The LONG AWAITED Michael Skakel CD to be released.
Featuring "Under The Cum Cum Tree," "Michael Rowed The Boat to Jail" and "I'm In the Jailhouse Now."
Posted on 06/10/2002 6:34:26 AM PDT by PJ-Comix
It was dubbed the ``Kennedy Cousin'' trial but Kennedys were in short supply in the Connecticut courtroom where Michael Skakel yesterday was found guilty of killing 15-year-old Martha Moxley on Halloween Eve, 1975.
Only Bobby Kennedy Jr., the son of Skakel's aunt, Ethel, and the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, put in an appearance during the five weeks of trial testimony despite assurances from Skakel's attorney, Michael ``Mickey'' Sherman that the clan would be on hand to show their support.
``They just didn't want anything to do with this,'' said a source familiar with the Kennedys' M.O. ``Maybe they saw the handwriting on the walls. And it's not like the Kennedys don't have enough of their own scandals.''
Indeed. But the truth of the matter is that, although Skakel became famous because of his connection to the legendary political family, the Kennedys certainly don't consider him one of their own.
Skakel is only related to the clan by marriage - his father, Rushton, and Ethel Kennedy are brother and sister.
``There's a constant frustration that the press plays up the Kennedy connection,'' said a family source. ``But the family doesn't consider him a Kennedy, never have, never will.''
So it comes as no surprise that the clan's reaction to yesterday's verdict was in short supply. Sen. Ted Kennedy's spokesgal gave us a ``no comment.'' And former U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy's spokesman at Citizens Energy, where Skakel once worked, didn't return calls.
The lack of Kennedy presence during the trial was in sharp contrast to Dr. William Kennedy Smith's 1991 Palm Beach rape case. That's where the family made a big show of support for Jean Kennedy Smith's son, sending its most popular and photogenic member, the late John F. Kennedy Jr., to the courthouse during jury selection.
Blood is thicker than water and all, but there are other reasons why the Kennedy family didn't exactly embrace Skakel.
For years, the former Cohasset resident behaved as a loyal family retainer working on Ted Kennedy's 1994 re-election campaign as a driver and all-around Boy Friday. Skakel celebrated with the clan after Ted trounced his opponent, current gubernatorial contender Mitt Romney.
But a few years later, Skakel broke ranks with his rels when then-teenage babysitter Marisa Verrochi confided to him that Michael Kennedy had begun having sex with her when she was just 14 - a violation of the state's statutory rape laws. Skakel tried to tear his cousin away from the girl and subsequently went to the Norfolk County District Attorney and told him all he knew about the affair - a move that earned him the Kennedy family's endless enmity.
During Skakel's trial it was suggested that guilt over what he had done to another blonde teenager, Martha Moxley, drove him to break ranks with his family to try to protect Verrochi.
Furthermore, Skakel compounded the felony, as far as the Kennedys were concerned, when he penned a proposal for a tell-all tome that he said would rip the lid off long-buried family secrets. ``The first account by an insider of the avarice, perversion and gangsterism of `America's Royal Family,' '' the draft reads.
Although Ethel Kennedy and her brood publicly stood by Skakel during the murder trial, they were reportedly enraged by some of the revelations in the proposal. Those included Skakel's contention that Ethel was indirectly responsible for the 1984 drug overdose death of her son, David, and details about efforts to convince Ted Kennedy to enter alcohol rehab.
``Maybe the Kennedys saw the verdict coming, that plus the rift created over the babysitter situation and the book may have kept them away,'' said a source. ``You got the feeling, when Bobby Jr. showed up, that they felt like they had to send somebody and, OK you drew the short straw.''
Vanity Fair scribe Dominick Dunne, who has covered the Moxley murder for years, wrote that Ethel and her kids were so upset over the family name being ``dragged through the mud'' that they pressed for a plea bargain in the Skakel case. Skakel's attorney denied the report and Bobby Jr. publicly chastised the writer and insisted that his cousin was innocent of the crime.
During Skakel's trial it was suggested that guilt over what he had done to another blonde teenager, Martha Moxley, drove him to break ranks with his family to try to protect Verrochi.
Furthermore, Skakel compounded the felony, as far as the Kennedys were concerned, when he penned a proposal for a tell-all tome that he said would rip the lid off long-buried family secrets. ``The first account by an insider of the avarice, perversion and gangsterism of `America's Royal Family,' '' the draft reads.
This is what pissed the Kennedys off about Skakel. Not the murder.
I wonder if Skakel going to DA about Michael Kennedy will earn him some leniency and I can see why the majority of RFK and Ethels kids stayed away. The probably indirectly blame Skakel for Michael Kennedys untimely death before he could go to trial.
Kathleen jumped the Mason Dixon line for Al Gore and campaigned for him in our county. She is a rabid pro choicer and a typical Kennedy. I wonder if Momma Ethel will support her offspring with money and time? Momma Ethel used to attend mass each morning. Let us see just how dedicated the Catholic Church is to pro life issues. I intend to email the Catholic Chancery in Baltimore and ask what they intend to do with this pro choice candidate? They will support her as she has that famous name.
The LONG AWAITED Michael Skakel CD to be released.
Featuring "Under The Cum Cum Tree," "Michael Rowed The Boat to Jail" and "I'm In the Jailhouse Now."
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Yeah. Two were killed, two were raped, and one was paralyzed. Ironically it was a Kennedy wife who ruined Joe's congressional career when she wrote that book about him trying to do a phony marriage annulment. Payback can be a bitch.
Joe, "the Kennedy with the smile only a gopher could covet" is back running his "Citizens Energy" scam in the People's Republic of Massachusets.
His billboards show a plate of food and a thermostat saying, "People should not have to chose one over the other!"
As one wag said years ago, "The only position in the oil business Joe Kennedy is qualified for is pumping gas. And with his typical Kennedy intelligence, he is the type of idiot that would forget to replace the gas cap when he was done."
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