Pan Motor Co. signed by Samuel Pandolfo with Letter - 1918 dated Autographed Stock Certificate

Stock signed by Samuel Pandolfo with letter from company letterhead signed by Pandolfo's secretary.

Samuel Conner Pandolfo (November 22, 1874 – January 27, 1960) was an American entrepreneur best known for establishing the Pan Motor Car Company (1917–1919) and for being convicted of fraud related to its promotion. Pandolfo successfully raised $9.5 million through stock sales and constructed an automobile manufacturing facility in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Over the subsequent two years, the plant produced 737 automobiles and fulfilled various U.S. government war contracts. However, he was convicted of mail fraud and sentenced to three years in the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth. 

The government alleged that Pandolfo deceived the 70,000 shareholders of his company by providing them with misleading information. Conversely, some argue that Pandolfo's downfall was not due to his business practices but rather his beliefs. He envisioned a future where the average individual could own shares of stock and actively promoted this idea. 

In 1899, Pandolfo took on the role of superintendent of schools in Las Cruces, New Mexico Territory. He began selling insurance on the side in 1901 and quickly realized that he "earned more money in three months selling insurance than I had in three years teaching school." Eventually, Pandolfo resigned from his position as superintendent to establish the Pandolfo Insurance Company, which served all of Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and New Mexico. 

He claimed to have placed nearly $100 million on the books of the companies he represented. After a crop failure in 1916, he disbanded his company and shifted his focus to the motorcar industry. Pandolfo was well-acquainted with automobiles, having owned 37 during his 15 years in the insurance sector. He had developed specific criteria for what made a good car: it needed to have high clearance for the back roads of the time, should include provisions for accommodating the driver overnight if necessary, and must have the capacity to carry additional supplies that could be required in less populated areas.

Pandolfo established his company in Delaware and commenced the sale of stock shares at a price of $10. Half of the proceeds were allocated to what Pandolfo referred to as a "surplus fund," which was utilized for paying stock sales commissions and covering company expenses. The remaining half was directed into the company's capital fund. Each stock certificate prominently displayed the stock's par value of $5.00. Pandolfo chose St. Cloud, Minnesota, as the location for his manufacturing plant due to its close proximity to iron-ore mines, access to two significant transcontinental railroads, availability of a deep-water port in Duluth, a skilled workforce that was free from labor union conflicts, and a reliable supply of electrical power. The Pan Motor Company's investment in capital and industry left a lasting impression on the local residents of that era. 

In 1917, Pandolfo hosted a Fourth of July picnic where 15,434 pounds of beef were barbecued for attendees. A portion of the city was named "Pantown," where 58 high-quality homes were constructed for the expanding labor force of the company. The company initiated the production of the Pan-Model 250, the first model manufactured by his new factory, which spanned 22 acres (89,000 m2) and housed the largest drop-forge plant in the United States west of Chicago. Pandolfo's difficulties began when the Associated Advertising Clubs of Minneapolis, a precursor to the Better Business Bureau, filed a complaint with the State of Minnesota, alleging that Pandolfo was expending more on promotional activities than was allowed by its Minnesota Charter. Although the complaint was dismissed, on November 16, 1918, a federal grand jury in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, indicted Pandolfo on four counts of "using the mails in furtherance of a scheme to defraud." Pandolfo requested an expedited trial regarding the charges, and when the government sought additional time to prepare its case, U.S. Judge Page Morris dismissed the charges.

Despite the case being dismissed, the situation had hindered the sale of stock, and the Pan Motor Car Company required funds to commence full-scale production of its flagship Pan Model A. Pandolfo embarked on an extensive promotional tour for this vehicle, which he considered his dream car. It featured high clearance to traverse nearly any road, foldable seats that converted into a bed, and an ice chest for transporting food and beverages. A multitude of pamphlets and mailings were created and distributed to advertise the vehicle, and it was these marketing materials that ultimately led to Pandolfo's downfall. 

On February 1, 1919, a federal grand jury in Chicago charged Pandolfo and all company officers with seven counts of mail fraud for disseminating misleading information through the federal postal system. (Among the allegations was that a company flyer featured a "plane's eye view" of the Pan Motor Car Company that was not actually captured from an aircraft.) The case was presided over by the irascible Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who issued several rulings unfavorable to Pandolfo. During the week of the trial, the Pan Motor Car Company began full production of the Pan Model A, and by the end of that month, 70 cars had been manufactured. Nonetheless, the jury was led to believe that the company was a facade, a mere shell entity established solely for the purpose of selling stock.

Requests made by Pandolfo's defense team to present motion pictures of the operational plant to the jury were rejected by Judge Landis, who stated, "I have had as much experience with moving pictures as anyone in the past fifteen years, and I am not to be stripped of the opinion I have formed regarding them." The case proceeded to the jury without their knowledge that the plant was actively producing its second model motorcar, nor that it had completed several U.S. government war contracts, including the manufacture of a tank-tread tractor (referred to as "the tractor that will win the war"). Pandolfo was found guilty and launched a vigorous appeal of his conviction. The company continued to manufacture Pan Model A cars during his absence, but the trial's publicity significantly swayed public opinion, making it impossible to sell additional stock to generate essential capital. Ultimately, the Pan Motor Company shut down due to financial constraints. On April 5, 1923, Samuel Pandolfo turned himself in to Chicago authorities and was taken to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, where he served two and a half years of a three-year sentence. Upon his return to St. Cloud, Minnesota, in October 1926, Pandolfo was welcomed by approximately 600 supporters and a band. He encapsulated the experience with his remark, "You don't encounter a crook with a brass band.”

Out of the 737 Pan cars manufactured, only 5 are confirmed to be in existence: three owned privately (two located in Minnesota, one of which is exhibited in the Stearns County Museum, and one in New York); one held by the Pantowners Car Club in St. Cloud, MN; and one at the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Museum in Hershey, PA. Judge Landis was appointed as the inaugural commissioner of baseball in November 1920, in the aftermath of the 'Black Sox Scandal.' Initially, a commission comprising several members was suggested, but Landis insisted on being the sole representative and demanded lifetime tenure. He declined to give up his federal judgeship even after facing censure and threats of impeachment from the House Judiciary Committee, where the only dissenting vote against censure was cast by Minnesota Representative Andrew Volstead, who was recognized for drafting the Volstead Act to enforce Prohibition. Landis stepped down from the federal bench in 1922. Pandolfo experienced a stroke in December 1959 and passed away on January 27, 1960, in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Pan Motor Company Office and Sheet Metal Works building located on 33rd Avenue North in St. Cloud, Minnesota, remains standing and is included in the National Register of Historic Places.

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