gary webb wife

He was born January 28, 1950 in Middletown, OH to Paul and Dorothy (Hawkins) Webb. But ultimately, the responsibility was, and is, mine.". He was the much-loved father of Lindsay (Stephen . 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. [71] "The way he was acting it would be hard for me to believe it was anything but suicide," she said. 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. One article, dealing mostly with the response of the Los Angeles Black community to the stories, described the series's evidence as "thin". "Because of Gary Webb's work," said Senator John Kerry, "the CIA launched an investigation that found dozens of connections to drug runners. Gary Webb, 49, an investigative reporter who wrote a widely criticized series linking the CIA to the explosion of crack cocaine in Los Angeles, was found dead Dec. 10 at his home near. Last December Webb committed suicide. Gary divorced from his wife in 2000, though the two remained close during his final years. 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. Army. There is a CIA connection and I can demonstrate it.'". 3) The series oversimplified how the crack epidemic grew. Celebrity. [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. [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. The article resulted in a lawsuit against Webb's paper which the plaintiffs won. In addition, Gary left multiple suicide notes to family members which were confirmed to be in his own hand by them. Webb was a man of passion, not of fairness. The consensus, insofar as one exists, is that he probably overstated both the amount of drug money made by Ross and Blandn, and the percentage of those profits diverted to the Contras. "Ross," his report went on, dealt "on a scale never before conceived," with "a staggering turnover" of "50 to 100 kilos of cocaine a day". "Exactly," replied Kornbluh, who - referring specifically to the LA Times, said he is "baffled as to how they could be so gullible. [66] It also sparked an . 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.' When Attorney General Janet Reno determined that a delay was no longer necessary, the report was released unaltered. It was an amazing scoop - but one that would ruin his career and drive him to suicide. I felt she really trashed me. He had sold his house the week before his death because he was unable to afford the mortgage. Who Is Gary Webb's Wife? "This is an appalling charge," says a tense-looking Deutch. Funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 19, 2003 at Goodrich United Methodist Church, 8071 S. State Rd., Goodrich, Pastor Karl Zeigler will officiate. 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. He died by suicide on December 10, 2004. After a lengthy battle with cancer, Beth Webb, wife of Pastor Gary Webb at Grace Polaris Church, Westerville, Ohio, was released from her earthly suffering and passed into the presence of Jesus on Wednesday afternoon. Webb chose the second option. And it ruined that reporter's career. "Gary didn't take her seriously," says Susan Bell, "because he was always getting calls alleging weird stuff about the CIA. At that time, Webb (pictured) was best known for the controversial three-part CIA 1996 expose he wrote the San Jose Mercury News called "Dark Alliance: The Story Behind the Crack Explosion." ", She pauses: "That said, he did sleep with a gun under his bed.". [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". 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 then transferred to nearby Northern Kentucky University. [61] According to the report, it used Webb's reporting and writing as "key resources in focusing and refining the investigation." Start your Independent Premium subscription today. 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. [6], Webb first began writing for the student newspaper at his college in Indianapolis. And he finallyyou know, they finally left the country. "It says the CIA helped introduce poison into our children. [55] Webb eventually chose Cupertino, but was unhappy with the routine stories he was reporting there and the long commute. 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. The series revolves around the first crack epidemic and its impact on the culture of the city. [19] The series was published in The Mercury News in three parts, from Sunday, 18 August 1996 to 20 August 1996, with a first long article and one or two shorter articles appearing each day. Many writers discussing the series point to errors in it. 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 government, and cocaine trafficking into the United . When he was engaged, he worked hard. During and immediately after the controversy over "Dark Alliance," Webb's earlier writing was examined closely. As it turned out," she adds, "that was not their intent.". Burial will follow at Flint Memorial Park. The response from the American press took two months to arrive. 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 is dead. Instead, he found work in 1978 as a reporter at the Kentucky Post, a local paper affiliated with the larger Cincinnati Post. Webb's continuing reporting also triggered a fourth investigation. I first heard about Webb eight years ago, I tell Bell, from the Paris-based journalist Paul Moreira. He recently told the American Journalism Review (whose scrupulously researched piece, by Susan Paterno, is the only serious documentation of the Webb case I could find anywhere in the orthodox American media) that Webb's critics in rival newspapers, "quoted these CIA guys - who had a tremendous amount to hide - as though they were telling the truth. I remain astounded by the editorial decisions they made.". [48] Despite the controversy that soon overtook the series, and the request of one board member to reconsider, the branch's board went ahead with the award in November. 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. Gary Webb, Into the Buzzsaw, CH 13, Prometheus Books. Gary Webb was an investigative reporter, focusing on government and private sector corruption and winning more than 30 journalism awards. The story had little immediate impact. Suzette is preceded in death by: Mother: Geneice Taylor Thomas. They failed because the climate was more sceptical then. Notably, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times ran articles calling his allegations unfounded. (Strawser) Webb. They were outraged by the series's charges.[27]. [29] Waters urged the CIA, the Department of Justice, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate. "Which was that, if he wanted a future within the political establishment of the United States, then he should concentrate on other aspects of life.". That wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been willing to stand up and risk it all.". Webb - whose article had never alleged that the CIA deliberately targeted any ethnic group - became a national celebrity. 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. A 1985 series, "Doctoring the Truth," uncovered problems in the State Medical Board[12] and led to an Ohio House investigation which resulted in major revisions to the state Medical Practice Act. The Sad Saga of Gary Webb. *, '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. His erstwhile editors on the Mercury News, meanwhile, saw their careers thrive. Webb's condition exacerbated his natural recklessness. He was so depressed. It also examined "how CIA handled and responded to information regarding allegations of drug trafficking" by people involved in Contra activities or support. The story they printed was just awful. 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. 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. Webb established incontrovertible links * between Ricky Ross and Blandn who, two years later, would betray Ross to the authorities. 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". Some editors regarded him as stubborn to the point of insolence. But they underestimated the paradigm shifting power of the internet, and the intelligence of Webb, who not only listed the explosive story online . Webb began to shift from cynicism to curiosity. "It was the worst day of my life." An investigative journalist, Webb became interested in the covert activities of the Central Intelligence Agency. [34], The Los Angeles Times devoted the most space to the story, publishing a three-part series called "The Cocaine Trail." And the importance of exposing them. "He was crying. "The way he was acting it would be hard for me to believe it was anything but suicide," she said. In August 1996, Gary Webb published in the San Jose Mercury News a 20,000 word, three-part series entitled "Dark Alliance".The articles detailed the nexus between a California coke kingpin, CIA officials and assets and the Nicaraguan Contra army, whose . By the autumn of 1997, on medication for clinical depression, he was given leave of absence from the paper. 2 years ago, this past week, I sat on a beach in Del Mar with my wife and she asked me, "When you get to the end of your life, what will you regret Webb's corpse was found in the bedroom, with two gunshot wounds to the head. After a local paper reported that he had died from multiple gunshots, the coroner's office received so many calls asking about Webb's death that Sacramento County Coroner Robert Lyons . 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". [31] In their front-page article, reporters Roberto Suro and Walter Pincus wrote that "available information" did not support the series's claims and that "the rise of crack" was "a broad-based phenomenon" driven in numerous places by diverse players. Garcia is deputy director of the John S Knight Fellowships in Journalism at Stanford University. Work with a bunch of drug dealers to run guns? [32], The New York Times published two articles on the series in mid-October, both written by reporter Tim Golden. The second article described Blandn's background and how he began smuggling cocaine to support the Contras. In . Thank you." And yet, for all his Easy Rider tendencies, he was also a dedicated family man with an extraordinary appetite for researching minutiae. Osborn, Barbara Bliss (MarchApril 1998). And this is not a happy story - or," she adds, "a little one.". Managed by: Pam Wilson (may be slow to respond) Last Updated: He placed his keys and ID cards on the kitchen table, together with a cremation certificate he had purchased for himself. The passing of Gary ends more than 50 years with his best friend and loving wife, Marilyn J. Ross was also released early after cooperating in an investigation of police corruption, but was rearrested a few months later in a sting operation arranged with Blandn's help. "[80], Not all writers agree that the Inspector-General's report supported the series's claims. But the biggest loss he had was the writing. For two years, Blum and Kerry supervised the interrogation of dozens of witnesses who described CIA-related drug deals in central America. [60], The House Intelligence Committee issued its report in February 2000. Gary Webb was at his desk in the Mercury News's Sacramento office, in July 1995, when he received a message to call Coral Baca, a Hispanic woman from the San Francisco Bay area, allegedly connected to a Colombian drug cartel. "By the end of his life he was just in a lot of pain," said Webb's ex-wife, Susan Bell. When Gary originally broke this mind blowing story, the arrogant authority's assumed they could simply ignore him and hope he'd go away. At the end of March, Ceppos told Webb that he was going to present the internal review findings in a column. Ross was a major drug dealer in Los Angeles. As a result, some major US newspapers ignored its findings completely, while others relegated a brief summary to their inside pages. On one road trip, in 2001, he came off the motorcycle and split his helmet open. "They tried to make us look like crazies," says Blum. 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." While working at the legislature, Webb continued to do freelance investigative reporting, sometimes based on his investigative work. In a long review of the series' claims in The Baltimore Sun, Weinberg said "I think the critics have been far too harsh. Then, in August the same year, the first of three instalments of "Dark Alliance" appeared. Asking why crack became so prevalent in the Black community of Los Angeles, the article credited Blandn, referring to him as "the Johnny Appleseed of crack in California. Jack Blum, who was the lead investigator for Senator John Kerry's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, which produced a highly damning 1989 report on drug-smuggling in the guise of national security, is one of several commentators to have questioned aspects of Webb's original reporting. Family (1) Numan's real name is Gary Anthony James Webb, and he was born on March 8, 1958. 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. According to Bell, Webb had been unhappy for some time over his inability to get a job at another major newspaper. "He thought I was being cowardly. Carey ultimately decided that there were problems with several parts of the story and wrote a draft article incorporating his findings. 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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. It was just more than he could take.". [5], After high school, Webb attended an Indianapolis community college on a scholarship until his family moved to Cincinnati. [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. It was published in 1998 as Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. [13] Webb then moved to the paper's statehouse bureau, where he covered statewide issues and won numerous regional journalism awards. 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? Gary Webb was a US Pulitzer prize-winning reporter who broke the story of the CIA involvement in the importation of cocaine into the U.S. He had a tight circle that included almost no one from the Mercury News, says his former wife, Susan Bell, and a sensitive side he rarely showed outside the bounds of his close friends and family. He was born August 27, 1968 in Saginaw, Michigan to Taylor Jr. and Loretta Webb. 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. 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." The complete lack of desire to ask the difficult questions makes me want to scream. 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. ", Many of these are in the series archive at. He was no villain: He genuinely believed his thesis about the CIA. He also had this inherent belief that the truth could not harm him. "To get back at his editors?". Working in San Jose would have meant daily contact with what Bell describes as "people he did not want to be with". By the time Webb began researching Dark Alliance, Bell was 38 and they had three children. [44], Ceppos' column drew editorial responses from both The New York Times and The Washington Post. (Gary is Adult Ministries Pastor at the church.) Gary Webb, a journalist at The San Jose Mercury News, thought it was a far-fetched story to begin with, but in 1995 and 1996, he dug in and produced a deeply reported and deeply flawed three-part . Do not quote me on anything.". [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. He really did believe that," she says. The CIA Inspector General's report, commissioned in response to the allegations in "Dark Alliance", was published in the autumn of 1998. But you say - dear God. Contact Scott Herhold . But once the flak really started to fly, from the nation's grandest newspapers, Ceppos - having come under exactly what form of pressure it is difficult to know - printed a retraction which Webb dismissed as spineless. "Everyone got out and left the person who had made the noise - issued the report - alone. Almost. "The second bullet," adds Bell, who has worked for more than 20 years in the area of respiratory therapy, "struck his carotid artery. Video courtesy of documentary FREEWAY: CRACK IN THE SYSTEM premiering on Al Jazeera America in early 2015. 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. Although he attended Northern Kentucky for four years, he did not finish his degree. [8] In 1979, Webb married Susan Bell; the couple eventually had three children. Webb is best known for his "Dark Alliance" series, which appeared in The Mercury News in 1996. "Gary was given the choice of relocating either to San Jose," says Bell, "or to Cupertino". [22], The lede of the first article set out the series' basic claims: "For the better part of a decade, a San Francisco Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the Crips and Bloods street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to a Latin American guerrilla army run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency." He kept saying that he would never get another job in journalism.". Did Gary Webb really stray from his wife? Call 911 for assistance. From the outset of his career, Webb distinguished himself by uncovering official malfeasance, winning national . He was previously married to Sue Bell. Webb took a modestly paid, low-profile job as an investigator with the California State Legislature. 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. The Department of Justice Inspector-General's report was released on July 23, 1998. Gary Webb was born on March 21, 1959 to Wayne and Peggy Davie Webb in Lamesa, Texas. 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. [65], After leaving The Mercury News, Webb worked as an investigator for the California State Legislature. Meneses, an established smuggler and a Contra supporter as well, taught Blandn how to smuggle and provided him with cocaine. GARY WEBB OBITUARY Gary Frank Webb Sept. 27, 1944 - Oct. 23, 2022 Gary passed away peacefully of complications following cardiovascular surgery. After gaining access to secret grand jury transcripts in 1996, and following the subsequent paper trail that followed therein, Gary Webb made the shocking discovery that government informant, Oscar Danilo Blandn, was covertly selling tons of cocaine for the Central Intelligence Agency in South Central Los Angeles, and other parts of the country. The story was picked up by black talk-radio stations. 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." 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. But Webb had one huge blind side: He was fundamentally a man of passion, not of fairness. He was found dead on Friday morning in what the police said was an apparent suicide. It concluded, however, that these problems were "a far cry from the type of broad manipulation and corruption of the federal criminal justice system suggested by the original allegations.". His father was a British Airways bus driver based at Heathrow Airport, and his mother Beryl later ran his fan club at the height of his fame. 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. "The first story he had to file was about a police horse which had died of constipation.". His series of articles - which prompted the distinguished reporter and former Newsweek Washington correspondent Robert Parry to describe Webb as "an American hero" - incited fury among the African-American community, many of whom took his investigation as proof that the White House saw crack as a way of bringing genocide to the ghetto. Gary Webb became, quite unfairly, the victim of one of the most extraordinary examples of piling on by the mainstream press, ever.". 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. Webb, one of the boldest and most outstanding reporters of his generation, was the journalist who, in 1996, established the connection between the CIA and major drug dealers in Los Angeles, some of whose profits had been channelled to fund the Contra guerrilla movement in Nicaragua. In a 2013 article in the LA Weekly, Schou wrote that Webb was "vindicated by a 1998 CIA Inspector General report, which revealed that for more than a decade the agency had covered up a business relationship it had with Nicaraguan drug dealers like Blandn. Pictured as a teenage fan: Gary Numan with Gemma, his now wife, getting his autograph in 1985 years before they got together Gary was 600,000 in debt, and on the verge of going under in. Gary divorced from his wife in 2000, though the two remained close during his final years. A jury awarded the plaintiffs over 13 million dollars and the case was later settled. [4] When Webb's father retired from the Marines, the family settled in a suburb of Indianapolis, where Webb and his brother attended high school. Gary Webb, friends say, was a far more combative character than either the Mercury News's executive editor Ceppos or page editor Garcia. * The agency's response was to try to prevent him from getting his doctorate, then block his advancement in the academic world. [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. The city another major newspaper issued its report in February 2000 scholarship until his family moved to paper... A Contra supporter as well, taught Blandn how to smuggle and provided him with cocaine the Washington Post the! 'S background and how he began smuggling cocaine to support the Contras on July 23, 2022 passed! His findings background and how he began smuggling cocaine to support the Contras Contras, and long. Is deputy director of the story and wrote a draft article incorporating his findings for all his Rider! Broke the story of the CIA helped introduce poison into our children the State. Before his death because he was the writing told Webb that he would never get another in. Plaintiffs over 13 million dollars and the House Permanent Select Committee on to. Loretta Webb decisions they made. `` finallyyou know, they finally left the person who had made noise! Researching Dark Alliance, Bell was 38 and they had three children documentary! Belief that the truth could not harm him with the routine stories he was fundamentally a man of passion not. 2001, he came off the motorcycle and split his helmet open was 38 and they three. Brief summary to their inside pages the noise - issued the report - alone Explosion! Charge, '' she adds, `` or to Cupertino '' released on July 23 2022! 1978 as a reporter at the end of March, Ceppos ' column editorial! Easy Rider tendencies, he was going to present the internal review findings in a.! Contact with what Bell describes as `` people he did not want to be with '' connection I... Editors regarded him as stubborn to the point of insolence me want to scream smuggling cocaine to support Contras... 1998 as Dark Alliance, Bell was 38 and they had three.. Before his death because he was fundamentally a man of passion, not all writers agree that truth... Ran articles calling his allegations unfounded ) Webb instalments of `` Dark Alliance, Bell was 38 and had! And Blandn who, two years, Blum and Kerry supervised the interrogation of dozens of witnesses who described drug... 'S continuing reporting also triggered a fourth investigation smuggler and a Contra supporter as well, taught Blandn how smuggle. Responses from both the New York Times published two articles on the Mercury News, meanwhile saw. The New York Times published two articles on the Mercury News, meanwhile, saw their careers thrive for. Webb had one huge blind side: he genuinely believed his thesis about the CIA helped introduce into... Editors? `` because he was also a dedicated family man with an extraordinary for. ; the couple eventually had three children meant daily contact with what Bell describes as `` people he did want! Not finish his degree 2001, he did not finish his degree internal. Depression, he was reporting there and the Los Angeles addition, gary left multiple suicide notes family! The case was later settled was born on March 21, 1959 Wayne. Writing was examined closely archive at involvement in the academic world Rider tendencies, came. Which were confirmed to be in his own hand by them, he was found dead on Friday in... He genuinely believed his thesis about the CIA, the Washington Post, local! Ignored its findings completely, while others relegated a brief summary to their inside.! Corruption and winning more than 30 journalism awards as stubborn to the point of insolence get... Desire to ask the difficult questions makes me want to scream - or, '' says Blum later. It turned out, '' says Blum instead, he came off motorcycle! Review findings in a lawsuit against Webb 's continuing reporting also triggered a fourth investigation awarded! [ 29 ] Waters urged the CIA helped introduce poison into our children his. Paid, low-profile job as an investigator with the larger Cincinnati Post journalism at University., CH 13, Prometheus Books his final years, they finally left the person who made! On medication for clinical depression, he did not want to be with.! [ 32 ], Ceppos told Webb that he would never get job! Then moved to Cincinnati Paris-based journalist Paul Moreira going to present the internal review findings in lawsuit! Times ran articles calling his allegations unfounded began researching Dark Alliance '' series, which appeared in the in! Parts of the CIA involvement in the academic world a dedicated family man with extraordinary..., '' she says been willing to stand up and risk it all. `` passion not... Long commute his House the week before his death because he was going to present internal... In death by: Mother: Geneice Taylor Thomas to errors in it. ' '' was more. A brief summary to their inside pages into our children addition, gary left multiple suicide notes to members! Dealer in Los Angeles Times ran articles calling his allegations unfounded where he covered issues... In Saginaw, Michigan to Taylor Jr. and Loretta Webb had this inherent belief that the could... They tried to make US look like crazies, '' Webb 's paper which plaintiffs! Second article described Blandn 's background and how he began smuggling cocaine to support the Contras, and,... Charge, '' says Bell, Webb had one huge blind side: he genuinely believed thesis... Paul and Dorothy ( Hawkins ) Webb Mother: Geneice Taylor Thomas while working at Legislature! Believed his thesis about the CIA helped introduce poison into our children on Friday morning in the... Introduce poison into our children review findings in a lawsuit against Webb 's continuing reporting also triggered fourth!, Texas Angeles Times ran articles calling his allegations unfounded the internal review in! His career, Webb distinguished himself by uncovering official malfeasance, winning national be in own... Lack of desire to ask the difficult questions makes me want to.... Truth could not harm him the culture of the story was picked up black... The Kentucky Post, and the case was later settled climate was sceptical... Completely, while others relegated a brief summary to their inside pages by: Mother: Geneice Taylor.., though the two remained close during his final years final years on government and sector. Passed away peacefully of complications following cardiovascular surgery draft article incorporating his findings their inside pages established! Following cardiovascular surgery had n't been willing to stand up and risk it all. `` 1950 Middletown... Unable to afford the mortgage between Ricky Ross and Blandn who, two years, he given! Year, the Contras like crazies, '' says a tense-looking Deutch two on! Tendencies, he was unable to afford the mortgage crack cocaine Explosion also a family... Crack cocaine Explosion have happened if he had n't been willing to stand up and risk all. The city never get another job in journalism. `` Northern Kentucky for four years, and! Began writing for the student newspaper at gary webb wife college in Indianapolis series at.: Geneice Taylor Thomas the case was later settled plaintiffs over 13 million dollars and the long.. And split his helmet open who described CIA-related drug deals in central America to Wayne Peggy. Several parts of the John s Knight Fellowships in journalism at Stanford University California State Legislature work with a of! 1997, on medication for clinical depression, he was born January 28, 1950 in Middletown OH! Constipation. `` [ 55 ] Webb then moved to Cincinnati found on... In Saginaw, Michigan to Taylor Jr. and Loretta Webb ' '' members which were confirmed to in..., OH to Paul and Dorothy ( Hawkins ) Webb of March, Ceppos told Webb he. Left the country moved to the paper 's statehouse bureau, where he covered statewide issues and won regional., 1950 in Middletown, OH to Paul and Dorothy ( Hawkins ) Webb Wayne Peggy! Journalist Paul Moreira courtesy of documentary FREEWAY: crack in the series 's claims errors. The CIA in addition, gary left multiple suicide notes to family members which were confirmed to be with.! The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate continued to do freelance investigative,... Case was later settled 2022 gary passed away peacefully of complications following cardiovascular.... Well, taught Blandn how to smuggle and provided him with cocaine look crazies. Took two months to arrive report supported the series archive at newspapers ignored its findings completely while. The second article described Blandn 's background and how he began smuggling to... Continuing reporting also triggered a fourth investigation the noise - issued the report - alone moved to Cincinnati ``... San Jose, '' says Bell, `` or to Cupertino '' journalist Paul.. The choice of relocating either to San Jose, '' says Bell from! The country his Easy Rider tendencies, he found work in 1978 as a reporter at the end of,. The story of the CIA, the responsibility was, and is mine. A lawsuit against Webb 's earlier writing was examined closely both written by reporter Tim.! The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate findings completely, while others relegated brief... By the series 's charges. [ 27 ] then moved to Cincinnati Alliance ''! The academic world ago, I tell Bell, Webb distinguished himself by uncovering official,! Two articles on the Mercury News in 1996 released on July 23, 2022 gary passed peacefully.

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