Both sides were left angry and disappointed. Garry Webb wrote the 1996 "Dark Alliance" series for the San Jose. [67], Webb later moved to the State Assembly's Office of Majority Services. In 2004, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb was found dead from an apparent suicide, as Democracy Now! Webb's ex-wife, Sue Bell, discounted theories Tuesday that her husband had been murdered, saying the 49-year-old Webb had been distraught for some time over his inability to get . Man Donates Liver To Ex-Wife - CBS News margin-top: 10px; "Like enjoy it.". [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. Webb undeniably made mistakes of detail and emphasis in the newspaper version of "Dark Alliance". And this is not a happy story - or," she adds, "a little one.". Webb had become, as somebody put it, "radioactive". Gary is survived by his wife of 48 years, Beverly Webb; children Margaret . 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 was sleeping more, he hated to get up in the morning, he started having a lot of motorcycle. 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. 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. 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. Ceppos failed to reply to one phone message and six emails. 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. The claim that the drug ring of Meneses-Blandn-Ross sparked the "crack explosion" has been perhaps the most criticized part of the series. ", Many of these are in the series archive at. 'Dark Alliance' - both as journalism and as a book - is a convoluted narrative, but the crucial link it establishes is between the "agricultural salesman" Oscar Danilo Blandn, a Contra sympathiser with close CIA links, and his best customer, an LA drug dealer known as "Freeway" Ricky Ross. [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. Webb established incontrovertible links * between Ricky Ross and Blandn who, two years later, would betray Ross to the authorities. 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. Kill the Messenger review - what really happened to Gary Webb I believe that we fell short at every step of our process: in the writing, editing and production of our work. "They use the giant corporate press rather than saying anything directly. The story had little immediate impact. Ross, currently serving life, was already infamous; he had been profiled in the LA Times in December 1994, by writer Jesse Katz, at a time when Ross was at liberty and in penitent mood. His death was especially traumatic to the family since - as the coroner said - it could not be established whether he died instantly, or bled to death. (Strawser) Webb. The story was picked up by black talk-radio stations. His death was ruled a suicide by the Sacramento County coroner's office. The complete lack of desire to ask the difficult questions makes me want to scream. Gary Webb, (born August 31, 1955, Corona, California, U.S.died December 10, 2004, Carmichael, California), American investigative journalist who wrote a three-part series for the San Jose Mercury News in 1996 on connections between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the U.S.-backed Contra army seeking to overthrow Nicaragua's leftist 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. He died on December 10, 2004 in Carmichael, California, USA. Two years later, he was promoted to Vice President of Knight Ridder, the Mercury News's parent company; he retired from this position last month. [68], In August 2004, Webb joined the Sacramento News & Review, an alternative weekly newspaper, where he continued doing investigative writing. And yet, for all his Easy Rider tendencies, he was also a dedicated family man with an extraordinary appetite for researching minutiae. 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. Shortly before his death, his motorcycle had been stolen (it was recovered by his family after his death). [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." [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. When it did, beginning with The Washington Post, it shocked Webb's critics as much as his many admirers. George Webb and Paul Cottrell have begun a weekly series on CoronaVirus now, Mondays at 5PM, EST on paul Cottrell's Rumble Channel. When she got indignant," she adds, "he went to meet her.". Gary Douglas Webb of Radnor, PA, passed away on October 19, 2021. With Baca's encouragement, he started to investigate a large-scale Nicaraguan cocaine dealer named Oscar Danilo Blandn. To Read the Full Story Become an Adweek+ Subscriber. Webb, a Pullitzer prize winning journalist, exposed CIA drug trafficking operations in a series of books and reports for the San Jose Mercury News. "I think Kerry learnt a lesson from all this," reporter Robert Parry says. Gary Webb's "Approach Split" in the atrium of 20 Triton Street London. The Warning in Gary Webb's Death - Consortium News [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". "You do not understand the power of these people," he adds, referring to the US intelligence services. [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. [73], On the other hand, many of the writers and editors who worked with him have had high praise for him. I realise now he was thinking about suicide.". It was an amazing scoop - but one that would ruin his career and drive him to suicide. } 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." By the time Webb began researching Dark Alliance, Bell was 38 and they had three children. The story they printed was just awful. "[80], Not all writers agree that the Inspector-General's report supported the series's claims. 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. "I had to warn Gary that what he was looking at was probably true, but that he would run very big risks," Parry recalls. 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. [71] "The way he was acting it would be hard for me to believe it was anything but suicide," she said. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department began its own investigation into the "Dark Alliance" claims.[30]. Part of what makes OConnors article so compelling are the candid thoughts of Webbs former wife Sue Stokes. 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. The Man Who Exposed The Crips, Bloods & CIA Connection to - YouTube and Drugs Has a Life of Its Own", "Pivotal Figures of Newspaper Series May Be Only Bit Players", "Tracking the Genesis of the Crack Trade", "Examining Charges of CIA Role in Crack Sales", "History Fuels Outrage Over Crack Allegations", "Ex-L.A. Times Writer Apologizes for "Tawdry" Attacks", "Mercury News Executive Editor Jerry Ceppos' Letter to the Washington Post", "Washington Post response to Mercury News Executive Editor Jerry Ceppos", "Despite critics, a good story Crack and the contras", "CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: Epilogue", "CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: Conclusions", United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, "Are You Sure You Want to Ruin Your Career? He kept saying that he would never get another job in journalism.". Webb's experience came as no surprise to Jack Blum, senior prosecutor for the Kerry Committee. When he told me, I said it sounded crazy. Film of this encounter survives. The Death of Gary Webb - Beyond Chron Sue remarried two years ago. 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. Watkins and Debbie (John) Foutch; grandchildren, Makenzie and Ashlynn Fogg. 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. [44], Ceppos' column drew editorial responses from both The New York Times and The Washington Post. How the Press and the CIA Killed Gary Webb's Career . They were outraged by the series's charges.[27]. Because the gentile (european caucasian, lepers, fake jews) or white folks agenda has always been to destroy the black man, ever since pharaoh tried to murder Christ by murdering Hebrew babies, until now. Ricky Ross (drug trafficker) - Wikipedia One of his last articles examined America's Army, a video game designed by the U.S. "[62] It also found no evidence to support Webb's suggestion that several other drug smugglers mentioned in the series were associated with the CIA, or that anyone associated with the CIA or other intelligence agencies was involved in supplying or selling drugs in Los Angeles.[62]. In 1996, investigative journalist Gary Webb wrote a series of stories exposing the connection between the CIA and the crack cocaine that was being sold in So. 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 reports prompted three official investigations, including one by the CIA itself which - astonishingly for an organisation rarely praised for its transparency - confirmed the substance of his findings (published at length in Webb's 1998 book, also entitled Dark Alliance). The article resulted in a lawsuit against Webb's paper which the plaintiffs won. The first detailed article on the series's claims appeared in The Washington Post in early October. 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. When Webb's body was discovered last December, Bell says, this last item had been dumped in the trash. By Sam Stanton Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, December 15, 2004. . When facts didn't fit his theory, he tended to shove them to the sidelines. Gary Webb Obituary (2011) - Saginaw, MI - Saginaw News on MLive.com Dark Alliance - Dark Alliance Emma Lee Webb of Crossett, Arkansas | 1947 - 2023 | Obituary Despite some hyped phrasing, "Dark Alliance" appears to be praiseworthy investigative reporting."[47]. Corrie had primary biliary cirrhosis, a genetic liver disease that already had. He is survived by his loving wife, Wendie, of Elgin; grandmother, Eileen Carrier of Elgin;. "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 . .article-native-ad p { Video courtesy of documentary FREEWAY: CRACK IN THE SYSTEM premiering on Al Jazeera America in early 2015. The passing of Gary ends more than 50 years with his best friend and loving wife, Marilyn J. Webb became a staff reporter for the San Jose Mercury News in 1988. It was published in 1998 as Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. That was just the way he was.". Celebrezze eventually sued the Plain Dealer and won an undisclosed out of court settlement. But "Dark Alliance" was also posted on the Mercury News's website, with the image of a crack smoker superimposed on the CIA badge. Voices: The Gary Webb saga still has lessons today He went into the bedroom, and picked up a .38 that had belonged to his father. Garcia responded by email but declined to speak on the record about the editing process of Webb's series. The article discussed Webb's contacts with Ross's attorney and prosecution complaints of how Ross's defense had used Webb's series. ", As Webb would tell a friend, after he had been ostracised: "You have to look out, when the big dog gets off the porch.". Born in Corona, California, son of a conservatively minded Marine, he met Bell, whose father was a university lecturer, at high school in Indianapolis. 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. It found that "the allegations contained in the original Mercury News articles were exaggerations of the actual facts." Webb came home and put his belongings in order, dropping his Kentucky Post poster in the bin. In and out of work, he had a reputation for taking risks. His former wife, her voice lowered to a whisper, explains that Webb missed with the first shot (which exited through his left cheek). There is a CIA connection and I can demonstrate it.'". Webb 'Suicide' Looking More Like Murder - rense.com 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. If he could have chosen his own epitaph, it might have been a line from the letter he posted to Bell, immediately before he killed himself: "I do not regret," Webb told her, "anything that I have written." He is from United States. 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. Age 43 years. "Do you think that a part of him did this out of revenge?" Within weeks, the site was attracting up to 1.3m hits per day. "He walked in one day," Bell recalls, "and said, 'You are not going to believe what I just found out.' Gary Webb famously died of two gun shot wounds to the head and - reddit