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Levy's parents say Chandra admitted affair

Susan and Robert Levy
Susan and Robert Levy meet reporters: "She had asked to keep it private, secret," Susan Levy said of the affair.  


MODESTO, California (CNN) -- Chandra Levy's mother Tuesday revealed for the first time that the onetime government intern confided in her about an affair with Rep. Gary Condit, a relationship that gave her parents pause.

"She didn't tell me who she was involved with. I kinda got it out," Susan Levy told reporters gathered outside the family home.

"She admitted it," added her husband, Dr. Robert Levy.

Neither parent mentioned Condit by name, but in a question-and-answer session with reporters outside their home, it was clear whom they were talking about.

"She had asked to keep it private, secret. I didn't say very much, I didn't even say anything to my husband because I tried to honor that," Susan Levy said.

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Susan Levy says her daughter admitted to an affair with Rep. Gary Condit. CNN's Gary Tuchman reports (July 31)

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The Levy family's willingness to share new details of Chandra's relationship with Condit came as the police investigation into her disappearance appeared to be slowing, although investigators interviewed a key maker Tuesday who said he saw Chandra Levy sometime the first week in May.

If true, that would be after the last confirmed sighting on April 30 at a health club where she canceled her membership before a planned trip home. The key maker works at a hardware store across the street from the gym.

Elsewhere Tuesday, Washington police wrapped up an exhaustive, weeks-long search of city parks and woodlands with no reported breakthroughs.

Law enforcement sources have told CNN that Condit admitted to a romantic relationship with Levy during an interview, and an aunt of Levy's said her niece revealed an affair with Condit to her.

Condit, 53 and married, has publicly acknowledged only a friendship with the 24-year-old Levy, who had recently completed an internship with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

Levy's aunt, Linda Zamsky, said Monday night on CNN's "Larry King Live" it was no surprise to her Levy had been involved with someone significantly older.

"Because Chandra was a very, very mature, independent individual. She is a very independent individual. So I -- it didn't surprise me that she was in love or having a relationship with someone that was much older than her," Zamsky said.

Zamsky said she cautioned her niece about the affair -- "Don't put all your eggs in one basket. You know, listen, he's a married man," she said she told her -- but she did not lecture her.

"And then I couldn't push her too far, because then she would stop talking to me and sharing with me, and obviously she needed to share with someone that she could trust," Zamsky said.

Susan Levy said she cautioned her daughter about the relationship, especially after their landscaper -- a Pentecostal minister -- told her that his daughter once had an affair with Condit.

The minister, Otis Thomas, has since recanted the story in interviews with the FBI, law enforcement sources said. His daughter also denied it ever happened.

Susan Levy said she still believes the man's initial account, which she said he detailed in a tearful conversation inside the Levy home months ago. She said she told Chandra about it.

"I just said, 'Just be very careful, that there is another lady involved who got very, very hurt,'" Susan Levy said.

Chandra Levy
Chandra Levy: Mom gave her a warning about interns in Washington.  

Levy recalled a warning she gave to Chandra when she departed for Washington for her internship. She mentioned the White House intern who had an affair with President Bill Clinton.

"I honestly said, 'Chandra' -- when she left to Washington, I said --'Don't you become Monica Lewinsky.' And look at what happened.

Said Robert Levy: "Now it's much, much worse."

His wife continued: "I mean, I warned her, I said we want you to think about your safety at all times, be selective."

Susan Levy said she raised her children with a sense of right and wrong, a moral code.

"But they still make their choices," she said.






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• Rep. Gary Condit
• D.C. Metropolitan Police Department
• D.C. Police: News release
• America's Most Wanted
• U.S. Bureau of Prisons

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