On a wintry day in January 2022, a neatly dressed man in black-rimmed glasses arrived at New York’s JFK airport, ready for a holiday in the cultural heart of America. An Italian-born, bookish type with a degree in modern literature, Filippo Bernardini, then 29, of London, hungered to advance above his position as a low-level rights manager at Simon & Schuster and make his mark on the world of publishing. As he would later write in a notorious letter reprinted in The New York Times, he “cherished” unpublished manuscripts and longed to feel connected to authors. So, landing in the city of Tom Wolfe, Edith Wharton and Philip Roth would have been thrilling. It’s easy to picture him grinning as he crossed the airport concourse, practically walking on air, right up until the moment he was seized by FBI officers who had been investigating one of the biggest, strangest cons the book world had ever seen.
By the week’s end, Bernardini had been charged with identity theft and wire fraud. He was accused of impersonating publishing professionals in order to get his hands on the world’s literary treasures and faced a prison sentence of up to 20 years. As the Assistant Director of the New York FBI, Michael J. Driscoll, put it at the time, Bernardini was trying to steal other people’s literary ideas for himself. “But in the end, he wasn’t creative enough to get away with it.”
Denne historien er fra July 2023-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July 2023-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
