The son of a deceased journalist has unveiled long-concealed tapes that shed light on Senator Ted Kennedy’s enigmatic car accident in 1969, which resulted in the death of a 28-year-old secretary.
These confidential recordings feature an interview with Kennedy’s cousin, Joe Gargan, who provides shocking insights into the events that unfolded after Kennedy delayed reporting the accident for a critical period of 10 hours.
The incident occurred when Kennedy was departing a lavish reunion on Chappaquiddick Island, close to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. He was offering a ride to former campaign aide Mary Jo Kopechne when his vehicle veered into the water.
The lawyer, who was the younger brother of President John F Kennedy, bizarrely took a wrong turn and drove onto a dirt road before zooming on a single lane bridge and falling into a stream.
Kennedy made it out of the crash alive, but Kopechne was found dead the following day – after the senator took a crucial 10 hours to report the incident to authorities.
Mystery has shrouded the crash ever since. Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident at a court hearing and served two months in jail, then continued to serve as a senator until his death in 2009.
However, controversies and theories on whether the politician was hiding details about the crash put a blight on his name, and was a key issue during his failed presidential bid in 1980.
At the center of the incident is Leo Damore, a journalist who wrote the bombshell book Senatorial Privilege in 1988, which included over 200 interviews with people close to the crash.
The book, which took Damore eight years to write, was a hit, selling 1 million copies and sparking nationwide conversation on Kennedy’s character.
In 1995, Damore died by suicide, and it was believed that his expertise would die with him.
However, his son Nick Damore has now revealed that in 2021, he stumbled upon a cache of tapes with his dad’s full collection of recorded interviews, Nick told People.
Nick, who is an English teacher in Connecticut, said that he had looked for the tapes for years, but could never get his hands on him.
But a few years ago, his estate attorney told him that a briefcase holding the tapes had been discovered at the home of one of his dad’s lawyers.
KEY SOURCE
One of the key interviews found in the tapes was a chat with Gargan. Gargan is a cousin of the Kennedy family who was also at the party when the crash took place.
Gargan and his school friend Paul Markham were both called upon by Kennedy after he climbed out from the crash, and they tried to help recover Kopechne from the car, Gargan initially said.
But the current was too strong, so they walked to the ferry landing and discussed what they should do.
Gargan said that he had an understanding Kennedy would alert authorities, and was shocked when the senator never did so.
However, the cousin later changed his story and claimed that Kennedy had told him to lie and say that Kopechne was driving during the crash.
GARGAN SPEAKS
In the taped interviews, Gargan claimed that Kennedy’s legal team made it clear they wanted the witnesses to keep the senator’s reputation in mind.
“They were interested in protecting the senator, there’s no question about that,” Gargan told Damore, according to People.
“And they let us fend for ourselves. As well as everybody else.”
According to Nick, there’s plenty of revelations in the tapes that never made it to print.
The son said, “It’s a behind the scenes look – who knew what.
“It seems like Gargan was coming to terms with the idea of coming clean, and breaking with the official version.”
‘SCRATCHING THE SURFACE’
Nick said that he was struck by Gargan’s behavior in the interviews, which he’s poured over in the years since he recovered them.
“When you’re trying to ask about something that’s uncomfortable, you’re not necessarily going to be getting the full truth, which is a lot of what I’ve heard with the Gargan tapes,” he said.
“A lot of tip-toeing.”
The son has always been skeptical of his father’s tragic death, as Damore was working on a book about John F. Kennedy’s mistress Mary Pinchot Meyer, who was killed in 1964, when he died.
Damore’s manuscript went missing after his death.
“I’m not convinced that what happened to him [his death] is not connected to the fact he was working on such a high level story about Mary Pinchot Meyer,” said Nick.
“This time he was not on the outside. People knew who he was. He had clout,” he said.
Nick hopes to publish the stories one day, but says that he’s taking time going through the content.
“There’s this idea of closure, but the problem is you open the door and it leads to a room with four more doors,” he said.
“It kind of makes me wonder what else is out there.
“I’m just scratching the surface.”
KENNEDY’S CLAIMS
Kennedy told the court that he wasn’t driving under the influence when he plunged into the water.
He said that doctors told him he had suffered a concussion and shock in the near death experience, which affected his judgement.
The senator claimed that his mind was racing, and that he jumped into the water and swam across the stream back to his hotel instead of taking a ferry.
When he got back to his room at around 2 am, he collapsed on his bed, Kennedy told the court.
Kennedy called his actions “indefensible” and gave a televised speech asking his electorate to determine whether he should step down from office.
“The opportunity to work with you and serve Massachusetts has made my life worthwhile,” he said on television.
“So, I ask you tonight, the people of Massachusetts, to think this through with me. In facing this decision, I seek your advice and opinion.
“In making it, I seek your prayers. For this is a decision that I will have finally to make on my own.”
Kennedy’s speech was highly criticized by media at the time, but he ultimately went on to serve as a senator until his death in 2009.
