More links in the theme

Leona Helmsley, Bitch Til the End 1980s true crime icon Leona Helmsley (tax evasion, Danbury Federal Correctional Institution, 1992-94) died and left a vast estate, billions and billions of dollars in real estate stocked with ornaments from Christie's and paid for with the blood, sweat, and tears of her laborers. Maybe you remember her famous line: "Only the little people pay taxes." Even Alan Dershowitz could not save her from a trip to the Big House after a remark like that. But she's had the last word.

The Times is reporting that the executors of her last will and testament "have fretted about the public outcry that disclosure of its terms might incite." Are you ready for this? Forget her own family (some of whom were omitted entirely). Humanity? Pfft. She left the bulk of her mind-boggling fortune for the welfare of dogs. Well, we can't say we are surprised, can we, even if she does become Exhibit A in the debate on inheritance taxes. It's been a while but I distinctly enjoyed reading the biographies written of her at the height of her infamy. They are Palace Coup by Michael Moss (Doubleday 1989); The Helmsleys: The Rise and Fall of Harry and Leona Helmsley by Richard Hammer (New American Library 1990); and The Queen of Mean by Ransdell Pierson (1989).

More in the Erased Theme True crime author Marilee Strong (who impressed me with her book Erased, a systematic look at a certain type of spousal murder) has a website that further explores the themes in her book.

Notes on Evil True crime fan Roger from Ipswich reports on a couple of recent paperback reads in our favorite genre and doesn't like everything he sees. Agree with him? He's got me on a few points.

ART via NewspaperArchive

Comments

[A Voice of Sanity]

~Maybe you remember her famous line: "Only the little people pay taxes."~

I remember it. I'm not convinced she ever said it. There's nothing the Feds like better than slapping down an uppity woman and in the Federal courts, which resemble a star chamber, there's nothing much they won't do to get their way. I found her conviction as dubious as that of Martha Stewart. Wasn't it Johnny Cochran who observed, "When the government wants to prosecute someone, first they get everyone to hate that person"? Shouldn't the evidence speak for itself? Why the slander first policy?