Bag of Bones

<DIV><P>Completing J. North Conway's widely acclaimed trilogy of Gilded Age New York City Crime-following <I>King of Heists</I> and <I>The Big Policeman</I>—<I>Bag of Bones</I> combines the era’s affluence decadence and corruption with a gruesome deed fit for the tabloids of today. In 1878 the body of multi-millionaire A. T. Stewart was stolen from St. Mark’s Churchyard. The ghoulish crime the chase for the culprits the years-long ransom negotiations and the demise of the Stewart retail empire fed a media frenzy. When the widow Stewart eventually exchanged $20000 for a burlap bag of bones on a country road not everyone was convinced that the remains were truly those of The Merchant Prince of Manhattan the department store pioneer who had risen from the flood of Irish immigration to a place alongside names like Astor Vanderbilt and Rockefeller. As <I>Bag of Bones</I> details the futile tactics used by police to identify the grave robbers it also unveils the villainy of Judge Henry Hilton the Stewart family advisor who not only interfered in the case repeatedly but also dismantled a once-great business empire . . . all the while profiting quite nicely. By the end of this fascinating slice of history one is left to wonder who displayed the greater evil: the grave robbers or Judge Hilton. </DIV></P>