CONVICTIOn

      He was always so passionate about his journalism --  at times maybe a mix of aggressive, gruff and tough. 

      But almost everyone who really knew Leonard Levitt, including his critics, probably would agree that "Lenny" was a classic "nice guy" with strong principles and willing to speak or act swiftly if help was needed. 

      In my mind, my friend was an uncommon professional with the best values and I admired him.

      Lenny's skill as a writer was obvious in his six books as well as his articles in The New York Times Magazine, Time, Harper's, Esquire and the New York Post. 

      In addition, he was a respected investigative reporter,  writing newspaper articles and online columns that often addressed major issues linked to law enforcement. Week after week for years, he covered a wide array of topics and people with ties to the New York City Police Department, single-handedly turning out the no-nonsense editions of "NYPD Confidential."  

      What always stood out was Lenny's deep belief in the importance of integrity, independence and exposing injustice or corruption. All of that was recalled in tributes when he died. 

      "He was a thorn in the side of authority, there aren't enough journalists like Lenny," one senior NYPD official said. And another noted that Lenny dealt with "a lot of powerful people" and "spared no one" if he came across wrongdoing. 

      Lenny had good reason to be particularly proud of his  final book, "Conviction." Published in 2004, it was a very personal narrative about his relentless effort to help solve the 1975 murder of a teenager named Martha Moxley. His work, which began seven years after her death, led to the reopening of an investigation and a man's imprisonment for a decade.

      The crime in Greenwich, an ultra- affluent community in  Connecticut, was sensational enough to draw national news coverage. 

      In his book, Lenny described a long,  slow process of gathering information and conducting interviews as he forged a bond with a local detective who also wanted to identify the killer of  15-year-old Martha on Halloween eve.

      She was found dead the next morning outside her home. Police concluded that she was beaten to death with a golf club. 

      The family next door was led by Rushton Skakel, a widower with political connections because his sister was married to the late Senator Robert Kennedy. Among the seven Skakel children were the brothers Tommy, 17, and Michael, 15, both possible suspects. 

       Years passed without any breakthroughs. To Lenny, it looked as if someone in a rich family was going to get away with the killing.   

       Although Lenny thought he and Detective Frank Garr had come up with promising leads, publishing problems  kept the findings out of print. 

      But in 1998 the case finally went to a grand jury, largely because of newly-discovered audio tapes. Michael Skakel was heard saying he'd flirted with Martha and then gone to her home later on the night she died. 

      He was charged with murder almost 25 years after the crime.

      Lenny covered the whole trial in 2002 and provided a vivid account of the ending in his book. When the jury had finished deliberating after three days, he wrote that Martha’s mother told him, “I'll never forget what you have done. Without you and Frank, this never would have happened.”

      The verdict was guilty and Skakel was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with eligibility for parole in 11 years.

      After Skakel was denied parole in 2013, there was a series of legal developments. Connecticut’s top court upheld the decision and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to change it, but an appeals judge in Connecticut ordered a new trial and Skakel was released on $1.2 million bail.

       In 2016, Connecticut's highest court reinstated the conviction, but reversed itself two years later, vacating the verdict. Skakel went free.

      Four years after seeing all of that, in 2020, Lenny died. He was 79, but still passionate and tough when we talked shortly before he passed away.

      Every so often I think of him now and reread a few pages in my copy of “Conviction”, a gift that Lenny sent  “to my old and dear friend.”

Richard Lerner, creator of this website, was a reporter and writer/editor Washington, DC and California.