The Statue of Liberty campaign resembles a modern online crowdfunding effort in several impressive ways: the speed with which the money was raised, the number of small donations, and the fact that the whole process was managed by one agent - the newspaper.

BBC: The Statue of Liberty and America's crowdfunding pioneer

For six years, he worked as an undercover agent using the name Donnie Brasco and managed to infiltrate one of the five big New York crime families - the Bonannos.

BBC: Viewpoint: The murky world of illegal Asian gambling