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INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address <br /> LEXINGTON 19 SLOCUM ROAD <br /> MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. <br /> MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING <br /> 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 475 <br /> BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 <br /> HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: <br /> As previously stated,this house appears to have been built for Sven O.Engstrom who is first listed in the 1913 directory <br /> as living at 19 Slocum Road. The 1915 & 1918 directories list the occupant as Richard(English translation of Sven?) <br /> Engstrom whose occupation is also listed as a manufacturing chemist. By 1920 Richard Engstrom had moved from 19 <br /> Slocum Road to the large brick mansion at 6 Eliot Road(#507). <br /> The next owner of the property was Charles Ponzi(1882-1949)best known as one of the greatest swindlers in history. <br /> The term"Ponzi scheme" is a widely known description of any scam that pays early investors returns from the <br /> investments of later investors. Ponzi had married Rose Griecco in 1918 and lived luxuriously, buying"a mansion in <br /> Lexington with air conditioning and swimming pool". Ponzi's wealth peaked early in 1920 but by November 1920 his <br /> schemes had been exposed and he was sentenced to federal prison for five years for mail fraud <br /> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles Ponzi). <br /> In April 1923 the property at 19 Slocum Road was sold by the Trustee in the Bankruptcy of Charles Ponzi to John H. <br /> Devine(Book 4601,Page 366). John H. Devine was a lawyer who worked in Boston and lived herewith his wife <br /> Florence. Ownership of the property passed to John Allen Devine in 1980 and was sold by John A. Devine to Robert and <br /> Alice Molvar in 1994. <br /> BIBLIOGRAPHY: <br /> Lexington directories,various dates. <br /> Middlesex County Register of Deeds, Cambridge,Mass. <br /> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ponzi <br /> Supplement prepared by: <br /> Lisa Mausolf <br /> March 2009 <br />