Jim Kouri
Teddy Kennedy: the Lion of the Democrat Party?
By Jim Kouri
[Parts of the following article originally appeared in Police Times Magazine. The original title was, "The President's Private Eye: The story of NYPD Detective Tony Ulasewicz."]
How many times have you heard Senator Ted Kennedy referred to as the Lion of the Democrat Party by members of the elite media? How many times have you heard Senator Kennedy pontificate on the veracity of others such as when he repeatedly called President George W. Bush a liar? How many times have you heard this so-called Lion of the Democrat Party mention his unceasing concerns over women's rights? Even recently, Senator Kennedy droned on and on without much regard for the truth, as he mugged for the TV cameras covering the Judge John Roberts Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
Since Senator Kennedy believes he's entitled to the moral high-ground, I thought this would be a proper time to resurrect an article I wrote for Police Times magazine a few years back that addressed the issue of Kennedy's cover-up in what's become known simply as Chappaquiddick. If anyone is unfamiliar with that incident, they've probably been spending too much time on another planet. It was the incident that put the kibosh on Teddy Kennedy's hopes of ever sitting in the Oval Office. Chappaquiddick saw a young woman — Mary Jo Kopechne — die as a result of being too close to a man who was, and continues to be, too absorbed with his own existence, aspirations and self-importance.
The article I wrote addressed the Kennedy cover-up as investigated by friend and colleague NYPD Detective Tony Ulasewicz. Tony investigated Chappaquiddick at the behest of the President of the United State, Richard M. Nixon.
After working as a detective in the elite Bureau of Special Security & Investigation, a precursor of the NYPD's Intelligence Division, Tony was approached by the Nixon White House to work for the President as his personal private eye. BOSSI was known in Washington, DC as "the little FBI and the little CIA" and Tony Ulasewicz gained a reputation as one of BOSSI's best detectives. Who better to serve the president as his top investigator.
Ulasewicz began his police career swinging a nightstick on the tough streets of Harlem in 1945 and ended his career as the first man to ever serve as a sitting president's private eye.
Here is a brief portion of my Police Times magazine conversation with Tony:
PoliceTimes: One important assignment you received was to investigate the death of Mary Jo Kopechne that resulted from her being in a car with Senator Ted Kennedy in Chappaquiddick. You've gone on the record saying the subsequent investigation into the incident — whereby Kennedy's automobile ended up submerged in a pond, killing Mary Jo — was a cover-up from the very beginning. What leads you to believe that?
Tony: Well, the evidence is extensive. For instance, the medical examiner, Dr. Donald Mills, never performed an autopsy. In fact, he pronounced Mary Jo's death as being "death by drowning" with merely a simple visual exam. My experience as a homicide detective told me that Kopechne didn't drown. I saw white foam around her mouth which indicates she died due to a lack of oxygen. In other words, there must have been an air pocket in the submerged vehicle and she was able to live perhaps two or three hours after the car hit the water. She suffocated due to a lack of oxygen. She didn't drown. Another theory — far more shocking if true — is that Mary Jo was suffocated prior to the car plunging into the pond.
PT: You also say many of Kennedy's staff where all over the island. What were they doing?
Tony: They were covering up. When Kennedy escaped from the submerged vehicle, the first thing he did was telephone staff members rather than call the cops or an ambulance. I was able to get the phone records. His claims of being disoriented as a result of an auto accident seem disingenuous when you consider he had the orientation to remember and dial many phone numbers to get the cover-up mobilized. For instance, some man showed up at the Edgartown police station, where the investigation was being conducted, and asked for a pocketbook that was discovered inside Kennedy's car. The police desk officer turned it over to the man without making a blotter (logbook) entry or even IDing the guy. The officer admitted he just turned it over, no questions asked.
Also, a Kennedy staffer took custody of Mary Jo's remains saying he was responsible for shipping the body back to her hometown in Pennsylvania. No autopsy. Just a preliminary exam and out the door goes Mary Jo.
PT: How did Kennedy avoid news media scrutiny?
Tony: Well, I decided that the news media were being fed misinformation by the Kennedy spin doctors. Whoever they were, they had a casual attitude toward the truth. For instance, the news media told the public that Kennedy made a wrong turn because he was unfamiliar with Chappaquiddick. Well, first, I examined the crime or accident scene myself and if Kennedy turned the way he said he did, he would have ended up either in the bushes or slamming into a telephone pole. Kennedy also said in his statement that he'd never been in that particular area before, which was why he was unfamiliar with the landscape.
I interviewed a number of residents on the island who said they routinely saw all the Kennedy brother and relatives on the island including Ted.
The cover-up included people being rushed off the island — people who partied with Kennedy. They were never questioned by the small town police officers who were in over their heads. These partygoers, instead, were "debriefed" by Kennedy staffers or security people hired by Kennedy or his staff.
PT: Were the cops bought off?
Tony: I don't think so. These small town cops had no experience investigating homicides or big cases. They were also dealing with some very powerful people. The Edgartown cops just didn't have any reason to stick their necks out.
PT: You must have been frustrated.
Tony: Not only frustrated, but angry. Later, my boss, President Nixon, would be dragged through the mud by the news media; and here was a senator who committed negligent homicide if not out and out murder, and nothing happens to him. He keeps getting reelected. They keep electing Ted Kennedy when they know that at worst he's a murderer, at best he's a sniveling coward.
PT: Thanks, Tony.
And 35 years later, the elite media continue to ignore Chappaquiddick while they hail Kennedy as the Lion of the Democrat Party.
© Jim Kouri
[Parts of the following article originally appeared in Police Times Magazine. The original title was, "The President's Private Eye: The story of NYPD Detective Tony Ulasewicz."]
How many times have you heard Senator Ted Kennedy referred to as the Lion of the Democrat Party by members of the elite media? How many times have you heard Senator Kennedy pontificate on the veracity of others such as when he repeatedly called President George W. Bush a liar? How many times have you heard this so-called Lion of the Democrat Party mention his unceasing concerns over women's rights? Even recently, Senator Kennedy droned on and on without much regard for the truth, as he mugged for the TV cameras covering the Judge John Roberts Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
Since Senator Kennedy believes he's entitled to the moral high-ground, I thought this would be a proper time to resurrect an article I wrote for Police Times magazine a few years back that addressed the issue of Kennedy's cover-up in what's become known simply as Chappaquiddick. If anyone is unfamiliar with that incident, they've probably been spending too much time on another planet. It was the incident that put the kibosh on Teddy Kennedy's hopes of ever sitting in the Oval Office. Chappaquiddick saw a young woman — Mary Jo Kopechne — die as a result of being too close to a man who was, and continues to be, too absorbed with his own existence, aspirations and self-importance.
The article I wrote addressed the Kennedy cover-up as investigated by friend and colleague NYPD Detective Tony Ulasewicz. Tony investigated Chappaquiddick at the behest of the President of the United State, Richard M. Nixon.
After working as a detective in the elite Bureau of Special Security & Investigation, a precursor of the NYPD's Intelligence Division, Tony was approached by the Nixon White House to work for the President as his personal private eye. BOSSI was known in Washington, DC as "the little FBI and the little CIA" and Tony Ulasewicz gained a reputation as one of BOSSI's best detectives. Who better to serve the president as his top investigator.
Ulasewicz began his police career swinging a nightstick on the tough streets of Harlem in 1945 and ended his career as the first man to ever serve as a sitting president's private eye.
Here is a brief portion of my Police Times magazine conversation with Tony:
PoliceTimes: One important assignment you received was to investigate the death of Mary Jo Kopechne that resulted from her being in a car with Senator Ted Kennedy in Chappaquiddick. You've gone on the record saying the subsequent investigation into the incident — whereby Kennedy's automobile ended up submerged in a pond, killing Mary Jo — was a cover-up from the very beginning. What leads you to believe that?
Tony: Well, the evidence is extensive. For instance, the medical examiner, Dr. Donald Mills, never performed an autopsy. In fact, he pronounced Mary Jo's death as being "death by drowning" with merely a simple visual exam. My experience as a homicide detective told me that Kopechne didn't drown. I saw white foam around her mouth which indicates she died due to a lack of oxygen. In other words, there must have been an air pocket in the submerged vehicle and she was able to live perhaps two or three hours after the car hit the water. She suffocated due to a lack of oxygen. She didn't drown. Another theory — far more shocking if true — is that Mary Jo was suffocated prior to the car plunging into the pond.
PT: You also say many of Kennedy's staff where all over the island. What were they doing?
Tony: They were covering up. When Kennedy escaped from the submerged vehicle, the first thing he did was telephone staff members rather than call the cops or an ambulance. I was able to get the phone records. His claims of being disoriented as a result of an auto accident seem disingenuous when you consider he had the orientation to remember and dial many phone numbers to get the cover-up mobilized. For instance, some man showed up at the Edgartown police station, where the investigation was being conducted, and asked for a pocketbook that was discovered inside Kennedy's car. The police desk officer turned it over to the man without making a blotter (logbook) entry or even IDing the guy. The officer admitted he just turned it over, no questions asked.
Also, a Kennedy staffer took custody of Mary Jo's remains saying he was responsible for shipping the body back to her hometown in Pennsylvania. No autopsy. Just a preliminary exam and out the door goes Mary Jo.
PT: How did Kennedy avoid news media scrutiny?
Tony: Well, I decided that the news media were being fed misinformation by the Kennedy spin doctors. Whoever they were, they had a casual attitude toward the truth. For instance, the news media told the public that Kennedy made a wrong turn because he was unfamiliar with Chappaquiddick. Well, first, I examined the crime or accident scene myself and if Kennedy turned the way he said he did, he would have ended up either in the bushes or slamming into a telephone pole. Kennedy also said in his statement that he'd never been in that particular area before, which was why he was unfamiliar with the landscape.
I interviewed a number of residents on the island who said they routinely saw all the Kennedy brother and relatives on the island including Ted.
The cover-up included people being rushed off the island — people who partied with Kennedy. They were never questioned by the small town police officers who were in over their heads. These partygoers, instead, were "debriefed" by Kennedy staffers or security people hired by Kennedy or his staff.
PT: Were the cops bought off?
Tony: I don't think so. These small town cops had no experience investigating homicides or big cases. They were also dealing with some very powerful people. The Edgartown cops just didn't have any reason to stick their necks out.
PT: You must have been frustrated.
Tony: Not only frustrated, but angry. Later, my boss, President Nixon, would be dragged through the mud by the news media; and here was a senator who committed negligent homicide if not out and out murder, and nothing happens to him. He keeps getting reelected. They keep electing Ted Kennedy when they know that at worst he's a murderer, at best he's a sniveling coward.
PT: Thanks, Tony.
And 35 years later, the elite media continue to ignore Chappaquiddick while they hail Kennedy as the Lion of the Democrat Party.
© Jim Kouri
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