High life
Keep it in the family
Taki
.A.New York s everyone who has ever heard of Chappaquiddick knows, the Kennedy fami- ly is no stranger to death, drugs, drink and, above all, sexual intrigue. But such is the hold of the family on the American psyche that what has emerged up to date may only be the proverbial tip of the iceberg.
Take for example Teddy Kennedy. Were `Can we go and see the audited accounts now, Daddy?' his name Edward Moore, rather than Edward Moore Kennedy, he would proba- bly have served time for running from the scene of an accident, lying about his where- abouts for a whole day and not reporting to the police that a girl lay trapped — and still alive due to an air bubble — ten feet under the water. But, as things turned out, he even remained in the Senate.
Five years later I got a personal glimpse of the Kennedy mystique. The Colonels had just collapsed in Greece and Constan- tine Karamanlis, the then Greek premier, invited Ted Kennedy for an unofficial visit. He arrived with his nephew Joe, now a Massachusetts Congressman. I had an American girlfriend at the time, and they asked her to bring a couple of her friends along for an after-dinner drink. Had I known then what I know now I would have brought Hulk Hogan instead.
After introductions I took my girl and Joe and left for a night-club. Teddy asked the third girl, Anita Clifford, to stay a minute. The next thing I knew she came to my house in a state that could only be described as hysterical. It seems Teddy sud- denly got undressed and . . . grabbed. When she screamed he stopped, but by then she was already frightened out of her wits. A naked, drunk Teddy can be an awe- some as well as an awful sight.
The next morning the boys flew out to see the Pope of all people, but Anita remained half-hysterical. Her father flew over and put some of the blame on me. As he well should have. But it was taken no further as the Cliffords are not the type of people who seek publicity.
Now we have the case of William Smith, yet another nephew. He is described by the bunch of Kennedy apologists that the fami- ly has been parading in front of the cam- eras as a quiet, dignified person. He is nothing of the kind. Six years ago, the very same Willie Smith beat up an English girl I know well. When I asked her to testify against him she told me she was too scared. As a result she returned to England and has never come back.
As I say, these incidents are just the tip of the iceberg. Bobby Kennedy, twice found comatose as a result of a heroin overdose, is now sending people to prison in his job as an assistant district attorney. Teddy continues to prowl night-clubs with the younger members of his family.
Needless to say, this is the man who judged Judge Bork and kept him off the Supreme Court, ditto Judge Goldberg, who admitted smoking pot while in college. Perhaps this is why I omitted JFK's name in my column last week as one of the Presidents to have seen action. We know his boat was spliced in two by a Japanese destroyer, but little else. After all, even the best of the Kennedys had his two books written by others: Why England Slept, by Arthur Krock; Profiles in Courage, by Ted Sorensen. But it was JFK who received the Pulitzer prize. Enough said.
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