EXCLUSIVERFK Jr. rose from heroin felon to cabinet contender... but not without stabbing his famed mentor in the back
Bestselling biographer Jerry Oppenheimer is the author of 13 books about the famous and the infamous, including RFK JR.: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Dark Side of the Dream.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s transformation from a felon convicted for heroin possession to a 'self-styled savior' of the environment was made possible by serving two years of community service cleaning up polluted rivers.
While his path to environmental advocacy began with sincere intentions, those close to him in the field say his journey took a turn as he became increasingly focused on leveraging his famous family name to secure national recognition.
Now, at 71, RFK Jr.'s efforts have come to fruition. This week, he's set to appear before the Senate for a potential confirmation as Secretary of Health and Human Services, where he aims to make his vision of 'America Healthy Again' a reality.
But this wouldn't have been possible over 40 years ago when RFK Jr. was served a 'slap on the wrist' sentence of two years community service.
At that time, the 30-year-old longtime addict was invited to join the Hudson River Fishermen's Association, now known as Riverkeeper, an environmental group dedicated to cleaning up polluted rivers.
But a self-serving RFK Jr. , then married to the first of his three wives, was beginning to seek national fame as an environmentalist.
This would lead him to turn on his Riverkeeper mentor, benefactor and founder of the organization, Robert Boyle, who would come to view the RFK Jr. scion as a 'despicable person,' who virtually took over Boyle's organization.
Boyle, who died in 2017 at 88, had been a prominent Sports Illustrated magazine writer, conservationist and author of The Hudson River: A Natural and Unnatural History, who revealed his strained relationship with RFK Jr. in a series of candid and often emotional interviews for my book.
RFK Jr. will be at the Senate this week to potentially be sworn in as the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, so that his mission to make 'America Healthy Again' can become a reality
When he was younger he was hit with a heroin felony charge and got a 'slap on the wrist' sentence of two years of community service. This is how he connected with the Riverkeepers
Oppenheimer interviewed Boyle for his 2015 book RFK JR: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Dark Side of the Dream
Boyle told me he initially took a 'fatherly and sympathetic approach' to RFK Jr. telling him: 'You can put your past behind you and find a new life. A lot of people go through addiction.
'But the Hudson River is your salvation from the horrible life you have led. You can seek a new life…through ecology.'
Boyle soon saw a change in RFK Jr., who mainly wanted to complete his community service as quickly as possible. Initially, he acted 'morose and surly,' sat in a chair and sulked.
But when that passed, he became 'more and more dominant and assertive,' treating his mentor with disdain.
Then, two things occurred about a year after RFK Jr. joined Riverkeeper.
Boyle began hearing scandalous stories that the former druggie had a new addiction – serially cheating on his wife, Emily. Around that time RFK Jr. also finally passed the New York State Bar exam, which he had previously failed.
Boyle noted that RFK Jr. was now seeing a 'glorious future' for himself in the burgeoning environmental field, which was growing in popularity and influence.
And soon Boyle bitterly saw that RFK Jr. had used his name and family influence to virtually take over Riverkeeper.
Robert Boyle was RFK Jr's Riverkeeper mentor, benefactor and founder of the organization but felt burned by the young man as time went on
RFK Jr. and actress Uma Thurman (right) posing at the 2005 Riverkeeper Benefit Dinner at Chelsea Piers in New York City
Boyle began hearing scandalous stories that the former druggie had a new addiction – serially cheating on his wife, Emily (left)
'He put his clique or claque on the board of directors,' Boyle witnessed.
'The people he had come in were just fans' – a mix of boldface society and Hollywood names, among them the thrice-married publishing heiress Ann Hearst, and actors Lorraine Bracco, who would later play Tony Soprano's psychiatrist Jennifer Malfi, and controversial Alec Baldwin, who recently had a manslaughter case against him dropped.
'It was the whole cult of his celebrity [Kennedy] name,' observed Boyle.
RFK Jr. ignited a series of incidents that eventually led to Boyle's resignation, including one that shocked the entire environmental community.
Without Boyle's authorization, RFK Jr. hired as Riverkeeper's 'staff scientist,' a man he described as an 'environmental activist' and 'devoted conservationist,' but who had spent almost a decade allegedly smuggling cockatoo eggs, hatching the beautiful and costly birds and selling them for as much as $12,500 each.
In the mid-1990s, William Wegner, a close friend of RFK Jr. and fellow falconer, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges related to violating wildlife protection laws. He also faced charges of tax fraud and obstruction of justice during the trial of a member of his smuggling ring.
Among them, according to reports, was Wegner's girlfriend, identified as the animal keeper at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion.
RFK Jr. proceeded to hire Wegner after he had served about three years of a five-year sentence and had been fined $10,000.
RFK Jr. ignited a series of incidents that eventually led to Boyle's resignation. In one moment, he hired a man who had a history of smuggling cockatoo eggs while claiming he was a 'staff scientist'
William Wegner, a close friend of RFK Jr.'s (pictured) and a fellow falconer, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate a few wildlife protection laws, pleaded to tax fraud and obstructed justice at a trial of a member of his smuggling ring
Boyle who died in 2017 at age 88 wrote The Hudson River: A Natural and Unnatural History
But Boyle said RFK Jr. unilaterally decided to hire Wegner without detailing the man's questionable history.
'There was not a thing about prison on it,' Boyle told me. 'It simply said he had been a sanitary technician at a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility in California, without saying he was an inmate.'
When Boyle demanded that RFK Jr. fire Wegner, he refused.
Boyle sent a letter to Riverkeeper's board of directors about the Wegman matter and complained about RFK Jr. himself, stating that for more than a year, 'Bobby's language and behavior had been so uncooperative, so un-collegial, so ill-mannered, so destructive and, frankly, so off the wall…'
By then RFK Jr., with a law degree from the University of Virginia, had become Riverkeeper's chief prosecuting attorney and had founded Pace University's Environmental Litigation clinic.
He was building an impressive resume for himself, and establishing a power base, reminiscent of years later when his name became tied to being a controversial anti-vaxxer and a potential cabinet member who heads a major U.S. department.
RFK Jr. Kennedy would later defend hiring Wegner by asserting there was no difference than himself being brought into Riverkeeper with a record for his heroin possession case.
In another case involving a man charged with filing false statements to the Wildlife Service relating to birds of prey known as black sparrow hawks and importing them in violation of the Wild Bird Act, the chief character witness was RFK Jr.
In another case involving a man charged with filing false statements to the Wildlife Service relating to birds of prey known as black sparrow hawks and importing them in violation of the Wild Bird Act, the chief character witness was RFK Jr
RFK Jr. speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena on August 23, 2024, in Glendale, Arizona
Boyle was certain that 'Bobby's last name' was the main reason he had become prominent, powerful, and successful in the environmental field
It was disclosed that RFK Jr. and the accused had been friends and fellow falconers.
Boyle told me that he came to not 'trust' RFK Jr. and that he and a colleague made a deal with the New York publisher to write about their environmental work and their participation in Riverkeeper.
They were handed a $400,000 advance for The Riverkeepers.
Boyle was stunned. He went to a meeting of the Riverkeeper board of directors to complain about the unauthorized book deal, but he was told to let it pass.
He said: 'I did not, and do not trust him. He shoots from the hip. Anything that comes into Bobby's fevered mind becomes a fact, lunacy can enter into it, and it becomes complete denial.
'Black is white, no it isn't, or it is. Whatever comes into his mind becomes the truth.'
Boyle was certain that 'Bobby's last name' was the main reason he had become prominent, powerful, and successful in the environmental field.
That was underscored, Boyle recounted, when RFK Jr. was asked to give a talk about the Chesapeake Bay.
Knowing little about the subject, he telephoned Boyle to pick his brain.
Later, RFK Jr. was asked whether he received any compensation for his talk, When he revealed that he received a cool $5000 for one-hour of his time using the information imparted to him by Boyle, the environmentalist was astounded and said that maybe he should be doing the same thing.
RFK Jr.'s quick response was, 'But you don't have the right last name.'
