We know that the word in the blank refers back to the con man's habits of swearing to himself and being vain. These are negative traits, so we know the answer can't be "charms." The only remaining choices that have negative connotations are "vices" and "peccadilloes," and since being vain and swearing to oneself are relatively small shortcomings, the correct answer is "peccadilloes"—"small, relatively unimportant offenses or sins."

We're looking for a noun that describes someone who dabbles in many artistic hobbies. While "connoisseur" may sound like a likely option, the word actually means an expert judge in matters of taste, so it's not quite what we're looking for. "Dilettante," on the other hand, refers to a person who cultivates an area of interest, such as the arts, without real commitment or knowledge, and is the correct answer.

The sentence notes outright that his "status as a well respected investor" is a trick. The correct answer will reinforce this description. "Artifice," meaning a deceptive or false front, is the best choice.

Although the playwright believes his work is "quite tame," the structure of the sentence indicates his audience saw it differently. This means the correct answer will indicate the audience saw some level of offense or sense of injury, the definition of "umbrage."

The subject is "lying repeatedly," and people doubt his claims. The correct answer must show people expected the subject of the sentence to lie. "Veracity," meaning truthfulness, is the best choice.

The sentence notes the report "minimized the fault" for the other, non-police groups. This means the police do get a large amount of blame. "Onus," meaning burden or weight, is the correct answer choice.

Since we know that this is a high-profile case, we can imagine a large number of people surrounding the witness. So we are looking for a word that mean "a large number". The word "raft" is a bit obscure. This is simply one you may need to memorize, but it may be helpful to think of a large number of inflatable rafts, a raft of rafts.

The focus of the question is on the diversity of fields in which Posner is an expert. So we are looking for a word that means something like "many talents." Our answer here is "polymath" and the prefix "poly-" means "many" (think of "polygamy", meaning "many wives"). So even if we don't know what polymath means, the prefix gives us a great clue. 

"Synergy" means combined action. "Emolument" is the money paid for services; the passage does not provide any evidence that work-at-home employees will be paid less.

"Augury" refers to a predicted event or an omen. Nostradamus could have written anecdotes or stories, but that word doesn't fit within the context of the sentence, which is referring to prophecies.