This priceless gem was passed to us by New Jersey PI extraordinaire, Bob Taylor.

From the outset it was clear that this story  made the cut and was worthy of inclusion in this section. The biggest problem we had was giving it a title. Writers had already used the most apropiate titles, "A Profile In Cowardice" and "Senatorial Privilege" . So we couldn't use those. We considered many, but the title  that won out was that age old  ballad, a favorite among drunks,  "How Dry I Am"

Most of you remember a sad day for the American Criminal Justice System when a jury nullified the law and ignored the evidence to set accused double murderer, O.J. Simpson, free. What a sick, sad and perverted day that was!

But people do forget and many readers are too young to remember July 18, 1969. The facts are simple. At a place called Chappaquiddick, Massetchusetts, Senator Edward M. Kennedy drove his car off a bridge into about 6 or 8 feet of water. Kennedy escaped, but his female companion Mary Joe  Kopechne did not. There is however, evidence that Ms. Kopechne was able to breathe trapped air for about 2 hours after the accident and might have survived, had Kennedy tried to rescue her or summoned help. He did neither. Instead, this despicable wretch did not lift a finger. He waited almost 10 hours before reporting the accident! All accounts were that he was busy trying to figure out some sort of a cover story and a way of keeping his name out of it.

Kennedy at the time was considered the next in the clan to seek the Presidency. But he was in trouble. He had been drinking and was driving with a license that had expired 5 months before the incident. Further he had an extensive record of recklessness and moving violations that went back more than 10 years.

Under Massachusetts law, "Any person who wantonly or in a reckless or grossly negligent manner did that which resulted in the death of a human being was guilty of manslaughter, although he did not contemplate such a result."

In other words, negligence in exposing another to injury by doing an act, supplied all the intention the law required to make a defendant responsible for the consequences.

Although driving with an expired license was only a misdemeanor, it did provide the evidence of negligence needed to prove a manslaughter charge in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne.

The license problem was "fixed" by officials at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, under the direction of Registrar Richard McLaughlin, before the legal proceedings began.

Teddy hid behind the Kennedy money and influence in Massachusetts and got off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. The lies and the extent of the cover up were monumental.

Chappaquiddick has been called "the most brilliant cover-up ever achieved in a nation where investigative procedures are well developed and where the principles of equal justice prevail, at least during some of those moments where people are watching."
~ The Last Kennedy by Robert Sherrill.

If all this wasn't enough feast your eyes on the following statement -- and look at who said it -- just 4 years after Chappaquiddick!

"Do we operate under a system of equal justice under law?
Or is there one system for the average citizen and another for the high and mighty? "
~ Senator Ted Kennedy, 1973

If you would like to read a well organized treatise on the subject, go to