainted with the delegates Warren Austin
and Andrei Gromyko
. His comeuppance came when the Thai
delegation invited him to become their press officer with full diplomatic accreditation
. Weyman contacted the State Department and asked whether it would affect his US citizenship. They already knew him all too well and exposed him.
In 1954 Weyman tried to get a $5000 home improvement loan for a house that did not exist. He failed to convince the judge that he was insane.
In August 1960, Weyman was fatally shot when he tried to stop a robbery in a New York hotel where he was working as a night porter. The investigating detective said "I've known about the man's past record for years. He did a lot of things in the course of his life, but what he did this time was brave."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
multiple impostor
Impostor
An impostor or imposter is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but just as often for purposes of espionage or law enforcement....
who impersonated public officials, including the United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
and various military officers.
Weyman was born as Stanley Jacob Weinberg on November 25, 1890 in Brooklyn, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. His parents could not afford college tuition. He worked mainly in nondescript jobs but on occasion ventured to become somebody in the higher social ladder.
In 1910, Weyman's first imposture was as US consul representative to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
who dined in the finest restaurants of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He was eventually arrested for fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
.
Next Weyman took a role of both a military attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
from Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and a US Navy lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
so the identities could use each other as a reference. He was soon caught.
Weyman was released the second time in 1915. He then became Lt Commander Ethan Allen Weinberg, consul general for Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. He inspected the USS Wyoming and invited everyone to a dinner in the Astor Hotel
Astor Hotel
The Hotel Astor was a hotel located in the Times Square area of Manhattan, in operation from 1904 through 1967. The former site of the hotel, the block bounded by Broadway, Astor Plaza, West 44th Street, and West 45th Street, is now occupied by the high-rise 54-story office tower One Astor Plaza.-...
. The advance publicity alerted the Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
and federal agents arrested him at the party. He was heard to complain that they should have waited until dessert. He got a year in jail.
In 1917 he took the mantle of Royal St. Cyr, a lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. He was arrested when he was on an inspection tour in the Brooklyn armory
Armory (military)
An armory or armoury is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
because a suspicious military tailor had alerted the police.
Weyman was paroled in 1920. Shortly afterwards he forged credentials to become a company doctor in Lima, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. There he threw lavish parties until his credit ran out and he was arrested.
In 1921 he noticed Princess Fatima of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
who was visiting the US and was trying to get an official recognition. The US State Department mainly ignored her. Weyman visited her as a State Department Naval Liaison Officer, apologized for the oversight and promised to arrange an appointment with the president. He managed to convince the princess to give him $10,000 for "presents" to State Department officials. He used the money for a private railway carriage to Washington DC and an opulent hotel room in the Willard Hotel for the princess and his entourage.
Weyman proceeded to visit the State Department, dropped names of prominent senators
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
and succeeded in getting the appointment, first with Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes, Sr. was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican politician from New York. He served as the 36th Governor of New York , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States , United States Secretary of State , a judge on the Court of International Justice , and...
, and on July 26, 1921 president Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
received Princess Fatima. Weyman's minor mistakes in the protocol
Protocol (diplomacy)
In international politics, protocol is the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state.A protocol is a rule which guides how an activity should be performed, especially in the field of diplomacy. In diplomatic services and governmental fields of endeavor protocols are often unwritten guidelines...
aroused some suspicion, but when the press released his picture alongside the other dignitaries, the jig was up. He was indicted for impersonating a naval officer and sentenced to two years in jail.
In one case the Evening Graphic newspaper called for Weyman to get an interview with the visiting Queen Marie of Romania. He gained admittance as the Secretary of State and the paper got its interview.
In 1926 Weyman appeared at Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
's funeral and attached himself to his grieving lover Pola Negri
Pola Negri
Pola Negri was a Polish stage and film actress who achieved worldwide fame for her tragedienne and femme fatale roles from the 1910s through the 1940s during the Golden Era of Hollywood film. She was the first European film star to be invited to Hollywood, and became a great American star. She...
as a personal physician. He issued regular press releases on her condition and established a faith-healing clinic in Valentino's house. Pola Negri did not condemn him after he was exposed.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Weyman was sentenced for seven years in prison for offering advice to draft dodgers -- he told them to feign various medical conditions.
In 1948 Weyman made up credentials to become a journalist for the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
at Lake Success
Lake Success, New York
Lake Success is a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 2,934 at the 2010 census.Lake Success is in the Town of North Hempstead on northwest Long Island. Lake Success was the temporary home of the United Nations from 1946 to 1951, occupying the headquarters of...
. He got acquainted with the delegates Warren Austin
Warren Austin
Warren Robinson Austin was an American politician and statesman; among other roles, he served as Senator from Vermont....
and Andrei Gromyko
Andrei Gromyko
Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko was a Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet . Gromyko was responsible for many top decisions on Soviet foreign policy until he retired in 1987. In the West he was given the...
. His comeuppance came when the Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
delegation invited him to become their press officer with full diplomatic accreditation
Diplomatic accreditation
Diplomatic accreditation is the process in which an ambassador is certified as one country's official representative to another.Accreditation occurs when a new ambassador presents "letters of credence", or credentials, to the host country's head of state...
. Weyman contacted the State Department and asked whether it would affect his US citizenship. They already knew him all too well and exposed him.
In 1954 Weyman tried to get a $5000 home improvement loan for a house that did not exist. He failed to convince the judge that he was insane.
In August 1960, Weyman was fatally shot when he tried to stop a robbery in a New York hotel where he was working as a night porter. The investigating detective said "I've known about the man's past record for years. He did a lot of things in the course of his life, but what he did this time was brave."