Bolo Pasha Bolo Pasha , originally named Paul Bolo , was a Frenchman who was a Levantine financier , a traitor and a German agent . He led a life of adventure : " he circumnavigated the globe , engaged in various curious occupations , participated in many shady schemes . " The French secret police and Scotland Yard tried and failed to collect enough evidence to convict Bolo Pasha , but eventually he was convicted of treason with the help of evidence collected by the New York Attorney General . He was executed by firing squad on April 17 , 1918 . Early life . Paul Bolo was born in Marseille to highly respected , law - abiding parents . Bolo ' s older brother was " an eloquent French prelate , " . Starting in his youth , Paul was the black sheep of the family . He changed occupations frequently . His first place of employment was a barber ' s shop , where he worked as an assistant . After a few months , Bolo became the owner of a small soap shop . After his soap business collapsed , Bolo decided to sell lobsters . " For many months all went well . The sales were large , but the expenditures were greater than the receipts , and the venture went ' to the wall . ' " After that failure Bolo left Marseille , and it was rumored that he was involved with a silk manufacturing company in Lyon . Later Bolo ran a photographic shop , taking pictures of customers belonging to various sectors of society , but this business also was short - lived . His next stop was Paris , where he quickly became " a man about town " . Easy - going and intelligent , he became a frequent guest " in the convivial circles " of Paris . Soon Bolo married a woman who was both beautiful and charming . She was older and much richer than he was , but apparently the marriage was a love match rather than a confidence trick . When his wife died and left her fortune to him , Bolo was ready for new adventures , this time in Egypt . Travel to Egypt and beyond . Bolo was an adventurer , and Egypt was considered to be " the Mecca of adventurers " at that time . A colorful , multicultural country appealed to this inquisitive Frenchman . Almost as soon as Bolo arrived in Egypt he sought a meeting with the ruler , Abbas Hilmi , the last Khedive of Egypt and Sudan . Hilmi , who spoke fluent French , was as eager to meet with Europeans visiting Cairo as they were eager to meet with him . Bolo and Hilmi liked each other from the first meeting ; the Khedive and the lobster - dealer had common ground : their love of adventure . They met frequently , and at one of those meetings , Bolo was presented with the title of Pasha . Paul Bolo thus became Bolo Pasha . Bolo accompanied Hilmi on various outings : to a petrified forest and on boat trips along the Nile ; the boats were decorated as if it was the era of Cleopatra and Antony . Bolo and Hilmi were seen together , visiting the statue of the Sphinx , the pyramid s and the Mosque of Muhammad Ali , which is situated in the Citadel of Cairo . Gradually Bolo became an intimate friend of Hilmi , and as such he was present at some unusual court ceremonies , some of which he planned himself . One was a reception for a Consul - General from one of the European countries . This was a carefree time in Bolo ' s life , but Hilmi had foreseen a storm on the horizon . Hilmi felt he was about to be deposed , and he knew his country ' s history : nobody in Egypt was going to admire a deposed Khedive . Hilmi tried to decide how he could save as much as possible of his fortune . He decided to use his faithful friend to assist him in this effort . Newspaper articles of the time preserve this history : Bolo found himself under suspicion because of his frequent trips between Paris and Geneva . In March 1915 , Bolo met with Hilmi in Switzerland . Apparently Bolo was given $ 2 , 500 , 000 to be used to pay the French media in order to influence the public to accept peace with Germany . Traveling to the United States . On February 22 , 1916 , Bolo arrived in New York . He spent almost a month there , leaving on March 17 , 1916 . During the time he spent in New York , Bolo tried to avoid being seen in the company of German agents , but he traveled to Washington , D . C . for a secret meeting with Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff , a German ambassador to the United States . When the French government appealed to the governor of New York asking for help in collecting evidence against Bolo , Merton E . Lewis , the Attorney General of New York State , was assigned to the case . He was able to collect some " sensational " evidence : One of the most important pieces of evidence was the letter Bolo wrote to the New York City branch of the Royal Bank of Canada on March 14 , 1916 : Arrest and trial . Bolo was arrested in Paris on 29 September 1917 . He was tried at court - martial and was charged with treason . Visibly shaken by the charge of treason , Bolo exclaimed : When asked why he never kept records of his money transfers , Bolo responded : " I am the master of money , not its slave ! " Abbas Hilmi was called as a witness , but he failed to arrive in Paris . However , Bolo ' s second wife was a strong witness on his behalf , as was his brother . Senator Charles Humbert ( whom Bolo had mentioned in his letter to the Royal Bank of Canada on March 14 , 1916 ) was called as a witness . The senator testified " he never suspected for a moment that there was any hidden motive in the deal for the bonds of the newspaper . " In his last appeal to the court , Albert Salles , Bolo ' s attorney , said : Salles ' speech was to no avail . The court convicted Bolo and sentenced him to death . The conviction was based on circumstantial evidence , and the decision was handed down after only 15 minutes of deliberation . Bolo Pasha was executed in Vincennes , on the morning of April 17 , 1918 . After the execution , Georges Clemenceau , the Prime Minister of France addressed the American people :