[32], The New York Times published two articles on the series in mid-October, both written by reporter Tim Golden. [7] After transferring to Northern Kentucky, he entered its journalism program and wrote for the school paper, The Northerner. "The cause of death was determined to be self . "Everyone got out and left the person who had made the noise - issued the report - alone. Army. color:rgb(46,179,178); Parry, the first reporter to write about the US authorities' drug-running on behalf of the Contras, had survived a campaign by the White House to discredit first his story, then his reputation. The new movie Kill the Messenger, based in part on a 2006 book by a former student of mine, eulogizes Webb . Webb worked for several newspapers including The Kentucky Post and Cleveland Plain Dealer. Family (1) 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." She and Gary were married from 1979 to 2000 and had three children. 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 police were preparing the case against her boyfriend, Baca alleged, officers had disclosed documents which revealed that one of her lover's associates had been working for the Contras. He then transferred to nearby Northern Kentucky University. Critics view the series' claims as inaccurate or overstated, while supporters point to the results of a later CIA investigation as vindicating the series. I felt she really trashed me. Although it did find that both men were major drug dealers, "guilty of enriching themselves at the expense of countless drug users," and that they had contributed money to the Contra cause, "we did not find that their activities were responsible for the crack cocaine epidemic in South Central Los Angeles, much less the rise of crack throughout the nation, or that they were a significant source of support for the Contras. I believe that we fell short at every step of our process: in the writing, editing and production of our work. "As a PhD student, McCoy went to Vietnam and built an absolutely damning case about the CIA's involvement with trafficking heroin. But Ian Webbknows all too well the emotions that come with that experience. [67], Webb later moved to the State Assembly's Office of Majority Services. Save 50% with early-bird passes. Gary Webb's Ex-Wife Set to Attend New York Premiere By Richard Horgan October 8, 2014 Cleveland Plain Dealer film critic Clint O'Connor had a solid feature the other day about Kill the. E&P Staff. [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 claim that the drug ring of Meneses-Blandn-Ross sparked the "crack explosion" has been perhaps the most criticized part of the series. "The second bullet," adds Bell, who has worked for more than 20 years in the area of respiratory therapy, "struck his carotid artery. 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. 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. 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. Webb, a Pullitzer prize winning journalist, exposed CIA drug trafficking operations in a series of books and reports for the San Jose Mercury News. [21] This artwork proved controversial, and The Mercury News later removed it. Jeremy Renner as Gary Webb How Kill the Messenger Will Vindicate Investigative Journalist Gary Webb Melinda Welsh September 29, 2014 This one has all the ingredients of a dreamed-up Hollywood. "To get back at his editors?". When they married, she was aged just 21. "Gary was 18 and I was 16 when we first met and started dating in Indianapolis," said Sue Stokes. 4) The series "created impressions that were open to misinterpretation" through "imprecise language and graphics. [14] In 1984, Webb wrote a story titled Driving Off With Profits which claimed that the promoters of a race in Cleveland paid themselves nearly a million dollars from funds that should have gone to the city of Cleveland. 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. After his resignation from The Mercury News, Webb expanded the "Dark Alliance" series into a book that responded to the criticism of the series and described his experiences writing the story and dealing with the controversy. He received his medical degree from American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than. * The agency's response was to try to prevent him from getting his doctorate, then block his advancement in the academic world. Call 911 for assistance. "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. Webb began to shift from cynicism to curiosity. The Los Angeles Times and other major papers published articles suggesting the "Dark Alliance" claims were overstated and, in November 1996, Jerome Ceppos, the executive editor at Mercury News, wrote about being "in the eye of the storm". The character reporter Irene Abe is said by fans of the show to be a stand in character for the real life Gary Webb. "Because of Gary Webb's work," said Senator John Kerry, "the CIA launched an investigation that found dozens of connections to drug runners. In the column, Ceppos defended parts of the article, writing that the series had "solidly documented" that the drug ring described in the series did have connections with the Contras and did sell large quantities of cocaine in inner-city Los Angeles. "I believe that Americans, as a nation, are mainly concerned with living their happy little lives. A secret deal allowed drugs to go unreported by the DCI. Webb was an assertive figure who drove fast cars and powerful motorcycles, hung heavy metal posters in his office and, at certain times in his life, smoked a fair amount of cannabis. Do not quote me on anything.". Meneses, an established smuggler and a Contra supporter as well, taught Blandn how to smuggle and provided him with cocaine. So, how much is Gary Webb worth at the age of 49 years old? It found that Blandn received permanent resident status "in a wholly improper manner" and that for some time the Department "was not certain whether to prosecute Meneses, or use him as a cooperating witness." "He was crying. Shortly before his death, his motorcycle had been stolen (it was recovered by his family after his death). The story they printed was just awful. But, Ceppos wrote, the series "did not meet our standards" in four areas. When he told me, I said it sounded crazy. When Attorney General Janet Reno determined that a delay was no longer necessary, the report was released unaltered. [81], Peter Kornbluh, a researcher at George Washington University's National Security Archives, also does not agree that the report vindicated the series. "He thought I was being cowardly. [49], The paper also gave Webb permission to visit Central America again to get more evidence supporting the story. 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. "[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. It would have been our 25th wedding anniversary," Bell recalls. In 1996, the award-winning journalist Gary Webb uncovered CIA links to Los Angeles drug dealers. 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. [3], Webb was born in Corona, California. Both Gary's ex-wife Susan and his brother Kurt viewed the body and they confirmed the location of the wounds to me when I met them. 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. So he blew her off. Tomac is used to good feelings when it comes to Daytona. To show this, the series focused on three men: Ricky Ross, Oscar Danilo Blandn, and Norwin Meneses. Gary Webb, 64, Oroville, Wash., died Oct. 30, 2021. Webb is best known for his "Dark Alliance" series, which appeared in The Mercury News in 1996. [56] He resigned from the paper in November 1997. We're well aware that they/it (the cia) did do it. padding-bottom: 20px; Some might consider it an inappropriate assignment for a man with responsibilities. Webb put in a call to Robert Parry. line-height:1.5; ". ", As Webb would tell a friend, after he had been ostracised: "You have to look out, when the big dog gets off the porch.". Some editors regarded him as stubborn to the point of insolence. After introducing the three, the first article discussed primarily Blandn and Meneses, and their relationship with the Contras and the CIA. And he finallyyou know, they finally left the country. 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. "[74] Mary Anne Sharkey, Webb's editor at The Plain Dealer, told writer Alicia Shepard in 1997 that Webb was known as 'the carpenter' "because he had everything nailed down. Webb - whose article had never alleged that the CIA deliberately targeted any ethnic group - became a national celebrity. .article-native-ad { The complete lack of desire to ask the difficult questions makes me want to scream. He told me: 'If I can't do what I want to do, what's the point?' Connie Webb (304) 778-2546: Status: Homeowner. Gary Webb's wife, Sue Webb (now Sue Stokes), said that he had been depressed for years due to his inability to get hired at a daily newspaper. He concluded, "How did these shortcomings occur? This support "was not directed by anyone within the Contra movement who had an association with the CIA," and the Committee found "no evidence that the CIA or the Intelligence Community was aware of these individuals support. He said: 'No. The first one, "The California Story," was issued in a classified version on December 17, 1997, and in an unclassified version on January 29, 1998. The second article described Blandn's background and how he began smuggling cocaine to support the Contras. [59], The first volume of the report found no evidence that "any past or present employee of CIA, or anyone acting on behalf of CIA, had any direct or indirect dealing" with Ross, Blandn, or Meneses or that any of the other figures mentioned in "Dark Alliance" were ever employed by or associated with or contacted by the agency. 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. . [17] The Mercury News's coverage of the earthquake won its staff the Pulitzer Prize for General News Reporting in 1990. His own paper, the Mercury News, criticized the series in 1997 without providing many specifics. Baca claimed that a drug dealer with close links to the CIA had framed her boyfriend, who was also in the cocaine business. American racer Cooper Webb is married to his wife named Mariah Williams Webb. [55] Webb eventually chose Cupertino, but was unhappy with the routine stories he was reporting there and the long commute. [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. padding:0!important; In 1986, Webb wrote an article saying that the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, Frank D. Celebrezze accepted contributions from groups with organized crime connections. Gary Webb (304) 778-2546: Jamie Webb (304) 778-2546: Status: Homeowner. Even 10 years after his tragic death, the media refuse to let him rest. This drug ring "opened the first pipeline between Colombia's cocaine cartels and the black neighborhoods of Los Angeles" and, as a result, "The cocaine that flooded in helped spark a crack explosion in urban America."[23]. Ceppos initially defended Webb, and reportedly showed up at an in-house party wearing a military helmet. He also defended the series in interviews with all three papers. When facts didn't fit his theory, he tended to shove them to the sidelines. Gary Webb sums up the story in his last major interview just days before his death. She said the paper wanted to make up for what it had done in the past. .article-native-ad strong { He was so depressed. "By the end of his life he was just in a lot of pain," said Webb's ex-wife, Susan Bell. The story offered no evidence to support such sweeping conclusions, a fatal error that would ultimately destroy Webb, if not his editors. 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. I mean - please.". [54] Editors at the paper, on the other hand, felt that Webb had failed to tell them about information that contradicted the series's claims and that he "responded to concerns not with reasoned argument, but with accusations of us selling him out. [11], In 1983, Webb moved to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, where he continued doing investigative work. Cooper Webb Wife Name Revealed. The February 2000 report by the House Intelligence Committee in turn considered the book's claims as well as the series' claims. ", 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. But Webb had one huge blind side: He was fundamentally a man of passion, not of fairness. Webb chose the second option. "I told Gary not to go near this story," his source replies, in an emotional voice. Dec. 13, 2004. It was accurate. Gary Hays Webb, 78, passed away on Monday May 9, 2022, at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center, Neenah. In and out of work, he had a reputation for taking risks. 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.. Can these things possibly be? Gary Webb's family says his death was Suicide. Webb joined the Mercury News in 1988, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He had sold his house the week before his death because he was unable to afford the mortgage.[71]. When she got indignant," she adds, "he went to meet her.". The second volume, "The Contra Story," was issued in a classified version on April 27, 1998, and in an unclassified version on October 8, 1998. 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. Film of this encounter survives. In addition, Gary left multiple suicide notes to family members which were confirmed to be in his own hand by them. }. 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. He is from United States. In an unprecedented move, the then CIA director John Deutch was dispatched to address community leaders in the Watts district of LA. 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. That was just the way he was.". In interviews after leaving The Mercury News, Webb described the 1997 controversy as media manipulation. We are in the living room of Bell's house just outside Sacramento, California. According to Schou, the investigation "confirmed key chunks of Webb's allegations." Working in San Jose would have meant daily contact with what Bell describes as "people he did not want to be with". Gary was born Sept. 4, 1947, to Percy and Pauline (Haas) Webb. 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. The first effect of the onslaught was to ease the pressure on the CIA. The first article in "Dark Alliance" that discussed the failure of law enforcement agencies to prosecute Blandn and Meneses had mentioned several cases. [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. "He had six in a short period of time." ", She pauses: "That said, he did sleep with a gun under his bed.". "It sounds crazy," says Bell, "but having his motorbike stolen was the last straw. [44], Ceppos' column drew editorial responses from both The New York Times and The Washington Post. Part of what makes OConnors article so compelling are the candid thoughts of Webbs former wife Sue Stokes. The normal process is, or should be, that a reporter files a story and is robustly challenged by his paper's lawyers and editors - who, if satisfied that the report is accurate - publish, then defend the writer to the hilt. Every year since investigative journalist Gary Webb took his own life in 2004, I have marked the anniversary of that sad event by recalling the debt that American history owes to Webb for his. Gary's ex-wife Susan Bell states: "The way he was acting it would be hard for me to believe it was anything but suicide." An interesting OPINION, but she supplies no convincing evidence to illustrate what she means by this. But the report was correct. The CIA Inspector-General's report was issued in two volumes. On one road trip, in 2001, he came off the motorcycle and split his helmet open. "[82], Kill the Messenger (2014) is based on Webb's book Dark Alliance and Nick Schou's biography of Webb. (Strawser) Webb. [13] Webb then moved to the paper's statehouse bureau, where he covered statewide issues and won numerous regional journalism awards. One of his last articles examined America's Army, a video game designed by the U.S. 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. "[64] Webb's longest response to the controversy was in "The Mighty Wurlitzer Plays On," a chapter he contributed to an anthology of press criticism: .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, If we had met five years ago, you wouldn't have found a more staunch defender of the newspaper industry than me And then I wrote some stories that made me realize how sadly misplaced my bliss had been.