Ronald Kessler - The Sins of the Father: Joseph P. Kennedy and the Dynasty He Founded

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Copyright 1996 by Ronald Kessler

Cover design 1996 by Andrew M. Newman

Cover photo by Margaret Bourke-White, Life Magazine Time Inc.

Book design by Giorgetta Bell McRee

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the authors intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the authors rights.

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First e-book edition: March 2012

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ISBN 978-1-455-52187-6

F or all his wealth and power, Joe Kennedy was not a happy man. He also had no shame. What he cared about was having power. Through the political dynasty that he founded, he achieved that for generations to come. If he hurt and corrupted others in the process, no one had the courage to challenge him.

The results are the myths that continue to enshrine the Kennedy family and maintain it as a national obsession.

Youre about to watch those myths explode.

T HE S INS OF THE F ATHER

I NSIDE THE W HITE H OUSE

T HE FBI

I NSIDE THE CIA

E SCAPE FROM THE CIA

T HE S PY IN THE R USSIAN C LUB

M OSCOW S TATION

S PY VS. S PY

T HE R ICHEST M AN IN THE W ORLD

T HE L IFE I NSURANCE G AME

For Pam, Greg, and Rachel

This book was the inspiration of my agent, Robert Gottlieb. More than thirty years have elapsed since the publication of Richard J. Whalens The Founding Father, the only major book on Joseph P. Kennedy. The only other biography, Joseph P. Kennedy by David E. Kostoff, was published in 1974. Since then, much more material has become available in archives, and people have become more willing to tell what they know. Roberts idea was brilliant. I am deeply grateful to Robert, the executive vice president of the William Morris Agency, for sharing his idea with me, and for his terrific support throughout.

Laurence J. Kirshbaum, chief executive officer of Warner Books, and Maureen Egen, president and publisher, immediately recognized the potential of the subject and gave me the resources to pursue it properly. As my editor, Maureen has been a joy to work withtremendously enthusiastic and supportive during the research phase and incredibly skilled at honing the final product.

My wife, Pamela Kessler, collaborated with me on the book by doing the archival research. A former Washington Post reporter and the author of Undercover Washington, a book on the spy sites of Washington, she applied her considerable investigative skills to finding dozens of sources of documents that had never been consulted before, deciphering nearly illegible handwriting in diaries, and fitting the often disparate pieces of the puzzle together. All of the revelations in the book from documents are hers. She then applied her talents to doing the initial editing of the manuscript. Finally, she came up with the title of the book. As my wife, friend, and trusted adviser, Pam could not be more supportive or loving.

My children, Rachel and Greg Kessler, were sources of love, pride, and emotional support. Rachel also helped out by preparing a chronology. My stepson, Mike Whitehead, was his usual gracious and charming self. My mother, Minuetta Kessler, and stepfather, Dr. Myer M. Kessler, let me stay with them in Belmont, Massachusetts, on my monthly trips to Boston and Cape Cod. My sister, Jean Brenner, a nurse practitioner, and my brother-in-law, Mark J. Brenner, M.D., analyzed prescription and medical records and gave me guidance on medical issues.

As managing editor of the Boston Herald, Dave Farrell hired me thirty years ago as a police reporter, investigative reporter, and editorial writer. For more than two decades, he was perhaps the leading political columnist in Boston, first at the Boston Herald and then at the Boston Globe. I was gratified that he offered to help me on the project, even taking old sources out to lunch to convince them to talk with me. As a result, key people who had never before discussed Joe Kennedy opened up. Dave then applied his unique knowledge of Boston politics, the Kennedys, and the Boston Irish to reading the manuscript. Besides insuring that the finished product would be accurate, his remarkable skill as an editor brought out areas that needed further illumination.

As he has in the past, my friend Daniel M. Clements read the manuscript as well, offering insightful advice that I followed. Irwin M. Borowski, a former associate chief of enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission, also read the manuscript and pointed out areas that needed clarification, as did several other experts who cannot be named.

I am fortunate to have so many talented supporters. Without them, I could not have done this book. To them, I give my thanks.

Those who were interviewed or who helped in other ways include:

Joseph Aboody, Rupert Allason, M.P., Frederick Rick Allen, Anne Anable, Richard Atkins, James L. Auchincloss, Gertrude Ball, Joseph Bellino, George Bookman, Irwin Borowski, Jean N. Brenner, Dr. Mark J. Brenner, William S. Brodrick, Dr. Bertram S. Brown, Charles J. Burke, Mortimer M. Caplin, Christopher Carberry, Igor Cassini, Oleg Cassini, Nicholas J. Chase, Nancy Tenney Coleman, Harold E. Hal Clancy, Daniel M. Clements, Ned Comstock, the late John Costello, John J. Craven Jr., Robert T. Crowley, Lloyd N. Cutler.

Rita Dallas, Mark Dalton, Raymond W. Daum, John H. Davis, Elizabeth Deane, Elizabeth de Bedts, Carmen dellOrefice, Margaret dellOrefice, Janet Des Rosiers, Ann Downey, Morton Downey Jr., Peter Drummey, the late Orval DuBois, William Dufty, Andy Edmonds, Frank Fallaci, Christine Farber, Joseph D. Farish Jr., Dave Farrell, John T. Fawcett, Raymond G. Faxon, Dan H. Fenn, William J. Foley, Otto Fuerbinger.

Father Adelard J. Gagnan, Anthony Galluccio, Stanley B. Galup, Ann Gargan, Joseph F. Gargan, Antoinette Giancana, K. Dun Gifford, Mary Gigante, Sam Gill, Theodore Gittinger, C.Z. Grant, Tom Griffith, Nigel Hamilton, Rear Admiral John Harlee, Oscar W. Haussermann Jr., Lawrence J. Heim, Luella R. Hennessey, Burton Hersh, C. David Heymann, Pat M. Holt, the late William J. Hopkins, Page Huidekoper, Henry James Jr., Janet Jeghegian, Laura Jereski, William Will Johnson, Joseph Jones.

Richard D, Kaplan, Stanley A, Karnow, Dmitri Kessel, Willi R. Korte, Robert Lacey, James K. Langan, Evelyn Lincoln, the late Joseph M, Linsey, Joseph LoPiccolo, Peter Lucas, Henry Luce III, Dr. James L. Luke, Richard Lyons, Peter Maas, Pat Maniscalo, Kerry McCarthy, Mary Lou McCarthy, Ronald T, McCoy, the late Nellie McGrail, Edward F. McLaughlin Jr., Priscilla Johnson McMillan, William J. McMullin, Hank Messick, Jeffrey S. Miles, William H, Miles, Melody Miller, Dan T. Moore, Dr. Nicholas Morgan, Robert M. Morgenthau, Francis X. Morrissey, William J. Mulcahy, Patrick Munroe.