Washington case of money, murder and intrigue – the Scalia connection
Washingtonians are riveted by the story of last week’s alleged murder of 91-year-old Georgetown socialite Viola Drath. Her 47-year-old husband Albrecht Gero Muth was arrested in connection with Drath’s apparent death by strangulation. A police report states that Muth said the couple had a 20-year “marriage of convenience,” and that Muth presented Drath’s family with a letter purportedly written by Drath directing the family to give Muth $150,000 in the event of her death. The authenticity of that letter is in dispute.
The couple was known for throwing lavish dinner parties for many of Washington’s elite, with Muth claiming to be an Iraqi Army general – a claim that has once and again been disputed by the Iraqi embassy.
But among the interesting things about this real-life tale of money and alleged murder is the list of dignitaries who attended parties over the years at the home where Drath was found dead last week – a list that allegedly included Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the Wall Street Journal reports. Scalia’s signature appears in a book Muth asked dinner party guests to sign.
Scalia, through a Supreme Court spokesperson, declined to comment to the Journal.
