REAL ESTATE: Stolkin Rides Again

When it comes to picking up—and dropping—a fast buck, few can match Chicago's Ralph E. Stolkin, 36. By using the mails and punchboards to peddle such merchandise as ballpoint pens, coonskin caps and cheap radios, Stolkin ran a $15,000 loan into a $3,400,000 fortune. After the Federal Trade Commission cracked down on him for "deceptive sales practices" and U.S. postal authorities warned him against conducting a lottery by mail, Punchboard King Stolkin headed for Hollywood. He took charge of a five-man syndicate that bought RKO from Howard Hughes and named himself president. But Stolkin's interesting past soon caught up...