The Story Of The Ex-Cop Who Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game Is Straight-Up Fascinating

Remember McDonald's Monopoly game? Remember how you never, ever won anything beyond the occasional free large fries or soda? The Daily Beast now offers a fascinating, in-depth reported piece about the ex-cop who rigged McDonald's Monopoly system, only to be stopped by a straight-up FBI sting (or as The Daily Beast calls it, a McSting).

The story by Jeff Maysh, "How an Ex-Cop Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game and Stole Millions" tells the story of Jerome Jacobson, a.k.a. "Uncle Jerry." After McDonald's launched its Monopoly promotion in 1987, Jacobsen became the person actually in charge of security for the Monopoly game pieces for Simon Marketing. Then in 1989, Jacobsen slipped his step-brother a game piece worth $25,000, just "to see if I could do it." This spurred him to take advantage of his position to create "a sprawling network of mobsters, psychics, strip club owners, convicts, drug traffickers, and even a family of Mormons, who had falsely claimed more than $24 million in cash and prizes."

Maysh's detailed breakdown of the scandal behind one of McDonald's biggest marketing promotions makes for a fascinating read over at The Daily Beast today.