In 1913 a PR man named John Gluck successfully petitioned the US Post Office for control of New York City’s Santa Claus letters. From that point forward, he not only built the Santa Claus Association into a major holiday organization, but also found ways to steal large amounts of money in the process. Alex Palmer, author of “The Santa Claus Man: The Rise and Fall of a Jazz Age Con Man and the Invention of Christmas In New York”, talks about one of the great Christmas cons in American history.
The author’s website: https://www.alexpalmerwrites.com/santa-claus-man