Instead, he found work in 1978 as a reporter at the Kentucky Post, a local paper affiliated with the larger Cincinnati Post. [18], Webb began researching "Dark Alliance" in July 1995. Although Blandn's cartel was undoubtedly one of the first to bring crack to LA, Webb was almost certainly suffering a rush of blood when he described the group as "the first pipeline" into the city. He was born August 27, 1968 in Saginaw, Michigan to Taylor Jr. and Loretta Webb. Few reporters I've known could match his nose for an investigative story. [61] According to the report, it used Webb's reporting and writing as "key resources in focusing and refining the investigation." ", 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. Webb's research took a year, in the course of which he received death threats. But, Ceppos wrote, the series "did not meet our standards" in four areas. Unfortunately, the railroading of Gary Webb had begun and he was run over. reports. Investigative journalist Gary Webb wrote a series of stories in 1996 for the San Jose Mercury News that documented the US-government-backed Contra insurgents' drug pipeline into Los Angeles. [81], Peter Kornbluh, a researcher at George Washington University's National Security Archives, also does not agree that the report vindicated the series. Webb established incontrovertible links * between Ricky Ross and Blandn who, two years later, would betray Ross to the authorities. By the time Webb began researching Dark Alliance, Bell was 38 and they had three children. "He was crying. He was sentenced to life in prison, though the sentence was shortened on appeal and Ross was released in 2009. 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. Gary was preceded in death by his mother and father, Donna and James Webb of Carpentersville. In February last year he was laid off by the State Legislature. [37], In 2013, Jesse Katz, a former Los Angeles Times reporter, said of the newspaper's coverage "As an L.A. Times reporter, we saw this series in the San Jose Mercury News and kind of wonder[ed] how legit it was and kind of put it under a microscope, and we did it in a way that most of us who were involved in it, I think, would look back on that and say it was overkill. 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. color: #ddd; 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. Snowfall is an American crime drama television series set in Los Angeles in 1983. [56] He resigned from the paper in November 1997. 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 . Garcia is deputy director of the John S Knight Fellowships in Journalism at Stanford University. Webb took a modestly paid, low-profile job as an investigator with the California State Legislature. '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. GARY WEBB was an investigative reporter who focused on government and private sector corruption and who won more than thirty journalism awards. The first effect of the onslaught was to ease the pressure on the CIA. Cooper Webb Wife Name Revealed. "Because of Gary Webb's work," said Senator John Kerry, "the CIA launched an investigation that found dozens of connections to drug runners. The Department of Justice Inspector-General's report was released on July 23, 1998. American racer Cooper Webb is married to his wife named Mariah Williams Webb. ", The report called several of its findings "troubling." On one road trip, in 2001, he came off the motorcycle and split his helmet open. Gary was born May 5, 1954, to his parents Worley and Margaret Webb, who preceded him in death as well as his brother, David Webb. 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. [44], Ceppos' column drew editorial responses from both The New York Times and The Washington Post. 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". A secret deal allowed drugs to go unreported by the DCI. To show this, the series focused on three men: Ricky Ross, Oscar Danilo Blandn, and Norwin Meneses. "Do you think that a part of him did this out of revenge?" Blandn and Meneses were Nicaraguans who smuggled drugs into the U.S. and supplied dealers like Ross. 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. 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. He had sold his house the week before his death because he was unable to afford the mortgage.[71]. Do not quote me on anything.". By Sam Stanton Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, December 15, 2004. . In an unprecedented move, the then CIA director John Deutch was dispatched to address community leaders in the Watts district of LA. He made that very clear. [42] The extent of the criticism, however, convinced Ceppos that The Mercury News had to acknowledge to its readers that the series had been subjected to strong criticism. When Webb wrote another story on the raid evidence in early October, it received wide attention in Los Angeles. Save 50% with early-bird passes. For instance, he published an article on racial profiling in traffic stops in Esquire magazine, in April 1999. 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." She said the paper wanted to make up for what it had done in the past. In addition, Gary left multiple suicide notes to family members which were confirmed to be in his own hand by them. [49], The paper also gave Webb permission to visit Central America again to get more evidence supporting the story. The "Dark Alliance" series remains controversial. When he told me, I said it sounded crazy. A revised version was published in 1999 that incorporated Webb's response to the CIA and Justice Department reports. Webb's experience came as no surprise to Jack Blum, senior prosecutor for the Kerry Committee. "Gary didn't take her seriously," says Susan Bell, "because he was always getting calls alleging weird stuff about the CIA. "To get back at his editors?". .article-native-ad svg { It found that "the allegations contained in the original Mercury News articles were exaggerations of the actual facts." Garry Webb wrote the 1996 "Dark Alliance" series for the San Jose. Gary Webb, friends say, was a far more combative character than either the Mercury News's executive editor Ceppos or page editor Garcia. 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. "They had him writing obituaries," she said. Why bring up old white people atrocities against black people now? Webb's ex wife, Susan Bell told reporters that she believed Webb had died by suicide. . We are in the living room of Bell's house just outside Sacramento, California. Webb put in a call to Robert Parry. There was no coffin, casket or tombstone. Do something else with your life," the voice urges. And he finallyyou know, they finally left the country. But Ian Webbknows all too well the emotions that come with that experience. By William Kennedy / Jan. 22, 2023 12:00 pm EST. When his body was found, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was on the DVD machine, and his favourite CD, Ian Hunter's live album Welcome to the Club, was in the CD player. When he was engaged, he worked hard. He told me: 'If I can't do what I want to do, what's the point?' Webb is best known for his "Dark Alliance" series, which appeared in The Mercury News in 1996. By the autumn of 1997, on medication for clinical depression, he was given leave of absence from the paper. Webb followed up Baca's leads at the California State Library, examining Congressional records and FBI reports. n 1996, journalist Gary Webb wrote a series of articles under the title "Dark Alliance" for the suggesting a CIA connection between anti-government contras in Nicaragua and monies raised from. He began his career working for newspapers in Kentucky and Ohio, winning numerous awards, and building a strong reputation for investigative writing. [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. The three articles in the series were written by four reporters: Jesse Katz, Doyle McManus, John Mitchell and Sam Fulwood. 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. "Gary Webb was left to fend for himself. So, how much is Gary Webb worth at the age of 49 years old? It was accurate. 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. 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. In and out of work, he had a reputation for taking risks. In August of 1996, investigative journalist Gary Webb broke the biggest story of his life. 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. [10] The series, which examined the murder of a coal company president with ties to organized crime, won the national Investigative Reporters and Editors Award for reporting from a small newspaper. [73], On the other hand, many of the writers and editors who worked with him have had high praise for him. 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. Begun 1996, the divorce and battle over cash of Grammy winner Jimmy Webb age 75, father of six, wed 22 years to Patsy, 64, daughter of late actor Barry Sullivan is getting longer. "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. }. Gary Webb famously died of two gun shot wounds to the head and his death that was ruled a suicide, is the common sense notion that this was clearly assassination true? [67], Webb later moved to the State Assembly's Office of Majority Services. He was so depressed. "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 . Webb came home and put his belongings in order, dropping his Kentucky Post poster in the bin. In May 1997, after an internal review, Ceppos stated that, although the story was right on many important points, there were shortcomings in the writing, editing and production of the series. He then transferred to nearby Northern Kentucky University. line-height:1.5; Attorneys' Offices. Eli Tomac on track during Media Day at Daytona International Speedway, Friday, March 3, 2023. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. By the late spring of 1996, Webb was ready to publish. He died on December 10, 2004 in Carmichael, California, USA. 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. 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 The legendary civil-rights activist Dick Gregory was arrested while he protested outside the CIA's headquarters; Gregory began referring to the organisation as "Crack in America". Gary Webb's family says his death was Suicide. padding-left: 10px!important; "Look at what happened to Gary Webb. [69], Webb was found dead in his Carmichael home on December 10, 2004, with two gunshot wounds to the head. 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. [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. He is survived by his loving wife, Wendie, of Elgin; grandmother, Eileen Carrier of Elgin;. The story they printed was just awful. [28] Maxine Waters, the representative for California's 35th district, which includes South-Central Los Angeles, was also outraged by the articles and became one of Webb's strongest supporters. They were outraged by the series's charges.[27]. [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. It was truthful. [13] Webb then moved to the paper's statehouse bureau, where he covered statewide issues and won numerous regional journalism awards. It found that CIA officials ignored information about possible Contra drug dealing; that they continued to work with Contra supporters despite allegations that they were trafficking drugs, and further asserted that officials from the CIA instructed Drug Enforcement Agency officers to refrain from investigating alleged dealers connected with the Contras. In February, Gary Webb gave his ex-wife. [55] Webb eventually chose Cupertino, but was unhappy with the routine stories he was reporting there and the long commute. 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". 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. 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. 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. 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." But as Krim told Webb's biographer Nick Schou, "The zeal that helped make Gary a relentless reporter was coupled with an inability to question himself, to entertain the notion that he might have erred. "The cause of death was determined to be self . Gary is survived by his loving wife of 41 years, Barbara; their son, Jeff; his nephew, Christopher (Stephanie) Webb; niece, Sara (Gary) Dugan; and . 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. He was born at Emmanuel Hospital in. [51] After discussions with Webb, the column was published on May 11, 1997.[53]. And yet, for all his Easy Rider tendencies, he was also a dedicated family man with an extraordinary appetite for researching minutiae. Their explosive report, which appeared in 1989, was either ignored, or marginalised, by the American press. Hired by the San Jose Mercury News, Webb contributed to the paper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. "Gary was 18 and I was 16 when we first met and started dating in Indianapolis," said Sue Stokes. Webb - whose article had never alleged that the CIA deliberately targeted any ethnic group - became a national celebrity. Working in San Jose would have meant daily contact with what Bell describes as "people he did not want to be with". Born January 3rd, 1943 in Montreal, Quebec, he was the son of the late John Douglas Webb and the late Jeannie (Penny) Hardie Penman. Gary Webb became, quite unfairly, the victim of one of the most extraordinary examples of piling on by the mainstream press, ever.". Ricky Donnell "Freeway Rick" Ross (born January 26, 1960) is an American author and convicted drug trafficker best known for the drug empire he established in Los Angeles, California, in the early to mid 1980s. The story had little immediate impact. 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.
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