Reply #19: Here you go

[DifferentStrokes]

End of a long report. I wouldn't want to go there. You know, the young lady does have family and friends who carry a lot of pain over this. I do think some consideration is owing to them. There really isn't any excuse for belittling remarks like "Chappawhatchacallit".

But since you asked.

http://www.ytedk.com/epilogue.htm

One (of many) unsavory elements was having to fix Kennedy's expired license before the court hearing.

- Greelish called Registrar McLaughlin to inform him that Senator Kennedy was driving on an expired license at the time of the fatal accident. Mclaughlin told Greelish he would take over the case personally, "So it doesn't get screwed up."

- Joseph Mellino had been alone in the radio room when he'd checked on Kennedy's license. He hadn't seen anyone in the building, "but a while later, I heard talk going around that McLaughlin was there on Saturday night," he said. It wouldn't take much for someone to keypunch a new license, to spare the Senator the embarrassment of not having one, he said.

- The fact that Kennedy's license had expired, and that it had been concealed by the Registry, was confirmed when Joe Greelish telephoned assistant district attorney Jimmy Smith. Greelish wanted Smith to know the "problem" with the Senator's license, "had been taken care of."

- On Sunday, July 20, Greelish delivered Senator Kennedy's driver's license information to Chief Arena. The records now showed that Kennedy's license was valid until February 22, 1971.

- Arena used this information to complete his citation. Arena charged Kennedy only with leaving the scene of an accident after causing personal injury. Unaware that Kennedy's license had expired, and lacking evidence that the Senator had been operating under the influence of alcohol, Arena said, "We don't and probably will not have a case of negligent driving in the criminal sense."

<snip>

- Six days later, when Senator Ted Kennedy pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, he was able to produce a valid driver's license, which he surrendered to the court. Tests later performed on the Senator's license showed absolutely no traces of salt water.