Queen of the Cons

Big Bertha had success outside the law—but not much inside.

Big Bertha was the “Queen of the Confidence Women” in San Francisco’s Barbary Coast. Her best con was posing as a rich Jewish woman looking for a man to manage her fortune. Each applicant had to pay a fee of good faith money. Before long, Bertha had a fortune of several thousand dollars. She had more trouble in legitimate endeavors. She couldn’t dance, sing nor act. She tried a stage act, but during a performance a burro collapsed under her enormous weight; both fell off the stage and into the orchestra pit, ending Bertha’s entertainment career.