Harry (He wasn't MY uncle) Wierwille

[waysider]

How many couch reupholstery jobs would it have taken, in 1950, to realize a $1M profit? Now give it all away and do it again.....

I'm just sayin'.

[johniam]

You think he was into something criminal? Joseph McCarthy had the fbi and the secret service looking for communists in 1950. Who had time to care about somebody in Ohio? So what was he REALLY doing to make that money?

[waysider]

You think he was into something criminal? Joseph McCarthy had the fbi and the secret service looking for communists in 1950. Who had time to care about somebody in Ohio? So what was he REALLY doing to make that money?

Who said he was doing anything criminal?

[GeorgeStGeorge]

I guess there are three options:

1. Harry upholstered a LOT of furniture, every year;
   
2. Vic lied about Harry's income; or
   
3. Harry had other income, which could have been legitimate (investments, etc.) or illegitimate.
   

George

[waysider]

I guess there are three options:

1. Harry upholstered a LOT of furniture, every year;
   
2. Vic lied about Harry's income; or
   
3. Harry had other income, which could have been legitimate (investments, etc.) or illegitimate.
   

George

There could be other options but I think the answer lies somewhere in those three.

[Ham]

Then there is option 4. Harry relied on the material savings from parents on the old farm to support his self-supporting business.

[johniam]

Or option 5. He said in his autobiography that he hated blacks because of how his brother Otto died in 1930. The KKK was popular in non southern states at that time. Twenty ninth president Warren G. Harding (1920-23) was a member and he was from Ohio. Perhaps Harry got the KKK to invest in his business and he "abs'd" to them in return. That would explain why VP used that hotline referred to here, IF VP at least verbally agreed to support the 'cause'.

[WordWolf]

I lean towards Option 2, either alone or with others.

A) We already know, beyond any reasonable doubt, that vpw was a frequent liar,

and exaggerated whenever he wasn't lying.

B) We already know, as documented by twi, that Harry's business practices were

less-than-perfectly-ethical. IIRC, he was the one that advised vpw to "buy"

the furniture for the pfal set, use it, then immediately return it for a full

refund, saying it didn't suit him. That's as unethical as the later twi standard

of the 90s/00s-

buy a big TV for a class

return it immediately after a class

Honestly, if the man's business with FURNITURE was as successful as he claimed,

he could easily have gotten good furniture TO KEEP for the filming of the pfal class,

either through his own work, or through satisfied business contacts who would give

him a wholesale discount and so on.