 Legendary socialite’s son convicted of fraud. 
If you spend time seeking out real world pulp, as we do, you start to develop the crazy idea that money is an almighty corruptor that mutates people into heartless monsters (assuming they weren’t already that way). In the U.S. yesterday, a court case supporting that thesis came to a close when a jury convicted Anthony Marshall, son of the millionaire socialite Brooke Astor, of defrauding his late mother out of her $185 million fortune. Astor had acquired her wealth by wedding John Astor IV, whose family had originally accumulated the riches dealing in furs and opium. She became a leading light in New York City society, writing novels and hosting charitable events. She once said famously, “Money is like manure—it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around.” She died in 2007 at age 105, and in her last years developed Alzheimer’s disease. During that period, her son, with the help of his lawyer, tricked her into altering her will so that he was the sole executor. Anthony Marshall’s trial involved a who’s-who of upper crust NYC witnesses, including newswoman Barbara Walters and politico Henry Kissinger, who told the jury Astor couldn’t recognize guests at her one-hundredth birthday party. The jury also heard sordid stories about how once Marshall got hold of the fortune, he used it to do things like pay the captain of his yacht a $50,000 salary, while refusing to spend $2,000 to install a safety gate to prevent his mother from falling. Marshall’s lawyers countered by calling an astounding 72 witnesses, spending 17 weeks of court time on his defense, but all for naught. Marshall, who is 85, was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison, but may serve as few as one.
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The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
1945—Mussolini Is Arrested
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, his mistress Clara Petacci, and fifteen supporters are arrested by Italian partisans in Dongo, Italy while attempting to escape the region in the wake of the collapse of Mussolini's fascist government. The next day, Mussolini and his mistress are both executed, along with most of the members of their group. Their bodies are then trucked to Milan where they are hung upside down on meathooks from the roof of a gas station, then spat upon and stoned until they are unrecognizable. 1933—The Gestapo Is Formed
The Geheime Staatspolizei, aka Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established. It begins under the administration of SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police, but by 1939 is administered by the Reichssicherheitshauptamt, or Reich Main Security Office, and is a feared entity in every corner of Germany and beyond. 1937—Guernica Is Bombed
In Spain during the Spanish Civil War, the Basque town of Guernica is bombed by the German Luftwaffe, resulting in widespread destruction and casualties. The Basque government reports 1,654 people killed, while later research suggests far fewer deaths, but regardless, Guernica is viewed as an example of terror bombing and other countries learn that Nazi Germany is committed to that tactic. The bombing also becomes inspiration for Pablo Picasso, resulting in a protest painting that is not only his most famous work, but one the most important pieces of art ever produced. 1939—Batman Debuts
In Detective Comics #27, DC Comics publishes its second major superhero, Batman, who becomes one of the most popular comic book characters of all time, and then a popular camp television series starring Adam West, and lastly a multi-million dollar movie franchise starring Michael Keaton, then George Clooney, and finally Christian Bale. 1953—Crick and Watson Publish DNA Results
British scientists James D Watson and Francis Crick publish an article detailing their discovery of the existence and structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, in Nature magazine. Their findings answer one of the oldest and most fundamental questions of biology, that of how living things reproduce themselves.
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