The Warning in Gary Webb's Death - Consortium News The first article, by Katz, developed a different picture of the origins of the crack trade than "Dark Alliance" had described, with more gangs and smugglers participating. "By the end of his life he was just in a lot of pain," said Webb's ex-wife, Susan Bell. line-height:1.5; He was so depressed. .article-native-ad strong { A revised version was published in 1999 that incorporated Webb's response to the CIA and Justice Department reports. It found that "the allegations contained in the original Mercury News articles were exaggerations of the actual facts." He was previously married to Sue Bell. 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. "They had him writing obituaries," she said. Nick Schou, a journalist who wrote a 2006 biography of Webb, has claimed that this was the most important error in the series. Should these editors subsequently deem the story to have been fatally flawed, they take the consequences. 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. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Tiffany L Gary-Webb | School of Public Health "You sound very scared," Moreira remarks. In a three-part expos, investigative journalist Gary Webb reported that a guerrilla army in Nicaragua had used crack cocaine sales in Los Angeles' black neighborhoods to fund an attempted coup of Nicaragua's socialist government in the 1980s and that the CIA had purposefully funded it. Gary Webb's family says his death was Suicide. Webb 'Suicide' Looking More Like Murder - rense.com [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". 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. Webb joined the Mercury News in 1988, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. [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. Age 43 years. I felt weak and distressed; the whole thing was so fresh. Gary Webb - Biography - IMDb For instance, he published an article on racial profiling in traffic stops in Esquire magazine, in April 1999. In interviews after leaving The Mercury News, Webb described the 1997 controversy as media manipulation. 'It's just good vibes': Cooper Webb, Eli Tomac in tight Supercross OR was he like Epstein? The response from the American press took two months to arrive. Ceppos failed to reply to one phone message and six emails. The truth was that, in all those years, I hadn't written anything important enough to suppress. By this stage, he was prepared to work as a jobbing reporter. What he found, he wrote later, "nearly knocked me off my chair". But Webb had one huge blind side: He was fundamentally a man of passion, not of fairness. Webb had become, as somebody put it, "radioactive". 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 . In 1996, the award-winning journalist Gary Webb uncovered CIA links to Los Angeles drug dealers. The Man Who Exposed The Crips, Bloods & CIA Connection to - YouTube I believe that we fell short at every step of our process: in the writing, editing and production of our work. Sue remarried two years ago. Bell and her children helped Webb prepare 50 packages containing cuttings and his CV which they sent out to newspapers all over the US. Gary Webb - Spartacus Educational Last edited on 10 February 2023, at 03:36, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion, CIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking, "To readers of our 'Dark Alliance' series", "America's 'crack' plague has roots in Nicaragua war", "War on drugs has unequal impact on black Americans", "Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Inquiry Findings", "The CIA and Crack: Evidence Is Lacking Of Alleged Plot", "Though Evidence Is Thin, Tale of C.I.A. [52] Webb was allowed to keep working on the story and made one more trip to Nicaragua in March. LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12 - Gary Webb, a reporter who won national attention with a series of articles, later discredited, linking the Central Intelligence Agency to the spread of crack . [3], Webb was born in Corona, California. Herhold: Thinking back on journalist Gary Webb and the CIA And this is not a happy story - or," she adds, "a little one.". The room is decorated with his trophies: a Pulitzer prize hangs next to his HL Mencken award; also on the wall is a framed advertisement for The Kentucky Post. 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. He began his career working for newspapers in Kentucky and Ohio, winning numerous awards, and building a strong reputation for investigative writing. The story was picked up by black talk-radio stations. The coroner's staff concluded that the second shot hit an artery.[70]. "Back then. Gary Stephen Webb(August 31, 1955 - December 10, 2004) was an American investigative journalist. According to Walt Bogdanich, a former colleague on the Plain Dealer who has won two Pulitzers and now works for The New York Times, Webb was the best retriever of information from public records he has ever seen. It was truthful. "But that," pointed out Blum, who is now a Washington attorney, "in no way - in no way - diminishes the wrongness of what these bastards did. Taken during the London Open House 2014 event. 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. "To get back at his editors?". A flood of inquiries about Gary Webb's shooting death prompts statement. [36] McManus wrote that Blandn's and Meneses's contributions to Contra organizations were significantly less than the "millions" claimed in the series, and stated there was no evidence that the CIA had tried to protect them. The couple got married recently in November of 2020 after dating for some time. 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. Born January 3rd, 1943 in Montreal, Quebec, he was the son of the late John Douglas Webb and the late Jeannie (Penny) Hardie Penman. To pay off his mounting debts, Webb sold the Carmichael property, where he was living alone, and arranged to move in with his mother. During and immediately after the controversy over "Dark Alliance," Webb's earlier writing was examined closely. He said: 'No. 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. Call 911 for assistance. "I had to warn Gary that what he was looking at was probably true, but that he would run very big risks," Parry recalls. [29] Waters urged the CIA, the Department of Justice, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate. GARY WEBB: His wife's office was burglarized. It also stated that the Contras may have acted with the knowledge and protection of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). [7] After transferring to Northern Kentucky, he entered its journalism program and wrote for the school paper, The Northerner. "He rang me up that day. They failed because the climate was more sceptical then. Jimmy Webb's battle with ex-wife Patsy Sullivan continues - New York Post [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. "Like enjoy it.". A time of fellowship and remembrance is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6, 2019, at Lake Ridge Chapel and Memorial Designers. An investigative journalist, Webb became interested in the covert activities of the Central Intelligence Agency. Gary Webb Was Right | HuffPost Latest News It was published in 1998 as Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? With hindsight, Bell says, "the signs were there. We had been here before." "Ross," his report went on, dealt "on a scale never before conceived," with "a staggering turnover" of "50 to 100 kilos of cocaine a day". One time he called me and he said: 'I have this plan that will benefit us both.' With Baca's encouragement, he started to investigate a large-scale Nicaraguan cocaine dealer named Oscar Danilo Blandn. The story had little immediate impact. "[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. 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. When Webb wrote another story on the raid evidence in early October, it received wide attention in Los Angeles. 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. "I think Kerry learnt a lesson from all this," reporter Robert Parry says. }. Gary Webb's "Dark Alliance" Returns to the Internet - Narco News "I told Gary not to go near this story," his source replies, in an emotional voice. padding:0!important; Even 10 years after his tragic death, the media refuse to let him rest. The character reporter Irene Abe is said by fans of the show to be a stand in character for the real life Gary Webb. The story they printed was just awful. I remain astounded by the editorial decisions they made.". "Do not quote me. Meneses, an established smuggler and a Contra supporter as well, taught Blandn how to smuggle and provided him with cocaine. He was found dead on Friday morning in what the police said was an apparent suicide. Webb became a staff reporter for the San Jose Mercury News in 1988. 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". But the biggest loss he had was the writing. Gary Webb's income source is mostly from being a successful . It was written by Jesse Katz, the same reporter who, less than two years earlier, had described Ross's conglomerate as "the Wal-Mart of crack dealing". That wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been willing to stand up and risk it all.". When he told me, I said it sounded crazy. After the series's publication, the Northern California branch of the national Society of Professional Journalists voted Webb "Journalist of the Year" for 1996. Gary Webb's "Approach Split" in the atrium of 20 Triton Street London. "[55] In June 1997, The Mercury News told Webb it was transferring him from the paper's Sacramento bureau and offered him a choice between working at the main offices in San Jose under closer editorial supervision, or spot reporting in Cupertino; both locations were long commutes from his home in Sacramento. [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." "The first story he had to file was about a police horse which had died of constipation.". We had this huge team of people at the L.A. Times and kind of piled on to one lone muckraker up in Northern California." 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. 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. He had sold his house the week before his death because he was unable to afford the mortgage.[71]. Famously known by the Family name Gary Stephen Webb, was a great Engineer.He was born on August 31, 1955, in Carmichael, California.Carmichael is a beautiful and populous city located in Carmichael, California United States of America.. Gary Webb Early Life Story, Family Background and Education. Cooper Webb Wife Name Revealed: Who Is Professional SX/MX - Halla News After introducing the three, the first article discussed primarily Blandn and Meneses, and their relationship with the Contras and the CIA. font-weight:500; Today, Narco News, with support from The Fund for Authentic Journalism, is pleased to announce that the Dark Alliance website has a new, and this time permanent, home at Narco News. "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.". "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 . [16] As part of The Mercury News team that covered the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, Webb and his colleague Pete Carey wrote a story examining the causes of the collapse of the Cypress Street Viaduct. Return of the messenger: How Jeremy Renner's new film Kill The Gary Webb was a journalist of outsized talent. Emma Lee Webb. And he finallyyou know, they finally left the country. It also examined "how CIA handled and responded to information regarding allegations of drug trafficking" by people involved in Contra activities or support. margin-top: 10px; When Webb's body was discovered last December, Bell says, this last item had been dumped in the trash. [40] Ceppos also asked reporter Pete Carey to write a critique of the series for publication in The Mercury News, and had the controversial website artwork changed. 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. He had also lost his house the week before his suicide. The other article, citing interviews with current and former intelligence and law-enforcement officials, questioned the importance of the drug dealers discussed in the series, both in the crack cocaine trade and in supporting the Nicaraguan Contras' fight against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. She was a homemaker and a member of Hunters Chapel Baptist Church. "You do not understand the power of these people," he adds, referring to the US intelligence services. margin-bottom: 20px; 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. Blandn and Meneses were Nicaraguans who smuggled drugs into the U.S. and supplied dealers like Ross. 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. WEBB, Mr. Gary Lee, our beloved son, husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle went home with his heavenly Father Monday, August 29, 2011 at University of Michigan Hospital. Unfortunately, the railroading of Gary Webb had begun and he was run over. The "Dark Alliance" series remains controversial. Like the CIA and Justice Department reports, it also found that neither Blandn, Meneses, nor Ross were associated with the CIA. The complete lack of desire to ask the difficult questions makes me want to scream. Webb's continuing reporting also triggered a fourth investigation. 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. 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. Poor Gary Webb. Views on Webb's journalism have been polarized. 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. By a fortunate coincidence of timing, the report was released on a day when the Monica Lewinsky scandal dominated every front page in the country. "He told me, not long before he died, that he didn't want to get up in the mornings," she says. ", The report called several of its findings "troubling." His own paper, the Mercury News, criticized the series in 1997 without providing many specifics. Gary Webb's Ex-Wife Set to Attend New York Premiere - Adweek Gary Webb, Into the Buzzsaw, CH 13, Prometheus Books. Hired by the San Jose Mercury News, Webb contributed to the paper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. After a local newspaper reported that Webb had died from multiple gunshots, the coroner's office received so many calls asking about Webb's death that Sacramento County Coroner Robert Lyons issued a statement confirming Webb had died by suicide. "If there was an eye to the storm," Katz wrote, "if there was a mastermind behind crack's decade-long reign, if there was one outlaw most responsible for flooding LA's streets with mass-marketed cocaine, his name was Freeway Rick. Chasing Corona - by George Webb 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." Why Journalist Gary Webb Died - LewRockwell Moreira - a senior news producer for Canal Plus - has established a reputation for courage and independence of mind in his own foreign reporting, and was recently described by Le Monde as "the Che Guevara of news media". 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. By: E&P Staff The death of investigative reporter Gary Webb has been confirmed as a suicide, according to a coroner's statement. On the last day Webb was alive, his motorbike broke down while he was moving to his mother's house. "[25] It also found disparities in the treatment of Black and White traffickers in the justice system, contrasting the treatment of Blandn and Ross after their arrests for drug trafficking. Tomac is used to good feelings when it comes to Daytona. The article suggested this was in retribution for Ross' testimony in the corruption case. One article, dealing mostly with the response of the Los Angeles Black community to the stories, described the series's evidence as "thin". In 2004, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb was found dead from an apparent suicide, as Democracy Now! 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. How Kill the Messenger Will Vindicate Investigative Journalist Gary Webb "[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."