Annals of True Crime

That crime story rag the New York Times reported this week on two men who beat and robbed a 70 year old woman in a Bronx housing project one recent afternoon. They grabbed her wallet with $149 and fled. On the street they flagged down what they thought was a livery cab, one of the large, usually black sedans that cruise the New York streets, supplementing taxi service, especially in the sketchier neighborhoods of the city. Unfortunately for them, the Crown Victoria turned out to be an unmarked police vehicle responding to reports of the robbery. Asked for identification, one of the men accidentally pulled out the victim's wallet and she, from the back of the ambulance about to carry her off for treatment, identified them as her attackers. I've recently been summonsed for jury duty. If among the citizens selected for their case, I'm guessing we'll spend considerably less than the eight days the average trial consumes in New York.