Now This Is Odd

Seems like some dirty laundry (of the ultra-wealthy family variety) is being aired out on the pages of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. From the Whispers Column:

For someone most often described as reclusive, Rachel "Bunny" Mellon appears to have warmed recently to the media.

As her 100th birthday approaches, the widow of the late Paul Mellon granted rare access to Vanity Fair magazine. An eight-page spread in the August issue features a pictorial tour of the lush garden she maintains at Oak Spring Farms, the 4,000-acre Mellon estate in Upperville, Va.

While interesting from a horticultural perspective, the article does not detail Mellon's thoughts on her involvement in two recent headline-garnering scandals.

Celebrity financier Kenneth Starr was accused in May of using $5.75 million of Mellon's money to help buy him a luxurious condominium on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Mellon's name also has surfaced in an investigation involving John Edwards, the former U.S. senator from North Carolina and failed Democrat presidential candidate.

A federal grand jury has been probing whether Mellon contributions totaling more than $3 million were used improperly to silence Edwards' paramour Rielle Hunter, who gave birth to his daughter during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Mellon marks her 100th birthday on Aug. 9.

Mellon, Mellon, Mellon. Now where have I heard that name before? That's right. Richard Mellon Scaife owns the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the paper that published the above piece.

So are Rachel "Bunny" Mellon and Richard Mellon Scaife related? It's possible that they're not.

But indeed they are.

Bunny Mellon was married to Paul Mellon. Paul Mellon's father, Andrew W. Mellon and Paul Mellon's uncle Richard B. Mellon were heirs to the Mellon banking fortune.

I know this sounds like the begats, but bear with me. We're almost to the end.

Richard B. Mellon was Richard Mellon Scaife's grandfather. More specifically, Richard Mellon Scaife's mother, Sarah Mellon, was Richard B. Mellon's daughter.

So Dickiecougarmellonscaife's mom was Paul Mellon's cousin. And Bunny Mellon was Paul's second wife.

No mention of this nearly close family connection, of course, in the piece. I wonder why.

And I also have to wonder why the piece is taking up any space in the Trib at all. It's only purpose seems to be to embarrass a 100 year old woman.

Now that's classy.