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America's Most Infamous Crimes with Katie Ring
Chandra Levy: Congressman Gary Condit & The Unraveling Truth Pt. 2
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- [00:00]
Katie Ring
Foreign. This is Crime House. Chandra Levy disappeared from Washington, D.C. and one of the last people she talked to was a sitting U. S. Congressman. At first he said he barely knew her. But phone records, intimate details, secret affairs, and statements from multiple women told a different story, raising a disturbing question. How much was Gary Condit hiding? Chandra's case turned into a national media storm. Careers were destroyed, secrets spilled into the open, and a missing woman's life was caught up in one of the biggest political scandals in history. Today, I'll unravel the tangled web surrounding Chandra Levy's disappearance, the secret relationships, the investigation that captivated the nation, and the shocking confession that would send the case in a completely new direction. Every crime tells a story about the people involved, the system that tried to stop it, and the nation that couldn't look away. Some cases are so shocking, so deeply woven into who we are, that decades later, we're still asking, how did this happen? I'm Katie Ring and this is America's Most Infamous Crimes. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I'll take you deep into cases that have a lasting imprint on society and still haunt us today. I want to thank you for being part of the Crime House community. Please rate, review and follow America's Most Infamous Crimes wherever you get your podcasts and to get all episodes at once ad free. Subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. This is our second episode on the sudden disappearance of Chandra Levy and the tip that turned the entire case on its head. There's never been a better time to get outside and experience the benefits of nature, discover nearby trails and explore the outdoors with alltrails. Download the free app today and find your outside.
- [02:09]
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- [02:41]
Katie Ring
By May 6, 2001, Robert and Susan Levy hadn't heard from their daughter Chandra in several days. The 24 year old was supposed to be moving back home to Modesto, California after her internship had ended up. But she never showed up. As any parent would react when their daughter hadn't come home, Robert and Susan tried everything they could to find her. After calling around and reporting her missing to the Washington D.C. police, they did a little digging of their own. When they looked through Chandra's phone bill, they saw that she'd called one number a lot. And when Susan called the number, it confirmed her suspicions. It was the number to the office of Congressman Gary Condit. Now, on the surface, this may not have raised glaring red flags because Condit represented the Levy's home district in California. So given Chandra's interest in politics, it could potentially make sense for her to be contacting his office, especially if she was on the hunt for a new job. But Susan knew it was more complicated than that, because a month earlier, she learned that Chandra had been having an affair with the 53 year old congressman for about seven months. And Susan also knew that Condit had allegedly conducted an affair with another young woman in the past. So now Susan couldn't help but wonder if Condit was somehow involved with her disappearance. Until this point, Susan had kept her promise to Chandra and stayed quiet about the affair. But that didn't matter anymore. All Susan cared about was making sure her daughter was safe. After telling her husband, Susan and Robert decided to try and get in touch with Condit directly. Luckily, the number for his house in Modesto was in the phone book. And when Robert called, Condit's wife, Carolyn answered. Robert wasn't trying to blow up anyone's marriage. So without saying anything about Chandra's relationship with Condit, he just told Carolyn that his daughter was missing. Since Condit represented their district, he was hoping that the Congressman could do something to help. And Carolyn promised to pass on the message. Barely a few minutes later, the phone rang and Gary Condit was on the other line. He had no idea that the Levys knew about him and Chandra. And he claimed he didn't know Chandra all that well. She'd visited his office a few times and he'd given her career advice, but nothing beyond that. He also said that he had no idea where Chandra was. Robert and Susan were stunned. They weren't expecting him to tell them everything, but they couldn't believe that he didn't show more concern for the woman he had been secretly dating for months. Which made them wonder if he could be trusted. After that call, a few days went by with no sign of Chandra. To keep the investigation moving, Robert and Susan contacted a non profit group focused on helping families find their missing loved ones. They told the Levys that the best thing to do was was to get as much news coverage on the case as possible. With that in mind, they arranged for Susan to appear on Good Morning America on May 14th. That interview turned Chandra's disappearance into a national story. And two days later, Robert and Susan flew to D.C. to meet with all of the major power players. With news cameras following their every move, the Levies went to Capitol Hill to meet with California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. They also talked with Jack Barrett, the Washington, D.C. police superintendent of detectives. But guess who wasn't present. Congressman Gary Condit. The Levys still hadn't said anything about the affair, but he was still keeping his distance. And he was right to be worried. Just a few days later, on May 17, 2001, the Washington Post reported on a romantic relationship between Conant and Chandra. The article mentioned that Condit's office back in California had been flooded with calls from reporters who all wanted to know if he and Chandra were really having an affair. Condit's chief of staff completely denied it. He said totally did not occur. It's really distressing that a lot of people are focusing on the issue when the focus should be on finding where Chandra is. But there was just one problem with that statement. Condon had already admitted to detectives that Chandra had spent the night at his apartment before. After the Levys had called Condit's house in Modesto, they contacted Ralph Durant, the detective assigned to Chandra's case. And during that call, Robert told Durant that he was pretty sure Chandra and Gary Condon were having an affair. And they weren't the only ones to share that information. Chandra's aunt, Linda Zamski, also called Durant. Linda was the first person Chandra told about the affair, and until this point, she'd kept that secret to herself, just like Susan had. But now Linda couldn't stay silent about it any longer. She told Detective Durant everything she knew. Chandra and Condit had started seeing each other the previous fall, and it was serious enough that Condit told Chandra he was planning on leaving his wife for her. She also said that Chandra was pressuring Conit to talk to his wife and tell her that he was leaving her and that Chandra told her that she had something big to tell her, but she never got a chance to find out what that was. The call left Durant feeling extremely suspicious. The Levys didn't really have a reason to make up this affair, but Condit had a lot to gain by denying it. It made Durant wonder if Condent was lying about this one thing. Maybe there were other things he was hiding, too. At 9:55pm on May 9, Durant went to Condon's apartment to get his official statement. And this time, the Congressman was a little more forthcoming. He said that he and Chandra were friends. But when Durant pressed him on it. Condon admitted that Chandra had spent the night at his apartment before. It is yet to be revealed how this information got to the press, but it seems like there was a Source within the D.C. police Department leaking them information. That's what led to the Washington Post article about people calling Conant's office in California to ask about the affair. The story made waves across the country, including San Francisco. A woman there who identified herself as Janet was extremely interested in the case because she knew something nobody else did. So she called her local FBI office and said she had important information about the Chandra Levy investigation. Now, Janet didn't know Chandra personally, but the two women had something in common. They both had affairs with Gary Conit. And just like with the daughter of Susan Levy's friend, the affair had ended badly. Badly enough for Janet to fear that something awful had happened to Chandra Levy. Janet had first met Gary Condit nine years earlier, in 1992. She was a 22 year old college student living in LA and her boyfriend was one of Condit's aides. One night, Condit invited Janet and her boyfriend to have dinner with him. It was a totally normal evening, so Janet didn't think much of it. Shortly after, she and her boyfriend broke up and Janet went on with her life. But about a year later, in early fall of 1993, Condit came back into the picture. Janet's ex still worked for him and he called Janet one day to ask if she could give Condit a ride to a fundraiser in la. She said yes and Janet and Condit hit it off. At the end of the night they had what she called a, quote, physical encounter. Condit wanted to see Janet again, but she wasn't so sure about it. Having an affair with such a high profile person could get messy. And then there was his wife and kids to consider. Janet didn't want to be a homewrecker, but Condon was love bombing her like crazy. Eventually, Janet agreed to come see him in D.C. and things got serious from there. Over the next few months, Janet flew out a number of times to spend time with Condit. And In January of 1994, he asked if she wanted a job as one of his legislative assistants after she graduated. He even asked Janet if she wanted to move into his apartment, although she'd still have to rent her own place to keep up appearances and to have somewhere to stay when his wife came into town. This time, Janet didn't hesitate to say yes. In Janet's mind, this was a real relationship. Not only were they living together. But Condit also bought her clothes and expensive jewelry, and in return, she gave him a nice watch and a mountain bike. It was serious enough that Condit told Janet that he was considering leaving Congress and divorcing his wife, which we can now see was a pattern for him. And like his other affairs, as it went on, Condon also got more controlling. He didn't want Janet being around other men, and he was extremely paranoid about the relationship going public. He made Janet swear not to tell anyone about it and take more precautions. Janet struggled with all of the secrecy, especially since she was working for Conant in his office. Her double life was getting to her. It wasn't unusual for her to break down and cry while she was at work. And if you can believe it, Condon even had rules about that. He told Janet that if anyone asked what was wrong, she had to say she was upset about a recent breakup. Things got even harder for Janet In July of 1994, when Condon's daughter Katie came to D.C. for a summer internship. Janet had to move her things out of Condit's apartment and couldn't spend any time with him while Katie was in town. And because she and Katie both worked in his office, the two got to talking and even became friends. Janet never told Katie that she was secretly dating her father, but the guilt was overwhelming. She was starting to experience suicidal ideation by the end of the summer. She couldn't take it anymore. Janet told Condon that she was ending their relationship, then moved back to San Francisco. But Condit refused to take no for an answer. He charmed his way back into convincing Janet to keep seeing him whenever he went back to his district, which was every couple of weeks. Their relationship went on like this for another two years or so, until 1996. By then, Janet was over it and decided to cut Condon off and stop taking his calls. When she went to the FBI, she said the last time she'd seen him was in 1999 when they met up for coffee. Condit wasn't over their breakup. He seemed to think that there was still a chance they could get back together someday. But Janet was done with him. She was married with kids of her own and decided it was time to move on once and for all. After hearing her story, the FBI wondered if there might be other women out there like Janet. So they did some more digging, and before long, they contacted a woman named Ann Marie Smith. She and Condon met In July of 2000, just a few months before he started seeing Chandra. Ann Marie was in her late 30s and had just started a new job as a flight attendant. He was on her flight and was his usual charming self. And before he got off the plane, he gave Ann Marie his phone number. And when she looked him up in the passenger manifest, she realized he was a congressman. It seemed exciting, but Ann Marie wasn't sure if she wanted to get involved with him because she was pretty sure he was married. But against her instincts, she decided to have dinner with him. Condit admitted that, yes, he was married, but he and his wife didn't have much of a relationship. Anne Marie gave in, and the two of them started dating. For a while, Annemarie had no idea that Condit was seeing other people. But in the spring of 2001, she got suspicious after finding a strand of long, dark hair in his bathroom, which was probably Chandra's. And a few weeks later, on May 9, Ann Marie got a really strange call from him saying that he had to disappear for a bit and that she shouldn't call him. Then he hung up without giving any explanation. Anne Marie had no idea what to make of it until a week later, when the Washington Post article linking him to Chandra was published. With all of the focus on his personal life, Anne Marie knew it wouldn't be long until her affair with him was revealed. And on June 1st, the FBI showed up at her door. Anne Marie told them everything about her relationship with Condon. She even kept meticulous details in her journal. She wanted to believe this was all just a misunderstanding, but she had to hear it from him directly. So against his instructions, she decided to call him. On the phone, Annemarie admitted that she'd talked to the FBI. He responded saying, you didn't have to do that. Then he suddenly hung up. And that was it. Two weeks later, Ann Marie received a document from Condit's lawyer. He wanted her to sign an affidavit that denied she had a romantic relationship with him. If Ann Marie signed it, she could be sued for perjury. If she claimed otherwise, Ann Marie couldn't help but feel betrayed. Condon had said he'd leave his wife for her, and now he wanted her to deny that they were ever together. So not only did she refuse to sign the affidavit, but she decided to go one step further. On July 2, 2001, Ann Marie gave an exclusive interview to Rita Cosby at Fox News. She told Cosby all about her affair with Condit and that he wanted her to help him cover it. Up until this point, the connection between Chandra and Condit wasn't major news. But Anne Marie's interview changed everything. All of a sudden, it was the top story for newspapers and cable news stations all around the world. Everyone wanted to know what happened to Chandra Levy and if Gary Condon had anything to do with it. And while all of this was going on, Condit was starting to be more cooperative. Whether it was out of guilt or wanting to get ahead of the story, who knows? But a few days before Anne Marie Smith's interview, he sat down for a second time with the detectives on the case. This time he gave more details on his movements around May 1, which was around the time that police thought Chandra had gone missing. According to Condent, he he had lunch with Vice President Dick Cheney that day, then worked till about 6.30pm before going to dinner in his neighborhood. He spent the next day, May 2nd, with his wife. It was a pretty solid alibi. The detectives thought he wasn't being totally honest. They wanted to know more about his relationship with Chandra, but he wouldn't give any details, which only made him seem more suspicious. By this point, his affair with Chandra was common knowledge to them. It seemed like if he was innocent, he didn't have anything to lose by being completely honest with them. And if he was being so secretive about this, what else could he be hiding? After Ann Marie Smith's interview with rita Cosby On June 2, 2001, Gary Condit started feeling a lot of pressure from the public. And the police were. And they were about to get some answers, just not from Condit himself. Shortly after the fourth of July, Chandra's aunt, Linda Zamski, went public with what her niece had told her about the affair with Condit. Linda knew a lot of small personal details about him. She knew their routines and the steps they took to keep their relationship secret, all very specific things that wouldn't be public information. Two days later, the police asked to do another interview with Condit. This time, the US Attorneys overseeing the case were finally able to question him. And finally he admitted that he'd been having an affair with Chandra Levy. Things were not looking good for him. And four days later, at 11:15pm, giant group of D.C. police officers and FBI agents came to Conant's apartment with a search warrant. As soon as word got out, the scene was mobbed with reporters, but there wasn't much for them to do other than keep a close watch on Condit's building as the police turned his apartment upside down. The search went on till 2:45 in the morning, but there wasn't much to Find only a few hairs connected to a shoe and some fibers in the dryer's lint trap. And even if they did turn out to be Chandra's, it wasn't much of a breakthrough, since everyone knew that she'd been there. But the reporters outside didn't know any of this. They only saw bags of evidence going into cars and the glow of a black light lighting up the apartment. And the way they spun it, Condon just ended up looking even more guilty. He wasn't doing himself any favors either, especially when he was spotted throwing something into a trash can outside of a McDonald's. Turns out it was the box to the watch Janet had given him. Which seemed like a lot of extra work for an ex girlfriend that had no connection to Chandra. Whatever Condon was up to, it seemed fishy. Meanwhile, the police were still hard at work trying to find Chandra. They'd found her laptop at her apartment, and they were finally able to access its data shortly after Gary Condit's apartment was searched. In the days leading up to her disappearance, Chandra had searched Condit for info on him and his wife. So any doubt that they were having an affair was pretty much out of the window here. But more importantly, they saw that Chandra looked up Rock Creek Park, a giant nature preserve that was right by Condit's apartment, Which made them wonder, maybe that's where she disappeared. They organized a massive search of the park, but they didn't find anything. They were running low on ideas, so the FBI decided to take another approach. Normally, they gave the local police over two months to investigate, but the FBI was ready to get involved now. So the case was handed over to their cold case unit. The new special agents in charge were Brad Garrett and Melissa Thomas, two experienced agents with a solid track record. And they wanted Condit to sit down with them for one more interview. On July 26, they spent about an hour and a half talking with Condit. But this time, they weren't interested in getting more details on his affair. They didn't even think Condit had anything to do with Chandra's disappearance. They were more interested in understanding who she was as a person and seeing if they could get any more leads from there. But for Condon, the damage was done. His dirty laundry was out for everyone to see. And if he had any chance of getting re elected, he had to fix his image fast. So Continent agreed to an exclusive interview with ABC's Connie Chung. She had a reputation for being sympathetic without being soft. It seemed like the perfect environment for Conant to tell his side of the story. But there was a catch. When Conant sat for the interview on August 23, 2001, it was live instead of pre taped, and almost 24 million people tuned in to watch. At first, everything was going according to plan until the topic shifted to Conant's affair with Chandra. Even though he had told the police everything, Conant still couldn't bring himself to be honest with the public. When Connie Chung asked him if his relationship with Chandra was sexual, Conant admitted that he hadn't been a perfect man during his 34 year marriage, but that the Levy family had asked him to not share any details and he wanted to respect that. Needless to say, people weren't exactly satisfied with that answer, especially when it came out that the levies hadn't asked him to avoid answering the questions about the affairs. The interview was a complete train wreck. Instead of saving Conant's career, it completely tanked it. His days in Congress were numbered and he knew it. But the Connie Chung interview was about to be the least of Gary Conant's problems. A few weeks after the Interview in mid September 2001, a lawyer representing an inmate at the Washington D.C. jail called the U.S. attorney's office. The lawyer said that his client, Ramon Alvarez, had some information he wanted to share. Alvarez claimed that in late August he'd been working out with another inmate named Ingmar Guandaque. He'd been arrested in July for attacking two women in Rock Creek park, the same place that police thought Shawnra had gone missing. And while the two inmates exercised, Guandike confessed that there was another crime he'd committed in in Rock Creek Park. One he hadn't been arrested for. One that nobody knew about. Ramon Alvarez told authorities that Ingmar Guandike had told him that he killed Chandra Levy and that Gary Conant had paid him to do it. At the end of each episode, we're going to do an off the record segment where I talk about everything from my thoughts on the case to self defense and safety tips. So if you have any questions, make sure to comment below or send them directly to us. Besides the fact that he took advantage of so many women, one thing that made me so frustrated about Condon is that to this day, he has still never publicly outright admitted to the affair. In the interview with Connie, he kept on repeating the same line. I've been married for 34 years. I've not been a perfect man. But out of respect for my family and out of a specific request from the Levy family, I think it's best That I not get into those.
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Co-host/Commentator
That's a PR answer if I've ever heard one.
- [24:37]
Katie Ring
Yeah. And Connie Chung later said that every time she asked that question, he would say the same answer over and over, and that it was completely rehearsed. And we find out, obviously, that he was completely lying, that the Levy family asked him not to talk about the affair, so that made him seem even more sketchy. And mind you, not only did he tell the police that she had already slept over and admitted to the affair to the police, they also found DNA in Chandra's underwear proving that they had sexual relations. So everyone knew that he was lying. And I think that's why his reputation took such a plunge. Like, just be honest. But I think that's impossible for him.
- [25:24]
Co-host/Commentator
He is so shady. And the fact that he had done this to so many women personally makes me sick.
- [25:30]
Katie Ring
Same. I mean, he was such a cliche. He targeted these young, ambitious women, said the lie that he loved them so much and he was gonna leave his wife for them, which obviously we know is a lie, blah, blah, blah. And then he left them heartbroken. And even more concerning, all of them said they were scared after the fact, after they broke things off. And it's sad how many men use their positions of power to do this. And there's been a trope for so long about the secretary or women, you know, using their sexuality to lure these guys, but it's really the other way around. And these relationships now we're finding out, you know, with these power dynamics, they're never really fully consensual, because when there's a specific power imbalance, consent can be very complicated and nuanced, which a lot of people still want to disagree with, but is the truth. And when one person holds power, influence, and authority over the other, what looks like consent on the surface can sometimes involve pressure, manipulation, and unequal expectations. And from these women's testimonies, the pressure he put on them to keep his affairs secret and his behavior after all of these affairs ended up is extremely concerning. And he was also clearly, totally fine with lying himself and asking these girls to lie on his behalf. Like the fact that he asked Anne Marie to sign an affidavit that they never had a relationship. Knowing that if she signed that she could be charged for perjury is a testament to his character. And insane, because if you're not familiar with an affidavit, it's a sworn statement made under oath. So if someone knowingly signs an affidavit that contains false information, they could potentially face perjury charges. So he was straight up asking her to lie and put herself in a dangerous position. Luckily, she's a smart cookie and didn't sign it.
- [27:39]
Co-host/Commentator
That's such a good point, because a lot of people don't realize how serious an affidavit is. Legally, she absolutely could have put herself at risk. And honestly, it's really smart of her to refuse.
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Katie Ring
Yes, absolutely. I'm so glad she didn't let him pressure her into exposing herself legally to cover up his bad actions. And there was also a super sketchy thing that I found out when researching this case, because Otis Thomas, who was the Pentecostal minister who also did the yard work for the levies, actually recanted his statement that his daughter, when she was 18, had a relationship with Condon. And he made a statement saying, quote, I just figured I would try and comfort her a bit, referring to Chandra's mom, Susan. He also said, quote, I just dug a hole I could not get out of. I can't really explain something like that. To be clear, the FBI made a statement that the claims were unfounded after Thomas recanted his statement. But given Condit's behavior, I would not be surprised in the slightest if he had pressured him into lying for him as well. Or it could also have been that his daughter didn't want the public scrutiny and asked him to recant his statement and not say anything.
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Co-host/Commentator
So considering all of those factors at play, when it all comes down to it, do you think Gary Condit did it?
- [29:01]
Katie Ring
I'm going to save my answers for that one for episode three. But what I will say is that his behaviors throughout everything are extremely sketchy. And I wish that Shondra was able to tell her aunt her big news or the secret before she went missing. A lot of people think that she may have been pregnant, but that has not been confirmed. A lot of people think Chandra just went for a jog in the park since she had canceled her gym membership. But others believe that she went to meet someone because her apartment looked like she had left in a rush and her body was discovered well off a beaten path on an area with uneven ground. What I will say for now, and my advice to women, is that being with a man who has a lot to lose by being with you can take a huge toll mentally and emotionally, and in some instances, can even be extremely dangerous physically. Again, when you're younger, it may feel good to be chosen, especially by someone you respect. But at the end of the day, men like Conant will waste your youth and leave you with nothing but regret. Thanks so much for joining me for this episode. Come back tomorrow for the conclusion of our deep dive into the disappearance of Chandra Levy. If you haven't already, please subscribe to my YouTube channel, America's Most Infamous Crimes. Thank you for supporting the show.