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Revealed: How Robert Kennedy feared Mafia would blind his children in acid attack

Robert's widow Ethel speaks out and tells family stories in first interview for 30 years

By Daniel Bates

Daily Mail

Last updated at 6:27 PM on 23rd January 2012

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2090680/Robert-Kennedy-feared-Mafia-blind-children-acid-attack.html

Robert F Kennedy feared his children would be blinded by the mafia in an acid attack as revenge attack for investigating them, his widow has revealed.

Speaking out for the first time in 30 years, Ethel Kennedy said that her late husband was anxious they would be targeted as retaliation for his probe into mafia racketeering.

He saw a report about an American journalist who had been blinded in an acid attack by the mob and feared they would do the same to him.

The disclosure will add to conspiracy theories that the mafia may have been responsible for Kennedy’s death.

He was shot dead by Sirhan Sirhan in 1968 but speculation has raged that his crusade against the mob whilst serving as U.S. Attorney General may have be the root of his demise.

Mrs Kennedy opened up to promote ‘Ethel’, a new film about her life directed by her daughter Rory, the youngest of her eleven children.

Mrs Kennedy, 83, said that her last husband was scared after New York Post journalist Victor Riesel was blinded in an acid attack because of articles he had written about the mob.

‘We were told they were going to do the same with our children,’ she said.

Her eldest daughter Kathleen, one of several family members interviewed for the film, added: ‘We couldn’t leave school with the other kids at the end of the day.

‘We had to wait in the principal’s office to be picked up.’

The conspiracy theories relating to the mob and the Kennedy family usually involve New Orleans mafia don Carlos Marcello, who was deported to Guatemala by Mr Kennedy in 1961 after he was appointed Attorney General by his brother John.

Afterwards Marcello is said to have threatened John F Kennedy with the traditional Sicilian curse ‘Take the stone from my shoe’.

And when the President died, Marcello associate Jimmy Hoffa is supposed to have said: ‘This means Bobby is out as Attorney General.’

The film about Mrs Kennedy also gives a rare glimpse into life inside Camelot and amusing details, such as how Mr Kennedy slid down the White House bannister when his brother became president.

She reveals that it was very hard for her husband to seek office for the first time and that he had to ‘struggle for everything’ before becoming a senator in New York in 1964.

There is also colour about her own life including how she held wild parties which President Kennedy asked her to tone down, and that she was once charged with horse theft after she rescued a neighbour’s malnourished stallions.

The Kennedy family were back in the spotlight last week after John F. Kennedy Jr’s former assistant revealed her deep regret for convincing his wife to board the doomed flight which crashed and killed them both.

In her memoir RoseMarie Terenzio said she ‘should have kept her mouth shut’ rather than speak to Carolyn Bessette on July 16, 1999.

Carolyn had reportedly been going through problems with her husband but Ms Ternzio helped patch things up and persuaded her to travel with him to a wedding in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

According to reviews ‘Ethel’ does not touch on the other family tragedies that befell Mrs Kennedy after her husband’s death.

Her son David died of a drug overdose in 1984 and another son Michael was killed in a skiing accident in 1997.

There is also no mention of the notorious Martha Moxley murder case and her nephew Michael Skakel who was convicted over it in 2002.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2090680/Robert-Kennedy-feared-Mafia-blind-children-acid-attack.html#ixzz1kOOQ3LD3

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Guest Tom Scully

Sorry Douglas,

The research "community" is incurious and rigid, for the most part, about these things.

After all, the woman who was the cousin of Marino Bello's first wife, and her son, immersed in organized crime contacts, were simply permitted to lease their Glen Ora estate to JFK as the weekend White House, with what is evident, no background checks. The FBI admitted to not investigating the background of Senior Asst. WC Counsel, Albert Jenner, and Howard Willens' father was Tony Accardo's next door neighbor.

http://www.google.com/search?q=harlot+bello+lansky&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-a#sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aunofficial&tbm=bks&source=hp&q=%22*A+Lansky+franchise+was+sure+to+propel+Bello+on+his+way+to+riches+at+last.+He+dreamed+of+owning+a+truly+first-class+%22&pbx=1&oq=%22*A+Lansky+franchise+was+sure+to+propel+Bello+on+his+way+to+riches+at+last.+He+dreamed+of+owning+a+truly+first-class+%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=26809l29934l3l32109l4l2l0l0l0l0l1607l1607l8-1l2l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=8e0ad80975196629&biw=1440&bih=742

Deadly illusions: Jean Harlow and the murder of Paul Bern

books.google.comSamuel Marx, Joyce Vanderveen - 1990 - 271 pages

tour, he had presented his well-developed stepdaughter to Abner "Longie" Zwillman, a rising young hoodlum in Meyer Lansky's mob. Longie had a fondness for young girls and Bello expected in return he would get a piece of Manhattan in which to operate in the illegal liquor business. A Lansky franchise was sure to propel Bello on his way to riches at last. He dreamed of owning a truly first-class speakeasy,

http://www.google.com/search?q=harlot+bello+lansky&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-a#pq=%22*a+lansky+franchise+was+sure+to+propel+bello+on+his+way+to+riches+at+last.+he+dreamed+of+owning+a+truly+first-class+%22&hl=en&sugexp=pfwl&ds=bo&cp=20&gs_id=5k&xhr=t&q=Bello+cousin+byfield&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aunofficial&tbm=bks&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=Bello+cousin+byfield&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=8e0ad80975196629&biw=1440&bih=742

Bombshell: the life and death of Jean Harlow

books.google.comDavid Stenn - 1993 - 370 pages - Snippet view

The outbreak of World War I forced Bello to bide his time, but after the Armistice he immigrated to Chicago and convinced his wife's cousin, Sherman Hotel owner Ernest Byfield, to employ him at the College Inn. By the time he espied .

http://www.google.com/search?q=harlot+bello+lansky&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-a#pq=%22*a+lansky+franchise+was+sure+to+propel+bello+on+his+way+to+riches+at+last.+he+dreamed+of+owning+a+truly+first-class+%22&hl=en&sugexp=pfwl&ds=bo&cp=24&gs_id=9h&xhr=t&q=Bello+hotel+sherman+wife&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aunofficial&tbm=bks&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=Bello+hotel+sherman+wife&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=8e0ad80975196629&biw=1440&bih=742

Paul Bern: the life and famous death of the MGM director and ... - Page 138

books.google.com E. J. Fleming - 2008 - 383 pages - Google eBook - Preview

During a 1926 visit to Chicago, Mama Jean met Marino Bello, a swarthy Italian gold digger and a thoroughly unlikable character. He was managing his wife's restaurant at the Sherman Hotel but began sleeping with Mama Jean within days of .

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Sorry Douglas,

The research "community" is incurious and rigid, for the most part, about these things.

After all, the woman who was the cousin of Marino Bello's first wife, and her son, immersed in organized crime contacts, were simply permitted to lease their Glen Ora estate to JFK as the weekend White House, with what is evident, no background checks. The FBI admitted to not investigating the background of Senior Asst. WC Counsel, Albert Jenner, and Howard Willens' father was Tony Accardo's next door neighbor.

http://www.google.co...iw=1440&bih=742

Deadly illusions: Jean Harlow and the murder of Paul Bern

books.google.comSamuel Marx, Joyce Vanderveen - 1990 - 271 pages

tour, he had presented his well-developed stepdaughter to Abner "Longie" Zwillman, a rising young hoodlum in Meyer Lansky's mob. Longie had a fondness for young girls and Bello expected in return he would get a piece of Manhattan in which to operate in the illegal liquor business. A Lansky franchise was sure to propel Bello on his way to riches at last. He dreamed of owning a truly first-class speakeasy,

http://www.google.co...iw=1440&bih=742

Bombshell: the life and death of Jean Harlow

books.google.comDavid Stenn - 1993 - 370 pages - Snippet view

The outbreak of World War I forced Bello to bide his time, but after the Armistice he immigrated to Chicago and convinced his wife's cousin, Sherman Hotel owner Ernest Byfield, to employ him at the College Inn. By the time he espied .

http://www.google.co...iw=1440&bih=742

Paul Bern: the life and famous death of the MGM director and ... - Page 138

books.google.com E. J. Fleming - 2008 - 383 pages - Google eBook - Preview

During a 1926 visit to Chicago, Mama Jean met Marino Bello, a swarthy Italian gold digger and a thoroughly unlikable character. He was managing his wife's restaurant at the Sherman Hotel but began sleeping with Mama Jean within days of .

It's amazing how you find connections between people from the '30's and so on. Byfield of course, was Irv Kupcinet's friend. I never knew much about Marino Bello. But one question, is this what they call guilt by association?

That awful movie with Peter Lawford as Bern was a fake all the way through.

She didn't die a suicide. Why make a movie about someone filled with complete lies when the truth was better? The Carol Lynley movie about Harlow was the better one. It came out the same year. Carol Lynley knew Karyn Kupcinet and said, "How brave she was to come to Hollywood to find acting jobs. She could have stayed in Chicago and been a queen."

I wrote about Bobby Kennedy a few nights ago in the forum dedicated to him.

Edited by Kathleen Collins
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Guest Tom Scully

Kathleen, my perspective is that the relationships and the lives of the people I research are not "of the 1930's" anymore than you or I are "of the 1950's," but instead flow, like a river through time.

I would have stopped trying to learn more about Ernest L. Byfield, Jr., and his father and mother just after I discovered that his mother owned Glen Ora and that Patrick H. Hoy was an executive hired by Byfield, Sr., promoted by Byfield, Jr., and then hired by Henry Crown, after I learned only those details, but I just kept turning up more and more interesting details and connections, and the development of Byfield, Jr.'s widow marrying 88 years old Robert S. McNamara, served only to increase my interest.

Let me get this out of the way before I get any deeper into this post. IMO, the idea that RFK was a committed to an ardent, sincere, unwavering struggle to the death with opponents described as organized crime is contradicted by an array of examples, not the least of which are the fact that RFK seemed incurious about who his brother, the president's Glen Ora landlords were, about a man in the DOJ who the CIA described as third highest, and about just who McNamara was awarding the most expensive single government contract in world history, to (TFX).

The nuts and bolts in those examples do not square with RFK's family being so thoroughly intimidated by the threat of physical harm directed at them by factions of organized crime while RFK himself was the sitting Attorney General of the United States.

Since my first and third examples are intertwined, I'll get the second one out of the way.

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do;jsessionid=87F515CFB71590FD53A12B0C6ABE0A4B?docId=110307&relPageId=4

...3. Howard Penney Willens.... He is a very high-ranking official of the Department of Justice (probably third man in the department--Executive Criminal Assistant)....

Consider that the above description was written by someone at CIA after RFK had been Attorney General, waging war on organized crime for nearly three years. How could this opposing force against RFK be so imposing and ominous, striking fear into the very hearts of RFK's children despite his best efforts to lessen the ability of organized crime to have such an influence, and yet.:

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=61488&relPageId=71

.It was also developed during the 1961 investigation that Joseph Robert Willens (Howard Willen's father) had, since 1958, resided next door to Tony Accardo, prominent Chicago hoodlum.

....Joseph Robert Willens admitted that Tony Accardo's residence is immediately south of his home in River Forest, Illinois,....and he hopes that the proximity of his residence with that of Accardo would not cause anyone to believe that he approves of Accardo or any of his associates.

How on earth could RFK's children be quaking with fear in the principal's office at their school, while at the same time, RFK's #3, Willens, could be comfortable with the experience of five long years of his mother sleeping in her bed, only shouting distance away from the residence of one of the most powerful organized crime figures in the nation?

From what I've found, Marino Bello's wife, Mildred, was the cousin of Byfield, Jr.'s mother, Gladys, who leased Glen Ora to JFK.

http://www.google.com/search?q=mildred+maas&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-a#pq=mildred+italy+met+%22marino+belloni%22&hl=en&sugexp=pfwl&ds=bo&cp=28&gs_id=81&xhr=t&q=maas+italy+met+%22marino+bello%22&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aunofficial&tbm=bks&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=maas+italy+met+%22marino+bello%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=badda1bf06c5bb11&biw=1440&bih=742&bs=1

Bombshell: the life and death of Jean Harlow

books.google.com David Stenn - 1993 - 370 pages - Snippet view

His name was Marino Bello. Born illegitimate in 1883, Marino Bello had fended for himself since childhood. ... In 1914 he married Mildred Maas, an American tourist in Italy. The outbreak of World War I forced Bello to bide his time, ...

Irv Kupcinet is a nightly fixture in the Byfield's Ambassador East Hotel restaurant at least since 1943, and it is established that his best friend was Sidney Korshak.

Korshak.:

The Nick Tosches reader - Google Books Result

books.google.com/books?isbn=0306809699...Nick Tosches - 2000 - Literary Collections - 593 pages

The story that followed mentioned what was likely Korshak's first trip to Los Angeles: "Korshak was on his way home yesterday with Miss Appleby's promise after ...

Hollywood and the Mob: Movies, Mafia, Sex and Death - Google Books Result

books.google.com/books?isbn=1408827867...Tim Adler - 2011 - Performing Arts - 288 pages

In 1935, Korshak began making frequent trips to Los Angeles to see Dorothy Appleby, an actress friend of Jean Harlow's. Appleby had worked with Harlow on ...

news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19350918...

The Deseret News - Sep 18, 1935

Dorothy Appleby Is to marry Sidney Korshak, whom she says was one of her attorneys In the ... Korshak was duo to re turn to Chicago last night, accordIng to Dorothy. plan to be.

On January 3, 1936, the motion picture titled, "RiffRaff" debuted, starring Jean Harlow and co-starring Dorothy Appleby. Korshak appears to have been close to Appleby around the time RiffRaff was in production.

Korshak did not marry Dorothy Appleby. He married Beatrice Stewart, a model.

http://www.google.com/search?q=dorothy+appleby+IMDB&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-a#pq=korshak+beatrice+ryan+gus+alex&hl=en&sugexp=pfwl&ds=bo&cp=8&gs_id=b1&xhr=t&q=korshak+ryan+gus+alex&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aunofficial&tbm=bks&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=korshak+ryan+gus+alex&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=badda1bf06c5bb11&biw=1440&bih=715&bs=1

Dark victory: Ronald Reagan, MCA, and the Mob

books.google.com Dan E. Moldea - 1986 - 382 pages - Snippet view

6 Their wives, Bernice Korshak and Marianne (Ryan) Alex, were inseparable friends. A confidential FBI report stated that in 1958, "Gus Alex had moved up to an important position in the crime syndicate of Chicago. . . . Sidney Korshak

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=6550&view=findpost&p=160764

....Over the years, Kup expanded his roster of sources to include the

underworld. He ran into "the boys" at clubs on Rush Street or at

places like the Chez Paree. Kup treated them in his usual manner-a

"Hi, buddy," a slap on the back, and an expectation that they, like

anyone else, would be a source of tips.

And they were. Audri Adams, who handled publicity for the Pump Room,

says Kup got items from Tony Accardo, Sam Giancana, and Gus Alex, all

major Mob figures.

When Bugsy Siegel was shot to death in the Beverly Hills mansion of

his girlfriend, Virginia Hill, in 1947, a True magazine reporter named

Mike Stern called Kup. Hill had been hiding out, and Stern had heard

she was living on money funneled to her by a local Mob bookkeeper.

Stern guessed correctly that Kup might know him.

Kup arranged a dinner at the Blackstone Hotel, and the bookkeeper

mentioned in passing that Hill was staying in a small town in Montana.

Stern found her and got his scoop. Why didn't the mobsters retaliate

against Kup? Stern, now 93, says they liked him.

http://books.google.com/books?id=e2eO3nVZHDYC&pg=PT23&lpg=PT23&dq=kupcinet+crown+hoy+cement&source=bl&ots=lfSRJvN_Kd&sig=DS1MmoTaMcZDRUwiI_Ee_y65Fw8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=M8QfT_mZMsLbtwfLtrm1BQ&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

Kup's Chicago - Google Books Result

books.google.com/books?isbn=1891053752...Irv Kupcinet - 2012 - Travel - 258 pages

"But I'ma hotelman," Hoy protested. "I know nothing about mixing concrete. ... Yielding to Crown's persuasion, Hoy began a new career at the age of forty-six,

I've posted about the close relationship between Patrick Hoy and Gus Alex. Who do you suppose was directed to give Gus Alex's girlfriend a "no show", for the sake of appearances job at the Chicago Conrad Hilton Hotel? I bet it was General Dynamics V.P. and former Sherman Hotel Group president, Patrick Hoy.

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?mode=searchResult&absPageId=1451973

NO TITLE pg 2

Found in: FBI - HSCA Subject File: Gus Alex

EXPENSES A D THAT HER JOB AS A CLERK AT THE CONRAD HILTON HOTEL IS ONLY A FRONT TO KEEP HER OCCUPIED DURING THE DAY ALEX ARMED AND DANGEROUS WITH SUICIDAL TENDENCIES .RECEIVED

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/581391292.html?dids=581391292:581391292&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Feb+25%2C+1963&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Excpect+Big+Vote+Tomorrow&pqatl=google

Expect Big Vote Tomorrow

WEATHER IS KEY; NEW DATA IN FIO RITO CASE Seek Typewriter, Quiz Hotel Official 2 New Leads Found by FioRito Probers

SANDY SMITH

Feb 25, 1963

Sheriff Richard B. Ogilvie disclosed two new developments last night in his investigation into the eligibility of Michael L. FioRito, 51, an attorney, to be the Democratic candidate for alderman in the

1st ward. 1. A search was pushed for a typewriter which was used in certifying that FioRito was a permanent resident of the Con- rad Hilton hotel, in the ward. 2.

The sheriff di s co vered police records which showed that FioRito won dismissal of drunken driving charges in October against Robert Leo White, 42, of 1484 Winnemac av., assistant manager of the hotel.

Ogilvie said that the records showed White was arrested in north Lake shore drive by Policeman Frank Schneider at 3:50 am on Oct. 4 and re- fused to take a sobriety test. He was charged with drunken driving.

White told sheriff's police last night that the charges against him were dismissed when he appeared in Traffic court Oct. 29.

Ho said that a friend, whom he refused to identify, suggested he retain FioRito as his lawyer.

The 1st ward Democratic organization revealed FioRito as its write-in candidate Thurs- day night.

Previously two other nominees, Ald. Johri D'Arco and State Senator Anthony J. De - Tolve, were forced out of that race, reportedly by the crime syndicate. The interrogation of White by sheriff's police interrupted the search in the hotel for

the type- writer with pica style letters and a worn ribbon. If the type- writer can be found, Ogilvie said,

it might reveal "signifi- cant evidence to challenge Fio- Rito's eligibility to run for office."

The elegibility of FioRito aE a candidate is based on the vot- ing residence he claims to established in the 1st ward hote on Jan. 26. According to the sheritt, the typewriter was used to add the names of FioRito and his wife, Margaret, to the Jan. 28 affi- davit in which a Conrad Hilton executive had listed 57 perma- nent residents of the hotel. The affidavit was questioned in a report to the sheriff by Robert C. Goldblatt, a type- writer identification expert. The affidavit was filed with the Chi- on page 4, col. 41 by FioRito Probers cago board of election commis- sioners on Jan. 28 by Thoma $ J. McNamara, the hotel man- ager. Goldblatt told the sheriff the typewriter with the worn rib- bon was used to list the Fio Ritos on the affidavit as the 58th and 59th permanent resi- dents of the hotel. The names of 57 other residents were writ- ten on the affidavit with an elite style typewriter, Goldblatt said. The sheriff's detectives ob- tained specimen writing from typewriters in hotel offices that were opened yesterday. The specimen, Ogilvie said,, would be compared by experts with the typing of the FioRito names on the questioned affidavit. The sheriff announced that three teams of detectives would continue the search for the typewriter today in the hotel and in the 1st ward democratic headquarters, 100 N. La Salle st., and the City hall offices of the election board. on Saturday,

Ogilvie charged that the election board was "ig- noring possible fraud" in the Conrad Hilton affidavit. It was reported yesterday that the shock waves from the political turmoil in the Ist ward had caused a shakeup in the hierarchy of the crime syndi- cate. The crime syndicate king, Sam [Moe] Giancana, 53, an ex- convict, reportedly dictated the "dumping" of D'Arco and De- Tolve as aldermanic nominees of the Ist ward Democratic organization. FouI' syndicate gambling chiefs in the Ist ward report- edly suffered a loss of under- world power in December when they were unable to persuade Giancana to sanction the candi - dacy of D'Arco. The four are Gus [slim] Alex and Frank [strongy] Ferrara, the overlords of gambling in the ward; Louie Briatta, a former city payroller who is D'Arco's brother-in-law; and Nick [Mousiel Garambrone, a mob enforcer in the Loop.

Sid Korshak is instructed to contact Pat Hoy, General Dynamics V.P. to contact the Hilton and instruct employees there not to cooperate with the investigation.:

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=136523&relPageId=7

6191268060_4797b45b1e_b.jpg

The point of all of the above is that a determined U.S. Attorney General at war against organized crime would not permit his brother, the president, to lease an estate from Byfield, Jr. and his mother, and would have launched an investigation of McNamara's awarding of the TFX fighter airplane contract to a defense contractor controlled by Henry Crown with sitting corp. V.P. Patrick Hoy. Those things just wouldn't happen if RFK was having such an offensive impact on organized crime that the events described in Douglas's article could be reliable. RFK's #3, Howard Willens could have simply made a phone call to his mother, requesting that she tell her next door neighbor, Clarice Accardo, to tell her husband, Tony, to order his associates to keep RFK's wife and kids off limits to mob violence.

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Nothing of great substance disclosed here but it is interesting to watch Ethel Kennedy comment on her daughter's video that will premier this summer on HBO.

http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c2#/video/us/2012/01/23/nr-lemon-life-of-ethel-kennedy.cnn

Also:

http://ethelmovie.com/

Edited by Douglas Caddy
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