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DdC · 12-18-2004, 04:00 PM

Investigative Journalist,
"Dark Alliance" Author Gary Webb Dead at Age 49
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/367/garywebb.shtml

Phillip S. Smith, Writer/Editor, psmith@drcnet.org, 12/17/04

Gary Webb, the prize-winning former San Jose Mercury News investigative reporter whose series on the "dark alliance" between the CIA and Nicaraguan Contras to import cocaine into the US in the early 1980s ignited a firestorm of controversy, died December 10 an apparent suicide. He was found in his suburban Sacramento home suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. A note accompanied his body, but its contents have not been disclosed.

While Webb was most notorious for the "Dark Alliance" series, which he turned into a 548-page book of the same name, he was a reporter whose interest in drug policy both preceded and extended Gary Webb beyond the murky world of Reagan-era drugs and guns in Central America. In 1993, while at the in Mérida Mercury News, Webb penned an investigative series on asset forfeiture abuse, "The Forfeiture Racket," which is credited with helping to undo California's forfeiture law. The series, which appeared as the state legislature was confronting the issue, documented widespread abuses and helped turn public opinion against asset forfeiture. The result was a new forfeiture law that required a criminal conviction before property could be forfeited.

But it was "Dark Alliance" that both made Webb's name and ruined his career. While links between Nicaraguan counterrevolutionari es who helped finance their war through the cocaine traffic and the CIA had been made previously, Webb's investigative series and subsequent book took it to a new level, arguing that the conspiracy between the CIA and the Contras was directly tied to the crack cocaine explosion of the early 1980s in Los Angeles. The series exploded on the national media-scape like a roadside bomb and led to surreal scenes like that in Los Angeles in the fall of 1996 when the head of the CIA was loudly booed and jeered at a crowded public meeting where attendees held his agency responsible for the crack epidemic.

But "Dark Alliance" quickly came under attack from the largest newspapers in the country -- all of which had failed miserably in reporting the connections between the CIA, the Contras, and the cocaine traffic. The Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times all attacked Webb's conclusions, and his own paper eventually turned on him. Within a few months of publishing "Dark Alliance," the Mercury News stepped back from its conclusions and took Webb off the story. He resigned rather than accept a humiliating transfer to a state politics beat.

While there were errors in some of the particulars in the series and subsequent book, its broad conclusions have withstood the test of time. That the Reagan administration at best turned a blind eye to drug running by
its Central American proxy armies is now well-documented and uncontroversial. That some of the cocaine trafficked by the Contras ended up in the hands of pioneering LA crack entrepreneur "Freeway Ricky" Ross is
also undeniable.

But Webb suffered as much from the enthusiasm of his supporters as the slings and arrows of his foes. Some readers were all too eager to loudly cry "genocide" and to turn his carefully documented findings into the stuff of conspiracy theories, making it all the easier to discredit Webb for the ravings of his most extreme followers.

Despite having won more than 30 journalism awards in his career, Webb was effectively marginalized as a mainstream journalist after "Dark Alliance." He found work in the California state assembly until he was laid off after the November elections and had taken a new position with a California political publication, the Sacramento News and Review. But even while at the legislature, Webb returned to reporting on aspects of the drug war. In 1999, he penned a report accusing the California Highway Patrol of unofficially condoning racial profiling, but that report, too, was attacked by its targets.

In 2002, Webb attended the DRCNet-sponsored Out from the Shadows drug legalization conference in Mérida, Mexico, where he signaled his continuing interest in reporting on drug issues by participating in the Narco News School of Authentic Journalism and agreeing to for a time take the helm of the organization itself. But that agreement proved to be abortive, and Webb soon returned to California and the state legislature.

"All he ever wanted to do was write," Webb's ex-wife, Susan Bell, told the Mercury News this week. "He never really recovered from it," she said, referring to the "Dark Alliance" controversy.

"The guy had a fierce commitment to justice and truth. He cared deeply about the people who are forgotten, that we try to shove into the dark recesses of our minds and world," said Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for the
California attorney general's office who worked with Webb.

On a personal note, I met Gary Webb when he spoke at the Washington, DC, bookstore where I worked as part of his "Dark Alliance" book tour. Even with his mainstream journalism career in tatters, Webb radiated conviction and confidence, along with a keen intellect and a quiet, friendly persona. We had a chance to speak briefly. I encouraged him to continue to seek the truth and expose it to the world. He said he would. And now he is dead by his own hand.

The world can be a tough and lonely place for those who dare to challenge the powers that be. Gary Webb found out the hard way, but he kept on struggling until he could take it no more. -- END --

PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet is hereby granted.
StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet)
1623 Connecticut Ave., NW, 3rd Floor, Washington DC 20009 Phone (202) 293-8340 Fax (202) 293-8344 drcnet@drcnet.org

Hung Out to Dry: How Webb's Series Died
studioron@verizon.ne t 16 Dec 2004
In 1997, editors at the San Jose Mercury News pulled the rug out from under reporter Gary Webb and his investigation of the Reagan-Bush contra-cocaine scandal, a decision that contributed eight years later to Webb's suicide. To give readers a fuller understanding of that journalistic betrayal, we are republishing an account written in 1997 by Georg Hodel, a reporter who was collaborating with Webb on his historic series.

Consortiumnews.com is currently conducting its end-of-year fund-raising drive, seeking to raise $20,000 so it can continue publishing into the New Year. So far, thanks to the generosity of scores of our readers, we are about halfway to our goal. Tax-deductible donations can be made by credit card at the Internet site or by sending a check to Consortium for Independent Journalism (CIJ), Suite 102-231, 2200 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201. http://www.consortiumnews.com

Dark Alliance: by Gary Webb
The Cia, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion
Seven Stories Press, 1998

GARY WEBB - "Dark Alliance" - TRT 60 min.
BTV032

Journalist Gary Webb broke the story of the CIA-crack connection in a series of articles for the San Jose Mercury News. The articles were quickly attacked by the rest of the corporate media, the Mercury News chickened out and Gary Webb was fired. Luckily, the entire story is collected in this book. A precise and informative talk. Dark Alliance charts the work that began in a stunning series of 1996 articles for The San Jose Mercury News. Gary Webb won the Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for his series on the Loma Prieta earthquake, and applied the same tenacity to his investigation of the crack cocaine epidemic, charting its progress through an international drug ring with ties to the CIA and the Nicaraguan Contras. A story that should be fiction but is not, Dark Alliance draws from previously unreleased information so explosive that The San Jose Mercury News refused to publish it.

Videotapes are $20.00 postage paid for individuals, and $30.00 postage paid for institutions.Send check or money order to:
Clay Butler
PO Box 245 Capitola, CA 95010
clay@booktv.net 831-477-9029
Web Site by Claytowne
http://www.claytowneproductions.com

D.A.R.E. To Keep Our Government Off Drugs
http://www.freezerbox.com/archive/1998/09/cia/

12-18-2004, 04:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
DdC Decade Yahookan Join Date: Feb 1999 Location: Santa Cruz,CA,USA Posts: 2,088 Blog Entries: 5 Thanks: 47 Thanked 570 Times in 378 Posts	Dark Alliance: The D.E.A.th of Gary Webb Investigative Journalist, "Dark Alliance" Author Gary Webb Dead at Age 49 http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/367/garywebb.shtml Phillip S. Smith, Writer/Editor, psmith@drcnet.org, 12/17/04 Gary Webb, the prize-winning former San Jose Mercury News investigative reporter whose series on the "dark alliance" between the CIA and Nicaraguan Contras to import cocaine into the US in the early 1980s ignited a firestorm of controversy, died December 10 an apparent suicide. He was found in his suburban Sacramento home suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. A note accompanied his body, but its contents have not been disclosed. While Webb was most notorious for the "Dark Alliance" series, which he turned into a 548-page book of the same name, he was a reporter whose interest in drug policy both preceded and extended Gary Webb beyond the murky world of Reagan-era drugs and guns in Central America. In 1993, while at the in Mérida Mercury News, Webb penned an investigative series on asset forfeiture abuse, "The Forfeiture Racket," which is credited with helping to undo California's forfeiture law. The series, which appeared as the state legislature was confronting the issue, documented widespread abuses and helped turn public opinion against asset forfeiture. The result was a new forfeiture law that required a criminal conviction before property could be forfeited. But it was "Dark Alliance" that both made Webb's name and ruined his career. While links between Nicaraguan counterrevolutionari es who helped finance their war through the cocaine traffic and the CIA had been made previously, Webb's investigative series and subsequent book took it to a new level, arguing that the conspiracy between the CIA and the Contras was directly tied to the crack cocaine explosion of the early 1980s in Los Angeles. The series exploded on the national media-scape like a roadside bomb and led to surreal scenes like that in Los Angeles in the fall of 1996 when the head of the CIA was loudly booed and jeered at a crowded public meeting where attendees held his agency responsible for the crack epidemic. But "Dark Alliance" quickly came under attack from the largest newspapers in the country -- all of which had failed miserably in reporting the connections between the CIA, the Contras, and the cocaine traffic. The Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times all attacked Webb's conclusions, and his own paper eventually turned on him. Within a few months of publishing "Dark Alliance," the Mercury News stepped back from its conclusions and took Webb off the story. He resigned rather than accept a humiliating transfer to a state politics beat. While there were errors in some of the particulars in the series and subsequent book, its broad conclusions have withstood the test of time. That the Reagan administration at best turned a blind eye to drug running by its Central American proxy armies is now well-documented and uncontroversial. That some of the cocaine trafficked by the Contras ended up in the hands of pioneering LA crack entrepreneur "Freeway Ricky" Ross is also undeniable. But Webb suffered as much from the enthusiasm of his supporters as the slings and arrows of his foes. Some readers were all too eager to loudly cry "genocide" and to turn his carefully documented findings into the stuff of conspiracy theories, making it all the easier to discredit Webb for the ravings of his most extreme followers. Despite having won more than 30 journalism awards in his career, Webb was effectively marginalized as a mainstream journalist after "Dark Alliance." He found work in the California state assembly until he was laid off after the November elections and had taken a new position with a California political publication, the Sacramento News and Review. But even while at the legislature, Webb returned to reporting on aspects of the drug war. In 1999, he penned a report accusing the California Highway Patrol of unofficially condoning racial profiling, but that report, too, was attacked by its targets. In 2002, Webb attended the DRCNet-sponsored Out from the Shadows drug legalization conference in Mérida, Mexico, where he signaled his continuing interest in reporting on drug issues by participating in the Narco News School of Authentic Journalism and agreeing to for a time take the helm of the organization itself. But that agreement proved to be abortive, and Webb soon returned to California and the state legislature. "All he ever wanted to do was write," Webb's ex-wife, Susan Bell, told the Mercury News this week. "He never really recovered from it," she said, referring to the "Dark Alliance" controversy. "The guy had a fierce commitment to justice and truth. He cared deeply about the people who are forgotten, that we try to shove into the dark recesses of our minds and world," said Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for the California attorney general's office who worked with Webb. On a personal note, I met Gary Webb when he spoke at the Washington, DC, bookstore where I worked as part of his "Dark Alliance" book tour. Even with his mainstream journalism career in tatters, Webb radiated conviction and confidence, along with a keen intellect and a quiet, friendly persona. We had a chance to speak briefly. I encouraged him to continue to seek the truth and expose it to the world. He said he would. And now he is dead by his own hand. The world can be a tough and lonely place for those who dare to challenge the powers that be. Gary Webb found out the hard way, but he kept on struggling until he could take it no more. -- END -- PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet is hereby granted. StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet) 1623 Connecticut Ave., NW, 3rd Floor, Washington DC 20009 Phone (202) 293-8340 Fax (202) 293-8344 drcnet@drcnet.org Hung Out to Dry: How Webb's Series Died studioron@verizon.ne t 16 Dec 2004 In 1997, editors at the San Jose Mercury News pulled the rug out from under reporter Gary Webb and his investigation of the Reagan-Bush contra-cocaine scandal, a decision that contributed eight years later to Webb's suicide. To give readers a fuller understanding of that journalistic betrayal, we are republishing an account written in 1997 by Georg Hodel, a reporter who was collaborating with Webb on his historic series. Consortiumnews.com is currently conducting its end-of-year fund-raising drive, seeking to raise $20,000 so it can continue publishing into the New Year. So far, thanks to the generosity of scores of our readers, we are about halfway to our goal. Tax-deductible donations can be made by credit card at the Internet site or by sending a check to Consortium for Independent Journalism (CIJ), Suite 102-231, 2200 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201. http://www.consortiumnews.com Dark Alliance: by Gary Webb The Cia, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion Seven Stories Press, 1998 GARY WEBB - "Dark Alliance" - TRT 60 min. BTV032 Journalist Gary Webb broke the story of the CIA-crack connection in a series of articles for the San Jose Mercury News. The articles were quickly attacked by the rest of the corporate media, the Mercury News chickened out and Gary Webb was fired. Luckily, the entire story is collected in this book. A precise and informative talk. Dark Alliance charts the work that began in a stunning series of 1996 articles for The San Jose Mercury News. Gary Webb won the Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for his series on the Loma Prieta earthquake, and applied the same tenacity to his investigation of the crack cocaine epidemic, charting its progress through an international drug ring with ties to the CIA and the Nicaraguan Contras. A story that should be fiction but is not, Dark Alliance draws from previously unreleased information so explosive that The San Jose Mercury News refused to publish it. Videotapes are $20.00 postage paid for individuals, and $30.00 postage paid for institutions.Send check or money order to: Clay Butler PO Box 245 Capitola, CA 95010 clay@booktv.net 831-477-9029 Web Site by Claytowne http://www.claytowneproductions.com D.A.R.E. To Keep Our Government Off Drugs http://www.freezerbox.com/archive/1998/09/cia/