For Young Offenders, a New Confidence Game…
By John Leland for the New York Times…
At the Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brownsville, Brooklyn, shrill buzzers announce the movement of sliding doors, and visitors leave all metal objects in lockers by the entrance. The residents are as young as 10 years old, awaiting trial on charges ranging from trespassing to murder.
Once a week, David Roth and Ricky Smith teach them how to be better deceivers.
Mr. Roth, 62, is a professional magician who has performed coin tricks on David Letterman’s show. At Crossroads, where coins are considered a potential weapon, he works strictly with cards.
“Watch and learn,” Mr. Roth told a small group of boys the other day, as he placed a deck of cards on a wooden game table.
Louis Watts, the facility’s executive director, interrupted to address one of the students. “Pull your pants up,” he said…