By going public with his claims of mistreatment and betrayal, the 56-year-old Marriott is threatening to shatter the carefully cultivated image of one of Washington’s most powerful families. In John’s telling, the Marriotts come off as fractious and unforgiving, controlled by a domineering patriarch willing to cast out his own if they displease him. The family and their representatives reject John Marriott’s claims—and say they’ve worked hard over the years to help him address his drug-and-alcohol addiction. Whatever truth unspools over the course of the litigation, it’s bound to complicate the picture of wholesome tranquility conveyed by the oil-painted family portraits that hang in the lobbies of many of their hotels.
Needull in a haystack 