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Ceppos initially defended Webb, and reportedly showed up at an in-house party wearing a military helmet. [69], Webb was found dead in his Carmichael home on December 10, 2004, with two gunshot wounds to the head. We were dismissed as a bunch of nuts." Webb was born in Corona, California. "He was sleeping more, he hated to get up in the morning, he started having a lot of motorcycle. [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. According to Schou, the investigation "confirmed key chunks of Webb's allegations." The story was picked up by black talk-radio stations. . 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. [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. Carey ultimately decided that there were problems with several parts of the story and wrote a draft article incorporating his findings. 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. "I told Gary not to go near this story," his source replies, in an emotional voice. His own paper, the Mercury News, criticized the series in 1997 without providing many specifics. It was written by Jesse Katz, the same reporter who, less than two years earlier, had described Ross's conglomerate as "the Wal-Mart of crack dealing". Ceppos and Garcia have long since lost any taste for public discussion of "Dark Alliance". [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." Webb joined the Mercury News in 1988, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. I believe that we fell short at every step of our process: in the writing, editing and production of our work. Webb established incontrovertible links * between Ricky Ross and Blandn who, two years later, would betray Ross to the authorities. 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. 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. "They had him writing obituaries," she said. When his medical insurance expired, he stopped taking his antidepressants. 1) It presented only one interpretation of conflicting evidence and in one case "did not include information that contradicted a central assertion of the series." "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.". Ceppos failed to reply to one phone message and six emails. A revised version was published in 1999 that incorporated Webb's response to the CIA and Justice Department reports. 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. 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. The first shot went through his face, and exited at his left cheek. 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. Webb, unlike Blum or Kerry, had to face his difficulties alone. 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. His assignments included investigating racial profiling by the California Highway Patrol and charges that the Oracle Corporation had received a no-bid contract award of $95 million in 2001. Do not quote me on anything.". She kept crying about how terrible it all was - by which I mean that she was, physically, crying. "For the better part of a decade," it began, "a San Francisco drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the Crips and Bloods street gangs of Los Angeles and funnelled millions in drug profits to a Latin American guerrilla army run by the US Central Intelligence Agency.". With hindsight, Bell says, "the signs were there. Relationships with other women ended badly. After Webb's death, a collection of his stories from before and after the "Dark Alliance" series was published. After Ceppos' column, The Mercury News spent the next several months conducting an internal review of the story. It also examined "how CIA handled and responded to information regarding allegations of drug trafficking" by people involved in Contra activities or support. But "Dark Alliance" was also posted on the Mercury News's website, with the image of a crack smoker superimposed on the CIA badge. So, how much is Gary Webb worth at the age of 49 years old? Gary Webb passed away on March 2, 2019. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. 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. "Look at what happened to Gary Webb. I felt she really trashed me. .article-native-ad p { That wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been willing to stand up and risk it all.". It sounds like a Tom Clancy novel, right? Webb - whose article had never alleged that the CIA deliberately targeted any ethnic group - became a national celebrity. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department began its own investigation into the "Dark Alliance" claims.[30]. 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." 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. This is why Webb's "Dark Alliance" series is an essential source, a primary text that every journalism student should study. "Do not quote me. This did not happen in Webb's case. . } He concluded, "How did these shortcomings occur? "[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." "He told me, not long before he died, that he didn't want to get up in the mornings," she says. [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. [5], After high school, Webb attended an Indianapolis community college on a scholarship until his family moved to Cincinnati. 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? Gary is survived by his wife of 48 years, Beverly Webb; children Margaret . "He walked in one day," Bell recalls, "and said, 'You are not going to believe what I just found out.' 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. [51] After discussions with Webb, the column was published on May 11, 1997.[53]. He had also lost his house the week before his suicide. 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. } He crashed and shredded his clothes, face and body on a barbed-wire fence." Much of the article highlighted the failure of law enforcement agencies to successfully prosecute them and stated that this was largely due to their Contra and CIA connections. Attorneys' Offices. [11], In 1983, Webb moved to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, where he continued doing investigative work. Snowfall is an American crime drama television series set in Los Angeles in 1983. [39] The Post refused to print his letter. This drug ring "opened the first pipeline between Colombia's cocaine cartels and the black neighborhoods of Los Angeles" and, as a result, "The cocaine that flooded in helped spark a crack explosion in urban America."[23]. Born in Corona, California, son of a conservatively minded Marine, he met Bell, whose father was a university lecturer, at high school in Indianapolis. A Celebration of Life will be . Gary Webb, friends say, was a far more combative character than either the Mercury News's executive editor Ceppos or page editor Garcia. .article-native-ad svg { The room is decorated with his trophies: a Pulitzer prize hangs next to his HL Mencken award; also on the wall is a framed advertisement for The Kentucky Post. Although it did find that both men were major drug dealers, "guilty of enriching themselves at the expense of countless drug users," and that they had contributed money to the Contra cause, "we did not find that their activities were responsible for the crack cocaine epidemic in South Central Los Angeles, much less the rise of crack throughout the nation, or that they were a significant source of support for the Contras. Webb's condition exacerbated his natural recklessness. It was also posted on The Mercury News website with additional information, including documents cited in the series and audio recordings of people quoted in the articles. And yet, for all his Easy Rider tendencies, he was also a dedicated family man with an extraordinary appetite for researching minutiae. Few reporters I've known could match his nose for an investigative story. He placed his keys and ID cards on the kitchen table, together with a cremation certificate he had purchased for himself. [71] "The way he was acting it would be hard for me to believe it was anything but suicide," she said. Gary Webb (304) 778-2546: Jamie Webb (304) 778-2546: Status: Homeowner. padding-bottom: 20px; Gary Hays (304) 778-7090: 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. The series revolves around the first crack epidemic and its impact on the culture of the city. [72] A New York Times profile of Webb in June 1997 noted that two of his series written for the Cleveland Plain Dealer had resulted in lawsuits that the paper had settled. "The government side of the story is coming through the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post", he stated. 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 . The truth was that, in all those years, I hadn't written anything important enough to suppress. For two years, Blum and Kerry supervised the interrogation of dozens of witnesses who described CIA-related drug deals in central America. reports. We had been here before." "He thought I was being cowardly. The story offered no evidence to support such sweeping conclusions, a fatal error that would ultimately destroy Webb, if not his editors. And it was ignored by the US media, for all of those reasons. Working in San Jose would have meant daily contact with what Bell describes as "people he did not want to be with". They failed because the climate was more sceptical then. Views on Webb's journalism have been polarized. He said: 'No. [41], When the Los Angeles Times series appeared, Ceppos again wrote to defend the original series. "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. 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. But the tragedy had a deeper meaning. Poor Gary Webb. Steven Webb . Occupation: Machine Operators, Assemblers, and Inspectors Occupations. I realise now he was thinking about suicide.". line-height:1.5; Gary was preceded in death by his mother and father, Donna and James Webb of Carpentersville. 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. 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. When Webb wrote another story on the raid evidence in early October, it received wide attention in Los Angeles. .article-native-ad { 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. GARY WEBB OBITUARY Gary Frank Webb Sept. 27, 1944 - Oct. 23, 2022 Gary passed away peacefully of complications following cardiovascular surgery. 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. The article discussed Webb's contacts with Ross's attorney and prosecution complaints of how Ross's defense had used Webb's series. The story they printed was just awful. Webb's continuing reporting also triggered a fourth investigation. So, this is not something you really make a career out of, nor would you want to. Webb's reports prompted three official investigations, including one by the CIA itself which - astonishingly for an organisation rarely praised for its transparency - confirmed the substance of his findings (published at length in Webb's 1998 book, also entitled Dark Alliance). He began his career working for newspapers in Kentucky and Ohio, winning numerous awards, and building a strong reputation for investigative writing. In 1997 Ceppos was awarded the US Society of Professional Journalists' National Ethics Award. 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. The review was conducted primarily by editor Jonathan Krim and reporter Pete Carey, who had written the paper's first published analysis of the series. Thank you." His. [63]Dark Alliance was a 1998 Pen/Newman's Own First Amendment Award Finalist, 1998 San Francisco Chronicle bestseller, 1999 Bay Area Book Reviewers Award Finalist, and 1999 Firecracker Alternative Booksellers Award Winner in the Politics category. When she got indignant," she adds, "he went to meet her.". . 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's family found that old, storied, ("priceless to us," as his ex-wife, Susan Bell, described it to me) CDROM among his possessions. By the autumn of 1997, on medication for clinical depression, he was given leave of absence from the paper. "Gary Webb was left to fend for himself. "I am scared," the voice replies. The first one, "The California Story," was issued in a classified version on December 17, 1997, and in an unclassified version on January 29, 1998. It was good that his story forced those reports to come out, but part of what made that happen was based on misleading information. font-weight:500; "I think Kerry learnt a lesson from all this," reporter Robert Parry says. [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. Webb, a Pullitzer prize winning journalist, exposed CIA drug trafficking operations in a series of books and reports for the San Jose Mercury News. One article, dealing mostly with the response of the Los Angeles Black community to the stories, described the series's evidence as "thin". There is a CIA connection and I can demonstrate it.'". Webb's ex wife, Susan Bell told reporters that she believed Webb had died by suicide. Connie Webb (304) 778-2546: Status: Homeowner. But his central thesis - that the CIA, having participated in narcotics trafficking in central America, had, at best, turned a blind eye to the activities of drug dealers in LA - has never been in question. Contemporary discussions of the series are discussed in the section on, Webb 2011, "Caltrans Ignored Elevated Freeway Safety. 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. 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. But the report was correct. He was born August 27, 1968 in Saginaw, Michigan to Taylor Jr. and Loretta Webb. "He started having motorcycle crashes," Bell says. Should these editors subsequently deem the story to have been fatally flawed, they take the consequences. Gary was born Sept. 4, 1947, to Percy and Pauline (Haas) Webb. Even 10 years after his tragic death, the media refuse to let him rest. "They use the giant corporate press rather than saying anything directly. Leen, who covered the cocaine trade for the Miami Herald in the 1980s, rejects the claim that "because the report uncovered an agency mindset of indifference to drug-smuggling allegations", it vindicated Webb's reporting. By: E&P Staff The death of investigative reporter Gary Webb has been confirmed as a suicide, according to a coroner's statement. 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. Gary Webb's income source is mostly from being a successful . Age 43 years. One time he called me and he said: 'I have this plan that will benefit us both.' In an unprecedented move, the then CIA director John Deutch was dispatched to address community leaders in the Watts district of LA. When Attorney General Janet Reno determined that a delay was no longer necessary, the report was released unaltered. 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. [35] The second article, by McManus, was the longest of the series and dealt with the role of the Contras in the drug trade and CIA knowledge of drug activities by the Contras. 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. And it ruined that reporter's career. 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". [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. By the time Webb began researching Dark Alliance, Bell was 38 and they had three children. It would have been our 25th wedding anniversary," Bell recalls. He died by suicide on December 10, 2004. '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. Webb's corpse was found in the bedroom, with two gunshot wounds to the head. "Gary was 18 and I was 16 when we first met and started dating in Indianapolis," said Sue Stokes. Born January 3rd, 1943 in Montreal, Quebec, he was the son of the late John Douglas Webb and the late Jeannie (Penny) Hardie Penman. "[77], Webb's reporting in "Dark Alliance" remains controversial. He was found dead on Friday morning in what the police said was an apparent suicide. The third article discussed the social effects of the crack trade, noting that it had a disparate effect on African-Americans. If you work through friendly reporters on major newspapers, it comes off as The New York Times saying it and not a mouthpiece of the CIA. 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. It found that Blandn received permanent resident status "in a wholly improper manner" and that for some time the Department "was not certain whether to prosecute Meneses, or use him as a cooperating witness." He was taken to hospital by air ambulance. [17] The Mercury News's coverage of the earthquake won its staff the Pulitzer Prize for General News Reporting in 1990. Occupation: Machine Operators, Assemblers, and Inspectors Occupations. The story had little immediate impact. ", As Webb would tell a friend, after he had been ostracised: "You have to look out, when the big dog gets off the porch.". He also stated "the series presented dangerous ideas" by suggesting "crimes of state had been committed" (i.e. "Everyone got out and left the person who had made the noise - issued the report - alone. Gary Webb was born on August 31, 1955 in Corona, California, USA. Actor Jeremy Renner portrays Webb.[83]. 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. Webb disagreed with this conclusion.[1][2]. [44], Ceppos' column drew editorial responses from both The New York Times and The Washington Post. The article resulted in a lawsuit against Webb's paper which the plaintiffs won. According to Walt Bogdanich, a former colleague on the Plain Dealer who has won two Pulitzers and now works for The New York Times, Webb was the best retriever of information from public records he has ever seen. But while calling the flaws in the series "unforgivably careless journalism," Overholser also criticized the Post's refusal to print Ceppos' letter defending the series and sharply criticized the Post's coverage of the story. [34], The Los Angeles Times devoted the most space to the story, publishing a three-part series called "The Cocaine Trail." He became an investigator for the California State Legislature, published a book based on the "Dark Alliance" series in 1998, and did freelance investigative reporting. That was just the way he was.". 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. For instance, he published an article on racial profiling in traffic stops in Esquire magazine, in April 1999. In city after city, local dealers either bought from Ross or got left behind."[24]. Nick Schou, a journalist who wrote a 2006 biography of Webb, has claimed that this was the most important error in the series. margin-top: 10px; The series ran from October 2022, 1996, and was researched by a team of 17 reporters. The Department of Justice Inspector-General's report was released on July 23, 1998. 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." 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 wrote well. He was preceded in death by his wife, Melody Webb; parents and three brothers, Albert, Duane and Ronald. Join iconic brands and world-class marketing leaders at Brandweek to unlock powerful insights and impact-driven strategies. Call 911 for assistance. 71K views 8 years ago Gary Webb's son Ian talks about the film in which Jeremy Renner plays his late journalist father. She and Gary were married from 1979 to 2000 and had three children. Webb strongly disagreed with Ceppos's column and, in interviews, was harshly critical of the paper's handling of the story. Webb is best known for his "Dark Alliance" series, which appeared in The Mercury News in 1996. Webb made his early reputation as a reporter with the Plain Dealer before going on to fame and turmoil at the San Jose Mercury News. The film broadened the debate which led to the decriminalisation of . "[82], Kill the Messenger (2014) is based on Webb's book Dark Alliance and Nick Schou's biography of Webb. E&P Staff. Talking about his wife, Mariah Webb is a nurse who also educates about essential products . "As a PhD student, McCoy went to Vietnam and built an absolutely damning case about the CIA's involvement with trafficking heroin. "He told the guys with him he was fine," she recalls, "got back on the bike, then passed out, half an hour later. We had this huge team of people at the L.A. Times and kind of piled on to one lone muckraker up in Northern California." Cooper Webb Wife Name Revealed. This support "was not directed by anyone within the Contra movement who had an association with the CIA," and the Committee found "no evidence that the CIA or the Intelligence Community was aware of these individuals support. Part of what makes OConnors article so compelling are the candid thoughts of Webbs former wife Sue Stokes. It found that "the allegations contained in the original Mercury News articles were exaggerations of the actual facts." Gary-Webb TL, Walker EA, Realmuto L, Kamler A, Lukin J, Tyson W, Carrasquillo O, Weiss L. Translation of the National Diabetes Prevention Program to Engage Men in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods in New York City: A Description of Power Up for Health. "[2], Ceppos noted that Webb did not agree with these conclusions. ", 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. Gary Stephen Webb (August 31, 1955 December 10, 2004) was an American investigative journalist. Gary Webb, 64, Oroville, Wash., died Oct. 30, 2021. 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. It also stated that the Contras may have acted with the knowledge and protection of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 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. 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. "[80], Not all writers agree that the Inspector-General's report supported the series's claims. The reports rejected the series's main claims but were critical of some CIA and law enforcement actions. (Strawser) Webb. Some might consider it an inappropriate assignment for a man with responsibilities. 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.