In 1997, a cache of documents were discovered, purportedly proving an affair between President John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe, as well as other illicit relationships, but were later determined to have been part of an elaborate hoax:[1] Lawrence X. "Lex" Cusack III had forged the documents under the guise that they had belonged to his father, Lawrence X. Cusack Jr., an attorney who represented Monroe's mother Gladys Baker Eley[2] as well as the Archdiocese of New York.[3]

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh had vouched for the authenticity of the documents, with the original manuscript of his 1997 book The Dark Side of Camelot including many statements that were sourced from them. After the hoax came to light, Hersh removed the material shortly before publication; before the scandal broke, there were also plans for an ABC-backed TV special or film.[4]

A month before the publication of The Dark Side of Camelot, newspapers, including USA Today, reported Hersh had announced the removal from the galleys at the last minute a segment about legal documents allegedly containing Kennedy's signature.[5] The documents supposedly signed by Kennedy included a provision, in 1960, for a trust fund to be set up for the institutionalized mother of Marilyn Monroe.[6][3] Cusack had shared them with Hersh, and also encouraged the author to discuss them in the book.[6]

Doubts were raised among ABC investigators about various inconsistencies in the documents, which included the use of typefaces created years after the legal documents were allegedly written, and the use of ZIP codes before their introduction on July 1, 1963 (almost a year after Monroe's death). Led by Peter Jennings, ABC employees confronted Cusack with these inconsistencies on live television, but Cusack maintained the documents were authentic, and launched legal action (which subsequently collapsed).

The Kennedy family also denied Cusack's claim that his late father had been an attorney who had represented JFK in 1960, and one of Kennedy's secretaries, Janet Des Rosiers, whose name and signatures also appeared in the documents, denied ever having seen them or knowing Cusack's father, despite the documents claiming JFK knew Cusack's father as a close friend. [6]

Shortly before Hersh's announcement that he had removed all references to Cusack's documents, federal investigators began probing Cusack's sale of these documents. [6] Cusack was subsequently arrested, and a grand jury indicted him on thirteen counts: ten counts of fraud and three counts of forgery.[7]

Cusack pleaded not guilty, but was convicted on all thirteen counts by a jury, and was sentenced to nine years and seven months in federal prison: Judge Denise L. Cote also ordered Cusack to forfeit all of the forged documents and $7 million in proceeds from their sale.[8]

Later coverage

The story was featured on the February 11, 2011, episode of This American Life.[3]

References

  1. ^ Randolph, Eleanor (September 26, 1997). "JFK-Monroe 'Affair' Papers Faked, ABC Reports". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  2. ^ Wald, Jonathan (March 9, 2004). "Forged Monroe-JFK letters sought". CNN. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  3. ^ a b c "427: Original Recipe". www.thisamericanlife.org. This American Life. February 11, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  4. ^ Hosenball, Mark (October 5, 1997). "The Jfk-Marilyn Hoax". Newsweek. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  5. ^ Moore, Martha T. "Disputed Kennedy Papers Investigated – Documents Called Forgeries Subject of Criminal Probe." USA Today October 16, 1997, p. 2A.
  6. ^ a b c d Grove, Lloyd. "Was The Writing On The Wall? The Long Tangled Tale of Seymour Hersh and the Forged JFK Papers." The Washington Post October 27, 1997, p. C1
  7. ^ Assassination Records Review Board (September 30, 1998). "Chapter 6, Part I: The Quest for Additional Information and Records in Federal Government Offices". Final Report of the Assassination Records Review Board (PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. p. 109. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  8. ^ Katsoulis, Melissa (2009). Literary hoaxes : an eye-opening history of famous frauds. New York: Skyhorse Pub. pp. 102–108. ISBN 978-1-60239-794-1. lex cusack 10 years.
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