So, as Radley Balko pointed out this morning, Joe Kennedy may not have a bootlegger after all. Instead, he was an incredibly well-connected transatlantic political insider and business partner with the president's son who obtained exclusive liquor-import contracts from abroad (while noshing with various current and future prime ministers) and medicinal liquor permits at home, using both to make a bundle selling alcohol during Prohibition. Which is just so much better.
Anyhoo, glad to see that the real Kennedy family business is alive and well:
Rep. Patrick Kennedy was spotted doing vodka shots last week at a Capitol Hill bar just hours after he spoke about his history of substance abuse at a charity event.
[A Roll Call] tipster and a pal were sitting at the bar at the Capitol Lounge around 11 p.m. on Tuesday when the Rhode Island Democrat walked in and took a seat between the pair. The tipster's friend asked the Congressman what he was drinking, and when Kennedy replied vodka, the group ordered vodka shots, the tipster tells us.
After slamming down the first round, another was ordered, then a third. Our tipster and his friend stopped doing shots, but Kennedy drank three more until the bartender cut him off, at least from obtaining any more shots, our tipster says.
Our tipster adds Kennedy was in a lively mood, joking with others at the bar and even boasting about President Barack Obama, calling him "the best president ever."
