Evidence Begins To Indicate Gary Webb Was Murdered - BSNEWS 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. Meneses, an established smuggler and a Contra supporter as well, taught Blandn how to smuggle and provided him with cocaine. We are in the living room of Bell's house just outside Sacramento, California. Actor Jeremy Renner portrays Webb.[83]. 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. [65], After leaving The Mercury News, Webb worked as an investigator for the California State Legislature. [29] Waters urged the CIA, the Department of Justice, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate. 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. He was laid off in February 2004 when Assembly Member Fabian Nez was elected Speaker. [43] He did this in a column that appeared on November 3, defending the series, but also committing the paper to a review of major criticisms. Baca claimed that a drug dealer with close links to the CIA had framed her boyfriend, who was also in the cocaine business. Gary Webb, 49, Journalist Who Wrote Disputed Articles, Is Dead I have also followed up on key topics raised by Paul Cottrell will leading industry experts like Dr. Peter McCollough on the Tommy Carrigan Show, weekly in 2021 and 2022. It was accurate. Connie Webb (304) 778-2546: Status: Homeowner. Cooper and Mariah were engaged before they finally tied the knot. [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. "Gary was 18 and I was 16 when we first met and started dating in Indianapolis," said Sue Stokes. [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." Gary Webb's family says his death was Suicide. OR was he like Epstein 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. In interviews after leaving The Mercury News, Webb described the 1997 controversy as media manipulation. During and immediately after the controversy over "Dark Alliance," Webb's earlier writing was examined closely. Gary Webb passed away on March 2, 2019. [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. Obituary | GARY HAYS WEBB of Neenah, Wisconsin | WESTGOR FUNERAL HOMES It was truthful. Gary Webb's painstaking investigation and the incindiary conclusions he drew from it were based mostly on public records, as detailed in the "notes on sources" section in "Dark Alliance", including: undercover audio tapes, declassified government documents from the CIA, DEA, FBI, L.A. Sheriff's Department, files from the Iran-Contra . 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 . Snowfall is an American crime drama television series set in Los Angeles in 1983. Gary Webb was a journalist of outsized talent. The claim that the drug ring of Meneses-Blandn-Ross sparked the "crack explosion" has been perhaps the most criticized part of the series. The series ran from October 2022, 1996, and was researched by a team of 17 reporters. Few reporters I've known could match his nose for an investigative story. "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". [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." Gary Webb - Wikispooks And when he got something in his head, he was determined to do it. "People told me that," she says. But the report was correct. Webb was born in Corona, California. In a long review of the series' claims in The Baltimore Sun, Weinberg said "I think the critics have been far too harsh. OR was he like Epstein? 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. [28] Maxine Waters, the representative for California's 35th district, which includes South-Central Los Angeles, was also outraged by the articles and became one of Webb's strongest supporters. He crashed and shredded his clothes, face and body on a barbed-wire fence." He was previously married to Sue Bell. [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. Occupation: Machine Operators, Assemblers, and Inspectors Occupations. He was preceded in death by his wife, Melody Webb; parents and three brothers, Albert, Duane and Ronald. A jury awarded the plaintiffs over 13 million dollars and the case was later settled. His wife is Sue Webb (m. 1979-2000) Gary Webb Net Worth His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. And he finallyyou know, they finally left the country. The collection, The Killing Game: Selected Stories from the Author of Dark Alliance, was edited by Webb's son, Eric. padding-bottom: 20px; In 1986, Webb wrote an article saying that the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, Frank D. Celebrezze accepted contributions from groups with organized crime connections. When Ross discovered the market for crack in Los Angeles, he began buying cocaine from Blandn. Celebrezze eventually sued the Plain Dealer and won an undisclosed out of court settlement. [26] Other papers were slow to pick up the story, but African Americans quickly took note, especially in South Central Los Angeles where the dealers discussed in the series had been active. Lynn Rd, Ranger WV - Rehold Address Directory Webb resigned from The Mercury News in December 1997. 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". 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. One article, dealing mostly with the response of the Los Angeles Black community to the stories, described the series's evidence as "thin". Eli Tomac on track during Media Day at Daytona International Speedway, Friday, March 3, 2023. 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. Webb's research took a year, in the course of which he received death threats. Jeremy Renner as Gary Webb How Kill the Messenger Will Vindicate Investigative Journalist Gary Webb Melinda Welsh September 29, 2014 This one has all the ingredients of a dreamed-up Hollywood. Webb established incontrovertible links * between Ricky Ross and Blandn who, two years later, would betray Ross to the authorities. In February, Gary Webb gave his ex-wife. "They tried to make us look like crazies," says Blum. [39] The Post refused to print his letter. [71] "The way he was acting it would be hard for me to believe it was anything but suicide," she said. The first detailed article on the series's claims appeared in The Washington Post in early October. [66] . [39] Carey's critique appeared in mid-October and went through several of the Post's criticisms of the series, including the importance of Blandn's drug ring in spreading crack, questions about Blandn's testimony in court, and how specific series allegations about CIA involvement had been, giving Webb's responses. [49], The paper also gave Webb permission to visit Central America again to get more evidence supporting the story. It's . Gary Webb's Death Confirmed as Suicide | Editor and Publisher "[77], Webb's reporting in "Dark Alliance" remains controversial. 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. He died by suicide on December 10, 2004. Gary Stephen Webb (August 31, 1955 December 10, 2004) was an American investigative journalist. 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 . [15], In 1988, Webb was recruited by the San Jose Mercury News, which was looking for an investigative reporter. [6], Webb first began writing for the student newspaper at his college in Indianapolis. 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. I ask Bell. His. The reports rejected the series's main claims but were critical of some CIA and law enforcement actions. "[38], Surprised by The Washington Post article, The Mercury News's executive editor Jerome Ceppos wrote to the Post defending the series. 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. [21] This artwork proved controversial, and The Mercury News later removed it. It also examined "how CIA handled and responded to information regarding allegations of drug trafficking" by people involved in Contra activities or support. The CIA Inspector-General's report was issued in two volumes. "The second bullet," adds Bell, who has worked for more than 20 years in the area of respiratory therapy, "struck his carotid artery. [68], In August 2004, Webb joined the Sacramento News & Review, an alternative weekly newspaper, where he continued doing investigative writing. Relationships with other women ended badly. But "Dark Alliance" was also posted on the Mercury News's website, with the image of a crack smoker superimposed on the CIA badge. Unable to get work from any major US newspaper, he spent the four months before his death writing for * a free-sheet covering the Sacramento area. 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. The series follows the stories of several characters whose lives are fated to intersect including CIA operative Teddy McDonald who helps to secure guns for the Contras. "I think Kerry learnt a lesson from all this," reporter Robert Parry says. Attend in Miami or virtually, Sept. 1114. Webb had become, as somebody put it, "radioactive". When he was engaged, he worked hard. 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. By: E&P Staff The death of investigative reporter Gary Webb has been confirmed as a suicide, according to a coroner's statement. [8] In 1979, Webb married Susan Bell; the couple eventually had three children. Save 50% with early-bird passes. [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. 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. Maxine Waters found a govt employee ran the South Central LA drug ring & The DOJ removed that section of the report : r/conspiracy 3 yr. ago Posted by shylock92008 Despite some hyped phrasing, "Dark Alliance" appears to be praiseworthy investigative reporting."[47]. Gary Webb: More Pieces In The Suicided Puzzle - Pt 1 - Rense It also stated that the Contras may have acted with the knowledge and protection of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Poor Gary Webb. Dr. Gary A. Webb is a geriatrician in Marco Island, Florida. [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. 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. 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 went into the bedroom, and picked up a .38 that had belonged to his father. Gary Webb Obituary (1954 - 2021) - Dorr, MI - Grand Rapids Press } Osborn, Barbara Bliss (MarchApril 1998). . When Webb wrote another story on the raid evidence in early October, it received wide attention in Los Angeles. One time he called me and he said: 'I have this plan that will benefit us both.' 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. Webb, Gary Gary T. Webb, age 67, of Hamilton, Michigan, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family Thursday, November 11, 2021. [33] Golden also referred to the controversy over Webb's contacts with Ross's lawyer. On the last day Webb was alive, his motorbike broke down while he was moving to his mother's house. He stayed home, playing computer games, and began smoking cannabis heavily. Gary Webb, friends say, was a far more combative character than either the Mercury News's executive editor Ceppos or page editor Garcia. "He thought I was being cowardly. 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. 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. Webb's series was published on the Mercury News's fledgling website, but it wasn't exactly an instant sensation. [59], The first volume of the report found no evidence that "any past or present employee of CIA, or anyone acting on behalf of CIA, had any direct or indirect dealing" with Ross, Blandn, or Meneses or that any of the other figures mentioned in "Dark Alliance" were ever employed by or associated with or contacted by the agency. 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. He was a former member of Bethlehem . Gary Webb - Wikipedia He was sentenced to life in prison, though the sentence was shortened on appeal and Ross was released in 2009. Gary Webb Obituary (2011) - Saginaw, MI - Saginaw News on MLive.com [41], When the Los Angeles Times series appeared, Ceppos again wrote to defend the original series. When I first heard the news, I tell Bell, I was inclined to believe the conspiracy theories that still proliferate on the internet, suggesting that Webb had been assassinated - either by one of the drug dealers he'd met while writing Dark Alliance, or by the intelligence services who were supposed to police them. "[64] Webb's longest response to the controversy was in "The Mighty Wurlitzer Plays On," a chapter he contributed to an anthology of press criticism: .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, If we had met five years ago, you wouldn't have found a more staunch defender of the newspaper industry than me And then I wrote some stories that made me realize how sadly misplaced my bliss had been. 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. Gary Webb's family says his death was Suicide. Webb came home and put his belongings in order, dropping his Kentucky Post poster in the bin. "[80], Not all writers agree that the Inspector-General's report supported the series's claims. "That's right," says Blum. I believe that we fell short at every step of our process: in the writing, editing and production of our work. In August of 1996, investigative journalist Gary Webb broke the biggest story of his life. 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. Some might consider it an inappropriate assignment for a man with responsibilities. The follow-up reporting in the Los Angeles Times and other papers has been criticised for focusing on problems in the series rather than re-examining the earlier CIA-Contra claims. She was a native of Minden, LA, but a resident of Crossett for 65 years. "The government side of the story is coming through the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post", he stated. 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. As a result, some major US newspapers ignored its findings completely, while others relegated a brief summary to their inside pages. This did not happen in Webb's case. 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. American racer Cooper Webb is married to his wife named Mariah Williams Webb. Then, on 10 December, he resigned. "They had him writing obituaries," she said. 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. He told me: 'If I can't do what I want to do, what's the point?' 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. The story was picked up by black talk-radio stations. Gary Webb photos on Flickr | Flickr .article-native-ad p { He is from United States. How Gary Webb Linked The CIA To The Crack Epidemic - All That's Interesting