Tommy G. Thompson had a silver tongue when it came to attracting investors and a Midas touch for locating sunken treasure off the Carolina coast. But like a pirate captain who refuses to share the booty, Thompson stiffed his crew and investors, according to a lawsuit — and now, no one knows where to find him.
Thompson promised huge returns to investors who backed his search for the SS Central America, which was dubbed in maritime lore as the “Ship of Gold.” The 280-foot ship sank during a hurricane off the North Carolina coast in 1857, taking 425 souls and up to 21 tons of gold to the ocean floor some 8,000 feet deep. The gold had been shipped from San Francisco down to the west coast of Panama, then sent by rail to the Central American nation's east coast and finally loaded onto the steamship bound for New York. More
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