his presentation invites the audience to explore a true story as complex and compelling as any novel, brought to life through the people, places, and personal accounts that made it real. At the center is a Harvard instructor who poisoned his wife, vanished, and reemerged as a Cornell Ph.D. before bombing the U.S. Capitol and attempting to assassinate J.P. Morgan! What?! Alongside him are pivotal historical figures like Woodrow Wilson, William Jennings Bryan, Teddy Roosevelt, and British Ambassador Sir Cecil Spring Rice. The journey spans a wide swath of geography—from Chicago, Cambridge, and Ithaca to Mexico City, Fort Worth, Nashville, and the Gold Coast of Long Island. What a plot! In this presentation, Mary Noe aims to immerse the audience not just in the dramatic plot of a true and astonishing story, but in the rich backstory that brings it fully to life. Using a dynamic PowerPoint filled with visual materials - photographs, letters, diaries, and historical documents – Mary will introduce the key figures and settings that shaped this narrative. Join us!

Mary Noe is a lawyer, writer and lecturer and holds the rank of Professor at St. John’s University, Collins College of Professional Studies. After graduating high school, she worked in a typing pool at the New York office of the FBI. Several secretarial jobs later, she applied to be a New York City School Bus Driver with Varsity Transit. The New York City Human Rights Division brought an action against Varsity since they would not hire females. She was the only female driver among the 700 male drivers working from Varsity’s Brooklyn location. She is a graduate of Brooklyn College magna cum laude and St. John’s University School of Law. She has served as an administrative law judge for the New York State Office of Professional Medical Conduct and an Impartial Hearing Officer under a federal law known as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA.