Benjamin Weissman: what did the genius swindler USSR

Crime 27/01/20 Benjamin Weissman: what did the genius swindler of the USSR

Benjamin Wiseman, he — Trachtenberg, aka Oslon, he — Zilberstein, aka Rabinovich, aka Kuznetsov, probably, is considered one of the greatest scams of the USSR. However, first he specialized in petty theft. To deceive senior officials, he began only after the war. And not because he lost both legs and one hand. Weisman avenged.

From shchipachev to scammers

If you believe the author of the book “gold Coins of liquid gold” Alexander Tarasov, a native of the city of Zhytomyr Benjamin Weissman have embarked on a criminal path at the age of nine. It was then that he began to hunt small pickpocketing. Thanks to this rich experience, for his youth he became a first-class pickpocket. In order not to fall into the hands of law enforcement officials the thief toured the vast Soviet Union had been in Moscow and Kiev, and Leningrad, and Odessa, and Sverdlovsk. However, despite this secrecy, luck smiled the Wiseman not too often.

Benjamin Weissman have repeatedly been found in places not so remote, but once there and ran. In 1944 he made another escape from the camp, which ended sadly: fugitive prisoner froze the limbs, resulting in lost both legs and one hand. Once free in the autumn of the following year, he switched to another kind of activity – fraud.

But he was not deceived ordinary citizens and senior officials of various ministries and departments. Appearing in establishments of hero of the Soviet Union, Vaisman has got not only cash, but also a separate apartment. The latest episode mentions in his book “Zero. Degree. Letters” and Ilya Gerasimov. In a net set by Benjamin Wiseman was caught by the Ministers of industry, trathe nsport, Finance: over 25 people.

the revelation of the “hero”

Minister of heavy engineering Nikolay Kazakov was the last. It should be noted that Kazakov Weisman already visited. At first visit the official ordered to issue the “hero” of 1.5 thousand rubles. The second time Benjamin has demanded 500 roubles more. Cossacks again gave the corresponding order, and then called where it should. Wiseman was arrested immediately.

Once in the hands of law enforcement, Benjamin Weissman decided not to hide, and frankly told the investigators not only about his adventures, but the motives that pushed him to crime. As he writes in his book “the Gangster of the USSR. The most striking criminal cases,” Andrei Kolesnik, Wiseman said that the waste from theft and to engage in fraud, holders of high posts made him not the disability, and the desire for revenge.

Andrey Kolesnik says that Wiseman told the guards about the incident that happened when crook was working at the plant. It was at this period of his life Benjamin was a witness of some official with a shiny face roughly pushed away the cripple in the front of the cloak turned to him with a request for help. From this point, Wiseman and decided to take revenge on the Soviet system.

the Word “avenger”

largely because of the loud statement of Wiseman, his destiny became interested not only for investigators and biographers of domestic and foreign historians. A good example is Australian Sheila Fitzpatrick, who wrote a work The World of Ostap Bender: Soviet Confidence Men in the Stalin Period Vaisman. However, later Benjamin Weissman of their “mission” refused.

He promised the staff Moore, that will never commit crimes. His word he kept. Maybe that’s why the investigators took in the fate of the former prisoner is the most active part. The police helped him with Boruhovich to place in the House of persons with disabilities in the Orenburg region. There Weisman and SKONchalsa in 1969.

Yulia Popova

Source:
© Russian Seven

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