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[11], In 1983, Webb moved to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, where he continued doing investigative work. Webb, according to Bell, was a man who, more than most, found that his mood and self-esteem fluctuated in accordance with his professional fortunes. 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. As a result, some major US newspapers ignored its findings completely, while others relegated a brief summary to their inside pages. When his medical insurance expired, he stopped taking his antidepressants. [55] Webb eventually chose Cupertino, but was unhappy with the routine stories he was reporting there and the long commute. With hindsight, Bell says, "the signs were there. [21] This artwork proved controversial, and The Mercury News later removed it. Webb, Bell explains, had written four letters explaining what he was about to do - one to her, one to each of their three children - and mailed them immediately before he killed himself. I felt weak and distressed; the whole thing was so fresh. The three articles in the series were written by four reporters: Jesse Katz, Doyle McManus, John Mitchell and Sam Fulwood. He received his medical degree from American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than. "The second bullet," adds Bell, who has worked for more than 20 years in the area of respiratory therapy, "struck his carotid artery. Vivian Corrie, a part of his liver in a life-threatening operation. Because Blandn cooperated with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), he spent only 28 months in prison, became a paid government informant, and received permanent resident status. [56] He resigned from the paper in November 1997. Watkins and Debbie (John) Foutch; grandchildren, Makenzie and Ashlynn Fogg. Few reporters I've known could match his nose for an investigative story. But his central thesis - that the CIA, having participated in narcotics trafficking in central America, had, at best, turned a blind eye to the activities of drug dealers in LA - has never been in question. Webb's series was published on the Mercury News's fledgling website, but it wasn't exactly an instant sensation. "It was like someone had made a terrible noise, or a terrible smell, in a small room," recalls Jonathan Winer, Kerry's chief senate staff investigator . When I first heard the news, I tell Bell, I was inclined to believe the conspiracy theories that still proliferate on the internet, suggesting that Webb had been assassinated - either by one of the drug dealers he'd met while writing Dark Alliance, or by the intelligence services who were supposed to police them. [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. 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. Gary Douglas Webb of Radnor, PA, passed away on October 19, 2021 Born January 3rd, 1943 in Montreal, Quebec, he was the son of the late John Douglas Webb and the late Jeannie (Penny) Hardie. Webb established incontrovertible links * between Ricky Ross and Blandn who, two years later, would betray Ross to the authorities. In 2004, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb was found dead from an apparent suicide, as Democracy Now! 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. .article-native-ad p { By Sam Stanton Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, December 15, 2004. . "People told me that," she says. She acted opposite Dirk Bogarde in the groundbreaking film Victim (Basil Dearden, 1961), as the unsuspecting wife of a barrister who is a closet homosexual. So, this is not something you really make a career out of, nor would you want to. [18], Webb began researching "Dark Alliance" in July 1995. According to a description of Webb's injuries in the Los Angeles Times, he shot himself with a .38 revolver, which he placed near his right ear. [63]Dark Alliance was a 1998 Pen/Newman's Own First Amendment Award Finalist, 1998 San Francisco Chronicle bestseller, 1999 Bay Area Book Reviewers Award Finalist, and 1999 Firecracker Alternative Booksellers Award Winner in the Politics category. At the commemorative service for Webb, held at the Doubletree Hotel in Sacramento, Bell read out the letter Webb had written to his son Eric, now 17. margin-top: 10px; ", As Webb would tell a friend, after he had been ostracised: "You have to look out, when the big dog gets off the porch.". 4) The series "created impressions that were open to misinterpretation" through "imprecise language and graphics. Actor Jeremy Renner portrays Webb.[83]. "It says the CIA helped introduce poison into our children. Webb may indeed be physically dead, but his research is more alive today than ever before, and continues to haunt the shadow government and snowball into a monster that will undoubtedly have its eventual revenge. Poor Gary Webb. As it turned out," she adds, "that was not their intent.". And yet, for all his Easy Rider tendencies, he was also a dedicated family man with an extraordinary appetite for researching minutiae. * The agency's response was to try to prevent him from getting his doctorate, then block his advancement in the academic world. He accepted Christ at an early age. "I'd get discouraged," she said, "but I never really gave up hope." Back in 1997, SN&R brought the controversy about Gary Webb to readers with "Secrets and Lies," a cover story about why the mainstream media attacked . She was a homemaker and a member of Hunters Chapel Baptist Church. He wrote well. "He told me, not long before he died, that he didn't want to get up in the mornings," she says. Peter Kornbluh, senior analyst with the George Washington University's National Security Archive, was one of the first to suggest that Webb had overplayed his hand in the Mercury News version of "Dark Alliance". Working in San Jose would have meant daily contact with what Bell describes as "people he did not want to be with". A passing motorist - a heavily tattooed young man - gave him a lift home, then returned and stole the motorcycle, which police recovered from him three days after Webb's death. "He thought I was being cowardly. Taken during the London Open House 2014 event. Then, on 10 December, he resigned. "Looking back," she says, "I think Gary had been obsessed with suicide for some time. Much of the article highlighted the failure of law enforcement agencies to successfully prosecute them and stated that this was largely due to their Contra and CIA connections. Osborn, Barbara Bliss (MarchApril 1998). He died by suicide on December 10, 2004. When he was engaged, he worked hard. Like Schou, Corn cites the inspector general's report, which he says "acknowledged that the CIA had indeed worked with suspected drugrunners (sic) while supporting the contras. 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. [20] The website artwork showed the silhouette of a man smoking a crack pipe superimposed over the CIA seal. 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. Gary Hays Webb, 78, passed away on Monday May 9, 2022, at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center, Neenah. "It sounds crazy," says Bell, "but having his motorbike stolen was the last straw. 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. His father was a Marine sergeant, and the family moved frequently, as his career took him to new assignments. In February, Gary Webb gave his ex-wife. [62], Examining the support that Meneses and Blandn gave to the local Contra organization in San Francisco, the report concluded that it was "not sufficient to finance the organization" and did not consist of "millions," contrary to the claims of the "Dark Alliance" series. While working at the legislature, Webb continued to do freelance investigative reporting, sometimes based on his investigative work. [66] Thank you." Despite some hyped phrasing, "Dark Alliance" appears to be praiseworthy investigative reporting."[47]. When facts didn't fit his theory, he tended to shove them to the sidelines. [60], The House Intelligence Committee issued its report in February 2000. Work with a bunch of drug dealers to run guns? [5], After high school, Webb attended an Indianapolis community college on a scholarship until his family moved to Cincinnati. Attorneys' Offices. The first effect of the onslaught was to ease the pressure on the CIA. padding-bottom: 20px; "That's right," says Blum. By the end of September, three federal investigations had been announced: an investigation into the CIA allegations conducted by CIA Inspector-General Frederick Hitz, an investigation into the law enforcement allegations by Justice Department Inspector-General Michael Bromwich, and a second investigation into the CIA by the House Intelligence Committee. Contemporary discussions of the series are discussed in the section on, Webb 2011, "Caltrans Ignored Elevated Freeway Safety. He leaves behind the love of his life and adoring wife of 41 years, Anne Michelle Phillips. He also had this inherent belief that the truth could not harm him. Gary Webb's "Approach Split" in the atrium of 20 Triton Street London. His career ended, his livelihood was destroyed and certain games were started to be . And this is not a happy story - or," she adds, "a little one.". A jury awarded the plaintiffs over 13 million dollars and the case was later settled. (Strawser) Webb. "They use the giant corporate press rather than saying anything directly. Gary Webb was born on August 31, 1955 in Corona, California, USA. In city after city, local dealers either bought from Ross or got left behind."[24]. ", Webb had already been cremated and his ashes scattered in the bay off Santa Cruz two weeks before. One instalment of the LA Times's 18,000-word rebuttal of Webb's piece, published in October 1996, sought to minimise the importance of his key witness, Ricky Ross. [19] The series was published in The Mercury News in three parts, from Sunday, 18 August 1996 to 20 August 1996, with a first long article and one or two shorter articles appearing each day. "[72] California Representative Maxine Waters, who was Webb's strongest supporter in Congress after the "Dark Alliance" controversy broke, issued a statement after Webb's death calling him "one of the finest investigative journalists that our country has ever seen. A revised version was published in 1999 that incorporated Webb's response to the CIA and Justice Department reports. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department began its own investigation into the "Dark Alliance" claims.[30]. } . "Look at what happened to Gary Webb. border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd; Newsweek called Kerry a "randy conspiracy buff". Am J Mens Health, 2018 Mar 1:1557988318758788. doi: 10.1177/1557988318758788. I first heard about Webb eight years ago, I tell Bell, from the Paris-based journalist Paul Moreira. Family (1) In a three-part series published in the San Jose Mercury News, "Dark Alliance," Webb alleges that not only was the CIA aware cocaine sold in the U.S. during the 1980s was funding the Nicaraguan Contras, they were complicit in its distribution. "Which was that, if he wanted a future within the political establishment of the United States, then he should concentrate on other aspects of life.". Part of what makes OConnors article so compelling are the candid thoughts of Webbs former wife Sue Stokes. He had also lost his house the week before his suicide. Webb came home and put his belongings in order, dropping his Kentucky Post poster in the bin. According to the report's "Epilogue," the report was completed in December 1997 but was not released because the DEA was still attempting to use Danilo Blandn in an investigation of international drug dealers and was concerned that the report would affect the viability of the investigation. in Central America", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gary_Webb&oldid=1138520387, This page was last edited on 10 February 2023, at 03:36. [9], Webb's first major investigative work appeared in 1980, when the Cincinnati Post published "The Coal Connection," a seventeen-part series by Webb and Post reporter Thomas Scheffey. What was new about Webb's reports, published under the title "Dark Alliance" in the Californian paper the San Jose Mercury News, was that for the first time it brought the story back home. [29] Waters urged the CIA, the Department of Justice, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate. "Back then. It was also posted on The Mercury News website with additional information, including documents cited in the series and audio recordings of people quoted in the articles. When removal men arrived, on the morning of 10 December 2004, they found a sign on his front door, which read: ''Please do not enter. Gary was born Sept. 4, 1947, to Percy and Pauline (Haas) Webb. Snowfall is an American crime drama television series set in Los Angeles in 1983. [26] Other papers were slow to pick up the story, but African Americans quickly took note, especially in South Central Los Angeles where the dealers discussed in the series had been active. But Ian Webbknows all too well the emotions that come with that experience. He was assigned to its Sacramento bureau, where he was allowed to choose most of his own stories. Views on Webb's journalism have been polarized. Nobody who heads a government agency can let such an allegation stand.". I realise now he was thinking about suicide.". The consensus, insofar as one exists, is that he probably overstated both the amount of drug money made by Ross and Blandn, and the percentage of those profits diverted to the Contras. I remain astounded by the editorial decisions they made.". I felt she really trashed me. One of his last articles examined America's Army, a video game designed by the U.S. Noting that most of the activities discussed in the report had nothing to do with the people Webb reported on, Kornbluh told Schou, "I can't say it's a vindication. Unfortunately, the railroading of Gary Webb had begun and he was run over. But the report was correct. Webb, whose plans to become a journalist had begun when he was 13, but never included equine death notices, resigned from the Mercury News a few months later. American racer Cooper Webb is married to his wife named Mariah Williams Webb. The article resulted in a lawsuit against Webb's paper which the plaintiffs won. [71] When asked by local reporters about the possibility of two gunshots being a suicide, Lyons replied "It's unusual in a suicide case to have two shots, but it has been done in the past, and it is in fact a distinct possibility." I believe that we fell short at every step of our process: in the writing, editing and production of our work. [4] When Webb's father retired from the Marines, the family settled in a suburb of Indianapolis, where Webb and his brother attended high school. The CIA Inspector-General's report was issued in two volumes. 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.' By William Kennedy / Jan. 22, 2023 12:00 pm EST. He was preceded in death by his wife, Melody Webb; parents and three brothers, Albert, Duane and Ronald. [6], Webb first began writing for the student newspaper at his college in Indianapolis. In February last year he was laid off by the State Legislature. Within weeks, the site was attracting up to 1.3m hits per day. 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. The complete lack of desire to ask the difficult questions makes me want to scream. One time he called me and he said: 'I have this plan that will benefit us both.' Webb disagreed with this conclusion.[1][2]. [81], Peter Kornbluh, a researcher at George Washington University's National Security Archives, also does not agree that the report vindicated the series. 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. The Department of Justice Inspector-General's report was released on July 23, 1998. Tara Becker-Gray Lee News Network Jan 17, 2019 0 1 of 2 C. Webb The body found at a house fire at 13308 95th Ave. in rural Blue Grass on Thursday night has been identified as Cynthia Webb, 59.. When she got indignant," she adds, "he went to meet her.". 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. They were outraged by the series's charges.[27]. According to Corn, Webb "was wrong on some important details, but he was, in a way, closer to the truth than many of his establishment media critics who neglected the story of the real CIA-contra-cocaine connection." Film of this encounter survives. 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 . On the last day Webb was alive, his motorbike broke down while he was moving to his mother's house. He had sold his house the week before his death because he was unable to afford the mortgage.[71]. To show this, the series focused on three men: Ricky Ross, Oscar Danilo Blandn, and Norwin Meneses. Gary Webb's income source is mostly from being a successful . Relationships with other women ended badly. ", In contrast, the series received support from Steve Weinberg, a former executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors. [67], Webb later moved to the State Assembly's Office of Majority Services. It was truthful. He was taken to hospital by air ambulance. 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. And when he got something in his head, he was determined to do it. "I told Gary not to go near this story," his source replies, in an emotional voice. OR was he like Epstein? . By the autumn of 1997, on medication for clinical depression, he was given leave of absence from the paper. Both sides were left angry and disappointed. 1) It presented only one interpretation of conflicting evidence and in one case "did not include information that contradicted a central assertion of the series." [71] "The way he was acting it would be hard for me to believe it was anything but suicide," she said. Army. He is the oldest son of Pulitzer Prize-winninginvestigative journalist Gary Webb, the subject of the 2014 film "Kill the Messenger," starring Hollywood heavyweight Jeremy Renner. Meneses, an established smuggler and a Contra supporter as well, taught Blandn how to smuggle and provided him with cocaine. "They had him writing obituaries," she said. } [46] Overholser was harshly critical of the series, "reported by a seemingly hotheaded fellow willing to have people leap to conclusions his reporting couldn't back up." "Gary was given the choice of relocating either to San Jose," says Bell, "or to Cupertino". Garcia is deputy director of the John S Knight Fellowships in Journalism at Stanford University. His assignments included investigating racial profiling by the California Highway Patrol and charges that the Oracle Corporation had received a no-bid contract award of $95 million in 2001. color:rgb(46,179,178); Tomac is used to good feelings when it comes to Daytona. "[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." When he told me, I said it sounded crazy. . "[77], Webb's reporting in "Dark Alliance" remains controversial. 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. The Mercury News reporter came under sustained attack from the weightier US newspapers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and, especially, the Los Angeles Times, infuriated at being scooped, on its own patch, by what it saw as a small-town paper. color: #ddd; Webb - whose article had never alleged that the CIA deliberately targeted any ethnic group - became a national celebrity. [69], Webb was found dead in his Carmichael home on December 10, 2004, with two gunshot wounds to the head. "They tried to make us look like crazies," says Blum. 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. [22], The lede of the first article set out the series' basic claims: "For the better part of a decade, a San Francisco Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the Crips and Bloods street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to a Latin American guerrilla army run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency." Few reporters I've known could match his nose for an investigative story. According to the report, the Inspector-General's office (OIG) examined all information the agency had "relating to CIA knowledge of drug trafficking allegations in regard to any person directly or indirectly involved in Contra activities." [39] Carey's critique appeared in mid-October and went through several of the Post's criticisms of the series, including the importance of Blandn's drug ring in spreading crack, questions about Blandn's testimony in court, and how specific series allegations about CIA involvement had been, giving Webb's responses. Unable to get work from any major US newspaper, he spent the four months before his death writing for * a free-sheet covering the Sacramento area. Gary Stephen Webb(August 31, 1955 - December 10, 2004) was an American investigative journalist. ", "After Gary died," she says, "a reporter from the LA Times came here. Regarding issues raised in the series's shorter sidebar stories, it found that some in the government were "not eager" to have DEA agent Celerino Castillo "openly probe" activities at Ilopango Airport in El Salvador, where covert operations in support of the Contras were undertaken, and that the CIA had indeed intervened in a case involving smuggler Julio Zavala. 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.

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