27. The Awful Owner of Monterey
Understandably, the town of Monterey was less than happy with the swindle and sought to undo the shady auction. They appealed all the way up to the United States Supreme Court, but to no avail. A few years after the con, Delos Ashley sold the entire tract to his co-conspirator. David Jacks thus became one of California’s biggest proprietors, owner of 30,000 scenic and magnificent acres that surrounded Monterey, as well as the town itself.
He proved to be an awful landlord. He charged high rents, foreclosed often, and engaged in many shady practices to acquire even more land. Without bothering to notify proprietors, he paid back taxes on properties, then socked the owners with high interest to get their land back. He also foreclosed on defaulted mortgages, and to minimize the chance of having the foreclosures contested, he pinned the notices in hard-to-spot parts of the properties. He also posted them in English if the owners were Mexican, and in Spanish if they were English speakers.