The series revolves around the first crack epidemic and its impact on the culture of the city. Video courtesy of documentary FREEWAY: CRACK IN THE SYSTEM premiering on Al Jazeera America in early 2015. 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. After Webb's death, a collection of his stories from before and after the "Dark Alliance" series was published. How Kill the Messenger Will Vindicate Investigative Journalist Gary Webb } [11], In 1983, Webb moved to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, where he continued doing investigative work. The link between drug-running and the Reagan regime's support for the right-wing terrorist group throughout the 1980s had been public knowledge for over a decade. [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. Webb came home and put his belongings in order, dropping his Kentucky Post poster in the bin. Thank you." [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." 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 . padding-left: 10px!important; Poor Gary Webb. Gary's family found that old, storied, ("priceless to us," as his ex-wife, Susan Bell, described it to me) CDROM among his possessions. that the "federal government bore some responsibility, however indirect, for the flood of crack that coursed through black neighborhoods in the 1980s"). .article-native-ad p { font-weight:500; 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: Vindicated - Narco News Webb joined the Mercury News in 1988, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. George Webb and Paul Cottrell have begun a weekly series on CoronaVirus now, Mondays at 5PM, EST on paul Cottrell's Rumble Channel. 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. Gary Webb photos on Flickr | Flickr "I told Gary not to go near this story," his source replies, in an emotional voice. Jeff Leen, assistant managing editor for investigative reporting at The Washington Post, wrote in a 2014 opinion page article that "the report found no CIA relationship with the drug ring Webb had written about." Gary Hays Webb, 78, passed away on Monday May 9, 2022, at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center, Neenah. "If I had one dream for you," he wrote, "it was that you would go into journalism and carry on the kind of work I did - fighting, with all your might, the oppression and bigotry and stupidity and greed that surrounds us. I felt weak and distressed; the whole thing was so fresh. The Tragic 2004 Death Of Investigative Journalist, Gary Webb It was an amazing scoop - but one that would ruin his career and drive him to suicide. If the antagonism of competing publications was predictable, what happened to Webb within his own newspaper was not. Webb had become, as somebody put it, "radioactive". } Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? His father was a Marine sergeant, and the family moved frequently, as his career took him to new assignments. The third article, by Mitchell and Fulwood, covered the effects of crack on African-Americans and how it affected their reaction to some of the rumors that arose after the "Dark Alliance" series. The Man Who Exposed The Crips, Bloods & CIA Connection to - YouTube . I remain astounded by the editorial decisions they made.". Gary Webb Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family 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. 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. "[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. "But Gary thought that if something was true, it should be told. Hired by the San Jose Mercury News, Webb contributed to the paper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He was so depressed. She was a native of Minden, LA, but a resident of Crossett for 65 years. He was born Sept.10, 1957 in Willcox, Ariz. to RG Webb and Winnie Mae Shelton. "Look at what happened to Gary Webb. Steven Webb . And when he got something in his head, he was determined to do it. But as his ex-wife told the . ", As Webb would tell a friend, after he had been ostracised: "You have to look out, when the big dog gets off the porch.". 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. "[38], Surprised by The Washington Post article, The Mercury News's executive editor Jerome Ceppos wrote to the Post defending the series. "You sound very scared," Moreira remarks. Webb established incontrovertible links * between Ricky Ross and Blandn who, two years later, would betray Ross to the authorities. Gary Webb's family says his death was Suicide. OR was he like Epstein His erstwhile editors on the Mercury News, meanwhile, saw their careers thrive. The story was picked up by black talk-radio stations. Dec. 13, 2004. 3) The series oversimplified how the crack epidemic grew. "[2], Ceppos noted that Webb did not agree with these conclusions. margin-bottom: 20px; [41], When the Los Angeles Times series appeared, Ceppos again wrote to defend the original series. I ask Bell. Gary Webb famously died of two gun shot wounds to the head and - reddit Carey ultimately decided that there were problems with several parts of the story and wrote a draft article incorporating his findings. 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". "Do not quote me. "[58], It also concluded that "the claims that Blandn and Meneses were responsible for introducing crack cocaine into South Central Los Angeles and spreading the crack epidemic throughout the country were unsupported." One time he called me and he said: 'I have this plan that will benefit us both.' He was previously married to Sue Bell. "Because of Gary Webb's work," said Senator John Kerry, "the CIA launched an investigation that found dozens of connections to drug runners. 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. "He rang me up that day. Webb's then-wife Sue remembers coming home from the shops and finding her. He concluded, "How did these shortcomings occur? Ross was a major drug dealer in Los Angeles. [33] Golden also referred to the controversy over Webb's contacts with Ross's lawyer. 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. 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. He died on December 10, 2004 in Carmichael, California, USA. By Sam Stanton Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, December 15, 2004. . And it ruined that reporter's career. His corpse was discovered on the seventh anniversary of his resignation from the Mercury News. Webb's experience came as no surprise to Jack Blum, senior prosecutor for the Kerry Committee. When he was engaged, he worked hard. 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. "Gary Webb was left to fend for himself. 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 It reads: "There should be no fetters on reporters, nor must they tamper with the truth, but give light so the people will find their own way." "As a PhD student, McCoy went to Vietnam and built an absolutely damning case about the CIA's involvement with trafficking heroin. 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. By 1997, Bell tells me, Webb - whose 30-year career had earned him more awards than there is room for in her study - had been reassigned to the Mercury News's office in Cupertino. Gary Webb Obituary (1944 - 2022) - Portland, OR - The Oregonian Webb began to shift from cynicism to curiosity. "[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." A Celebration of Life will be . Family (1) Gary Webb (304) 778-2546: Jamie Webb (304) 778-2546: Status: Homeowner. 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. Shortly before his death, his motorcycle had been stolen (it was recovered by his family after his death). Do something else with your life," the voice urges. He had sold his house the week before his death because he was unable to afford the mortgage.[71]. Gary Stephen Webb(August 31, 1955 - December 10, 2004) was an American investigative journalist. The February 2000 report by the House Intelligence Committee in turn considered the book's claims as well as the series' claims. A flood of inquiries about Gary Webb's shooting death prompts statement. 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". Kill the Messenger review - what really happened to Gary Webb Special Reports - Cocaine, Conspiracy Theories And The Cia In - PBS Many writers discussing the series point to errors in it. Gary Webb | American journalist | Britannica When he was engaged, he worked hard. "He told me, not long before he died, that he didn't want to get up in the mornings," she says. Working in San Jose would have meant daily contact with what Bell describes as "people he did not want to be with". 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.' "Exactly," replied Kornbluh, who - referring specifically to the LA Times, said he is "baffled as to how they could be so gullible. It would have been our 25th wedding anniversary," Bell recalls. line-height:1.5; . We had been here before." Webb's corpse was found in the bedroom, with two gunshot wounds to the head. 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. 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. Gary Webb, 49, Journalist Who Wrote Disputed Articles, Is Dead Emma Lee Webb. [65], After leaving The Mercury News, Webb worked as an investigator for the California State Legislature. The complete lack of desire to ask the difficult questions makes me want to scream. Cooper Webb Wife Name Revealed: Who Is Professional SX/MX - Halla News The Open Mic: A Few Words with Cinematographer Ian Webb One article, dealing mostly with the response of the Los Angeles Black community to the stories, described the series's evidence as "thin". 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. Webb, Gary Gary T. Webb, age 67, of Hamilton, Michigan, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family Thursday, November 11, 2021. So, how much is Gary Webb worth at the age of 49 years old? And this is not a happy story - or," she adds, "a little one.". When Webb pressed the Mercury News to allow him to investigate the LA connection further, his own newspaper issued a retraction which earned its editor, Jerry Ceppos, wide praise from rival publications, but effectively disowned Webb, who then suffered the kind of corporate lynching that reporters are usually expected to dispense rather than endure. Webb disagreed with this conclusion.[1][2]. Tomac is used to good feelings when it comes to Daytona. [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. 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. 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. [21] This artwork proved controversial, and The Mercury News later removed it. Celebrezze eventually sued the Plain Dealer and won an undisclosed out of court settlement. In 1996, the award-winning journalist Gary Webb uncovered CIA links to Los Angeles drug dealers. Gary Webb Resigns from the San Jose Mercury News Sue remarried two years ago. A January 1997 article in American Journalism Review noted that a 1994 series Webb wrote had also been the subject of a Mercury News internal review that criticized Webb's reporting. "He was crying. Views on Webb's journalism have been polarized. [39] The Post refused to print his letter. By this stage, he was prepared to work as a jobbing reporter. "They had him writing obituaries," she said. The three articles in the series were written by four reporters: Jesse Katz, Doyle McManus, John Mitchell and Sam Fulwood. margin-top: 10px; It was accurate. [15], In 1988, Webb was recruited by the San Jose Mercury News, which was looking for an investigative reporter. Gary Webb sums up the story in his last major interview just days before his death. "Back then. 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". And yet, for all his Easy Rider tendencies, he was also a dedicated family man with an extraordinary appetite for researching minutiae. [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." 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. [60], The House Intelligence Committee issued its report in February 2000. 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. 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. ", She pauses: "That said, he did sleep with a gun under his bed.". Talking about his wife, Mariah Webb is a nurse who also educates about essential products . "And to an extent, they succeeded.". 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. Actor Jeremy Renner portrays Webb.[83]. She said the paper wanted to make up for what it had done in the past. [32], The New York Times published two articles on the series in mid-October, both written by reporter Tim Golden. The first article in "Dark Alliance" that discussed the failure of law enforcement agencies to prosecute Blandn and Meneses had mentioned several cases. "It says the CIA helped introduce poison into our children. When Ross discovered the market for crack in Los Angeles, he began buying cocaine from Blandn. [61] According to the report, it used Webb's reporting and writing as "key resources in focusing and refining the investigation." Instead, he found work in 1978 as a reporter at the Kentucky Post, a local paper affiliated with the larger Cincinnati Post. GARY WEBB: His wife's office was burglarized. 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. Their explosive report, which appeared in 1989, was either ignored, or marginalised, by the American press. 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. Emma Lee Webb of Crossett, Arkansas | 1947 - 2023 | Obituary I realise now he was thinking about suicide.". The CIA admits used the media to ruin his career. He was a writer, known for Kill the Messenger (2014), Filming in Georgia (2015) and Crack in America (2015). To show this, the series focused on three men: Ricky Ross, Oscar Danilo Blandn, and Norwin Meneses. Gary Webb passed away on March 2, 2019. The first shot went through his face, and exited at his left cheek. 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." "[80], Not all writers agree that the Inspector-General's report supported the series's claims. We are in the living room of Bell's house just outside Sacramento, California. Relationships with other women ended badly. Gary Douglas Webb of Radnor, PA, passed away on October 19, 2021. When Gary originally broke this mind blowing story, the arrogant authority's assumed they could simply ignore him and hope he'd go away. But the biggest loss he had was the writing. He was laid off in February 2004 when Assembly Member Fabian Nez was elected Speaker. 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.