Once a Hero

Kids can retain fond memories of the oddest of places their mother and father took them. One of the best ones I have is when my father and I visited a crime scene.

My father had nothing to do with law enforcement, but when the Museum of Natural History was broken into in 1964 and several very valuable gems were stolen, it was big news. A heist. Worth plenty. And what made it even bigger news was how easy it was for what turned out to be a trio of robbers--two of whom got into the museum at night after closing, and one who drove the getaway car--who made off with the stones, one, a heavyweight sapphire known famously as the Star of India, and another famous gem, the Delong Star Ruby. Lesser pieces were also easily scooped up from glass and wooden display cases.

Occasionally I'd think of our post-heist visit to the museum to take a look at the window that was left open, and the the display cases that seemed less secure than those holding Timex watches in a department store.

I was reminded of all this again when in yesterday's NYT there was the Op-Ed essay, 'Lost and Found New York,' that James Stevenson occasionally puts together of something quite bygone in New York City's history. Mr. Stevenson is a cartoonist, whose style is quickly remembered from cartoons in The New Yorker. He also remembers more presidents than most of us and summarizes nostalgic events with word and line.

The whole heist is summarized in word and pictures, and I learned a few things I didn't know, or didn't remember from something that took place 46 years ago.

The absolute ease of entry is described. How two of the robbers just climbed through a window that was one of many windows that were left open at the top. This is one of the things my father and I looked at. The newspapers had a field day describing how easy it was. Windows were routinely left open a crack at the top for ventilation. These were tall windows that reminded me of the ones in my grammar school. The ones that the teacher had to open at the top with a pole when the classroom got too hot.

There weren't enough guards for the whole museum, and the display cases had no working alarms. They hadn't worked in years. All this is neatly recreated in Mr. Stevenson's piece.

My parental field trip took place a few weeks after the heist, after the trio had been arrested and most of the gems were recovered. The public was once again being allowed into that part of the museum, but I don't think the stones were on display.

How the trio came to be arrested is also revealed in Mr. Stevenson's piece and is either what I forgot, or maybe never paid any attention to. Classic detection. Something is wrong with this picture. React to it, and you've got something. And the police did.

Of the three robbers, Jack, "Murph the Surf" Murphy had immediate box office appeal. Jack Roland Murphy was a former violin prodigy, national surfing champion, tennis pro and movie stunt man. He was a good looking playboy beach bum. And despite a felonious lifestyle, as a teenager he seemed to be at least several things I wouldn't mind being. I figured girls, or better yet women, had to be a pleasant by-product of that lifestyle.

Luckily, the role model effect never took hold. "Murph" continued his thieving ways, and was eventually put away again, for murdering two women. He didn't look or sound glamorous then. He really wasn't a great guy, and from what I remember from the pictures after he was apprehended for the murders, he didn't even look like anyone I'd like to emulate. He looked fat and was wearing flip flops.

Turns out "Murph" is now out of prison, and gives inspirational talks to other prisoners. I didn't know he was still alive. I also didn't know he is not ancient. A somewhat older friend was over for dinner last night and figures "Murph" is only a little older than he is.

Exactly so.

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