By Joe Vitale

Three-card monte players have crowded city streets since the 15th century.

Gathered around a collapsible cardboard box, a loud-mouthed dealer shuffles three cards while another conspirer (known as a “shill”) ropes pedestrians into playing the role of “a mark,” a player who learns quickly that any chances of winning money are out of reach.

By the time that happens, though, it is far too late. In the span of three days, a pair of Fordham students were caught off-guard by the scam just a few feet from campus. In Fordham Plaza and on Webster Avenue, the two students — either feeling lucky or startled by the excitement — were quickly turned into marks, and, within minutes, victims of a scam, according to several public safety alerts.

In the isolated incidents — both of which occurred during the day — the female students were forced to hand over more than $1,000, said the alerts.

As of Monday, one of the scammers in connection with the incidents had been arrested, according to police documents.

The suspect, William Staley, was identified by two students who filed complaints with Public Safety.

According to police documents, Staley, 56, has been arrested more than 140 times for a myriad of crimes.

Both students who reported the crimes were able to identify the man in a lineup, who was described in the pair of public safety alerts as “a dark-skinned male, 6’1” with a medium build, wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses.”

The woman in connection with both crimes is also suspected of grand larceny, but has not been apprehended as of Friday. According to police, she was identified by one of the two students who submitted a complaint earlier this week.

Both reports indicate the signs emblematic of the sleight of hand scam, but reveal a modern twist on the game: Knowing most urban dwellers carry little in cash, scammers are coercing students to tap into their ATM accounts to withdraw hefty sums.

Detailed in the alert regarding last Friday’s incident, Staley allegedly approached a Fordham student around 5 p.m. on Fordham Road and Webster Avenue, whom his accomplice had just lured into a 3-card monte game. Staley grabbed her wrist and “pressed what felt like a knife into her back.”

According to the alert, he then took the student away from the three-card monte game and “told her not to run or call the police because ‘we are watching.’”

Along with the woman in connection with the incident, he took the student to a Bank of America ATM and instructed her to withdraw $500. In a separate withdrawal minutes after, he told her to withdraw another $300.

The alert describing Monday’s incident was similar, though no use of force was noted.

In addition to the alerts sent to the Fordham community on Monday, Associate Vice President of Public Safety John Carroll included a warning about scams in the area.

“This is the second incident in three days in which students were drawn into 3-card monte games at Fordham Plaza,” Carroll said in the email.

He continued, “There are many kinds of street scams, of which three-card monte is just one. All members of the university community are advised to avoid any street games, and to be wary if approached by strangers off campus.”

The game at the root of the two incidents — known as three-card monte — is a scam that is all but unorganized.

The game usually goes like this: A person called a “shill” (almost always a woman) pretends she is unable to find the winning card. She approaches a passerby and asks for assistance in defeating the intentionally rude dealer. The shill often cites old age, poor vision or a general lack of skill as an explanation for her bad luck.

The passerby — now “the mark” — is then invited to participate in the game. The dealer reveals the three cards are different, and tells the players which card they are looking for, usually a “Lady Card,” shorthand for a queen. All players are expected to place bets at this time. The dealer then slides the cards around on the table and invites the mark to pick the lady card.

If the mark chooses the right card, he doubles his bet. If he chooses one of two wrong cards, the dealer wins the game.

The game looks simple, but the often-skilled dealers use illusions, such as sleight of hand and misdirection, to keep the mark from spotting the right card.

In the case that the mark does pick the right card, however, the shill knows that the winning card has been chosen through pre-decided symbols sent by the dealer. In that case, the shill raises the bet of the mark, and the dealer will say he only accepts the highest bet.

That way, the mark — who really did choose the correct card — is priced out and must play again if he wishes to choose.

Certain other players are also involved, including the role of a booster, who pretends to win a large sum of money to show the mark that it is possible to beat the dealer. There is also a lookout, who warns the dealer to fold up the table if police are nearby.

University administrators, some of whom have cited similar incidents in past years, are taking precautions to keep students informed. Like students, they, too, have no intention of being duped.

Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students, Christopher Rodgers, said on Friday that the university was “relieved to hear that an arrest had been made in the case.”

He added, “Resident Assistants, Commuter Assistants, as well as other staff have also responded with additional floor/commuter meetings to provide information related to safety off-campus and common situations or scams to avoid.”

The woman suspected to be in connection with the crimes is still at large as of Tuesday.

She is described as being a 5’7″ dark skinned female wearing a pony tail.

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Joe Vitale is the Managing Editor for The Fordham Ram.