Martin Dardis | |
|---|---|
 Dardis in 2005 | |
| Born | (1922-11-25)November 25, 1922 Endicott, New York |
| Died | May 16, 2006(2006-05-16) (aged 83) Palm City, Florida |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Army |
| Years of service | c. 1939–1945 |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Unit | 468th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Silver Star Bronze Star Medal Purple Heart (2) |
| Other work | Policeman, investigator and reporter |
Martin F. Dardis (November 25, 1922 – May 16, 2006)[1] was an American soldier, policeman, investigator and reporter. As the chief investigator for theDade County, Florida, state attorney in 1972, he was a key figure in theWatergate scandal, linking the Watergate burglars to PresidentRichard Nixon's reelection campaign.[2][3][4] He passed this information along toWashington Post reporterCarl Bernstein.[5] Later, as a reporter forSports Illustrated, he broke the story of baseball playerPete Rose's gambling.[4][6]
Born inEndicott, New York, Dardis dropped out of high school with an eighth-grade education. He lied about his age (16) to enlist in theUnited States Army.[3]
DuringWorld War II, on December 29, 1944, Dardis was a gunner with the 468th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion in GeneralGeorge Patton'sThird Army during theBattle of the Bulge.[6] After twelve hours, Dardis's crew and that of another half-track had shot down four German aircraft with 37-mm cannons and .50 caliber machine guns, while pinned down by aerial bombing and artillery and small arms fire along theArlon-Bastogne road, for which the other crew were awardedSilver Stars.[4][6] He and his comrades also rescued downed pilotKenneth H. Dahlberg behind enemy lines;[2] Dahlberg almost shot Dardis before the airman realized he was friendly.[4] Their paths would cross again many years later.
By the time he was discharged from the Army in 1945,[6] he had been awarded theBronze Star Medal and twoPurple Hearts.[5]
In 1988,[5] bothered that the other half-track crew had been awarded Silver Stars while his had not,[6] Dardis began researching to build a case, forwarding his findings to the Military Awards Bureau and the Board to Correct Military Injustices.[6] After 18 months of deliberation, a unanimous verdict was reached, and in June 1991, Silver Stars were awarded to Dardis and the four other members of his crew, though two had to be posthumous.[6]
After leaving the Army, he became a policeman in his hometown of Endicott, then a New York state trooper.[6] In the 1950s, he was the police chief ofNorth Bay Village, Florida.[5] He then became an investigator forFlorida Attorney GeneralRichard Ervin in the 1960s.[2] When Ervin's term ended in 1964, Dardis went to work for Dade County state attorneyRichard Gerstein.[2] He also worked forJanet Reno.[4]
As Gerstein's chief investigator, in 1972 Dardis was tipped off about a connection between aMiami bank andBernard Barker, one of the Watergate burglars who had been caught in the act inside theDemocratic National Committee headquarters in theWatergate building.[2][3] A check for $25,000 had recently been deposited in Barker's account. That check had been written by a majorRepublican fundraiser: Kenneth H. Dahlberg, the man Dardis had rescued in World War II.[2][3] While Dahlberg was never accused of any wrongdoing, the money linked the burglars toNixon's reelection campaign. WhenWashington Post reporter Carl Bernstein arrived at the state attorney's office, Dardis passed along the information, which contributed to thePost's coverage of what became known as theWatergate scandal, which led to Nixon's resignation in disgrace in 1974.[2][3]
Dardis continued to uncover other major crimes, including a "$862,000 fraud atCedars of Lebanon Hospital in 1974" and "a $258,931 trifecta scam at Flagler Dog Track in 1977".[5] In the late 1970s, he went undercover, posing as a crooked cop; the investigation led to the dismantling of a "drug ring with annual sales of $500 million".[4] Threats persuaded Dardis to relocate his family back to Endicott, New York, in 1979.[4][5]
In 1981, Dardis went to work forSports Illustrated as an investigative reporter.[6] He was involved in major stories, includingDon Reese's revelation of widespreadcocaine use in theNational Football League andPete Rose's gambling.[6] He continued working for the sports magazine until about 2005.
Dardis married four times and divorced three times.[4]
He died of vascular disease inPalm City, Florida at the age of 83.[3] He was survived by his wife of 42 years, Barbara, their two children and four children by previous marriages.[3] He was buried in section 69 ofArlington National Cemetery.[1]
He felt he was misrepresented in Woodward and Bernstein's bookAll the President's Men and the1976 film adaptation. He complained that actorNed Beatty played him as a "buffoon".[3]