Get the facts straight 2 Tuesday January 08 2002 The Jazz Bird Fact vs fiction Craig Holden s novel The Jazz Bird is based on the 1927 murder trial of Cincinnati bootlegger George Remus Here s a quick look at where fact and fiction converge and diverge George Remus the killer Fiction A lawyer and pharmacist who comes to Cincinnati from Chicago in the 1920s with a scheme that makes him at least 20 million He buys distilleries licensed to sell medicinal whiskey to drug companies and then sells the booze to dummy drug companies while shipping it to illegal customers Truth A lawyer and pharmacist he was a friend and co counsel of famed defense lawyer Clarence Darrow Mr Darrow testified as a character witness for him at his trial He came to Cincinnati from Chicago and turned a 10 000 investment into an estimated 80 million fortune in less than three years He sold medicinal whiskey to legitimate drug companies he set up then stole the whiskey from the drug companies Charlie P Taft the prosecutor Fiction He is the son of former United States President William Howard Taft and plans a career in politics He fades away after losing the case Truth He was the youngest son of the former president He became Hamilton County prosecutor just a few months before the trial His political career suffered a setback after the trial he wasn t nominated for a second term as prosecutor He did stay in politics helping found the Cincinnati Charter Committee and serving as a councilman and mayor until his retirement almost 50 years later He ran an unsuccessful race as a Republican for Ohio governor in 1952 the year George Remus died Imogene Remus the victim Fiction She is the wealthy 25 year old daughter of a high society family in Cincinnati She is the wife of a World War I veteran left in a coma by a shell fragment when she meets George Remus She tries unsuccessfully to get Remus accepted by Cincinnati society Truth She was a 35 year old secretary in Chicago when she divorced her first husband to marry George Remus who divorced his first wife to marry her She entertained lavishly in Cincinnati in hopes of being accepted into Cincinnati society The Cincinnati upper crust was willing to buy Mr Remus whiskey but never accepted him or his wife as social equals She was 39 when she was killed The trial Fiction George Remus defends himself pleading not guilty by reason of insanity He plays to the press and frequently disrupts the proceedings which are likened to a Vaudeville show by the Enquirer The jury acquits him in 20 minutes recommends his release from the hospital in time for Christmas and drinks up at a party he throws for them Truth That s all true Saturday March 30 2002 Logan duked out for AP honor The Associated Press ATLANTA UC s Steve Logan was third behind Duke s Jason Williams and Kansas Drew Gooden in voting for The Associated Press college basketball player of the year UC s Bob Huggins was fifth in voting for coach of the year Logan received eight votes Williams 38 and Gooden 18 from the 72 member national panel that selects the weekly AP Top 25 Huggins got 7 votes behind Pittsburgh s Ben Howland 16 Bob Knight of Texas Tech 11 Ernie Kent of Oregon 10 and Roy Williams of Kansas 9 Williams the only unanimous All America selection this season is the second straight Duke player to be selected national player of year and the fifth Blue Devil to win the Adolph Rupp Award Shane Battier won last season The other Duke players to be honored were Elton Brand in 1999 Christian Laettner in 1992 and Art Heyman in 1963 Williams thanked his coach Mike Krzyzewski who missed the ceremony after undergoing hip replacement surgery on Wednesday Being with Coach K the past three years is the best thing I could have ever asked for Williams said I owe him everything Williams a junior also voted to the All America team as a sophomore averaged 21 3 points 3 5 rebounds and 5 3 assists for the defending champion Blue Devils 31 4 ranked No 1 for all but four weeks this season He shot 45 7 percent from the field including 38 3 percent from 3 point range Howland led the Panthers 29 6 to the most victories in school history their first appearance