Snowfall is an American crime drama television series set in Los Angeles in 1983. In a long review of the series' claims in The Baltimore Sun, Weinberg said "I think the critics have been far too harsh. Tara Becker-Gray Lee News Network Jan 17, 2019 0 1 of 2 C. Webb The body found at a house fire at 13308 95th Ave. in rural Blue Grass on Thursday night has been identified as Cynthia Webb, 59.. Connie Webb (304) 778-2546: Status: Homeowner. Views on Webb's journalism have been polarized. "[2], Ceppos noted that Webb did not agree with these conclusions. "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". 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. [39] The Post refused to print his letter. [49], The paper also gave Webb permission to visit Central America again to get more evidence supporting the story. font-weight:500; [52] Webb was allowed to keep working on the story and made one more trip to Nicaragua in March. Gary Douglas Webb of Radnor, PA, passed away on October 19, 2021 Born January 3rd, 1943 in Montreal, Quebec, he was the son of the late John Douglas Webb and the late Jeannie (Penny) Hardie. 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. In the final few months of his life, Bell says, Webb became increasingly withdrawn. "He definitely was depressed. An editorial in the Times, while criticizing the series for making "unsubstantiated charges", conceded that it did find "drug-smuggling and dealing by Nicaraguans with at least tentative connections to the Contras" and called for further investigation. 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? He went into the bedroom, and picked up a .38 that had belonged to his father. "He was crying. When he told me, I said it sounded crazy. [67], Webb later moved to the State Assembly's Office of Majority Services. They failed because the climate was more sceptical then. We're well aware that they/it (the cia) did do it. In February last year he was laid off by the State Legislature. He was born August 27, 1968 in Saginaw, Michigan to Taylor Jr. and Loretta Webb. 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. "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. "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.". "You sound very scared," Moreira remarks. [81], Peter Kornbluh, a researcher at George Washington University's National Security Archives, also does not agree that the report vindicated the series. He also defended the series in interviews with all three papers. He died on December 10, 2004 in Carmichael, California, USA. [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. But the biggest loss he had was the writing. 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. The response from the American press took two months to arrive. It was good that his story forced those reports to come out, but part of what made that happen was based on misleading information. She was a native of Minden, LA, but a resident of Crossett for 65 years. The series provoked outrage, particularly in the Los Angeles African-American community, and led to four major investigations of its charges. We were dismissed as a bunch of nuts." 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. Call 911 for assistance. Watkins and Debbie (John) Foutch; grandchildren, Makenzie and Ashlynn Fogg. There is a CIA connection and I can demonstrate it.'". Gary Stephen Webb (August 31, 1955 December 10, 2004) was an American investigative journalist. He cites the case of Alfred McCoy, now Professor of South East Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin. "But Gary thought that if something was true, it should be told. He was taken to hospital by air ambulance. This did not happen in Webb's case. 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, (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 He was laid off in February 2004 when Assembly Member Fabian Nez was elected Speaker. Bell and her children helped Webb prepare 50 packages containing cuttings and his CV which they sent out to newspapers all over the US. And this is not a happy story - or," she adds, "a little one.". 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. In city after city, local dealers either bought from Ross or got left behind."[24]. Gary Webb sums up the story in his last major interview just days before his death. His death was ruled a suicide by the Sacramento County coroner's office. 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. His career ended, his livelihood was destroyed and certain games were started to be . GARY WEBB OBITUARY Gary Frank Webb Sept. 27, 1944 - Oct. 23, 2022 Gary passed away peacefully of complications following cardiovascular surgery. And it ruined that reporter's career. 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". [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." Film of this encounter survives. 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. } The complete lack of desire to ask the difficult questions makes me want to scream. 2) The series's estimate of the money involved was presented as fact instead of as an estimate. He began his career working for newspapers in Kentucky and Ohio, winning numerous awards, and building a strong reputation for investigative writing. 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. He was a former member of Bethlehem . There were no offers. "The first story he had to file was about a police horse which had died of constipation.". In an unprecedented move, the then CIA director John Deutch was dispatched to address community leaders in the Watts district of LA. For instance, he published an article on racial profiling in traffic stops in Esquire magazine, in April 1999. 3) The series oversimplified how the crack epidemic grew. [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. The first detailed article on the series's claims appeared in The Washington Post in early October. After Webb's death, a collection of his stories from before and after the "Dark Alliance" series was published. The article discussed Webb's contacts with Ross's attorney and prosecution complaints of how Ross's defense had used Webb's series. [46] Overholser was harshly critical of the series, "reported by a seemingly hotheaded fellow willing to have people leap to conclusions his reporting couldn't back up." . So he blew her off. "He thought I was being cowardly. 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". 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. Gary Douglas Webb of Radnor, PA, passed away on October 19, 2021. 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. It would have been our 25th wedding anniversary," Bell recalls. Taken during the London Open House 2014 event. } 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. 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. "As a PhD student, McCoy went to Vietnam and built an absolutely damning case about the CIA's involvement with trafficking heroin. "I'd get discouraged," she said, "but I never really gave up hope." Back in 1997, SN&R brought the controversy about Gary Webb to readers with "Secrets and Lies," a cover story about why the mainstream media attacked . [16] As part of The Mercury News team that covered the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, Webb and his colleague Pete Carey wrote a story examining the causes of the collapse of the Cypress Street Viaduct. Look at the way the US press reports on Iraq. He is from United States. His. He received his medical degree from American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than. She and Gary were married from 1979 to 2000 and had three children. She said the paper wanted to make up for what it had done in the past. Dr. Gary A. Webb is a geriatrician in Marco Island, Florida. "[77], Webb's reporting in "Dark Alliance" remains controversial. Gary Hays Webb, 78, passed away on Monday May 9, 2022, at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center, Neenah. Gary Webb became, quite unfairly, the victim of one of the most extraordinary examples of piling on by the mainstream press, ever.". It was just more than he could take.". Webb's ex-wife, Stokes, now remarried and still living in Sacramento, had heard it all before, too. They were outraged by the series's charges.[27]. "[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 made his early reputation as a reporter with the Plain Dealer before going on to fame and turmoil at the San Jose Mercury News. 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. In 1996, the award-winning journalist Gary Webb uncovered CIA links to Los Angeles drug dealers. Webb took a modestly paid, low-profile job as an investigator with the California State Legislature. The coroner's staff concluded that the second shot hit an artery.[70]. Jeff Leen, assistant managing editor for investigative reporting at The Washington Post, wrote in a 2014 opinion page article that "the report found no CIA relationship with the drug ring Webb had written about." Webb began to shift from cynicism to curiosity. Poor Gary Webb. Going to the CIA to ask if they've ever profited from drug sales in Los Angeles, I suggested to Kornbluh, is rather like asking Fagin if he has ever picked a pocket. Many writers discussing the series point to errors in it. According to Schou, the investigation "confirmed key chunks of Webb's allegations." "I am scared," the voice replies. Hired by the San Jose Mercury News, Webb contributed to the paper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. GARY WEBB was an investigative reporter who focused on government and private sector corruption and who won more than thirty journalism awards. Garcia is deputy director of the John S Knight Fellowships in Journalism at Stanford University. That was just the way he was.". [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". Like the CIA and Justice Department reports, it also found that neither Blandn, Meneses, nor Ross were associated with the CIA. ", The report called several of its findings "troubling." "Gary was 18 and I was 16 when we first met and started dating in Indianapolis," said Sue Stokes. [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. [60], It found no information to support the claim that the agency interfered with law enforcement actions against Ross, Blandn or Meneses. 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. We are in the living room of Bell's house just outside Sacramento, California. He was sentenced to life in prison, though the sentence was shortened on appeal and Ross was released in 2009. [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. "I told Gary not to go near this story," his source replies, in an emotional voice. Instead, he found work in 1978 as a reporter at the Kentucky Post, a local paper affiliated with the larger Cincinnati Post. 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. [32], The New York Times published two articles on the series in mid-October, both written by reporter Tim Golden. The "Dark Alliance" series remains controversial. The CIA Inspector General's report, commissioned in response to the allegations in "Dark Alliance", was published in the autumn of 1998. [65], After leaving The Mercury News, Webb worked as an investigator for the California State Legislature. And he finallyyou know, they finally left the country. [71] "The way he was acting it would be hard for me to believe it was anything but suicide," she said. "He walked in one day," Bell recalls, "and said, 'You are not going to believe what I just found out.' Because Blandn cooperated with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), he spent only 28 months in prison, became a paid government informant, and received permanent resident status. 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. It also examined "how CIA handled and responded to information regarding allegations of drug trafficking" by people involved in Contra activities or support. 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.