[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 13, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1906-S1907]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           ON THE RETIREMENT OF DETECTIVE CHARLES J. BENNETT

  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, some while ago, the New York Historical 
Society conceived the notion of collecting holograph accounts of 
notable events in our city from contemporary New Yorkers, and 
thereafter auctioning them off to help with the expenses of that 
venerable institution. I was asked to participate and was happy to do. 
As would anyone my age, I have all manner of memories of our city, 
going back, for example, to December 7, 1941, when I learned about 
Pearl Harbor from a man whose shoes I was shining on the corner of 
Central Park West and 81st Street, across from the Planetarium. I do 
not really recall what I thought about all that; all I do recall for 
certain is that when I got home later in the day, the regular radio 
programming had been interrupted by bulletins from the Pacific. Between 
bulletins, the station played martial music. Well, sort of martial 
music. It seemed the only such record they had on was the ``fight 
song,'' as they say, of the Fordham football team.
  Pearl Harbor brought war to the United States but only seemed to 
enhance the greatness of our city. At war's end, it seemed only natural 
that New York should be chosen as the site of the headquarters of the 
United Nations, the victorious alliance that won that war.
  The years since have not been so generous. At times, they have been 
ominous, putting our city in peril in a way world war never did, albeit 
much of the peril has come from abroad.
  I thought of this matter, and, of a sudden, knew the event I would 
relate--with a penmanship that would mortify the brothers to this day. 
Here is what I wrote, on New Year's Day, 1995.

       Early in 1985, I flew up from Washington to New York. As is 
     our custom, I was met by Detective ``Chuck'' Bennett of the 
     N.Y.P.D. On our way into town we discussed events of the day. 
     Bennett, with a detective's eye, commented that men were 
     appearing on street corners snapping their fingers for no 
     apparent reason. Two month's later he reported that they were 
     selling something called ``crack,'' the finger snapping being 
     a form of street cry. It remained for Douglas Hurd, then 
     British Home Secretary, to visit New York and tell our Drug 
     Enforcement Agency that a new form of cocaine, which had 
     appeared in the Bahamas in 1983, was known as ``crack'' and 
     was spreading. The Plague had reached New York.

  Charles Joseph Bennett, the detective who had met me at LaGuardia, 
was and remains a preternaturally subtle, observant, normally silent, 
at times near-to-invisible presence on our city streets for near 
quarter of a century. For 20 of those years, he has been keeping me out 
of harm's way. Not an easy thing to do, for public figures in our time 
are commonly threatened, sometimes openly, sometimes not. It has been 
his lot to assess the threats involved, first having learned of them or 
divined them. It was in this latter gift that ``Chuck'' excelled. Be it 
a U.S. Senator, the least of his worries, a head of state, a peace 
delegation, a terrorist infiltrator, a building, a bridge, a tunnel, 
there has been no threat of violence or subversion or sedition in a 
quarter century that he has not been involved with or aware of.
  His personal qualities are legendary. Affable until the moment of 
danger when he can be terrifying; near-to-invisible until he must make 
everyone in the room stop instantly and do as he says; self-effacing, 
funny, deadly serious. It may seem an unusual quality for an officer of 
a very old organization, set in its ways and fixed in place, but 
``Chuck'' Bennett has proved an extraordinarily adept ambassador. First 
with our own law enforcement organizations such as the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation and the Capitol Police here in Washington, but notably 
also with foreign detective forces, ranging

[[Page S1907]]

from London to Melbourne. He has formed lasting friendships not just 
between individuals but also between organizations that have hugely 
benefitted all concerned.
  This April 28 he retires: at the top of his grade and the top of his 
form. He goes with the profound thanks of Liz, Tim, Tracey, John, 
Helen, and Maura for his friendship and his guardianship. And the great 
good wishes of all manner of New Yorkers for how well he has served us. 
Only Chuck Bennett would notice odd gestures on street corners and spot 
an epidemic on its way. Let us hope he returns regularly to New York, 
keeping an eye on things, and keeping in touch with those of us who 
love him so.

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