", The report called several of its findings "troubling." 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. "But Gary thought that if something was true, it should be told. 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. 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. At the end of March, Ceppos told Webb that he was going to present the internal review findings in a column. [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, 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. 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. In 2004, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb was found dead from an apparent suicide, as Democracy Now! Walter Bogdanich, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who worked with Webb on The Plain Dealer, told American Journalism Review editor Susan Paterno "He was brilliant; he knew more about public records than anybody I've ever known. Emma Lee Webb of Crossett, Arkansas | 1947 - 2023 | Obituary But the biggest loss he had was the writing. In 1997 Ceppos was awarded the US Society of Professional Journalists' National Ethics Award. 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. "As a PhD student, McCoy went to Vietnam and built an absolutely damning case about the CIA's involvement with trafficking heroin. *, 'Dark Alliance: The CIA, The Contras and the Crack Cocaine Explosion' is published in the UK by Seven Stories Press, priced 11.99, Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. He was taken to hospital by air ambulance. When Attorney General Janet Reno determined that a delay was no longer necessary, the report was released unaltered. Ceppos and Garcia have long since lost any taste for public discussion of "Dark Alliance". Dr. Gary A. Webb, MD | Marco Island, FL | Geriatrician | US News Doctors This did not happen in Webb's case. He crashed and shredded his clothes, face and body on a barbed-wire fence." In interviews after leaving The Mercury News, Webb described the 1997 controversy as media manipulation. She kept crying about how terrible it all was - by which I mean that she was, physically, crying. 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". How the Press and the CIA Killed Gary Webb's Career [67], Webb later moved to the State Assembly's Office of Majority Services. "Exactly," replied Kornbluh, who - referring specifically to the LA Times, said he is "baffled as to how they could be so gullible. The story they printed was just awful. 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. 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. My wife has kept me grounded for . To show this, the series focused on three men: Ricky Ross, Oscar Danilo Blandn, and Norwin Meneses. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. "Although Ross had become a millionaire by 1984," Katz now wrote, "the market was so huge by then that even a dealer of his stature could seem dwarfed How the crack epidemic reached that extreme, on some level," he continues, "had nothing to do with Ross". 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. 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. Gary Stephen Webb (August 31, 1955 December 10, 2004) was an American investigative journalist. [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. By the autumn of 1997, on medication for clinical depression, he was given leave of absence from the paper. I mean - please.". His. [55] Webb eventually chose Cupertino, but was unhappy with the routine stories he was reporting there and the long commute. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department began its own investigation into the "Dark Alliance" claims.[30]. It was an amazing scoop - but one that would ruin his career and drive him to suicide. He also stated "the series presented dangerous ideas" by suggesting "crimes of state had been committed" (i.e. Gary Webb | Obituary | The Daily Item Some editors regarded him as stubborn to the point of insolence. His wife is Sue Webb (m. 1979-2000) Gary Webb Net Worth His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. "He was crying. Webb was born in Corona, California. He was born June 18, 1943, in Appleton, son of the late Wilford and Helen (Hauskey) Webb. "Allow Gary Webb to be there [in the CIA investigation]," a heckler shouts. The couple got married recently in November of 2020 after dating for some time. And when he got something in his head, he was determined to do it. 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. 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 Stephen Webb(August 31, 1955 - December 10, 2004) was an American investigative journalist. The story offered no evidence to support such sweeping conclusions, a fatal error that would ultimately destroy Webb, if not his editors. Tiffany L Gary-Webb | School of Public Health Attend in Miami or virtually, Sept. 1114. 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. I realise now he was thinking about suicide.". When they married, she was aged just 21. He was preceded in death by his wife, Melody Webb; parents and three brothers, Albert, Duane and Ronald. It noted that Blandn and Meneses claimed to have donated money to Contra sympathizers in Los Angeles, but found no information to confirm that it was true or that the agency had heard of it. 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." He wrote well. The attack on Gary Webb and his series in the San Jose Mercury News remains one of the most venomous and factually inane assaults on a professional journalist's competence in living memory . [5], After high school, Webb attended an Indianapolis community college on a scholarship until his family moved to Cincinnati. Sue remarried two years ago. With hindsight, Bell says, "the signs were there. padding-bottom: 20px; "I believe that Americans, as a nation, are mainly concerned with living their happy little lives. "[78], While finding this part of the series unsupported, Schou said that some of the series's claims on CIA involvement are supported, writing that "The CIA conducted an internal investigation that acknowledged in March 1998 that the agency had covered up Contra drug trafficking for more than a decade." [3], Webb was born in Corona, California. 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. Gary Numan's superfan wife had 'body lift' and exploding breasts Gary Webb Resigns from the San Jose Mercury News 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. 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. But they underestimated the paradigm shifting power of the internet, and the intelligence of Webb, who not only listed the explosive story online . During and immediately after the controversy over "Dark Alliance," Webb's earlier writing was examined closely. By this stage, he was prepared to work as a jobbing reporter. It sounds like a Tom Clancy novel, right? It was good that his story forced those reports to come out, but part of what made that happen was based on misleading information. "I had to warn Gary that what he was looking at was probably true, but that he would run very big risks," Parry recalls. [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". Ceppos initially defended Webb, and reportedly showed up at an in-house party wearing a military helmet. 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." We had been here before." Few reporters I've known could match his nose for an investigative story. There was no coffin, casket or tombstone. "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. It also stated that the Contras may have acted with the knowledge and protection of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Gary Webb's Death Confirmed as Suicide | Editor and Publisher "Everyone got out and left the person who had made the noise - issued the report - alone. In addition, Gary left multiple suicide notes to family members which were confirmed to be in his own hand by them. "Do you think that a part of him did this out of revenge?" Gary Webb, 64, Oroville, Wash., died Oct. 30, 2021. But Webb had one huge blind side: He was fundamentally a man of passion, not of fairness. Webb's ex-wife, Stokes, now remarried and still living in Sacramento, had heard it all before, too. He made that very clear. . He also had this inherent belief that the truth could not harm him. The whole business, I suggested to Blum, has echoes of a classic Alfred Hitchcock plot. The CIA/MSM Contra-Cocaine Cover-up - Consortium News . Gary Webb Obituary (1954 - 2021) - Dorr, MI - Grand Rapids Press He was sentenced to life in prison, though the sentence was shortened on appeal and Ross was released in 2009. line-height:1.5; The CIA Inspector General's report, commissioned in response to the allegations in "Dark Alliance", was published in the autumn of 1998. After the publication of "Dark Alliance," The Mercury News continued to pursue the story, publishing follow-ups to the original series for the next three months. 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. "Look at what happened to Gary Webb. "Gary was given the choice of relocating either to San Jose," says Bell, "or to Cupertino". Emma Lee Webb. After the announcement of federal investigations into the claims made in the series, other newspapers began investigating, and several papers published articles suggesting the series' claims were overstated. Gary Webb (Investigative Journalist) Wiki, Biography, Age, Wife, Family 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. Webb's pieces were not dealing with nameless peasants slaughtered in some distant republic, but demonstrated a clear link between the CIA and the suppliers of the gangs delivering crack to the ghetto of Watts, in South Central Los Angeles. Some might consider it an inappropriate assignment for a man with responsibilities. Part of what makes OConnors article so compelling are the candid thoughts of Webbs former wife Sue Stokes. By the late spring of 1996, Webb was ready to publish. Webb's condition exacerbated his natural recklessness. "It says the CIA helped introduce poison into our children. 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. Why Journalist Gary Webb Died - LewRockwell Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? She acted opposite Dirk Bogarde in the groundbreaking film Victim (Basil Dearden, 1961), as the unsuspecting wife of a barrister who is a closet homosexual. "[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]. Webb chose the second option. Osborn, Barbara Bliss (MarchApril 1998). Webb's research took a year, in the course of which he received death threats. Webb worked for several newspapers including The Kentucky Post and Cleveland Plain Dealer. Webb came home and put his belongings in order, dropping his Kentucky Post poster in the bin. 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. He was previously married to Sue Bell. At the commemorative service for Webb, held at the Doubletree Hotel in Sacramento, Bell read out the letter Webb had written to his son Eric, now 17. Relationships with other women ended badly. 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. [60], The House Intelligence Committee issued its report in February 2000. 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. [66] Gary Webb Obituary (2011) - Saginaw, MI - Saginaw News on MLive.com 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. 'It's just good vibes': Cooper Webb, Eli Tomac in tight Supercross According to a description of Webb's injuries in the Los Angeles Times, he shot himself with a .38 revolver, which he placed near his right ear. Newsweek called Kerry a "randy conspiracy buff". Gary Webb's family says his death was Suicide. OR was he like Epstein It was truthful. OR was he like Epstein? The first article in "Dark Alliance" that discussed the failure of law enforcement agencies to prosecute Blandn and Meneses had mentioned several cases. When she got indignant," she adds, "he went to meet her.". The second article described Blandn's background and how he began smuggling cocaine to support the Contras. Actor Jeremy Renner portrays Webb.[83]. Evidence Begins To Indicate Gary Webb Was Murdered - BSNEWS [81], Peter Kornbluh, a researcher at George Washington University's National Security Archives, also does not agree that the report vindicated the series. "Gary Webb was left to fend for himself. 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. [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. On Dec. 9, 2004, the 49-year-old Gary Stephen Webb, Pulitzer prize-winning US investigative journalist, typed out suicide notes to his ex-wife and his three children; he laid out a certificate for his cremation; he taped a note on the door telling movers - who were coming the next morning to move him out of his rental house near Sacramento - to Webb, unlike Blum or Kerry, had to face his difficulties alone. 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. And the importance of exposing them. 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.