American Notes BLUNDERS

Vito Marzullo had the shock of his life last week. The former alderman, 91, awoke one morning to find his own obituary on the front page of the Chicago Tribune. There was consolation in the encomiums by fellow pols, who hailed Marzullo as the "dean" of Windy City politics. The embarrassed Tribune, still renowned for its DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN headline in 1948, launched an investigation of the gaffe. It turned out that Marzullo's brother-in-law, who lived in the same building, had passed away.