Calling the Post's overall focus "misplaced", Overholser expressed regret that the paper had not taken the opportunity to re-examine whether the CIA had overlooked Contra involvement in drug smuggling, "a subject The Post and the public had given short shrift. Instead, he found work in 1978 as a reporter at the Kentucky Post, a local paper affiliated with the larger Cincinnati Post. A 1985 series, "Doctoring the Truth," uncovered problems in the State Medical Board[12] and led to an Ohio House investigation which resulted in major revisions to the state Medical Practice Act. [20] The website artwork showed the silhouette of a man smoking a crack pipe superimposed over the CIA seal. [35] The second article, by McManus, was the longest of the series and dealt with the role of the Contras in the drug trade and CIA knowledge of drug activities by the Contras. Ceppos and Garcia have long since lost any taste for public discussion of "Dark Alliance". He began his career working for newspapers in Kentucky and Ohio, winning numerous awards, and building a strong reputation for investigative writing. A jury awarded the plaintiffs over 13 million dollars and the case was later settled. Jack Blum, who was the lead investigator for Senator John Kerry's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, which produced a highly damning 1989 report on drug-smuggling in the guise of national security, is one of several commentators to have questioned aspects of Webb's original reporting. After examining the investigations and prosecutions of the main figures in the series, Blandn, Meneses and Ross, it concluded that "Although the investigations suffered from various problems of communication and coordination, their successes and failures were determined by the normal dynamics that affect the success of scores of investigations of high-level drug traffickers These factors, rather than anything as spectacular as a systematic effort by the CIA or any other intelligence agency to protect the drug trafficking activities of Contra supporters, determined what occurred in the cases we examined. Tomac is used to good feelings when it comes to Daytona. Webb made his early reputation as a reporter with the Plain Dealer before going on to fame and turmoil at the San Jose Mercury News. I realise now he was thinking about suicide.". When he told me, I said it sounded crazy. He died on December 10, 2004 in Carmichael, California, USA. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Critics view the series' claims as inaccurate or overstated, while supporters point to the results of a later CIA investigation as vindicating the series. In February last year he was laid off by the State Legislature. "He was crying. A Celebration of Life will be . [32], The New York Times published two articles on the series in mid-October, both written by reporter Tim Golden. Gary Webb was born on August 31, 1955 in Corona, California, USA. The series follows the stories of several characters whose lives are fated to intersect including CIA operative Teddy McDonald who helps to secure guns for the Contras. The story was picked up by black talk-radio stations. [57], The report covered actions by Department of Justice employees in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the DEA, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and U.S. In 1996, the award-winning journalist Gary Webb uncovered CIA links to Los Angeles drug dealers. 2) The series's estimate of the money involved was presented as fact instead of as an estimate. So, how much is Gary Webb worth at the age of 49 years old? I have also followed up on key topics raised by Paul Cottrell will leading industry experts like Dr. Peter McCollough on the Tommy Carrigan Show, weekly in 2021 and 2022. [39] The Post refused to print his letter. Ceppos failed to reply to one phone message and six emails. He had also lost his house the week before his suicide. A January 1997 article in American Journalism Review noted that a 1994 series Webb wrote had also been the subject of a Mercury News internal review that criticized Webb's reporting. Dec. 13, 2004. The passing of Gary ends more than 50 years with his best friend and loving wife, Marilyn J. Some might consider it an inappropriate assignment for a man with responsibilities. He wrote that the series likely "oversimplified" the crack epidemic in America and the supposed "critical role" the dealers written about in the series played in it. Ross was also released early after cooperating in an investigation of police corruption, but was rearrested a few months later in a sting operation arranged with Blandn's help. Even 10 years after his tragic death, the media refuse to let him rest. Webb's ex-wife, Stokes, now remarried and still living in Sacramento, had heard it all before, too. Webb joined the Mercury News in 1988, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. [33] Golden also referred to the controversy over Webb's contacts with Ross's lawyer. A perceptive, engaging woman of 48, she has turned an adjoining study into a small shrine to her late husband, who would have celebrated his 50th birthday five weeks ago. Webb had become, as somebody put it, "radioactive". [51], The editors met with Webb several times in February to discuss the results of the paper's internal review and eventually decided to print neither Carey's draft article nor the articles Webb had filed. Webb chose the second option. [72] A New York Times profile of Webb in June 1997 noted that two of his series written for the Cleveland Plain Dealer had resulted in lawsuits that the paper had settled. The couple got married recently in November of 2020 after dating for some time. Dr. Gary A. Webb is a geriatrician in Marco Island, Florida. I'm glad that I didn't dissuade him, because it was important to get the truth out but for Gary Webb, there was a very high price to pay." He was sentenced to life in prison, though the sentence was shortened on appeal and Ross was released in 2009. He concluded, "How did these shortcomings occur? His victory in the event last year gave him . ", "Reporter's suicide confirmed by coroner", "Repercussions From Flawed News Articles", "Herhold: Thinking back on journalist Gary Webb and the CIA", Ex-L.A. Times Writer Apologizes for "Tawdry" Attacks, "Gary Webb was no journalism hero, despite what 'Kill the Messenger' says", "Jeremy Renner's 'Kill the Messenger' Gets Fall Release Date", The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: A Review of the Justice Department's Investigations and Prosecutions, United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, Report of Investigation Concerning Allegations of Connections Between CIA and The Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States, Central Intelligence Agency Office of the Inspector General, United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, "Secrecy, Conspiracy, and the Media During the CIA-Contra Affair", Freeway Rick Ross: The Untold Autobiography, "Inside the Dark Alliance: Gary Webb on the CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion", 'A NATURAL STORY': Tribute to 'Dark Alliance' and Journalist Gary Webb, San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center, Archive of Gary Webb stories at Sacramento News and Review, "Frontline: Cocaine, Conspiracy Theories & the C.I.A. In a 2013 article in the LA Weekly, Schou wrote that Webb was "vindicated by a 1998 CIA Inspector General report, which revealed that for more than a decade the agency had covered up a business relationship it had with Nicaraguan drug dealers like Blandn. He became an investigator for the California State Legislature, published a book based on the "Dark Alliance" series in 1998, and did freelance investigative reporting. Depressed, he became increasingly unpredictable in his behaviour and embarked on a series of affairs; he was divorced from Bell in 2000, though he remained close to her throughout his life and lived in a house in nearby Carmichael. He cites the case of Alfred McCoy, now Professor of South East Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin. Webb's then-wife Sue remembers coming home from the shops and finding her. Going to the CIA to ask if they've ever profited from drug sales in Los Angeles, I suggested to Kornbluh, is rather like asking Fagin if he has ever picked a pocket. Newsweek called Kerry a "randy conspiracy buff". Gary Webb's income source is mostly from being a successful . Few reporters I've known could match his nose for an investigative story. His wife is Sue Webb (m. 1979-2000) Gary Webb Net Worth His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. News coverage noted that there were widespread rumors on the Internet at the time that Webb had been killed as retribution for his "Dark Alliance" series, published eight years before. Snowfall is an American crime drama television series set in Los Angeles in 1983. He also stated "the series presented dangerous ideas" by suggesting "crimes of state had been committed" (i.e. It sounds like a Tom Clancy novel, right? But once the flak really started to fly, from the nation's grandest newspapers, Ceppos - having come under exactly what form of pressure it is difficult to know - printed a retraction which Webb dismissed as spineless. Osborn, Barbara Bliss (MarchApril 1998). To pay off his mounting debts, Webb sold the Carmichael property, where he was living alone, and arranged to move in with his mother. Her husband began his career on The Kentucky Post, and rapidly proved himself to be the sort of character who can be a secretive agency's worst nightmare: a full-blooded provocateur who liked to put the hours in at the library. But Ian Webbknows all too well the emotions that come with that experience. And it ruined that reporter's career. After introducing the three, the first article discussed primarily Blandn and Meneses, and their relationship with the Contras and the CIA. Leen, who covered the cocaine trade for the Miami Herald in the 1980s, rejects the claim that "because the report uncovered an agency mindset of indifference to drug-smuggling allegations", it vindicated Webb's reporting. And when he got something in his head, he was determined to do it. "Gary was given the choice of relocating either to San Jose," says Bell, "or to Cupertino". Gary Hays Webb, 78, passed away on Monday May 9, 2022, at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center, Neenah. Connie Webb (304) 778-2546: Status: Homeowner. The series ran from October 2022, 1996, and was researched by a team of 17 reporters. Many writers discussing the series point to errors in it. The February 2000 report by the House Intelligence Committee in turn considered the book's claims as well as the series' claims. There has been speculation that he may have met with foul play because he had received two gunshot wounds to the head, The Sacramento Bee reported Wednesday. Gary's family found that old, storied, ("priceless to us," as his ex-wife, Susan Bell, described it to me) CDROM among his possessions. } He was so depressed. He was born Sept.10, 1957 in Willcox, Ariz. to RG Webb and Winnie Mae Shelton. .article-native-ad strong { He was previously married to Sue Bell. He placed his keys and ID cards on the kitchen table, together with a cremation certificate he had purchased for himself. Emma Lee Webb, age 75, of Crossett, AR passed away Monday February 27, 2023, in her home surrounded by her family. "[82], Kill the Messenger (2014) is based on Webb's book Dark Alliance and Nick Schou's biography of Webb. He was the much-loved father of Lindsay (Stephen . "He walked in one day," Bell recalls, "and said, 'You are not going to believe what I just found out.' "Although Ross had become a millionaire by 1984," Katz now wrote, "the market was so huge by then that even a dealer of his stature could seem dwarfed How the crack epidemic reached that extreme, on some level," he continues, "had nothing to do with Ross". Call 911 for assistance. California senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein also took note and wrote to CIA director John Deutch and Attorney General Janet Reno, asking for investigations into the articles' allegations. [31] In their front-page article, reporters Roberto Suro and Walter Pincus wrote that "available information" did not support the series's claims and that "the rise of crack" was "a broad-based phenomenon" driven in numerous places by diverse players. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? I ask Bell. He received his medical degree from American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than. "And to an extent, they succeeded.". The story offered no evidence to support such sweeping conclusions, a fatal error that would ultimately destroy Webb, if not his editors. "The first story he had to file was about a police horse which had died of constipation.". Hired by the San Jose Mercury News, Webb contributed to the paper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. Cuts and amendments were made at the request of Ceppos, executive editor of the Mercury News, and Webb's immediate editor Dawn Garcia, among others. Blandn and Meneses' high-volume supply of low-priced high-purity cocaine "allowed Ross to sew up the Los Angeles market and move on. In the final few months of his life, Bell says, Webb became increasingly withdrawn. Gary-Webb TL, Walker EA, Realmuto L, Kamler A, Lukin J, Tyson W, Carrasquillo O, Weiss L. Translation of the National Diabetes Prevention Program to Engage Men in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods in New York City: A Description of Power Up for Health. Gary Webb (304) 778-2546: Jamie Webb (304) 778-2546: Status: Homeowner. It was good that his story forced those reports to come out, but part of what made that happen was based on misleading information. [52] Webb was allowed to keep working on the story and made one more trip to Nicaragua in March. . The feeling was that with other news outlets calling for Webb's head, the paper's credibility depended on their joining in on the attacks. This emotive last phrase refers to Webb's experience in the immediate aftermath of publication of his three lengthy articles, in the summer of 1996. Do something else with your life," the voice urges. But Webb had one huge blind side: He was fundamentally a man of passion, not of fairness. Attorneys' Offices. But while calling the flaws in the series "unforgivably careless journalism," Overholser also criticized the Post's refusal to print Ceppos' letter defending the series and sharply criticized the Post's coverage of the story. Cleveland Plain Dealer film critic Clint OConnor had a solid featurethe other day about Kill the Messenger, the journalism true-tale movie opening Friday with Jeremy Renner starring as the late Gary Webb. Cooper Webb Wife Name Revealed. Poor Gary Webb. After the announcement of federal investigations into the claims made in the series, other newspapers began investigating, and several papers published articles suggesting the series' claims were overstated. And this is not a happy story - or," she adds, "a little one.". [60], It found no information to support the claim that the agency interfered with law enforcement actions against Ross, Blandn or Meneses. His was the story of a man who gains information of wrongdoing, then, attempting to act in the public interest, seeks protection from his superiors, and the forces of law, and does not receive it. While working at the legislature, Webb continued to do freelance investigative reporting, sometimes based on his investigative work. Its pointed to as one of the clearer cases of CIA intervention as revenge for Webb revealing damaging secrets about the agencies involvement in drug smuggling. [60], The House Intelligence Committee issued its report in February 2000. Gary E. Webb, a dedicated husband, dad, pappy, coach, mentor, teacher, supporter, hero, and best friend, was called home by the Lord while surrounded by family. Their explosive report, which appeared in 1989, was either ignored, or marginalised, by the American press. "The cause of death was determined to be self . The reports of the three federal investigations into the claims of "Dark Alliance" were not released until over a year after the series's publication. Blandn and Meneses were Nicaraguans who smuggled drugs into the U.S. and supplied dealers like Ross. Family and friends will gather to celebrate his life of 59 years at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at Lamesa Continue Reading Leave a Message, Share a Memory reports. Celebrezze eventually sued the Plain Dealer and won an undisclosed out of court settlement. There is a CIA connection and I can demonstrate it.'". Writing on the Los Angeles Times opinion page, Schou said, "Webb asserted, improbably, that the Blandn-Meneses-Ross drug ring opened 'the first pipeline between Colombia's cocaine cartels and the black neighborhoods of Los Angeles,' helping to 'spark a crack explosion in urban America.' But ultimately, the responsibility was, and is, mine.". In February, Gary Webb gave his ex-wife. Cooper and Mariah were engaged before they finally tied the knot. It reads: "There should be no fetters on reporters, nor must they tamper with the truth, but give light so the people will find their own way." Five years ago, a tragedy occurred in American journalism: Investigative reporter Gary Webb - who had been ostracized by his own colleagues for forcing a spotlight back onto an ugly government scandal they wanted to ignore - was driven to commit suicide. And "we really didn't do anything to advance his work or illuminate much to the story, and it was a really kind of tawdry exercise. padding:0!important; [65], Within "The Mighty Wurlitzer Plays On" essay Webb stated he believed there was an active "collusion between the press and the powerful" to report freely on inconsequential matters, "but when it comes to the real down and dirty stuff We begin to see the limits of our freedoms". "They had him writing obituaries," she said. ", She pauses: "That said, he did sleep with a gun under his bed.". A series of expose articles in the San Jose Mercury-News by reporter Gary Webb told tales of a drug triangle during the 1980s that linked CIA officials in Central America, a San Francisco drug . .article-native-ad { Then, on 10 December, he resigned. The truth was that, in all those years, I hadn't written anything important enough to suppress. As it turned out," she adds, "that was not their intent.". He recently told the American Journalism Review (whose scrupulously researched piece, by Susan Paterno, is the only serious documentation of the Webb case I could find anywhere in the orthodox American media) that Webb's critics in rival newspapers, "quoted these CIA guys - who had a tremendous amount to hide - as though they were telling the truth. [44], Ceppos' column drew editorial responses from both The New York Times and The Washington Post. ", The significant legacy of the Webb case, "the reason this whole affair remains so significant today," Blum says, "is this: the knowledge that, if one individual dares raise such serious issues, they risk confronting a tremendous apparatus that is prepared to whack them hard, and there is very little they can expect by way of support. The follow-up reporting in the Los Angeles Times and other papers has been criticised for focusing on problems in the series rather than re-examining the earlier CIA-Contra claims. Carey ultimately decided that there were problems with several parts of the story and wrote a draft article incorporating his findings. Gary Stephen Webb was a Pulitzer prize winning American investigative reporter who exposed cocaine trafficking by the CIA.He wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, which initially backed his articles but later dropped him.Webb was put under pressure most certainly from the CIA under John Deutch for his reporting. "[75], Jonathan Krim, The Mercury News editor who recruited Webb from The Plain Dealer and who supervised The Mercury News internal review of "Dark Alliance," told AJR editor Paterno that Webb "had all the qualities you'd want in a reporter: curious, dogged, a very high sense of wanting to expose wrongdoing and to hold private and public officials accountable."

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