Washington, DC. Pauline Goebel, secretary and financier of Harold Jesse Berney for his (alleged) trips to Venus (yes, you read that right), receives a phone call. The caller claims to be His Majesty Prince Ucelles of the planet Venus, and says that Berney is very ill. The next day, she receives another call from the same voice (Prince Ucelles) saying that Berney has sadly died. The story will have further twists and turns, including a complete regeneration process for Berney, communicated via letter, which then travels back and forth between Earth and Venus several times. In 1957, the FBI becomes interested in the case and arrests Berney. In total, Berney extorted Goebel for approximately $60,000 (about $570,000 today). Not bad for a few weeks’ vacation on Venus.
