Megan Marshak (born ca. 1952) was the mistress of former Vice-President Nelson Rockefeller when he died on Jan. 26, 1979. 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), an American politician, was Governor of New York and the 41st Vice President of the United States of America from December 19, 1974 to January 20, 1977. ... January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ...

The official coroner's report states that Nelson Rockefeller died of a heart attack. These reports can be seen at the archives at 28th Street and First Avenue. The attack occurred between 9:15 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. Reports indicated that in response to the incident, Marshak called her girlfriend, Ponchitta Pierce, a television news personality who lived nearby. A myocardial infarction occurs when an atherosclerotic plaque slowly builds up in the inner lining of a coronary artery and then suddenly ruptures, totally occluding the artery and preventing blood flow downstream. ...

Pierce arrived at the Rockefeller suite, and at some later point Pierce (not Marshak) called for help. The police call was made an hour or two after Rockefeller had collapsed. In subsequent public statements, Pierce claimed that Marshak had called her between 10:50 and 11 p.m. on the evening of Jan. 26. Pierce said that she arrived at Rockefeller's townhouse at about 11:15 p.m., called the emergency number to request an ambulance, and then left quickly to go back to her own apartment. The initial story from Rockefeller spokesmen indicated that the heart attack had occurred at 11:15 p.m., as an early attempt to avoid the scandal from breaking. A scandal is a widely publicized incident involving allegations of wrong-doing, disgrace, or moral outrage. ...

There has been speculation that up to two hours passed between the actual heart attack and the call for help, due to the need to "sanitize" the location before police photographers arrived. Various rumours abound; most are of the nature that the former vice president (a heavy man) had been bound in elaborate "bondage" and that it took time to free him and remove the equipment from sight. It is also claimed that a third person -- a "cleaner" -- was called in (by Pierce or Marchak), as they did not have the requisite strength to do the job themselves. This version has Pierce being called by Marshak for help, and Pierce calling in a third person when the extent of the chore became known. Another version has Marshak first calling a cleaner, whose cleansing included a call to Pierce to come to the suite to provide a plausible story for the delay. A model in bondage cuffs with a leg spreader Bondage is a human sexual practice involving being tied up or otherwise restrained for pleasure. ...

It is unclear (as some claim) whether Rockefeller was still alive when the ambulance arrived, and that he died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

In the weeks after the death, various Rockefeller family members went public regarding the subject of the absence of Rockefeller's bodyguards from the scene; and that lapse possibly resulting in the missed chance to prevent his death. But the family quickly announced the matter closed, and refused to allow an autopsy. Rockefeller was cremated within 18 hours after the heart attack. These circumstances prompted an investigation and media circus. The Rockefeller family, founded by John Davison Rockefeller (1839-1937) and his brother William Rockefeller (1841-1922), made a fortune in the oil business during the latter part of the 19th century through their Standard Oil Company. ... INS agents recover Elián González by force from his uncles house; this photo, taken by AP photographer Alan Diaz won him a Pulitzer Prize. ...

The newspapers of that time were more careful with their wording. Although it was widely understood that Marshak was Rockefeller's mistress and that he had died while having sexual intercourse with her, the newspapers did not spell it out in those terms. Mistress is the feminine form of the word master. ...

It was later revealed that Marshak holed up in her townhouse while photographers maintained a vigil outside. She did not appear for weeks. Rockefeller's will deeded Marshak the townhouse she lived in, located at 3 W. 54th St., and $50,000. There is no known "tell all" of the events by Marshak, and she appears to have dropped out of public view since Rockefeller's death.