INSPIRING STORY OF THE WEEK – ALL THAT GLITTERS . . . by Maurice Nadjari
INSPIRING STORY OF THE WEEK
ALL THAT GLITTERS . . .
by Maurice Nadjari
In this inspiring story, Maurice tells the story of a robbery that happened in the NYC American Museum of Natural History over fifty years ago.
People referred to this robbery as The Heist of the Century because the burglars escaped with twenty-nine of the museum’s most prized gemstones. You might now wonder what makes this an inspiring story, so read on.
Later on this robbery evening, the museum guards discovered that some of their most valuable gems were missing, including the 563.35 carat Star of India, the 116.75 carat Midnight Star Sapphire and the 100.32 carat Delong Ruby. These were the best known of the stolen gems, but many more were lost. In the 1920s the appraisal value of those three gems alone was approximately $485 thousand dollars, so just imagine what those same three stones would be worth today! The shock waves from that robbery resounded throughout the news.
Special challenges of this case
Maurice Nadjari, the author of this inspiring story, was in charge of the case. It didn’t take him long to discover the names of the culprits, but apprehending them was a different story. Their leader, Murf the Surf, was a folk hero whose dashing good looks and smooth talking ways gave him special status. The public adored him, thinking of him as a celebrity instead of a criminal.
Now you must wonder what makes this robbery an inspiring story. Watch this video and you will soon understand.
WATCH THE VIDEO OF ALL THAT GLITTERS . . .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maurice Nadjari is a retired attorney and a home grown New Yorker, who went to college in NYC where he earned both his B.A. and law degrees. He enlisted in the army during WWII, stationed first in Europe and later in the Pacific.
Maury spent twenty-five years as a prosecutor, where he served fourteen of those years as an ADA in Manhattan. “Working with some of the finest lawyers I had ever known, those years were amongst the happiest of my life. I tried some two hundred and fifty felony case, dealing with every crime in the books. One of them was the theft of rare gems from the American Museum of Natural History.”
Next Maury spent five years as chief assistant DA in Suffolk County, NY before Governor Rockefeller appointed him Special New York State Prosecutor. He was in charge of investigating and prosecuting corruption in the criminal justice system in New York City.
“It was a good life,” says Maury, “because I felt like I was contributing something to the community I served. Whereas some of my friends lived lives of quiet desperation, waiting for Friday evenings and dreading Monday mornings, I was never one of them. I enjoyed the challenge so much that I whistled my way to work every morning.”
This story is now published in
Tales2Inspire ~ The Sapphire Collection of Timeless Memories
