NY Times courts beat reporter John Eligon details how he, "a 26-year-old dreadlocked black guy who has been in the city for only four years and, truth be told, did not know who Brooke Astor was until she died in 2007," became obsessed with the Astor trial, even dreaming about it (there was "a nightmare about missing the verdict"). Eligon got to know the figures: Defendant Anthony Marshall told him how wonderful Trinidad, where Eligon grew up, was (Marshall had been ambassador there); Marshall's wife Charlene loved his dreadlocks, once even running her hands through them; and co-defendant Francis Morrissey told him he looked like a kouros as well as Toussaint L’Ouverture. more ›

We've been following the fallout over the late Brooke Astor's will and estate for a while, but today's in-depth article in the NY Times about lawyer Francis Morrissey's numerous clients who put him in their wills is pretty damning. Morrissey was indicted (along with Astor's son Anthony Marshall) on charges if trying to, essentially, loot Astor's estate last month. more ›