Note: I do not label O’Neill as a sociopath lightly, but only after serious research. His role in the TWA cover up is only a part of my labeling; mostly it comes from his treatment of the people in his life. The following list of sociopathy indicators comes from Without Conscience and The Sociopath Next Door, two excellent books on the subject:

When caught in one of his multitudinous lies he would either get outraged or emotional.

His desperate, escalating mendacity when one of his four women threatened to leave him.

Caught in a lie he would accuse the other person of being mentally unstable. This is about as low as you can go in a relationship; it is a sign of having no ‘conscience.’

His charismatic charm/bravura is a classic sociopath trademark.

Sociopathic behavior is thought to be motivated by the need to control others (hence his fear of being ‘abandoned’ by one of his lovers). By virtually everyone’s account, O’Neill was a ‘control freak.’)