Boris Skossyreff — The gigolo king of AndorraBoris Skossyreff often fancied himself an adventu

Boris Skossyreff — The gigolo king of AndorraBoris Skossyreff often fancied himself an adventurer and world scholar.  In reality the Lithuanian born Skossyreff was a con man and fraud who bounced from country to country passing forged checks and getting involved in all sorts of unsavory business until he was eventually arrested and deported.  In the 1930′s Boris settled down in Mallorca, Spain, and passing himself off as a powerful Dutch noble courted the wealthy American yacht club ladies of the city as well as various other European women of means.  Making a living servicing the wealthy women of Europe was certainly lucrative, as he lived a very luxurious lifestyle leaching off of his handful of wealthy ladies.  In 1934, Boris was ejected from the country by the Spanish government, so in order to continue his profession he moved to Andorra, a very small but wealthy nation that straddles the border between Spain and France.  Andorra is a principality, with the President of France and Bishop of Urgell being co rulers.   A year before Skossyreff’s arrival the tiny nation had rebelled against France, a short and small rebellion which was foiled by 60 French policemen.  When Boris arrived, many Andorrans still supported local self rule. Using his fraudulent claims to be a member of the House of Orange, Boris was able to convince the Andorran Council to name him King of Andorra.  Amazingly the French President approved of his nomination as well.  King Boris immediately set about reforming his tiny kingdom, most of his plans involved transforming the country into a large gambling and casino resort as well as a tax haven.  The Bishop of Urgell, a staunch Catholic who disapproved of gambling, decided that Boris had to go.The Bishop of Urgell declared Boris rule to be illegitimate, and ordered the local Spanish police to arrest him.  King Boris responded by declaring war on the Bishop and Spain.  Without a military, however, there was little Boris could do to prevent Spanish authorities from invading his country.  The monarchy of King Boris I lasted only 10 days before he was arrested by the Spanish police, and extradited to Madrid.  He was immediately deported to Portugal, who then immediately deported him to France, who then deported him to Belgium.  For the rest of the 1930′s he bounced from country to country, eventually being deported for fraud and petty crimes.  During World War II he was forced to join the German Army where he served on the Eastern Front and was made a POW by the Soviet Union.  He was released in the 1950′s taking up residence in Germany until his death in 1989. -- source link

More pics about