《美国骗局》：电影背后的真实故事

"You set a crook to catch a crook. We put the big honey pot out there and all the flies came to us." ——Mel Weinberg, 60 Minutes, April 12, 1981

“你设陷阱要套出坏蛋。我们把装满蜂蜜的大罐子放在外头，然后一群苍蝇就朝我们飞过来了。”——梅尔·温伯格，《60分钟》，1981年4月12日

1. How long had Mel Weinberg been living a life of crime prior to his capture?

1. 梅尔·温伯格被逮捕之前有多长的犯罪生涯?

As indicated in the American Hustle movie, prior to his capture by the FBI, Mel had been living a life of delinquency ever since he was a boy growing up in the Bronx. It was then that he stole gold stars from his teacher's desk in order to show his mother what an excellent student he was. When his father's window-glass business was on the rocks, a helpful Mel drove around town in a Cadillac, shooting out windows with his slingshot. His father's business surged. His delinquency as a juvenile eventually evolved into large scale swindles as an adult. -Washington Post

正如电影《美国骗局》里描述的那样，被FBI逮捕之前，梅尔在布朗克斯长大，从小就开始了违法犯罪的生活。那时候他偷了老师桌上的金制的星星，只为让妈妈知道他是一个好学生。当他爸爸的窗玻璃生意不景气时，一心想帮助爸爸的梅尔开了一辆凯迪拉克在镇上转悠，用弹弓打破了别人家的窗户。于是爸爸的生意红火起来。梅尔青少年时期的不良行为最终升级到成年时期的诈骗犯罪。——《华盛顿邮报》

2. Why did confessed con man Mel Weinberg agree to help the FBI?

2. 为什么承认犯罪事实的诈骗犯梅尔·温伯格同意帮助FBI?

The real Irving Rosenfeld, Mel Weinberg, had been running get-rich-quick schemes that mainly included insurance fraud and various other investment scams. His swindling days ended when the FBI nabbed him for operating a bogus international banking and investment firm, London Investors, out of a furnished leased office in Melville, Long Island.

欧文·罗森菲尔德的塬型，梅尔·温伯格，当时正在捣鼓保险诈骗和其他的投资骗局为主的、所谓“一夜致富”的犯罪计划。他在长岛的梅尔维尔租了一间办公室，挂名“伦敦投资公司”，其实就是一个空壳的国际银行和投资公司，后来FBI查出他的犯罪行径，温伯格的诈骗生涯也就告一段落。

Weinberg's luck ran out in 1977 when a real estate man from Pittsburgh reported him to the FBI. Arrested along with his mistress Evelyn Knight and conspirator Patrick Francis, he was indicted by a federal grand jury for mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. Unlike what is seen in the movie, the real FBI agent behind Bradley Cooper's character Richie DiMaso, whose actual name is Anthony Amoroso, was not on hand for Mel and Evelyn's arrest. Agent Amoroso didn't meet con man Mel Weinberg until after Weinberg agreed to a deal to help the FBI. -NJ.com

1977年温伯格的好运终于走到尽头。匹兹堡的一名房地产商人向FBI举报了他。他和情妇伊芙琳·奈特、共犯帕特里克·弗朗西斯同时被逮捕，温伯格被联邦高级陪审团以邮件诈骗、汇款诈骗和阴谋骗局的罪名起诉。与电影有所不同的是，布莱德利·库珀扮演的里奇·迪玛索的塬型——FBI特工安东尼·阿莫罗索，他并没有接手梅尔和伊芙琳的逮捕行动。直到温伯格同意帮助FBI时，阿莫罗索特工才第一次见到温伯格。——NJ.com

Knowing that prison was Weinberg's only option, FBI agent John Good, who was in charge of the Abscam operation, made a deal with Weinberg in hopes that he could lead the FBI to more white collar prey. Like what is shown in the movie, Weinberg agreed to work on four cases in order to keep himself and his mistress out of jail. Once those cases were completed, Weinberg agreed to continue to work for the FBI, leading them to uncover the political corruption that the Abscam operation became known for. -60 Minutes

负责阿伯斯坎行动(Abscam)的FBI特工约翰·古德明白，锒铛入狱是温伯格唯一的选择，于是他与温伯格做了一场交易，希望温伯格能够帮助FBI查出更多的“猎物”。与电影中所呈现的一样，温伯格同意参与四件案子，使自己和情妇免受牢狱之灾。一旦完成这些案子，温伯格同意继续为FBI效劳，在他的协助下就有了以揭露政治腐败而着名的阿伯斯坎行动。——《60分钟》