DeLong Star Ruby

The DeLong Star Ruby, a 100.32-carat (20.064 g) oval cabochon star ruby, was discovered in Burma in the 1930s.[1] It was sold by Martin Ehrmann to Edith Haggin DeLong for US$21,400, who then donated it to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City in 1937.

On October 29, 1964, the DeLong star ruby was one of a number of precious gems stolen in a notorious jewelry heist by Jack Roland Murphy and two accomplices. In January 1965, nine of the stolen gems, including the Star of India and the Midnight Star, were recovered in a bus depot locker; however, the DeLong ruby was not among them.[2] After months of negotiation, the unknown holder of the ruby agreed, through third parties including Dick Pearson, to ransom it for $25,000. The ransom was paid by wealthy Florida businessman John D. MacArthur and he was present on September 2, 1965, when the ruby was recovered at the designated drop off site: a phone booth at a service plaza on the Sunshine State Parkway near Palm Beach, Florida.[3][4] Months later Dick Pearson was arrested burglarizing a jewelry store in Georgia and was found in possession of $100 bills with serial numbers matching the ransom money. He was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in the DeLong Star ruby case.[5]

References
  1. Sofianides, Anna S.; George E. Harlow (1990). Gems & Crystals from the American Museum of Natural History. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 52. ISBN 0-671-68704-2.
  2. David Sears, "How Three Amateur Jewel Thieves Made Off With New York’s Most Precious Gems," Smithsonian, February 25, 2014.
  3. Preston, Douglas J. (1986). Dinosaurs in the Attic. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 210–218. ISBN 0-312-21098-1.
  4. "$140,000 RUBY RANSOMED", Chicago Tribune, September 3, 1965, p1
  5. Meryl Gordon, "The 50th Anniversary of New York’s Most Sensational Jewel Heist," Vanity Fair, October 29, 2014.


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