It was the grand finale of the 20th century, and the dawn of a new era, a new profession and . . . a new motive for murder. "Dot-com" emerged as the money buzzword, and Internet companies commanded huge share price premiums, driving the stock market to record highs, week after week in a raging bull market that was unstoppable. Investors loved the dot-com story, and they bought it: hook, line, sinker, rod, reel, and boat

The Internet revolution spawned a perfect storm when the development of the World Wide Web, and technology to buy and sell stocks instantaneously on personal computers...