Above all else, Carmel Offie was a consummate collector of favors, an opportunist who seemed to possess a preternatural skill for gaming the system and knowing just whom to flatter. During his tour in Moscow, he reportedly used embassy funds to buy expensive Russian fur coats, then used the diplomatic pouch to distribute them to senior State Department officials in Washington. In Paris in the late 1930s, he lined up attractive women as “dates” for the visiting sons of Joseph Kennedy, the ambassador to Great Britain, Joe Jr. and Jack. Especially frequent recipients of Offie’s attentions were
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