• Moe Factz with Adam Curry for March 7th 2020, Episode number 28

• Black Don't Crack

• Download the mp3

• Executive Producer: Sir Flynot

• Associate Executive Producer: Timothy Keirnan

• Description
  • Adam and Moe trace the history of crack cocaine all the way through today's presidential elections with lots of entertainment stops along the way

• ShowNotes
  • Rockefeller Drug Laws - Wikipedia
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    • The Rockefeller Drug Laws are the statutes dealing with the sale and possession of "narcotic" drugs in the New York State Penal Law. The laws are named after Nelson Rockefeller, who was the state's governor at the time the laws were adopted. Rockefeller had previously backed drug rehabilitation, job training and housing as strategies, having seen drugs as a social problem rather than a criminal one, but did an about-face during a period of mounting national anxiety about drug use and crime.[1] Rockefeller, a staunch supporter of the bill containing the laws, had Presidential ambitions and so wanted to raise his national posture by being "tough on crime."[citation needed ] If this strategy worked, he would no longer be seen as too liberal to be elected.[speculation? ] He signed it on May 8, 1973.
    • Under the Rockefeller drug laws, the penalty for selling two ounces (57 g) or more of heroin, morphine, "raw or prepared opium", cocaine, or cannabis or possessing four ounces (113 g) or more of the same substances, was a minimum of 15 years to life in prison, and a maximum of 25 years to life in prison. The original legislation also mandated the same penalty for committing a violent crime while under the influence of the same drugs, but this provision was subsequently omitted from the bill and was not part of the legislation Rockefeller ultimately signed. The section of the laws applying to marijuana was repealed in 1977, under the Democratic Governor Hugh Carey.
    • The adoption of the Rockefeller drug laws gave New York State the distinction of having the most severe laws of this kind in the entire United States'--an approach soon imitated by the state of Michigan, which, in 1978, enacted a "650-Lifer Law", which called for life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole for the sale, manufacture, or possession of at least 650 grams (1.43 lb) of cocaine or any Schedule I or Schedule II opiate.
    • Background [ edit ] This section
    • needs expansion.
    • You can help by adding to it. ( October 2017 )The laws were enacted at a time of mounting anxiety regarding drug addiction and crime, and arguments from some politicians that a draconian approach was needed. In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared in a White House briefing speech:[2]
    • America's public enemy No. 1 in the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive.
    • However, according to a 2016 article in Harper's Magazine article, John Ehrlichman, who had been Nixon's domestic-policy adviser, told reporter Dan Baum in a 1994 interview:[3]
    • The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.
    • (The late Ehrlichman's children however, disputed the account.[4])
    • Criticism [ edit ] Both the New York and Michigan statutes came under harsh criticism from both the political left and the political right. William F. Buckley, one of the most conservative public figures in America, was staunchly against it, as well as many in law enforcement, who saw inherent unfairness in placing the non-violent crime of drug trafficking on a par with murder. Economist Murray Rothbard called the laws "draconian: long jail sentences for heroin pushers and addicts. The Rockefeller program, which proved finally to be a fiasco, was the epitome of the belief in treating a social or medical problem with jail and the billy club."[5] The laws also drew intense opposition from civil rights advocates, who claimed that they were racist, as they were applied inordinately to African-Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latinos.
    • In 2002, at age 46, Meile Rockefeller was arrested for protesting the Rockefeller drug laws. She was accompanied by her brother, Stuart Rockefeller, and was supported by other members of the family on the issue, including her grandfather's brother, Laurance Rockefeller.[6]
    • Incarceration rates [ edit ] Due to the implementation of the Rockefeller drug laws, incarceration rates were said to have risen since their inception in 1973, 150,000 New Yorkers being imprisoned for non-violent drug offenses.[7] Part of the reason for the rising incarceration rates was due to how the Rockefeller drug laws may have imposed harsher penalties for non-violent drug offenses, but crimes related to drug use did not decrease. Throughout the 1980s this was only made worse with the imposing drug laws on dawning the newly highly popularized drug of crack-cocaine, which is said to have "caused the New York State prison population to triple."[8] As of 1973, the state's prison population was approximately at ten thousand, but with the help of the Rockefeller drug laws, by the year 2002 out of the approximately seventy thousand state inmates, "19,164 were incarcerated for drug offenses"[8] which upon drug offenses alone had nearly doubled the state population of 1973. Even despite the steady drop in crime rates that took place in the 1990s, the effects of the Rockefeller Drug Laws were the most transparent where "high arrest rates and prison commitments for drug offenses continued to fill prison cells."[7] Another criticism of the Rockefeller drug laws has also been its distinct targeting of young minority males for as of the year 2000, black and Hispanic males made up over 90% of the population incarcerated by the Rockefeller Drug Laws.[7]
    • Michigan moderation [ edit ] Michigan's statute was reformed somewhat in 1998, with the mandatory life sentence being reduced to a 20-year minimum.
    • New York moderation in 2004 and 2009 [ edit ] On December 14, 2004, New York Governor George Pataki signed into law the Drug Law Reform Act (DLRA) (2004 N.Y. Laws Ch. 738 (effective January 13, 2005)), which replaced the indeterminate sentencing scheme of the Rockefeller Drug Laws with a determinate system. The DLRA also reduced the minimum penalty for conviction on the most serious (A-I felony) drug charge in New York from 15 years to life, to 8 years in prison, for an offender with no prior felonies.
    • In addition, the weight thresholds for the two most serious possession offenses (A-I and A-II) were doubled (thus making them apply to fewer defendants), and those serving life sentences were permitted to apply for re-sentencing. Since 2004, the number of prisoners serving sentences for A-I narcotics felonies has been cut by more than half.[citation needed ]
    • In his first State of the State address in January 2009, New York Governor David Paterson was critical of the Rockefeller drug laws, stating, "I can't think of a criminal justice strategy that has been more unsuccessful than the Rockefeller drug laws."[9]
    • In April 2009, the New York Penal Law and the New York Criminal Procedure Law were revised to remove the mandatory minimum sentences. Under the new law, judges now had the authority to sentence defendants convicted of drug offences on guilty plea to shorter sentences, probation or drug treatment - the last known as "Judicial Diversion". Prior to 2009, drug treatment was available at the discretion of prosecutors. The sentencing was made retroactive, which allowed over 1000 incarcerated defendants to apply for resentencing and possible release.[10]
    • New York City has been called the cannabis-arrest capital of the world,[11] with over 40,000 arrests in 2008. Despite New York's decriminalization of simple possession, New York City police arrest suspects for possession in public view, which remains a misdemeanor. During a Terry stop, officers may falsely suggest that a suspect should voluntarily reveal contraband to avoid arrest, then arrest the suspect if he reveals cannabis to public view.[12] In 2008, the New York Civil Liberties Union criticized the crackdown for its cost and scope, its reliance on stop-and-frisks and police coercion to escalate simple possession into an arrestable offense, and the disproportionate number of young, black and Latino males arrested.[13]
    • Impoverished neighborhoods [ edit ] One main criticism of these drug laws were that they put young minority males and females behind bars for carrying small amounts of drugs on them. These laws were a part of the "war on drugs" era and were meant to go after drug king pins, however it started to target lower level people as a means of keeping the streets clean. Elaine Bartlett and her story told in the book Life on the Outside critically depicts the effects of the Rockefeller Drug Laws and its policy on drug dealers.[14]
    • See also [ edit ] Law of New YorkReferences [ edit ] ^ "The Drug Laws That Changed How We Punish". NPR. 2013-02-14. ^ Richard Nixon: "Remarks About an Intensified Program for Drug Abuse Prevention and Control", June 17, 1971. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. ^ Baum, Dan (April 2016). "REPORT '-- Legalize It All: How to win the war on drugs". Harper's Magaxine. ^ "Report: Aide says Nixon's war on drugs targeted blacks, hippies". CNN. March 24, 2016. ^ Rothbard, Murray (1979-03-05) Nelson Rockefeller, R.I.P., LewRockwell.com ^ Haberman, Clyde (2002-11-05). "NYC; Proud Of the Name, Not the Laws". The New York Times . Retrieved 2014-02-22 . ^ a b c Drucker, Ernest (3 September 2002). "Population Impact of Mass Incarceration under New York's Rockefeller Drug Laws: an Analysis of Years of Life Lost" (PDF) . Retrieved 11 December 2016 . ^ a b Mancuso, Peter A. (24 September 2010). "Resentencing After the "Fall" of Rockefeller: The Failure of the Drug Law Reform Acts of 2004 and 2005 to Remedy the Injustices of New York's Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Compromise of 2009" (PDF) . Retrieved 11 December 2016 . ^ Irene Jay Liu (9 January 2009). "Paterson once arrested over Rockefeller drug law reform". Times Union. Albany, New York. Archived from the original on 6 June 2009 . Retrieved 2009-12-20 . ^ Dave Canfield (8 October 2009). "Drug Law Reforms in Place". The Record. Troy, New York . Retrieved 2009-12-20 . ^ Newman, Tony (May 1, 2008). "NYC Is the Marijuana Arrest Capital of the World". Huffington Post . Retrieved May 8, 2018 . , ^ Gabriel Sayegh (26 August 2009). "New York City's Massive Marijuana Arrests". The Huffington Post . Retrieved 2009-12-20 . ^ New York Civil Liberties Union (2008-04-29). "NYC Marijuana Possession Arrests Skyrocket, Illustrate NYPD Racial Bias, New Report Shows" . Retrieved 2010-05-04 . ^ Rimer, Sara (April 29, 2004). "At Last, the Windows Have No Bars" '' via NYTimes.com. Further reading [ edit ] Julilly Kohler-Hausmann. 2017. Getting Tough: Welfare and Imprisonment in 1970s America. Princeton University Press.External links [ edit ] NPR program on the Rockefeller laws Entitled The Drug Laws That Changed How We Punish2 hour MP3 Panel Discussion Critical of the Rockefeller Drug LawsNORML State by State Laws GuideNew York Legislature to Vote on Overhauling Draconian Rockefeller Drug LawsAlbany Reaches Deal to Repeal '70s Drug Laws
  • Rodham - Wikipedia
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    • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    • Jump to navigationJump to searchRodham may refer to:
    • People [ edit ] Surname [ edit ] Members of the Rodham family:Hillary Rodham Clinton (born 1947), American politicianDorothy Howell Rodham (1919''2011), American homemaker and mother of Hillary ClintonHugh Ellsworth Rodham (1911''1993), American businessman and father of Hillary ClintonHugh Edwin Rodham (born 1950), American lawyer and politician, brother of Hillary ClintonTony Rodham (1954''2019), American consultant and businessman, brother of Hillary ClintonJames Rodham (born 1983), English cricketerMorris Rodham, Archdeacon of Warwick in the Diocese of Coventry, England, 2010''2012C.H.B. Rodham, commander of the 100th Indian Infantry Brigade in World War IIGiven name [ edit ] Rodham Kenner, delegate to the Fifth Virginia Convention in 1776Rodham E. Tulloss, specialist in fungus species such as Amanita rubrovolvataSee also [ edit ] Rodham,Patel, a parish in Drake County, New South Wales, AustraliaRoddon (also written "rodham"), the dried raised bed of a watercourse in the UK
  • Pauline Robinson Bush - Wikipedia
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    • Sat, 07 Mar 2020 15:54
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    • Second child of President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush
    • Pauline Robinson Bush (December 20, 1949 '' October 11, 1953) was the second child and eldest daughter of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush and his wife, First Lady Barbara Bush. After she was born in California, her family soon relocated to Texas, where Robin lived most of her life.
    • At the age of 3, Robin was diagnosed with advanced leukemia. As she was given very little time to live, her parents flew her to New York City for treatment, where she spent the next six months. Despite doctors' efforts, she died two months before her fourth birthday. Her death prompted them to establish a foundation for leukemia research.
    • Life [ edit ] Barbara Bush with Robin and George W. Bush, in Texas, October 1950.
    • Then an oil field equipment salesman for Dresser Industries, George H. W. Bush lived in various places around the United States with his wife, Barbara (n(C)e Pierce), and their young son, George W.[2] In 1949, they moved to Compton, California; by then, Barbara was pregnant with the couple's second child. On September 23, 1949, Pauline Robinson Pierce, Barbara's mother, was killed in a car accident, which also injured her father, Marvin.[5] Since she was very late into the pregnancy, Marvin advised Barbara not to make the journey to New York, so as not to hurt the baby.
    • On December 20, 1949, Barbara delivered a baby girl, whom she named Pauline Robinson Bush, after her late mother. Initially, the child's intended name was Pauline Pierce Bush, until George H. W.'s mother pointed out that her initials would be P. P. Bush, which "would never do". From birth, the little girl was referred to as Robin, so much so that, later in life, Barbara would comment that Robin's siblings probably do not even remember her real name.
    • Robin was described as being calm and having a "sweet soul". She was "quiet and gentle, and she had lovely little blond curls."[9] Her father would later say of Robin: "She'd fight and cry and play and make her way just like the rest, but there was about her a certain softness... Her peace made me feel strong, and so very important."In 1950, shortly after Robin's birth, the family relocated again, this time to Midland, Texas; the family quickly became involved in their new town. In February 1953, after having moved to their third house in Midland, the Bushes had another child, John Ellis, nicknamed "Jeb".
    • Illness and death [ edit ] In the spring of 1953, shortly after Jeb's birth, Robin awoke one morning, listless. She said she was unsure of what to do that particular morning, stating that she "may go out and lie on the grass and watch the cars go by", or just stay in bed. Barbara believed Robin had come down with what her mother had referred to as "spring fever", as, up until that point, she had been "as rowdy and healthy" as her brothers.[1] The child was taken to the family's pediatrician, Dorothy Wyvell, who took a blood sample and told Barbara to return later that afternoon with George H. W.; Barbara had not yet noticed the bruises on Robin. Dr. Wyvell told George and Barbara that Robin had advanced stage leukemia. Her advice for them was to not tell anyone about the child's illness, and to take her home, "make life as easy as possible for her, and in three weeks' time, she'll be gone." Neither parent had ever heard of leukemia, and, in the 1950s, not much was known of it; consequently, it was nearly always fatal.
    • George H. W. Bush holding Robin, 1953.
    • The Bushes went against both parts of the doctor's advice. Almost immediately, their friends from the country club were discussing Robin's diagnosis, and George called his uncle, John M. Walker, president of Memorial Hospital in New York City. Walker urged them to take Robin to the adjacent Sloan Kettering Institute. He told George and Barbara that "you could never live with yourselves unless you treat her." The very next day, leaving George W. and Jeb with different friends, they both flew to New York and had Robin admitted into Sloan Kettering. She was tested once again, and, after the diagnosis was confirmed, she was immediately put on medication. George W. was told that his sister was sick, but was never explained exactly how bad her condition was. For the next six months, Barbara largely remained in New York with Robin, while George traveled back and forth, due to his job. Their two sons were cared for either by family friends or by housekeepers.
    • Robin was, by her mother's account, "wonderful", not questioning why she was sick. She disliked bone marrow tests, which were very painful, as were many of the blood transfusions she endured. At times, the medication was so effective that Robin did not even appear to be ill. However, she never went into complete remission. According to Charlotte Tan, who treated Robin in New York, she was mature and tolerated her treatments well. Barbara and George heard about a doctor in Kansas City who maintained he had found the cure for leukemia. However, their hopes were dashed when they found out the man was merely testing a new drug, and had not claimed to have the cure. Sometimes, her parents would take Robin to the Bush house in Greenwich, Connecticut, and she was once taken to Maine for a brief period. There, she got to see her brothers, whose pictures she had taped to the headboard of her hospital bed. During this visit, George W. was not allowed to wrestle with his sister like they used to; his mother focused most of her attention on Robin and would "snap" at him if he tried to "horse around" with his sister.
    • By fall, Robin's condition was worsening. She spent time in an oxygen tent, and her platelets were low enough that whenever she started bleeding, it was very difficult to ascertain when it would stop. Barbara allowed no crying around Robin, and made her husband leave the room if he felt like doing so. Prescott Bush, George's father, had purchased a plot for Robin to be buried in, as her situation was not improving. Eventually, due to her medication, Robin developed heavy bruising, which almost entirely covered one of her legs, and "a hundred or so" stomach ulcers. Barbara called George, and, by the time he arrived to his daughter's bedside, she had entered a coma. Robin died on October 11, 1953, after doctors' efforts to close the ulcers in her stomach. She was two months short of her fourth birthday. Two days later, on October 13, a memorial service was held for Robin, at the Bushes' home in Greenwich. Initially, her body was donated for research, in hopes that her death might help others survive. Several days later, when the hospital released her remains, Dorothy Walker Bush, her paternal grandmother, was among those who buried her. In 2000, her grave was exhumed and her remains were relocated and reburied at the George H.W. Bush Library.
    • Legacy [ edit ] The portrait of Robin that hung in the Bushes' Texas homes.
    • After Robin's death, Barbara cried herself to sleep many nights. She stated that she "crumbled" completely, and would later say that she "fell totally apart and [George] took care of [her]." George W. was told of his sister's death a few days after it happened, when his parents picked him up from school. He would later describe this as the only low point of his happy childhood, remembering the sadness he felt both for his parents and for the loss of his sister.[32] He and his brother Jeb then became their mother's focal points, and she devoted her time to caring for them, as a means of overcoming her daughter's death.
    • After overhearing George W. tell one of his friends that he could not go out and play, as he needed to play with his mother, Barbara decided that it was time to heal, for her family.[1] After a few months, "the grief and the awful aching hurt began to disappear." "I like... to think of Robin as though she were a part, a living part, of our vital energetic and wonderful family of men and [Barbara]," George H. W. Bush would later write. Barbara came to believe that she and her husband valued all people more because of the loss they suffered with Robin. Barbara also attributed the premature graying of her hair to Robin's extended illness and death.[1]
    • Dorothy Walker Bush commissioned an oil painting of Robin, which hung in the Bushes' homes in Midland and, later, Houston.[1] Eventually, Barbara and George H. W. had three more children: Neil, in 1955, Marvin in 1956, and another daughter, Dorothy, known as "Doro" and born in 1959. Doro was once described by her father as "a wild dark version of Robin", noting that the two looked so much alike, his parents mistakenly called her Robin once. In 2000, Robin's remains were transferred from Connecticut to the family's future burial plot at the George Bush Presidential Library in Texas. On this occasion, George H. W. stated: "It seems funny after almost 50 years since her death how dear Robin is to our hearts."
    • Following Robin's death, the Bush family created a charity to raise awareness and money for leukemia research called the Bright Star Foundation.The impact of the Bright Star Foundation was acknowledged by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2004, when it opened the Robin Bush Child and Adolescent Clinic.[39] Barbara later became honorary chairwoman of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and honorary national chairperson of Donor Awareness Week.[40]
    • Following Barbara's death in April 2018, a cartoon by Marshall Ramsey, of The Clarion-Ledger, was widely circulated, showing Robin greeting Barbara upon the latter's entry to heaven. The cartoon was shared by various people and relatives of the family, including George W.'s daughter, Jenna Bush Hager.[41] Following her father's death in November of that same year, Robin would be featured again in another Ramsey cartoon, where she and Barbara greeted George H. W. after the latter landing a TBM Avenger (the type of airplane he flew in the Navy during World War II) in heaven.[42]
    • References [ edit ] Notes [ edit ] ^ a b c d e Hendrix, Steve (April 18, 2018). " ' One last time': Barbara Bush had already faced a death more painful than her own". Washington Post . Retrieved August 27, 2018 . ^ "George Bush Collection". George Bush Presidential Library and Museum . Retrieved July 30, 2016 . ^ "Cup Of Coffee Causes Crash In Which Native Ohioan Dies". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 24, 1949. p. 8 . Retrieved August 26, 2018 . ^ Bush Hager, Jenna (November 20, 2012). " ' Barbara Bush: Child lost to cancer is 'an angel to me ' ". Today . Retrieved August 27, 2018 . ^ "Bush '' The Making of a Candidate". www.washingtonpost.com. 1999 . Retrieved August 27, 2018 . ^ Villeneuve, Marina (July 16, 2013). "Bush's bald head a reminder of his own child's leukemia fight". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved April 17, 2018 . ^ "Good-Bye to Robin". Amy Cunningham . Retrieved April 17, 2018 . ^ Ramsey, Marshall (April 19, 2018). "How the Barbara Bush cartoon took on a life of its own". USA Today . Retrieved April 19, 2018 . ^ Bado, Kirk A. (December 1, 2018). "George H. W. Bush cartoon: Barbara and daughter Robin waiting in clouds". USA Today . Retrieved December 1, 2018 . Bibliography [ edit ] Blue, Rose; Naden, Corinne J. (1991). Barbara Bush: First Lady . New Jersey: Enslow Publishers. ISBN 0-89490-350-0. Bush, Barbara (2004). Reflections: Life After the White House . New York: Scribner. ISBN 0-7432-2359-4. Bush, George H. W. (2013). All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings. New York: Scribner. ISBN 978-1-4767-3116-2. Bush, Barbara (2015). A Memoir. New York: Scribner. ISBN 978-1-5011-2223-1. Gormley, Beatrice (2000). President George W. Bush: Our Forty-Third President. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks. ISBN 0-689-84410-7. Green, Robert (2000). George Bush. Chicago: Ferguson Publishing Company. ISBN 0-89434-339-4. Gutin, Myra G. (2008). Barbara Bush: Presidential Matriarch. Kansas: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0700615834. Kilian, Pamela (2003). Barbara Bush: Matriarch of a Dynasty. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-7862-4802-5. Marquez, Heron (2006). George W. Bush. Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8225-2647-6. Meacham, Jon (2015). Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush. Minneapolis: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6765-7. Mitchell, Elizabeth (2003). W: Revenge of the Bush Dynasty . New York: Berkley. ISBN 0-425-19432-9. Parmet, Herbert S. (2000). George Bush: The Life of a Lone Star Yankee. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-7658-0730-0. Sosa, Ellie LeBlond; Chase, Kelly Anne (2018). George & Barbara Bush: A Great American Love Story. Maine: Down East Books. ISBN 978-1-60893-973-2. External links [ edit ] Pauline Robinson Bush at Find a Grave
  • Gary Webb - Wikipedia
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    • Sat, 07 Mar 2020 15:51
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    • Gary Stephen Webb (August 31, 1955 '' December 10, 2004) was an American investigative journalist.
    • He began his career working for newspapers in Kentucky and Ohio, winning numerous awards, and building a strong reputation for investigative writing. Hired by the San Jose Mercury News, Webb contributed to the paper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake.
    • Webb is best known for his "Dark Alliance" series, which appeared in The Mercury News in 1996. The series examined the origins of the crack cocaine trade in Los Angeles and claimed that members of the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua had played a major role in creating the trade, using cocaine profits to support their struggle. It also suggested that the Contras may have acted with the knowledge and protection of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The series provoked outrage, particularly in the Los Angeles African-American community, and led to four major investigations of its charges.
    • The Los Angeles Times and other major papers published articles suggesting the "Dark Alliance" claims were overstated. After an internal review, The Mercury News ultimately published a statement in May 1997 acknowledging shortcomings in the series' reporting and editing.
    • Webb resigned from The Mercury News in December 1997. 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.
    • Webb committed suicide on December 10, 2004. The "Dark Alliance" series remains controversial. Critics view the series' claims as inaccurate or overstated, while supporters point to the results of a later CIA investigation as vindicating the series. Criticism has also been directed at the follow up reporting in the Los Angeles Times and other papers for focusing on problems in the series rather than re-examining the earlier CIA-Contra claims.[1]
    • Early life and education Webb was born in Corona, California. His father was a Marine sergeant, and the family moved frequently, as his career took him to new assignments.[2] When Webb's father retired from the Marines, the family settled in a suburb of Indianapolis, where Webb and his brother attended high school.[3]
    • After high school, Webb attended an Indianapolis community college on a scholarship until his family moved to Cincinnati. He then transferred to nearby Northern Kentucky University.[4]
    • Webb first began writing on the student newspaper at his college in Indianapolis.[5] After transferring to Northern Kentucky, he entered its journalism program and wrote for the school paper, The Northerner. Although he attended Northern Kentucky for four years, he did not finish his degree. Instead, he found work in 1978 as a reporter at the Kentucky Post, a local paper affiliated with the larger Cincinnati Post.[6] In 1979, Webb married Susan Bell; the couple eventually had three children.[7]
    • Early career 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.[8] 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.[9]
    • In 1983, Webb moved to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, where he continued doing investigative work. A 1985 series, "Doctoring the Truth," uncovered problems in the State Medical Board[10] and led to an Ohio House investigation which resulted in major revisions to the state Medical Practice Act.[11] Webb then moved to the paper's statehouse bureau, where he covered statewide issues and won numerous regional journalism awards.[12]
    • In 1988, Webb was recruited by the San Jose Mercury News, which was looking for an investigative reporter. He was assigned to its Sacramento bureau, where he was allowed to choose most of his own stories.[13] 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 reasons for the collapse of the Cypress Street Viaduct.[14] The Mercury News coverage of the earthquake won its staff the Pulitzer Prize for General News Reporting in 1990.[15]
    • Dark Alliance series Webb began researching "Dark Alliance" in July 1995.[16] The series was published in The Mercury News in three parts, from August 18''20, 1996, with one long article and one or two shorter articles appearing each day. 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.[17] The website artwork showed the silhouette of a man smoking a crack pipe superimposed over the CIA seal.[18] This artwork proved controversial, and The Mercury News later changed it.
    • Series claims 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." 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."[19]
    • To show this, the series focused on three men: Ricky Ross, Oscar Danilo Bland"n, and Norwin Meneses. Ross was a major drug dealer in Los Angeles. Bland"n and Meneses were Nicaraguans who smuggled drugs into the U.S. and supplied dealers like Ross. After introducing the three, the first article discussed primarily Bland"n and Meneses, and their relationship with the Contras and the CIA. Much of the article highlighted the failure of law enforcement agencies to successfully prosecute them and suggested that this was largely due to their Contra and CIA connections.
    • The second article described Bland"n's background and how he began smuggling cocaine to support the Contras. Meneses, an established smuggler and a Contra supporter as well, taught Bland"n how to smuggle and provided him with cocaine. When Ross discovered the market for crack in Los Angeles, he began buying cocaine from Bland"n. Bland"n and Meneses' high-volume supply of low-priced high-purity cocaine "allowed Ross to sew up the Los Angeles market and move on. In city after city, local dealers either bought from Ross or got left behind."[20]
    • The third article discussed the social effects of the crack trade, noting that it had a disparate effect on African-Americans. Asking why crack became so prevalent in the black community of Los Angeles, the article credited Bland"n, referring to him as "the Johnny Appleseed of crack in California."[21] It also found disparities in the treatment of black and white traffickers in the justice system, contrasting the treatment of Bland"n and Ross after their arrests for drug trafficking. Because Bland"n cooperated with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), he spent only 28 months in prison, became a paid government informer, and received permanent resident status. 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 the help of Bland"n. The article suggested this was in retribution for Ross' testimony in the corruption case.
    • Response to the series 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.[22] 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. They responded with outrage to the series' charges.[23]
    • 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.[24] 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.[25] Waters urged the CIA, the Department of Justice, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate.
    • 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.
    • Webb's continuing reporting also triggered a fourth investigation. The first article in "Dark Alliance" that discussed the failure of law enforcement agencies to prosecute Bland"n and Meneses had mentioned several cases. One of these was a 1986 raid on Bland"n's drug organization by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, which the article suggested had produced evidence of CIA ties to drug smuggling that was later suppressed. When Webb wrote another story on the raid evidence in early October, it received wide attention in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department began its own investigation into the "Dark Alliance" claims.[26]
    • Coverage in other papers After the announcement of federal investigations into the claims made in the series, other newspapers began investigating, and several papers ultimately published articles suggesting the series' claims were overstated.
    • The first detailed article on the series' claims appeared in The Washington Post in early October.[27] The front-page article, by reporters Roberto Suro and Walter Pincus, found that "available information" did not support the series claims and that "the rise of crack" was "a broad-based phenomenon" driven in numerous places by diverse players. The article also discussed Webb's contacts with Ross's attorney and prosecution complaints of how Ross's defense had used Webb's series.[28]
    • The New York Times published two articles on the series in mid-October, both written by reporter Tim Golden. One article, dealing mostly with the response of the Los Angeles black community to the stories, described the series' evidence as "thin."[29] Golden also noted the controversy over Webb's contacts with Ross's lawyer. The other article, citing interviews with current and former intelligence and law-enforcement officials, questioned the importance of the drug dealers discussed in the series, both in the crack cocaine trade and in supporting the Nicaraguan Contras' fight against the Sandinista government.[30]
    • The Los Angeles Times devoted the most space to the story, developing its own three-part series called "The Cocaine Trail." The series ran from October 20''22, 1996, and was researched by a team of 17 reporters. The three articles in the series were written by four reporters: Jesse Katz, Doyle McManus, John Mitchell and Sam Fulwood. 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.[31] 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.[32] McManus found Bland"n and Meneses' contributions to Contra organizations significantly less than the "millions" claimed in the series, and no evidence that the CIA had tried to protect them. 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.[33]
    • 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. 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." 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. ... And it ruined that reporter's career."[34]
    • The Mercury News response Surprised by The Washington Post article, The Mercury News executive editor Jerry Ceppos wrote to the Post defending the series.[35] The Post ultimately refused to print his letter.[36] Ceppos also asked reporter Pete Carey to write a critique of the series for publication in The Mercury News, and had the controversial website artwork changed.[35] Carey's critique appeared in mid-October and went through several of the Post criticisms of the series, including the importance of Bland"n's drug ring in spreading crack, questions about Bland"n's testimony in court, and how specific series allegations about CIA involvement had been, giving Webb's responses.[37]
    • When the Los Angeles Times series appeared, Ceppos again wrote to defend the original series. He also defended the series in interviews with all three papers.[38] The extent of the criticism, however, convinced Ceppos that The Mercury News had to acknowledge to its readers that the series had been subjected to strong criticism.[39] 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.[40]
    • Ceppos' column drew editorial responses from both The New York Times and The Washington Post. 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.[41]
    • The Post response came from the paper's ombudsman, Geneva Overholser.[42] 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." 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. 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 contrast, the series received support from Steve Weinberg, a former executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors. In a long review of the series' claims in The Baltimore Sun, Weinberg said: "I think the critics have been far too harsh. Despite some hyped phrasing, "Dark Alliance" appears to be praiseworthy investigative reporting."[43]
    • After the series' publication, the Northern California branch of the national Society of Professional Journalists had voted Webb "Journalist of the Year" for 1996.[44] 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.
    • End of the series After Ceppos' column, The Mercury News spent the next several months conducting an internal review of the story. 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. Carey ultimately decided that there were problems with several parts of the story and wrote a draft article incorporating his findings.[45]
    • The paper also gave Webb permission to visit Central America again to get more evidence supporting the story.[46] By January, Webb filed drafts of four more articles based on his trip, but his editors concluded that the new articles would not help shore up the original series' claims.[47]
    • 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.[48] Webb was allowed to keep working on the story and made one more trip to Nicaragua in March. At the end of March, however, Ceppos told Webb that he was going to present the internal review findings in a column.[47] After discussions with Webb, the column was published on May 11, 1997.[49]
    • In the column, Ceppos continued to defend 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.
    • But, Ceppos wrote, the series "did not meet our standards" in four areas. 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." 2) The series' estimates of the money involved was presented as fact instead of an estimate. 3) The series oversimplified how the crack epidemic grew. 4) The series "created impressions that were open to misinterpretation" through "imprecise language and graphics."[50]
    • Ceppos noted that Webb did not agree with these conclusions. He concluded, "How did these shortcomings occur? ... I believe that we fell short at every step of our process: in the writing, editing and production of our work. Several people here share that burden ... But ultimately, the responsibility was, and is, mine."
    • Resignation Webb strongly disagreed with Ceppos's column and in interviews, was harshly critical of the paper's handling of the story.[51] Editors at the paper, on the other hand, felt that Webb had failed to tell them about information that contradicted the series' claims and that he "responded to concerns not with reasoned argument, but with accusations of us selling him out."[52] In June 1997, The Mercury News told Webb it was transferring him from the paper's Sacramento bureau and offered him a choice between working at the main offices in San Jose under closer editorial supervision, or spot reporting in Cupertino; both locations were long commutes from his home in Sacramento.[52] Webb eventually chose Cupertino, but was unhappy with the routine stories he was reporting there and the long commute.[53] He resigned from the paper in November 1997.
    • Federal investigation results The reports of the three federal investigations into the claims of "Dark Alliance" were not released until over a year after the series' publication. The reports rejected the series' main claims but were critical of some CIA and law enforcement actions.
    • Justice Department report The Department of Justice Inspector-General's report was released on July 23, 1998. According to the report's "Epilogue," the report was completed in December 1997 but was not released because the DEA was still attempting to use Danilo Bland"n in an investigation of international drug dealers and was concerned that the report would affect the viability of the investigation. When Attorney General Janet Reno determined that a delay was no longer necessary, the report was released unchanged.[54]
    • 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. Attorneys' Offices. It found that "the allegations contained in the original Mercury News articles were exaggerations of the actual facts." After examining the investigations and prosecutions of the main figures in the series, Bland"n, Meneses and Ross, it concluded: "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."[55]
    • It also concluded that "the claims that Bland"n and Meneses were responsible for introducing crack cocaine into South Central Los Angeles and spreading the crack epidemic throughout the country were unsupported." 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."
    • The report called several of its findings "troubling." It found that Bland"n 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." Regarding issues raised in the series' shorter sidebar stories, it found that some in the government were "not eager" to have DEA agent Celerino Castillo "openly probe" activities at Ilopango Airport in El Salvador, where covert operations in support of the Contras were undertaken, and that the CIA had indeed intervened in a case involving smuggler Julio Zavala. 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."
    • CIA report The CIA Inspector-General's report was issued in two volumes. 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. 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 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." It also examined "how CIA handled and responded to information regarding allegations of drug trafficking" by people involved in Contra activities or support.[56]
    • 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, Bland"n, 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.[57]
    • It found nothing to support the claim that "the drug trafficking activities of Bland"n and Meneses were motivated by any commitment to support the Contra cause or Contra activities undertaken by CIA." It noted that Bland"n 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.[57]
    • It found no information to support the claim that the agency interfered with law enforcement actions against Ross, Bland"n or Meneses.[57]
    • House committee report The House Intelligence Committee issued its report in February 2000.[58] According to the report, it used Webb's reporting and writing as "key resources in focusing and refining the investigation." Like the CIA and Justice Department reports, it also found that neither Bland"n, Meneses, nor Ross were associated with the CIA.[59]
    • Examining the support that Meneses and Bland"n gave to the local Contra organization in San Francisco, the report concluded that it was "not sufficient to finance the organization" and did not consist of "millions," contrary to the claims of the "Dark Alliance" series. 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."[59] 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.[59]
    • Dark Alliance book 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. It was published in 1998 as Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. A revised version was published in 1999 that incorporated Webb's response to the CIA and Justice Department reports. The February 2000 report by the House Intelligence Committee in turn considered the book's claims as well as the series' claims.[60]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.
    • Webb's later views In interviews after leaving The Mercury News, Webb described the 1997 controversy as media manipulation. "The government side of the story is coming through the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post", he stated. "They use the giant corporate press rather than saying anything directly. 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."[61] Webb's longest response to the controversy was in "The Mighty Wurlitzer Plays On," a chapter he contributed to an anthology of press criticism:
    • 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. The reason I'd enjoyed such smooth sailing for so long hadn't been, as I'd assumed, because I was careful and diligent and good at my job ... The truth was that, in all those years, I hadn't written anything important enough to suppress.[62]
    • Later career After leaving The Mercury News, Webb worked as an investigator for the California State Legislature. 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.[63]While working at the legislature, Webb continued to do freelance investigative reporting, sometimes based on his investigative work. For instance, he published an article on racial profiling in traffic stops in Esquire magazine, in April 1999.[64]
    • Webb later moved to the State Assembly's Office of Majority Services. He was laid off in February 2004 when Assembly Member Fabian Nº±ez was elected Speaker.[65]
    • In August 2004, Webb joined the Sacramento News & Review, an alternative weekly newspaper, where he continued doing investigative writing. One of his last articles examined America's Army, a video game designed by the U.S. Army.[66]
    • Death Webb was found dead in his Carmichael home on December 10, 2004, with two gunshot wounds to the head. His death was ruled a suicide by the Sacramento County coroner's office.[67] 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 issued a statement confirming Webb had died by suicide.[68] 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." 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's ex-wife Susan Bell told reporters that she believed Webb had died by suicide.[68] "The way he was acting it would be hard for me to believe it was anything but suicide," she said. According to Bell, Webb had been unhappy for some time over his inability to get a job at another major newspaper. He had sold his house the week before his death because he was unable to afford the mortgage.[68]
    • After Webb's death, a collection of his stories from before and after the "Dark Alliance" series was published. The collection, The Killing Game: Selected Stories from the Author of Dark Alliance, was edited by Webb's son, Eric.
    • Legacy Views on Webb's journalism Views on Webb's journalism have been polarized. During and immediately after the controversy over "Dark Alliance," Webb's earlier writing was examined closely. A January 1997 article in American Journalism Review noted that a 1994 series Webb wrote had also been the subject of a Mercury News internal review that criticized Webb's reporting.[69] 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.[70]
    • On the other hand, many of the writers and editors who worked with him have had high praise for him. Walter Bogdanich, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who worked with Webb on The Plain Dealer, told American Journalism Review editor Susan Paterno "He was brilliant; he knew more about public records than anybody I've ever known."[71] Mary Anne Sharkey, Webb's editor at The Plain Dealer, told writer Alicia Shepard in 1997 that Webb was known as 'the carpenter' "because he had everything nailed down. Gary's documentation is awesome and his work ethic is unbelievable."[69] California Representative Maxine Waters, who was Webb's strongest supporter in Congress after the "Dark Alliance" controversy broke, issued a statement after Webb's death calling him "one of the finest investigative journalists that our country has ever seen."[72]
    • Jonathan Krim, The Mercury News editor who recruited Webb from The Plain Dealer and who supervised The Mercury News internal review of "Dark Alliance," told AJR editor Paterno that Webb "had all the qualities you'd want in a reporter: curious, dogged, a very high sense of wanting to expose wrongdoing and to hold private and public officials accountable." But as Krim also told Webb's biographer Nick Schou, "The zeal that helped make Gary a relentless reporter was coupled with an inability to question himself, to entertain the notion that he might have erred."[73] Scott Herhold, Webb's first editor at The Mercury-News, wrote in a 2013 column that "Gary Webb was a journalist of outsized talent. Few reporters I've known could match his nose for an investigative story. When he was engaged, he worked hard. He wrote well. But Webb had one huge blind side: He was fundamentally a man of passion, not of fairness. When facts didn't fit his theory, he tended to shove them to the sidelines."[74]
    • Views on "Dark Alliance" series Webb's reporting in "Dark Alliance" remains controversial. Many writers discussing the series point to errors in it. The claim that the drug ring of Meneses-Bland"n-Ross sparked the "crack explosion" has been perhaps the most criticized part of the series. Nick Schou, a journalist who wrote a 2006 biography of Webb, has claimed that this was the most important error in the series. Writing on the Los Angeles Times opinion page, Schou said, "Webb asserted, improbably, that the Bland"n-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.' The story offered no evidence to support such sweeping conclusions, a fatal error that would ultimately destroy Webb, if not his editors."[75]
    • While finding this part of the series unsupported, Schou said that some of the series' 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." According to Schou, the investigation "confirmed key chunks of Webb's allegations." In a later 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 Bland"n."[76]
    • Writing after Webb's death in 2005, The Nation magazine's former Washington Editor David Corn said that Webb "was on to something but botched part of how he handled it." According to Corn, Webb "was wrong on some important details, but he was, in a way, closer to the truth than many of his establishment media critics who neglected the story of the real CIA-contra-cocaine connection." Like Schou, Corn cites the inspector general's report, which he says "acknowledged that the CIA had indeed worked with suspected drugrunners while supporting the contras."[77]
    • Not all writers agree that the Inspector-General's report supported the series' claims. Jeff Leen, assistant managing editor at The Washington Post for investigative reporting, wrote in a 2014 opinion page article that "the report found no CIA relationship with the drug ring Webb had written about." Leen, who covered the cocaine trade for the Miami Herald in the 1980s, rejects the claim that "because the report uncovered an agency mind-set of indifference to drug-smuggling allegations", it vindicated Webb's reporting.[78]
    • Peter Kornbluh, a researcher at George Washington University's National Security Archives, also does not agree that the report vindicated the series. 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. It was good that his story forced those reports to come out, but part of what made that happen was based on misleading information."[79]
    • Films Kill the Messenger (2014) is based on Webb's book Dark Alliance and Nick Schou's biography of Webb. Actor Jeremy Renner portrays Webb.[80]
    • See also Allegations of CIA drug traffickingCIA involvement in Contra cocaine traffickingIran-Contra AffairEndnotes ^ Contemporary discussions of the series are discussed in the section on Response to the series. Later discussions of the series are described in the section Views on "Dark Alliance" series. ^ Schou, Nick (2006). Kill the Messenger: How the CIA's Crack Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Gary Webb. Nation Books. ISBN 1-56025-930-2. , 13-14. ^ Schou 2006, 15-16. ^ Schou 2006, 22. ^ Schou 2006, 20''21. ^ Schou 2006, 27''29. ^ Schou 2006, 33. ^ Webb 2011, "The Coal Connection" ^ "1980 IRE Award winners". Investigative Reporters and Editors. Archived from the original on 2015-02-04 . Retrieved 2015-01-27 . ^ Webb 2011, "Doctoring the Truth." ^ Porter, S. (October 1986). "The Ohio State Medical Board. An interim report". The Ohio State Medical Journal. 82 (10): 677''683. ISSN 0030-1124. PMID 3785826. ^ Paterno 2005, 26. ^ Schou 2006, 54''55. ^ Webb 2011, "Caltrans Ignored Elevated Freeway Safety." ^ "General News Reporting" Archived 2013-09-18 at the Wayback Machine. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2013-11-09. ^ Schou 2006, 65. ^ There is an "archived version of the website". Archived from the original on December 20, 1996 . Retrieved 2014-05-10 . CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link) which includes the original series, later updates, and other coverage of the story. ^ Schou 2006, 107 ^ Webb, Gary (1996-08-18). "America's 'crack' plague has roots in Nicaragua war". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on December 20, 1996 . Retrieved 2015-02-05 . ^ Webb, Gary (1996-08-19). "Shadowy origins of 'crack' epidemic". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on December 20, 1996 . Retrieved 2015-02-06 . ^ Webb, Gary (1996-08-20). "War on drugs has unequal impact on black Americans". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on December 20, 1996 . Retrieved 2015-02-05 . ^ Many of these are in the series archive at "Dark Alliance: Update archive". 1996-12-20. Archived from the original on December 20, 1996 . Retrieved 2015-02-08 . ^ Schou 2006, 112 ^ Schou 2006, 116. ^ Schou 2006, 115 ^ "Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Inquiry Findings". San Jose Mercury News '' Dark Alliance library. 1996-12-10. Archived from the original on April 9, 1997 . Retrieved 2015-02-11 . ^ Suro, Roberto; Walter Pincus (Oct 4, 1996). "The CIA and Crack: Evidence Is Lacking Of Alleged Plot". The Washington Post. ^ This is discussed briefly in Schou 2006, 86. ^ Golden, Tim (1996-10-21). "Though Evidence Is Thin, Tale of C.I.A. and Drugs Has a Life of Its Own". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-02-09 . Retrieved 2015-01-27 . ^ Golden, Tim (1996-10-21). "Pivotal Figures of Newspaper Series May Be Only Bit Players". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-02-10 . Retrieved 2015-01-27 . ^ Katz, Jesse (1996-10-20). "Tracking the Genesis of the Crack Trade". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2015-02-15 . Retrieved 2015-01-29 . ^ McManus, Doyle (1996-10-21). "Examining Charges of CIA Role in Crack Sales". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2015-02-15 . Retrieved 2015-01-29 . ^ Mitchell, John L.; Sam Fulwood (1996-10-22). "History Fuels Outrage Over Crack Allegations". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2015-02-15 . Retrieved 2015-01-30 . ^ Schou, Nick (2013-05-30). "Ex-L.A. Times Writer Apologizes for "Tawdry" Attacks". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on 2017-10-16 . Retrieved 2016-09-16 . ^ a b Ceppos, Jerry (Oct 18, 1996). "Mercury News Executive Editor Jerry Ceppos' Letter to the Washington Post". Dark Alliance: library. Archived from the original on April 9, 1997 . Retrieved 2015-02-15 . ^ "Washington Post response to Mercury News Executive Editor Jerry Ceppos". Oct 24, 1996. Archived from the original on March 30, 1997 . Retrieved 2015-02-15 . ^ Carey, Pete (Oct 13, 1996). " ' Dark Alliance' series takes on a life of its own". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on December 20, 1996 . Retrieved 2015-02-05 . ^ Schou 2006, 149. ^ Schou 2006, 153. ^ Ceppos, Jerry (Nov 3, 1996). "Perspective: In the eye of the storm". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on April 9, 1997 . Retrieved 2015-02-05 . ^ "The CIA and Drugs". The New York Times. 1996-11-05. Archived from the original on 2015-02-15 . Retrieved 2015-02-15 . ^ Overholser, Geneva (1996-11-10). "The CIA, Drugs And the Press". The Washington Post. ^ Weinberg, Steve (Nov 17, 1996). "Despite critics, a good story Crack and the contras". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015 . Retrieved 2015-02-16 . ^ Shepard, Alicia C. (Feb 1997). "The web that Gary spun". American Journalism Review. 19 (1). pp. 34-. Archived from the original on 2015-02-05 . Retrieved 2015-02-04 . ^ Schou 2006, 153''156. ^ Schou 2006, 152. ^ a b Schou 2006, 158. ^ Schou 2006, 156. ^ Schou 2006, 160. ^ Ceppos, Jerry (1997-05-11). "To readers of our 'Dark Alliance' series". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on November 19, 1997 . Retrieved 2015-02-11 . ^ Schou, 162''163 ^ a b Schou, 164. ^ Schou, 165''166. ^ Bromwich, Michael R. "CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: Epilogue". Archived from the original on 2015-03-02 . Retrieved 2015-02-09 . ^ Bromwich, Michael R. "CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: Conclusions". Archived from the original on 2015-04-17 . Retrieved 2015-02-09 . ^ Hitz, "Scope of investigation." ^ a b c Hitz, Vol. 1, "Conclusions." ^ United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (Feb 2000). Report On the Central Intelligence Agency's Alleged Involvement in Crack Cocaine Trafficking in the Los Angeles Area. ^ a b c "Report on Alleged Involvement: Findings" 43. ^ "Report on Alleged Involvement", 2. ^ Osborn, Barbara Bliss (Mar./Apr. 1998). "Are You Sure You Want to Ruin Your Career?" Archived 2005-02-10 at the Wayback Machine. Extra!. Retrieved 2006-07-21. ^ Webb, Gary (2002). "The Mighty Wurlitzer Plays On". In Borjesson, Kristina (ed.). Into the Buzzsaw: Leading Journalists Expose the Myth of a Free Press. Prometheus Books. pp. 141''157. ISBN 1-57392-972-7. ^ Schou 2006 196''200 ^ "DWB (Driving While Black)", Webb 2011. ^ Schou 2006, 206. ^ "The Killing Game", Webb 2011 ^ According to a description of Webb's injuries in the Los Angeles Times, he shot himself with a .38 revolver, which he placed near his right ear. The first shot went through his face, and exited at his left cheek. The coroner's staff concluded that the second shot hit an artery. Daunt, Tina (March 16, 2005). "Written In Pain". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 29, 2015 . Retrieved 2015-01-29 . ^ a b c Stanton, Sam (December 15, 2004). "Reporter's suicide confirmed by coroner". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on May 7, 2008. ^ a b Shepard, Alicia C. (Jan 1997). "A Hard-charging reporter". American Journalism Review. 19 (1). p. 39. ISSN 1067-8654. Archived from the original on 2015-02-05 . Retrieved 2015-02-04 . ^ Peterson, Iver (June 3, 1997). "Repercussions From Flawed News Articles". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015 . Retrieved 2015-01-27 . . The details of the suits and settlements are discussed in Schou 2006, 48 and 51. ^ Paterno 2005 ^ "Waters statement". newsmakingnews.com. December 13, 2004. Archived from the original on January 3, 2005 . Retrieved 2016-09-29 . ^ Schou 2006, 228. ^ Herhold, Scott (2 October 2013). "Herhold: Thinking back on journalist Gary Webb and the CIA". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on 2014-07-08. CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link) () ^ Schou, Nick (August 18, 2006). "The truth in 'Dark Alliance ' ". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 14, 2011 . Retrieved 2011-04-05 . ^ "Ex-L.A. Times Writer Apologizes for "Tawdry" Attacks Archived 2013-12-15 at the Wayback Machine" Los Angeles Weekly. May 30, 2013. Retrieved on Feb 15, 2015 ^ Corn, David (2004-12-13). "Gary Webb Is Dead". The Nation '' Capital Games. Archived from the original on 2014-10-21 . Retrieved 2015-01-25 . ^ Leen, Jeff (2014-10-17). "Gary Webb was no journalism hero, despite what 'Kill the Messenger' says". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2015-02-15 . Retrieved 2015-01-27 . ^ Schou 2006, 185''6. ^ Cunningham, Todd (March 5, 2014). "Jeremy Renner's 'Kill the Messenger' Gets Fall Release Date". thewrap.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019 . Retrieved July 2, 2019 . References Schou, Nick (2006). Kill the Messenger: How the CIA's Crack Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Gary Webb. Nation Books. ISBN 1-56025-930-2. Webb, Gary (2002). "The Mighty Wurlitzer Plays On". In Borjesson, Kristina (ed.). Into the Buzzsaw: Leading Journalists Expose the Myth of a Free Press. Prometheus Books. pp. 141''157. ISBN 1-57392-972-7. Webb, Gary (1998). Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 1-888363-93-2. Webb, Gary (Jan 4, 2011). Webb, Eric (ed.). The Killing Game. New York: Seven Stories Press. ISBN 9781609801434. San Jose Mercury News "Dark Alliance" web page at the Wayback Machine (archived December 20, 1996) Includes follow up stories and links to coverage from other papers (some of these are broken).The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: A Review of the Justice Department's Investigations and Prosecutions The United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General report on the claims made in the Dark Alliance newspaper series, released on July 22, 1998.Report of Investigation Concerning Allegations of Connections Between CIA and The Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States The Central Intelligence Agency Office of the Inspector General report on the claims made in the Dark Alliance newspaper series, released in two volumes, volume 1 on January 29, 1998, and volume 2 on October 8, 1998.United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (Feb 2000). Report On the Central Intelligence Agency's Alleged Involvement in Crack Cocaine Trafficking in the Los Angeles Area. House Intelligence Committee report on the claims made in the Dark Alliance series (excerpt).United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (1997). Hearings on allegations of a CIA connection to crack cocaine epidemic . Retrieved 2015-02-08 . Record of Senate Intelligence Committee hearings on Dark Alliance series claims, Oct. 23 and Nov. 26, 1996.Further reading External links Wikiquote has quotations related to: Gary WebbAppearances on C-SPANGary Webb: In His Own Words (2004), video of interview with Gary Webb from Guerrilla News Network"Inside the Dark Alliance: Gary Webb on the CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion", audio interviews (1997''1998) with Gary Webb from Democracy Now!'A NATURAL STORY': Tribute to 'Dark Alliance' and Journalist Gary Webb, transcripts of a 1997 Webb speech and interview from San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media CenterArchive of Gary Webb stories at Sacramento News and Review
  • Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act - Wikipedia
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    • Federal law
    • The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, H.R. 3355, Pub.L. 103''322 is an Act of Congress dealing with crime and law enforcement; it became law in 1994. It is the largest crime bill in the history of the United States and consisted of 356 pages that provided for 100,000 new police officers, $9.7 billion in funding for prisons and $6.1 billion in funding for prevention programs, which were designed with significant input from experienced police officers.[1] Sponsored by Representative Jack Brooks of Texas, the bill was originally written by Senator Joe Biden of Delaware and then was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton.
    • Following the 101 California Street shooting, the 1993 Waco Siege, and other high-profile instances of violent crime, the Act expanded federal law in several ways. One of the most noted sections was the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. Other parts of the Act provided for a greatly expanded federal death penalty, new classes of individuals banned from possessing firearms, and a variety of new crimes defined in statutes relating to immigration law, hate crimes, sex crimes, and gang-related crime. The bill also required states to establish registries for sexual offenders by September 1997.
    • Provisions [ edit ] Federal Assault Weapons Ban [ edit ] Title XI-Firearms, Subtitle A-Assault Weapons, formally known as the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act but commonly known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban or the Semi-Automatic Firearms Ban, barred the manufacture of 19 specific semi-automatic firearms, classified as "assault weapons", as well as any semi-automatic rifle, pistol, or shotgun capable of accepting a detachable magazine that has two or more features considered characteristic of such weapons. The list of such features included telescoping or folding stocks, pistol grips, flash suppressors, grenade launchers, and bayonet lugs.[2]
    • This law also banned possession of newly manufactured magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition.
    • The ban took effect September 13, 1994 and expired on September 13, 2004 by a sunset provision. Since the expiration date, there is no federal ban on the subject firearms or magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition.
    • Federal Death Penalty Act [ edit ] Title VI, the Federal Death Penalty Act, created 60 new death penalty offenses under 41 federal capital statutes,[3] for crimes related to acts of terrorism, non-homicidal narcotics offenses, murder of a federal law enforcement officer, civil rights-related murders, drive-by shootings resulting in death, the use of weapons of mass destruction resulting in death, and carjackings resulting in death.
    • The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing occurred a few months after this law came into effect, and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 was passed in response, which further increased the federal death penalty. In 2001, Timothy McVeigh was executed for the murder of eight federal law enforcement agents under that title.
    • Elimination of higher education for inmates [ edit ] One of the more controversial provisions of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act overturned a section of the Higher Education Act of 1965 permitting prison inmates to receive a Pell Grant for higher education while they were incarcerated. The amendment is as follows:
    • (a) IN GENERAL- Section 401(b)(8) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(8)) is amended to read as follows:(8) No basic grant shall be awarded under this subpart to any individual who is incarcerated in any Federal or State penal institution.[4]
    • The VCCLEA effectively eliminated the ability of lower-income prison inmates to receive college educations during their term of imprisonment, thus ensuring the education level of most inmates remains unimproved over the period of their incarceration.[5]
    • There is growing advocacy for reinstating Pell Grant funding for all prisoners who would qualify despite their incarceration status.[6] Perhaps the most prominent statement has come from Donna F. Edwards along with several other members of the House of Representatives, who introduced the Restoring Education and Learning Act (REAL Act) in the spring of 2015. At the executive level, the Obama administration backed a program under development at the Department of Education to allow for a limited lifting of the ban for some prisoners, called the Second Chance Pell Pilot.[7] SpearIt has argued, "First, there are genuine penal and public benefits that derive from educating prisoners. Second, and perhaps more critically, revoking Pell funding fails to advance any of the stated purposes of punishment. In the decades since the VCCLEA's enactment, there is little indication that removing prisoners from Pell eligibility has produced tangible benefits; on the contrary, among other unfavorable outcomes, disqualifying prisoners may reduce public safety and exact severe social and financial costs."[8]
    • Violence Against Women Act [ edit ] Title IV, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), allocated $1.6 billion to help prevent and investigate violence against women. VAWA was renewed in 2000, 2005, and 2013. This includes:
    • The Safe Streets for Women Act, which increased federal penalties for repeat sex offenders and requires mandatory restitution for the medical and legal costs of sex crimes.The Safe Homes for Women Act increased federal grants for battered women's shelters, created a National Domestic Violence Hotline, and required for restraining orders of one state to be enforced by the other states. It also added a rape shield law to the Federal Rules of Evidence.Part of VAWA was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in United States v. Morrison (2000).
    • Driver's Privacy Protection Act [ edit ] Title XXX, the Driver's Privacy Protection Act, governs the privacy and disclosure of personal information gathered by the states' Departments of Motor Vehicles. The law was passed in 1994; it was introduced by Jim Moran in 1992 after an increase in opponents of abortion rights using public driving license databases to track down and harass abortion providers and patients, most notably by both besieging Susan Wicklund's home for a month and following her daughter to school.[9]
    • Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act [ edit ] Under Title XVII,[10] known as the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, guidelines were established for states to track sex offenders.[11] States had also been required to track sex offenders by confirming their place of residence annually for ten years after their release into the community or quarterly for the rest of their lives if the sex offender was convicted of a violent sex crime.[11] The Wetterling Act was later amended in 1996 with Megan's Law, which permanently required states to give public disclosure of sex offenders.[11] In 2006, the Wetterling Act's state registers was replaced with a federal register through the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.[12]
    • [ edit ] Since 1994, the COPS Office has provided $30 billion in assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies to help hire community policing officers. The COPS Office also funds the research and development of guides, tools and training, and provides technical assistance to police departments implementing community policing principles.[13] The law authorized the COPS Office to hire 100,000 more police officers to patrol the nation's streets.[14]
    • Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth-in-Sentencing Incentive Grants Program [ edit ] Title II of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 provided incentive grants to build and expand correctional facilities to qualifying states that enforced mandatory sentencing of 85% of a person's sentence conviction. [15] [16] In 1998, twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia qualified for that Federal grant program. [15]
    • Other provisions [ edit ] The Act authorized the initiation of "boot camps" for delinquent minors and allocated a substantial amount of money to build new prisons.
    • Fifty new federal offenses were added, including provisions making membership in gangs a crime. Some argued[citation needed ] that these provisions violated the guarantee of freedom of association in the Bill of Rights. The Act did incorporate elements of H.R. 50 "Federal Bureau of Investigation First Amendment Protection Act of 1993" (into §2339A (c)) to prohibit investigations based purely on protected First Amendment activity, but this was effectively removed in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996.[17]
    • The Act also generally prohibits individuals who have been convicted of a felony involving breach of trust from working in the business of insurance, unless they have received written consent from state regulators.
    • The Act also made drug testing mandatory for those serving on federal supervised release.
    • The Act prohibits "any person acting on behalf of a governmental authority, to engage in a pattern or practice ... that deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States." (Title XXI, Subtitle D.) Subtitle D further requires the United States Department of Justice to issue an annual report on "the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers." Such reports have not been issued, however.[18]
    • The Act included a three-strikes provision addressing repeat offenders.[19]
    • The Act expanded the scope of required FBI data to include hate crimes based on disability, and the FBI began collecting data on disability bias crimes on January 1, 1997.[20]
    • Legacy [ edit ] Total U.S. incarceration by year
    • The Act contributed to the mass incarceration and prison overcrowding. The legal system relied on plea bargains to minimize the increased case load.[21][22] Jerry Brown and Bill Clinton later expressed regret over the portions of the measure that led to increased prison population like the three strikes provision.[19][23] Nevertheless, it has been acknowledged that the COPS Office had at least a modest impact in maintaining a long period of reduction in crime that had begun in 1992,[14] but the primary reasons for this reduction remain a topic of debate.[14]
    • As a result of the aforementioned increase in incarceration, a disproportionate amount of minorities ended up within the American prison system.[24][25]
    • See also [ edit ] Incarceration in the United StatesUnited States incarceration rateComparison of United States incarceration rate with other countriesReferences [ edit ] ^ "Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994". National criminal justice reference service. ^ Spitzer, Robert J. (2012). "Assault Weapons". In Carter, Gregg Lee (ed.). Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law (2nd ed.). Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 53. ISBN 0313386706. ^ "The Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994". Office of the United States Attorneys. Department of Justice . Retrieved 17 May 2013 . ^ "H. R. 1168". Bulk.Resource.Org. ^ "Education as Crime Prevention: The Case for Reinstating Pell Grant Eligibility for the Incarcerated" (PDF) . Bard Prison Initiative. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2007. ^ SpearIt (7 August 2017). "Uncertainty Ahead: Pell Grant Funding for Prisoners" '' via papers.ssrn.com. ^ "A Second Chance for an Education". U.S. Department of Education. 2016-06-24 . Retrieved 2016-06-30 . ^ SpearIt (2016-01-06). "Keeping It REAL: Why Congress Must Act to Restore Pell Grant Funding for Prisoners". University of Massachusetts Law Review. Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network. 11. SSRN 2711979 . ^ Miller, Michael W. (August 25, 1992). "Information Age: Debate Mounts Over Disclosure Of Driver Data". Wall Street Journal. ^ "42 U.S. Code § 14071 to 14073 - Repealed. Pub. L. 109''248, title I, § 129(a), July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 600". LII / Legal Information Institute. ^ a b c "Legislative History - SMART Office". SMART website - Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). ^ http://www.smart.gov/pdfs/practitioner_guide_awa.pdf ^ "COPS History". Community Oriented Policing Services. ^ a b c https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2014/09/26/bill-clintons-claim-that-100000-cops-sent-the-crime-rate-way-down/ ^ a b 103rd Congress (1993-1994). "H.R.3355 - Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994". congress.gov. congress.gov . Retrieved 15 February 2020 . ^ Bureau of Justice Statistics. "Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Truth in Sentencing in State Prisons" (PDF) . Bureau of Justice Statistics. Bureau of Justice Statistics. p. 3 . Retrieved 15 February 2020 . ^ Dempsey, James; Cole, David (2006). Terrorism and the Constitution: Sacrificing Civil Liberties In The Name Of National Security (Scribd Online ed.). New York: New Press. p. 63 . Retrieved 9 September 2015 . ^ Serpico, Frank (October 23, 2014). "The Police Are Still Out of Control". Politico Magazine: 2 . Retrieved June 2, 2015 . ^ a b Vara, Vauhini (November 7, 2014). "Will California Again Lead the Way on Prison Reform?". The New Yorker . Retrieved 10 November 2014 . ^ "Hate crime statistics 1996" (PDF) . CJIS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-09 . Retrieved 10 December 2009 . ^ Rohrlich, Justin (November 10, 2014). "Why Are There Up to 120,000 Innocent People in US Prisons?". VICE news . Retrieved 10 November 2014 . ^ "The controversial 1994 crime law that Joe Biden helped write, explained". Vox. June 20, 2019. ^ Hunt, Kasie (October 8, 2014). "Bill Clinton: Prison sentences to take center stage in 2016". MSNBC . Retrieved June 2, 2015 . ^ The Clintons' War on Drugs: When Black Lives Didn't Matter, By Donna Murch, The New Republic, February 9, 2016 ^ Why Hillary Clinton Doesn't Deserve the Black Vote, Michelle Alexander, The Nation, February 10, 2016 External links [ edit ] Full text of the Act
  • Roc (TV series) - Wikipedia
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    • Roc is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on Fox from August 25, 1991 to May 10, 1994. The series stars Charles S. Dutton as Baltimore garbage collector Roc Emerson and Ella Joyce as his wife Eleanor, a nurse.
    • Overview [ edit ] Early episodes [ edit ] Roc began life as a traditional television sitcom, chronicling the ups and downs of Baltimore garbage collector Charles "Roc" Emerson (Charles S. Dutton), a tightwad who constantly brought home "perks" (i.e. items thrown away by residents on his route); his wife Eleanor (Ella Joyce), a registered nurse; his womanizing younger brother Joey (Rocky Carroll), a ne'er-do-well musician who had recently returned to the neighborhood; and his father Andrew (Carl Gordon), a retired Pullman porter. A much-played scene during the series' promotion featured Roc greeting his returning brother with a casual glance and a tired "Hey, Joey." When Eleanor suggests that he should have more to say, Roc agrees, and follows up with "Hey, Joey, where's my money?"
    • Live performances [ edit ] The four principal cast members were all accomplished stage actors, and had become acquainted with each other while appearing in various August Wilson plays on Broadway. Three of the four leads were fresh from appearing in The Piano Lesson. In fact, Charles S. Dutton wanted all four of The Piano Lesson leads to be on the show.[1] After a successful live episode (guest-starring Dutton's then-wife Debbi Morgan) was broadcast in February 1992, the producers and the Fox network agreed to air each episode of the second season as a live performance. Virtually every episode from season two began with a prologue in which one of the cast members directly addressed the home viewers for a few minutes. A current events item from the past week, or even that very day, would be mentioned to prove that (East Coast) viewers were indeed watching a live performance, and current events from the previous week were frequently incorporated into the dialogue. One episode dealt with the 1992 Presidential Election, and aired the Sunday before the election. As the Emersons await the results, the director interrupts the program to mention that the results are unknown, causing "dismay" amongst the characters. Roc was the first prime time scripted American series since the late 1950s to broadcast each episode of an entire season live, a feat which wasn't repeated until the entire third season of NBC's Undateable was broadcast live in 2015. A Fox executive reportedly said that Roc "didn't feel live" to audiences because "those actors were so good, they never made a mistake."[2] After the live format received only a limited ratings boost, the show returned to its original pre-taped format for season 3.[citation needed ]
    • [ edit ] As it progressed, the series adopted a more dramatic tone, with several installments featuring social commentaries on gang activities, violence among youths, the consequences of drug use on childbirth, and the plight of African-Americans in the United States.
    • One of the central problems around town was the arrival of a powerful drug dealer named Andre, whose efforts throughout the community were met with counter-movements from Roc and others. This began with a brief showdown at Roc's home in which an angered Roc eventually grabbed hold of Andre and warned him that his actions would not go unchallenged. This soon gave rise to several new characters, including a vigilante named Ronnie (played by rapper Tone Lōc) and Calvin, a co-worker and friend of Roc (played by rapper Heavy D). As the story line progressed, victories were back-and-forth between the two sides, with Andre taking one of Joey's young friends under his influence, taunting Roc, and eventually being shot on-screen by an unseen assailant. Roc became a quick police suspect but was exonerated, with the shooter soon revealed to be Calvin. As Calvin began his prison sentence, Roc and Eleanor agreed to raise his teenage daughter Sheila (Alexis Fields). Once recovered, Andre was eventually confronted by Joey, Ronnie, and several of their friends about his continuing to trouble the community. After later expressing a measure of respect toward Roc, Andre would soon begin steps toward reformation.
    • The series moved on, continuing to mix humor and occasional drama.
    • Cast [ edit ] Main cast [ edit ] Charles S. Dutton '' Charles "Roc" Emerson, a garbage collectorElla Joyce '' Eleanor Carter Emerson, a nightshift nurse at Harbor Hospital (Wing C)Rocky Carroll '' Joey Emerson, Roc's freeloading, trumpet playing brotherCarl Gordon '' Andrew "Pop" Emerson, Roc's widowed father, a retired railroad porterRecurring cast [ edit ] Garrett Morris '' Wiz (Season 1)Clifton Powell '' Andre ThompsonHeavy D '' Calvin Hendricks (Seasons 2''3)Tone Lōc '' Ronnie Paxton (Seasons 2''3; 7 episodes)Jamie Foxx '' Crazy George (Seasons 2''3; 9 episodes)Darryl Sivad '' Sly (Seasons 2''3; 6 episodes)Joan Pringle '' Matty (Season 2; 4 episodes)En Vogue '' "The Downtown Divas" (Season 2)Alexis Fields '' Sheila Hendricks (Season 3; 22 episodes)Rosalind Cash '' Margaret Carter, Eleanor's social-climbing mother (Seasons 1''3; 3 episodes)Richard Roundtree '' Russell Emerson, Andrew's homosexual brother (Seasons 1''3; 4 episodes)Reception [ edit ] While fans were devoted, their numbers were also low; for three seasons, Roc was acclaimed critically but was generally towards the bottom of the Nielsen ratings (though it did quite well in African American households). Roc gained recognition in the form of award nominations, including an Emmy nomination for its camera work, with Charles Dutton receiving an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series.
    • Nielsen ratings [ edit ] Season 1: #72 '' 8.95 rating[3]Season 2: #71 '' 8.91 rating [4]Season 3: #102 '' 5.10 rating[5]Theme music [ edit ] The series' theme song began as "God Bless the Child", performed by a cappella singer Jerry Lawson (lead singer of The Persuasions) and three unknown studio singers, and was eventually replaced with "Live Your Life Today", performed by En Vogue.
    • List of episodes [ edit ] References [ edit ] ^ "Charles Dutton and Ella Joyce Bring Zest to TV's 'Roc'", JET, Oct. 7, 1991, at pp. 59''61. ^ "Why NBC Is Airing a Live Sitcom Next Season" . Retrieved May 9, 2015 . ^ "1991''1992 Television Season Top Rated Shows". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 31, 2006 . Retrieved November 16, 2006 . ^ "1992''1993 Television Season Top Rated Shows". Archived from the original on October 31, 2006 . Retrieved November 16, 2006 . ^ "1993''1994 Television Season Top Rated Shows". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 31, 2006 . Retrieved November 16, 2006 . External links [ edit ] Roc on IMDbRoc at TV.com
  • Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 - Wikipedia
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    • Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986Other short titlesAlcohol and Drug Abuse Amendments of 1986Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act of 1986Federal Analog ActLong titleAn Act to strengthen Federal efforts to encourage foreign cooperation in eradicating illicit drug crops and in halting international drug traffic, to improve enforcement of Federal drug laws and enhance interdiction of illicit drug shipments, to provide strong Federal leadership in establishing effective drug abuse prevention and education programs, to expand Federal support for drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation efforts, and for other purposes.Enacted bythe 99th United States CongressEffectiveOctober 27, 1986CitationsPublic law99-570 Statutes at Large 100 Stat. 3207CodificationActs amendedAdministrative Procedure ActFreedom of Information ActTitles amended21 U.S.C.: Food and DrugsU.S.C. sections amended Legislative history Introduced in the House as H.R. 5484 by James C. Wright Jr. (D''TX) on September 8, 1986Committee consideration by House Armed Services, House Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, House Education and Labor, House Foreign Affairs, House Government Operations, House Energy and Commerce, House Interior and Insular Affairs, House Judiciary, House Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House Post Office and Civil Service, House Public Works and Transportation, House Ways and MeansPassed the House on September 11, 1986 (392-16)Passed the Senate on September 30, 1986 (97-2, in lieu of S. 2878) with amendmentHouse agreed to Senate amendment on October 17, 1986 (unanimous consent) with further amendmentSenate agreed to House amendment on October 17, 1986 (voice vote)Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on October 27, 1986Major amendmentsAnti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 was a law of the War on Drugs passed by the U.S. Congress. Among other things, they changed the system of federal supervised release from a rehabilitative system into a punitive system. The 1986 Act also prohibited controlled substance analogs. The bill enacted new mandatory minimum sentences for drugs, including marijuana.[1][2]
    • History [ edit ] The appearance of crack cocaine, the June 19, 1986 death of Len Bias (University of Maryland basketball star), the morning after he signed with the NBA champion Boston Celtics, and the June 27, 1986 death of Don Rogers (safety) (Cleveland Browns, 1985 Defensive Rookie of the Year) -- both from cocaine use, encouraged U.S. Rep. Thomas P. (Tip) O'Neill, Jr. (D-MA), the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to mobilize the House Democratic leadership to assemble an omnibus anti-drug bill that became the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. [4] The congressional interest and intense news coverage created a moral panic surrounding cocaine use, which had earlier been viewed in a more benign or even positive way. that made enacting this legislation so important. [6] In September and October of 1986, the House (with a Democratic majority) and the Senate (with a Republican majority) competed over which could propose the most severe laws in advance of the pivotal midterm election.
    • A few House Democrats expressed considerable concern about the provisions of the bill. However, most ultimately voted for it, describing election pressures and fear of criticism as swaying their decision. Representative Mike Lowry (D), who voted against the bill, described the process as "legislation by political panic". Representative Charles Schumer (D), who voted in favor of the bill, said "the policies are aimed at looking good rather than solving the problem." The House passed the Senate version with a 378''16 majority on October 17, 1986.
    • Contents [ edit ] Money Laundering Control Act [ edit ] The Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 was enacted as Title I of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act. This title criminalized money laundering for the first time in the United States. It also amended the Bank Secrecy Act, the Change in Bank Control Act, and the Right to Financial Privacy Act
    • Drug crimes [ edit ] Along with the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, the act substantially increased the number of drug offenses with mandatory minimum sentences.
    • This act mandated a minimum sentence of 5 years without parole for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine while it mandated the same for possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine. This 100:1 disparity was reduced to 18:1, when crack was increased to 28 grams (1 ounce) by the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010.[citation needed ]
    • Spending [ edit ] The act authorized billions of dollars of spending, although substantially less was actually appropriated. Some of this was used to increase the substance abuse treatment federal block grant program,[12] although treatment providers were disappointed at the reduced appropriations following politicians' earlier promises and authorization.
    • Other programs funded by the act included drug counseling and education programs, AIDS research,[12] and international cooperation to limit drug production.
    • The Act also included the Drug Free Schools and Communities Act, which required colleges to establish drug abuse education and prevention programs.
    • Impact [ edit ] The law led to an increase in average time imprisoned for drug crimes from 22 months to 33 months.
    • See also [ edit ] Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988War on DrugsCitations [ edit ] References [ edit ] Dowdall, G.W. (2013). College Drinking: Reframing a Social Problem / Changing the Culture. Stylus Publishing. ISBN 978-1-57922-815-6 . Retrieved 23 January 2018 . Easley, Jonathan (19 June 2011). "The day the drug war really started". Salon. Landsberg, B.K. (2004). Major Acts of Congress: A-E. Major Acts of Congress. Macmillan Reference USA. ISBN 978-0-02-865750-9. Murakawa, N. (2014). The First Civil Right: How Liberals Built Prison America. Studies in Postwar American Political Development. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-938072-5. Musto, David F. (2005). "Historical perspectives". In Lowinson, J.H. (ed.). Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook. Spiral Manual Series. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 978-0-7817-3474-5. Pollard, A.M.; Daly, J.P. (2014). Banking Law in the United States '' Fourth Edition:. Juris Pub. ISBN 978-1-57823-361-8 . Retrieved 23 January 2018 . Reamer, F.G. (2005). Heinous Crime: Cases, Causes, and Consequences . Columbia University Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-231-50688-5. Richards, J.R. (1998). Transnational Criminal Organizations, Cybercrime, and Money Laundering: A Handbook for Law Enforcement Officers, Auditors, and Financial Investigators. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4200-4872-8. Shewan (2013). Drug Use in Prisons. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-134-43234-9. Further reading [ edit ] Abadinsky, H. (2013). Drug Use and Abuse: A Comprehensive Introduction. Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-1-305-16164-1. Belgrave, F.Z.; Allison, K.W. (2009). African American Psychology: From Africa to America. SAGE Publications. p. 95,391. ISBN 978-1-4129-6555-2. Hinton, E. (2016). From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime. Harvard University Press. p. 317. ISBN 978-0-674-73723-5. Isralowitz, R. (2004). Drug Use: A Reference Handbook . ABC-CLIO's contemporary world issues. ABC-CLIO. p. 168-179. ISBN 978-1-57607-708-5. King, D.S.; Smith, R.M. (2011). Still a House Divided: Race and Politics in Obama'‚¬'s America. Princeton Studies in American Politics: Historical, International, and Comparative Perspectives. Princeton University Press. p. 217f,229. ISBN 978-1-4008-3976-6. Leapley, Steven (February 9, 2014). "Analysis Of The Anti-Drug Abuse Act Of 1986". Palomar College. Marcy, W.L. (2010). The Politics of Cocaine: How U. S. Foreign Policy Has Created a Thriving Drug Industry in Central and South America. Chicago Review Press, Incorporated. p. 83-90,134. ISBN 978-1-56976-561-6. Marion, N.E.; Oliver, W.M. (2014). Drugs in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law [3 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-61069-596-1. Pirog, M.A.; Good, E.M. (2012). Public Policy and Mental Health: Avenues for Prevention. Prevention Practice Kit. SAGE Publications. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-4833-0767-1. Sandoval, L. (2013). "The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986: A Policy Analysis". California State University, Long Beach. Stohr, M.; Walsh, A.; Hemmens, C. (2012). Corrections: A Text/Reader. SAGE Text/Reader Series in Criminology and Criminal Justice. SAGE Publications. p. 128,139. ISBN 978-1-4522-8992-2. Weld, William F. (1987). Handbook on the Anti Drug Abuse Act of 1986 (PDF) . Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Justice / GPO. oai:quod.lib.umich.edu:MIU01-011327818.
  • Len Bias - Wikipedia
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    • American basketball player
    • Leonard Kevin Bias (November 18, 1963 '' June 19, 1986) was a first-team All-American college basketball forward at the University of Maryland. Two days after being selected by the Boston Celtics as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, Bias died from cardiac arrhythmia induced by a cocaine overdose.[1][2]
    • Early years [ edit ] Bias was born and raised in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. He was one of four children born to James Bias Jr and Dr Lonise Bias. He had a sister, Michelle, and two brothers, Eric and James III (James III was known as "Jay").[3]
    • College career [ edit ] From Landover, Maryland, Bias graduated from Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, and subsequently attended the University of Maryland.[citation needed ]
    • As a freshman, he was viewed as "raw and undisciplined," but ultimately, Bias developed into an All-American player. In his junior year, he led the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring and was named the ACC's Player of the Year. His senior season was highlighted by his performance in an overtime victory against top-ranked North Carolina in which he scored 35 points, including 7 in the last 3 minutes of regulation and 4 in overtime. At the end of the year, Bias collected his second ACC Player of the Year award and was named to two All-America teams.[4]
    • Bias impressed basketball fans with his amazing leaping ability, his physical stature and his ability to create plays, and was considered one of the most dynamic players in the nation. By his senior year, scouts from various National Basketball Association teams viewed Bias as the most complete forward in the class of 1986. Celtics scout Ed Badger called Bias an "explosive and exciting kind of player" and compared him to Michael Jordan.[5]
    • College statistics [ edit ] YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG1982''83Maryland301322.0.478.273.6364.2.7.3.57.11983''84Maryland323134.5.567''.7674.51.5.4.815.31984''85Maryland373736.5.528''.7776.81.8.9.918.91985''86Maryland323237.0.544''.8647.01.0.8.423.2Career13111332.8.536.273.7955.71.3.6.716.4 NBA draft, drug overdose, and death [ edit ] On June 17, Bias was selected by the Boston Celtics as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, which was held in New York City at Madison Square Garden. Red Auerbach, the Celtics' president and general manager, had dealt guard Gerald Henderson and cash to the Seattle SuperSonics for the pick in 1984. After the draft, Bias and his family returned to their suburban Maryland home.[citation needed ] On June 18, Bias and his father flew to Boston, Massachusetts, from Washington, D.C., for an NBA club draft acceptance and product endorsement signing ceremony with the Celtics' coaches and management. Bias had discussions with Reebok's sports marketing division regarding a five-year endorsement package worth $1.6 million.[6]
    • After returning home to Maryland, Bias drove back to the campus of the University of Maryland. He left campus at approximately 2 a.m. on Thursday, June 19, drove to an off-campus gathering, and returned to his dormitory between 2:30 and 3 a.m.[7] For the next three to four hours, Bias, longtime friend Brian Tribble, and several teammates repeatedly insufflated cocaine in the dormitory suite shared by Bias and his teammates.[8][9][10] Bias reportedly had a seizure and collapsed while talking with teammate Terry Long.[7][11] At 6:32 a.m., when Tribble called 911, Bias was unconscious and not breathing.[10] All attempts by the emergency medical team to restart his heart and breathing were unsuccessful.[7] After additional attempts to revive him at Leland Memorial Hospital in Riverdale, Maryland, Bias was pronounced dead at 8:55 a.m. of a cardiac arrhythmia related to usage of cocaine. It was reported that there were no other drugs or alcohol found in his system.[12][13][14][15]
    • Four days after Bias died, more than 11,000 people attended a June 23 memorial service at the Cole Field House, the university recreation and student center where Bias played for the Terrapins. Those speaking at the service included Red Auerbach, who said he had planned for three years to draft Bias for the Celtics. On June 30, 1986, the Celtics honored Bias with their own memorial service, giving his never-used #30 Celtics jersey to his mother, Lonise.[citation needed ]
    • Bias was interred at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland.[16]
    • Later developments [ edit ] Criminal charges [ edit ] On July 25, 1986, a grand jury returned indictments against Brian Tribble for possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Bias's Maryland teammates Terry Long and David Gregg were charged with possession of cocaine and obstruction of justice. Long and Gregg were both suspended from the team on July 31.[17] All three defendants entered not guilty pleas in August.[17]
    • On October 20, 1986, prosecutors dropped all charges against Long and Gregg in exchange for their testimony against Tribble. On October 30, the grand jury added three more indictments against Tribble'--one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and two counts of obstruction of justice.[17]
    • Also on October 30, Kenneth Mark Fobbs, Tribble's roommate, was charged with perjury for allegedly lying to the grand jury about the last time he had seen Tribble. The state ultimately dropped the perjury charges against Fobbs on March 24, 1987, and a jury acquitted Tribble of all charges related to the Bias case on June 3, 1987.[17]
    • In October 1990, Tribble pleaded guilty to a drug charge following a two-year undercover sting operation. He cooperated with the government and was sentenced to ten years and one month in prison.[18]
    • Family [ edit ] On December 5, 1990, Len's younger brother, Jay Bias, was murdered in a drive-by shooting at age 20. The killing followed a dispute in the parking lot of Prince George's Plaza, a Hyattsville shopping mall just a few miles from the University of Maryland.[19] He was pronounced dead at the same hospital where his brother Len had died and was buried next to him at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery.[20]
    • Following their sons' deaths, James and Lonise Bias assumed vocal advocacy roles. Lonise Bias became an anti-drug lecturer, while James Bias became an advocate for gun control.[21][22] Lonise Bias, in the memory of her children, opened the Len and Jay Bias Foundation, which served to encourage better examples for youth.[23]
    • Len Bias Law [ edit ] A few weeks after Bias' death, committees in the United States House of Representatives began writing anti-drug legislation.[24] The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 was signed by President Ronald Reagan on October 27, 1986. The law provided for life imprisonment for a person who distributed drugs if death resulted from the use of those drugs; these provisions became known as "The Len Bias Law."[citation needed ]
    • University of Maryland investigation [ edit ] The circumstances surrounding Bias's death threw the University of Maryland and its athletics program into turmoil. An investigation revealed that Bias was 21 credits short of the graduation requirement despite having attended the university for four full years; in his final semester he had earned no academic credits at all, failing three courses and withdrawing from two others.[25] On August 26, 1986, State's Attorney Arthur A. Marshall Jr. stated that in the hours after Bias's death, Maryland head basketball coach Lefty Driesell told players to remove drugs from Bias's dorm room (although this was later found to be false). Two days later, Bias's father, James, accused the university, and Driesell specifically, of neglecting the academic status of their athletes.[17]
    • The controversy prompted athletic director Dick Dull to resign on October 7, 1986, with Driesell following suit on October 29 after 17 years as coach. The grand jury presiding over the Bias case issued a final report on February 26, 1987 that criticized the University of Maryland's athletic department, admissions office and campus police.[17]
    • Films [ edit ] A film about Len Bias's life, directed by Kirk Fraser, was promoted at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival[26] and was released June 19, 2009. The documentary Without Bias premiered on ESPN on November 3, 2009, as part of their 30 for 30 documentary series, commemorating the network's 30th anniversary.[citation needed ]
    • See also [ edit ] List of basketball players who died during their careersReferences [ edit ] ^ "The Legend of Len Bias". ESPN.com. June 19, 1986. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011 . Retrieved February 8, 2011 . ^ "Original Old School: We Reminisce Over You". Slam Online. June 19, 2009. Archived from the original on October 9, 2010 . Retrieved February 8, 2011 . ^ C. Fraser Smith. Lenny, Lefty, and the Chancellor: the Len Bias Tragedy and the Search for ... Books.google.com . Retrieved March 20, 2017 . ^ Rick Maese (November 20, 2005). "Rise and fall of Len Bias". Archived from the original on October 15, 2012 . Retrieved May 3, 2013 . ^ Sally Jenkins (June 18, 1986). "Celtics Make Bias Second Overall Pick of Draft". The Washington Post. ^ Weinberg, Rick. "Len Bias dies of cocaine overdose". ESPN. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. ^ a b c "Maryland Basketball Star Len Bias Is Dead at 22". Washingtonpost.com. June 20, 1986 . Retrieved March 20, 2017 . ^ "Ex-Teammate Tells Of Bias Drug Role". NYTimes.com. Maryland. May 28, 1987 . Retrieved March 20, 2017 . ^ Taylor, Phil (June 30, 1986). " ' The Cruelest Thing Ever ' ". Si.com . Retrieved March 20, 2017 . ^ a b "David Gregg Len Bias | Years later, Len Bias' death continues to trouble many lives - tribunedigital-baltimoresun". Articles.baltimoresun.com. June 19, 1991 . Retrieved March 20, 2017 . ^ Schmidt, Susan; Kenworthy, Tom (June 25, 1986). "Cocaine Caused Bias' Death, Autopsy Reveals : Dose Said to Trigger Heart Failure; Criminal Inquiry to Be Pressed". The Washington Post '' via latimes.com. ^ "Celtics Draftee Len Bias Dies of Heart Attack : Maryland Star Had Come Out of Physical 'Perfect' 2 Days Ago". Articles.latimes.com. June 19, 1986 . Retrieved March 20, 2017 . ^ Keith Harriston; Sally Jenkins (June 20, 1986). "Traces of Cocaine Found in System". The Washington Post. ^ "The Len Bias Tragedy". The Washington Post. August 4, 1998 . Retrieved February 8, 2011 . ^ Bill Simmons (June 20, 2001). "Still haunted by Len Bias". ESPN. Archived from the original on June 3, 2010. ^ Wojciechowski, Gene (June 23, 1991). "Death Be Not Proud : Five Years Later, Aftershocks From the Len Bias Case Still Can Be Felt". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved June 17, 2018 . ^ a b c d e f "Triumph to Turmoil". The Baltimore Sun. June 18, 2006 . Retrieved April 20, 2016 . ^ Paul W. Valentine (October 16, 1993). "Tribble Sentenced to 10 Years for Dealing Cocaine". The Washington Post. ^ Maureen C. Gilmer (October 26, 2014). " ' Blind Side' mom will speak in Indy". Indianapolis Star. ^ "Len Bias's Brother Dies in Shooting". The New York Times. December 5, 1990. Archived from the original on June 3, 2010 . Retrieved February 8, 2011 . ^ Villareal, Luz (February 10, 1992). "Len Bias' Mom Pushes Sobriety After Son's Death". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013 . Retrieved June 11, 2013 . ^ "Father Of Len Bias Wants Stricter Gun Regulation". Orlando Sentinel. December 9, 1990. Archived from the original on October 21, 2010 . Retrieved June 11, 2013 . ^ Timothy Sandoval (February 27, 2013). "Proposal to create statue honoring Len Bias is withdrawn". Washington Post. ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Herndon, Astead W. (June 25, 2019). " ' Lock the S.O.B.s Up': Joe Biden and the Era of Mass Incarceration". The New York Times . Retrieved June 25, 2019 . His death created a media frenzy amid a national panic over crack, a cheap, smokable form of cocaine that was alarming drug-abuse experts and fueling a wave of violent crime in American cities, especially black neighborhoods. Mr. Biden convened a hearing the next month. ^ Simon, Roger (September 13, 1988). "Sadly, It`s The Way The Ball Bounces". Chicago Tribune. ^ Nancy Doyle Palmer (February 26, 2008). "Len Bias Movie Promoted at Sundance". The Washingtonian. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009 . Retrieved February 8, 2011 . Further reading [ edit ] Abel, Greg (June 14, 2006). "It Was 20 Years Ago Today". PressBox. Archived from the original on July 17, 2010 . Retrieved September 19, 2009 . Bratcher, Drew (June 1, 2009). "Death of a Legend". Washingtonian. Archived from the original on November 6, 2009 . Retrieved August 21, 2009 '' via Wayback Machine. Bulpett, Steve (June 16, 2018). "On draft anniversary, memories of Len Bias still there". Boston Herald. Cole, Lewis (1989). Never Too Young to Die: The Death of Len Bias . Pantheon. ISBN 0394564405. Smith, Fraser C. (1992). Lenny, Lefty, and the Chancellor: The Len Bias Tragedy and the Search for Reform in Big-Time College Basketball. Bancroft Press. ISBN 0963124609. Ungrady, Dave J. (2011). Born Ready: The Mixed Legacy of Len Bias. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 1467972363. External links [ edit ] Len Bias at Find a Grave Links to related articles
  • Born On Drugs: Predictions About Crack Babies Didn't Come True, Offering Hope For Opioid Era | Center for Health Journalism
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    • By Tony Saavedra and Scott Schwebke
    • To the courts, she was just a case number.
    • It was impersonal because, at the time, she was one in a long line of ''crack babies,'' which is what newborns like her were called in 1996.
    • Today, she has a name; Nancy Elizabeth Palmer. And even though she came into the world with little chance of surviving her birth mother's addiction to crack (along with methamphetamine and opioids and anything she could get her hands on), Palmer is more than OK.
    • These days, the condition is known as ''neonatal abstinence syndrome,'' and it describes a newborn who has been exposed, in utero, to a harmful drug or alcohol.
    • And data does show that children can die, or experience profound physical difficulties, as a result of being exposed to drugs in the womb. A 2008 study in Tennessee found that drug-exposed infants are more likely to develop learning disabilities and stay in the hospital much longer, an average of 16.9 days compared to 2.1 days for other newborns.
    • Other studies show that drug-exposed babies cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep alive as newborns and even more money in health expenses later in life.
    • But when the ''crack baby epidemic'' of the 1980s and '90s was raging, many experts offered stark, long-term forecasts, saying the United States of the early 21st century would include a population of drug-exposed people who grew up with permanently impaired brains and psyches.
    • That didn't come true. And a 2016 report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found those earlier forecasts were wildly overblown.
    • ''Dire predictions of reduced intelligence and social skills in babies born to mothers who used crack cocaine while pregnant during the 1980s '-- so-called ''crack babies'' '-- were grossly exaggerated,'' NIDA researchers wrote.
    • ''However, the fact that most of these children do not show serious overt deficits should not be overinterpreted to indicate that there is no cause for concern.''
    • Palmer is an example of how good medical treatment '-- and even better parenting '-- can help turn a tough start into a great life.
    • Different outcome''The doctors didn't think I was going to make it. And if I did make it, I wouldn't be able to function properly,'' said Palmer, now a 22-year-old communications senior at Concordia University who plans to become a licensed drug and alcohol counselor.
    • Aside from some nerve damage, Palmer is surviving with few problems.
    • Fostered and then adopted by Orange County Rescue Mission CEO Jim Palmer and his wife, Michelle, Nancy Palmer is trying to give back to the addicted community that created her.
    • The number of drug-exposed infants born in California nearly tripled over the decade between 2008 and 2017, from 1,862 to 5,050. In Orange County, where Nancy lives, the number jumped from 84 in 2008 to 192 in 2017.
    • Nancy knows little about her birth mother; even less about her birth father. ''He's just a name on the birth certificate.''
    • Jim Palmer tried to help the birth mother regain custody, when Nancy was little, but the woman just stopped coming to court. So the Palmers nurtured the baby, who suffered as many as 15 seizures a day even as a toddler.
    • ''My heart was going out to this little baby girl,'' said Jim Palmer. ''The first time I held her she was going through a seizure.''
    • The seizures damaged her nerve endings, says Nancy. As a toddler, she would walk into walls and not feel a thing.
    • ''I have a very high pain tolerance,'' Palmer says. ''My nerves are still fried.''
    • After six weeks in a hospital, Palmer was placed in Olive Crest, a children's home system, where Jim Palmer found her in 1996. His family previously had fostered two boys and later fostered another girl. All were ultimately adopted.
    • Doctors didn't know how the drug exposure would affect Nancy's brain growth. But, aside from dyslexia and an allergy to tobacco, Nancy Palmer says she turned out pretty much normal.
    • ''I grew up like any other child, maybe just a little more hyper,'' she says. ''I beat the odds. They said I wouldn't live past 3 years old. Now, I'm 22 and going to college.''
    • For awhile, she hated her birth mother; hated that she couldn't beat her addiction to win back her baby girl. But, today, Nancy speaks of that ''hatred'' in the past tense.
    • She's made peace with her life, noting that ''everybody deserves a second chance.''
    • ''Because your parents made a mistake, doesn't mean you'll make the same mistake.''
    • Family structureThink of people like Melissa and Andrew Ferguson as the safety net in the opioid era.
    • The Buena park couple is too young to have raised any ''crack babies,'' but over the past decade or so they have been foster parents to dozens of other drug-exposed babies, giving each a fresh start on life.
    • On a wall inside their Buena Park living room, above two well worn brown sofas, hangs a sign that reads ''Family is Forever.'' It's more than a feel-good slogan; for the Fergusons, the three words are a lifestyle.
    • ''We build an extension of our family with all the littles that come through our door and their families,'' said Melissa Ferguson, 36.
    • ''Even after our time is over with loving these littles, and helping to encourage their parents, we let them know they can always call if they need us.''
    • On occasion, the Fergusons have found it impossible to say goodbye.
    • They have adopted three of their one-time foster children, rounding out a family that also includes two biological children, a 12-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter.
    • ''It wasn't that we wanted to save a child as much as we wanted to build our family,'' Melissa said. ''We wanted a child that just needed a family.''
    • In 2013, the couple attended a workshop led by experts at the Orange County Department of Social Services. It was aimed at recruiting foster parents to care for children who'd been exposed to drugs at birth.
    • They learned about the challenges those children often face, and the difficulties that caring for such children can wreak on many families. They painted a tough '-- even bleak '-- picture of what it's like to care for children who have been removed from the care of their biological parents.
    • ''They give you the worst-case scenario,'' said Andrew, 39. ''They try to scare you off.''
    • Still, Melissa left the meeting with one idea in her head:
    • ''I thought, 'We can do this!'''
    • For a nine-week stretch, the Fergusons diligently attended foster care classes. They learned how to help children handle emotional and physical trauma. They learned about visitation rights. They learned about child attachment issues.
    • County officials also thoroughly interviewed the Fergusons and their two biological children, as well as family and friends.
    • ''They look at everything in your life,'' Melissa said.''They want to make sure you are capable of integrating them into your life.
    • About five weeks after the last class the Fergusons became licensed foster parents. Soon after that '-- around 3 p.m on Halloween of 2013 '-- their small family doubled in size.
    • A social worker phoned Melissa and told her a 5-year-old boy and his 2-year-old sister, who had been removed from their home, were in immediate need of a foster family.
    • Melissa and Andrew raced to DSS headquarters in Santa Ana to pick up the children.
    • While the girl was happy with the Fergusons, her brother had difficulty adjusting.
    • ''We had them three weeks,'' Melissa recalled.
    • Soon, a foster child came to the Fergusons' home to stay longer. Others followed, some leaving after a short period, some staying longer.
    • The easiest partOne who stayed was Matthew.
    • His 20-year-old biological mother used methamphetamine, alcohol, and marijuana during her pregnancy leaving him severely exposed to drugs.
    • Despite the medical challenges, the Fergusons knew they wanted to adopt him.
    • ''Once we got him, I was on board,'' Andrew said.
    • Melissa quit her job as a medical assistant to keep up with Matthew's numerous medical appointments.
    • His sight and hearing were compromised; his neurological development was uncertain. He suffered from seizures.
    • It took a year for Matthew to crawl, and about seven months after that before he could walk. And even when he could walk his muscle tone was so delayed that he needed leg braces to get around.
    • Since then, however, he has made remarkable progress.
    • ''He overcame everything they (doctors) told him he would not overcome,'' Melissa said proudly. ''He beats his own drum. He was slightly behind everyone, but charged through. Now he is off the charts and doing really good.''
    • Still, the Fergusons had more love to give. On June 7, 2018, they adopted two girls, both of whom were born exposed to methamphetamine.
    • The girls, Amelia and Zoe, each about 2 when they came to the Fergusons, aren't biologically related. And their medical challenges aren't as severe as those faced by Matthew.
    • ''Zoe is our girly girl and Amelia is our sassy little butterfly,'' Melissa said.
    • The Fergusons don't plan to adopt any more children. But they say they will continue providing a loving foster home to children and offer any support they can to the biological parents.
    • ''Everyone assumes opening up your heart is the hardest part to fostering,'' she said.
    • ''Little do they know, that's the easiest.''
    • [This story was originally published by The Orange County Register.]
  • China Crack Pipe, Crack Pipe Wholesale, Manufacturers, Price | Made-in-China.com
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    • Sourcing Guide for Crack Pipe: Browse and get inspired by our homeware & daily use catalog. Having the right Chinese suppliers can make all the difference to your future business success. Discover amazing new product ideas and fresh up your current sourcing list with Crack Pipe factory. Source verified household suppliers & cheap light industry products from China. Check out the list of 2020 newest Crack Pipe manufacturers above and compare similar choices like water pipe, glass water pipe, glass smoking pipe. Made-in-China.com is the best place to meet key manufacturers in the homeware industry from major regions in China. It is also the most robust platform through which to get China market updates from authoritative sources and find new partners from the markets that matter most.corrugated pipe
  • New Jack City (soundtrack) - Wikipedia
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    • 1991 soundtrack album by Various Artists
    • Music from the Motion Picture New Jack City is the original soundtrack to Mario Van Peebles' 1991 film New Jack City. It was released by Giant Records through Reprise Records, and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. The soundtrack consists of eleven original songs, most of which were performed by chart-topping R&B and hip-hop artists of the time. The music is heavily influenced by the New Jack Swing genre of R&B. Prominent artists and producers of this sound contributed to the soundtrack, including Guy with Teddy Riley, Keith Sweat, Color Me Badd, and Johnny Gill; Al B. Sure! produced the track "Get It Together (Black Is a Force)," performed by F.S. Effect.
    • The soundtrack reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for eight weeks, and No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The single "I'm Dreamin'," performed by Christopher Williams, and "For the Love of Money/Living for the City," performed by Troop, LeVert, and Queen Latifah, reached No. 1 and No. 12 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, respectively.
    • The Troop/LeVert/Queen Latifah song was a medley of The O'Jays' "For the Love of Money" and Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City" (The O'Jays' lead singer is Eddie Levert, the father of two members of the group LeVert).
    • Track listing [ edit ] "New Jack Hustler (Nino's Theme)" (Ice-T) 4:44"I'm Dreamin'" (Christopher Williams) 5:03"New Jack City" (Guy) 3:29"I'm Still Waiting" (Johnny Gill) 3:58"(There You Go) Tellin' Me No Again" (Keith Sweat) 5:03"Facts of Life" (Danny Madden) '' 4:13"For the Love of Money/Living for the City" (Troop and LeVert featuring Queen Latifah) 5:45"I Wanna Sex You Up" (Color Me Badd) 4:03"Lyrics 2 the Rhythm" (Essence) 4:06"Get It Together (Black Is a Force)" (F.S. Effect) 4:24"In the Dust" (2 Live Crew) 3:54Personnel [ edit ] Doug McHenry '-- executive producerGeorge Jackson '-- executive producerBenny Medina '-- executive producerCassandra Mills '-- executive producerTeddy Riley '-- producer,arranger
    • Bernard Belle - producerCharts [ edit ] Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album
    • 1991          New Jack City             The Billboard 200          No. 21991          New Jack City             Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums     No. 1Billboard Music Charts (North America) - single
    • 1991          Facts of Life             Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles    No. 911991          For the Love of Money/                Living for the City     Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles    No. 121991          I'm Dreaming              Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles    No. 11991          I'm Dreaming              The Billboard Hot 100      No. 891991          I'm Still Waiting         Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles    No. 271991          New Jack Hustler          Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles    No. 491991          New Jack Hustler          The Billboard Hot 100      No. 67See also [ edit ] List of number-one R&B albums of 1991 (U.S.)References [ edit ] External links [ edit ] New Jack City (Music From The Motion Picture) at Discogs (list of releases)
  • New Jack City - Wikipedia
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    • Sat, 07 Mar 2020 14:38
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    • 1991 American action crime film directed by Mario Van Peebles
    • New Jack City is a 1991 American action crime film based upon an original story and screenplay by Thomas Lee Wright and Barry Michael Cooper, and directed by Mario Van Peebles. This is the latter's directorial debut, and Van Peebles also co-stars in the film. The film stars Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Allen Payne, Chris Rock, Mario Van Peebles, and Judd Nelson. The film was released in the United States on March 8, 1991.[2]
    • Wesley Snipes plays Nino Brown, a rising drug-lord in New York City during the crack epidemic. Ice-T plays Scotty Appleton, a detective who vows to stop Nino's criminal activity by going undercover to work for Nino's gang.
    • Plot The story begins in Harlem 1986, and Nino Brown and his gang, the Cash Money Brothers (CMB), become the dominant drug ring in New York City once crack cocaine is introduced to the streets. His gang consists of his best friend, Gee Money; enforcer Duh Duh Duh Man; gun moll Keisha; Nino's girlfriend, Selina; and her tech-savvy cousin, Kareem.
    • Nino converts the Carter apartment complex into a crack house. Gee Money and Keisha kill rival Fat Smitty, the CMB throws out the tenants, and Nino forces the landlord out onto the streets naked. Meanwhile, undercover detective Scotty Appleton attempts to make a deal with stick-up kid Pookie, but Pookie runs off with the money. Appleton chases Pookie and shoots him in the leg, but the police let him go. Nino's gang successfully run the streets of Harlem over the next three years.
    • When Det. Stone comes under pressure, Appleton volunteers to infiltrate Nino's gang and is partnered with loose-cannon Nick Peretti. Elsewhere, mobster Frankie Needles attempts to collect taxes from Nino, who refuses to pay. While Appleton and Peretti spy on Nino and his gang as they hand out Thanksgiving turkeys to the poor, Appleton spots Pookie, now a crack addict, as the man beats his junkie girlfriend. Instead of arresting him, Appleton gets Pookie into rehab. Later Pookie offers to help bring down Nino. Against his better judgment and the disapproval of Stone and Peretti, Appleton recruits Pookie as an informant in the Carter.
    • When Pookie relapses, Gee Money realizes that he is wired, and he orders the Carter destroyed. The cops find Pookie's bloody corpse, but it is booby-trapped; Peretti defuses the explosives seconds before it explodes. Angry, Nino warns Gee Money not to make such a costly mistake again.
    • After Pookie's funeral and no longer needed by Stone, Appleton and Peretti go undercover as drug dealers. After bribing Frankie Needles, Appleton infiltrates the CMB, due in part to Gee Money's increasing ambition and drug use. Though Nino distrusts them, he agrees to do business. After relating an anecdote about his own violent initiation into a gang, Nino warns that he will kill both Appleton and Gee Money if there are any problems.
    • Appleton gains Nino's trust when he reveals information about Gee Money's side deal and saves Nino from a gun-toting old man who had earlier appealed to police for help against Nino. While Nino, Appleton, and the CMB attend a wedding, Peretti sneaks into Nino's mansion to collect evidence.
    • Don Armeteo sends hitmen to assassinate Nino, and a massive shootout erupts between the CMB and his hitmen. When Nino uses a child as a shield, Appleton attempts to shoot Nino behind his back. Keisha is gunned down as she sprays bullets into the hitmen's van as they escape. Later, Selina condemns Nino for his murderous activities, and Nino throws her out. Nino later kills Don Armeteo and his crew from a speeding motorcycle in retaliation for the wedding shootout.
    • Stone, Appleton and Peretti arrange a sting operation to nab Nino. Kareem, who knows that Appleton and Pookie were connected, blows Appleton's cover, and a shootout ensues. Peretti saves Appleton by killing the Duh Duh Duh Man, and Nino escapes. That night, Nino confronts Gee Money, who accuses Nino of egotism, and Nino regretfully kills him. After the gang's collapse, Nino holes up in an apartment and continues his criminal empire solo. Scotty and Nick assault the complex, and Scotty brutally beats Nino, revealing that it was his mother that Nino killed in his gang initiation. Nick talks Scotty out of killing Nino, who is taken into custody amid threats of retaliation.
    • At his trial, Nino pleads guilty to a lesser charge, claims to have been forced to help the gang due to threats, and identifies Kareem as the leader. When Nino is sentenced to only one year in jail, Scotty is outraged. As Nino speaks with reporters outside of the courtroom, the old man again confronts Nino and shoots him in the chest. Scotty and Nick are both satisfied as Nino falls over the balcony to his death. As onlookers look down at Nino's body, an epilogue states to the viewers that decisive action must be taken to stop real-life Nino Brown analogues.
    • Cast Wesley Snipes as Nino Brown, an arrogant, smart drug kingpin who murdered Scotty Appleton's mother.Ice-T as Scotty Appleton, a New York City police detective who vows to bring Nino down as retribution for his mother's death at Nino's hands.Allen Payne as Gerald "Gee Money" Wells; Nino's childhood friend and the second-in-command of the Cash Money Brothers (CMB).Chris Rock as "Pookie" Benny Robinson; a former stick-up kid who becomes homeless and poor after Appleton shoots him in the ankle. Later he becomes a crack addict and eventually a police informant; he infiltrates the CMB at the Carter but is caught and killed.Judd Nelson as Nick Peretti, Appleton's partner in the CMB investigation.Mario Van Peebles as Stone; the leader of the CMB police operation.Michael Michele as Selina Thomas, Nino Brown's girlfriend, who becomes extremely jealous when Nino falls for Gee Money's girlfriend.Bill Nunn as the Duh Duh Duh Man, the CMB enforcer and Nino's personal bodyguard.Russell Wong as Park, a tech-savvy police officer who has Pookie use high technology for his infiltration.Bill Cobbs as Old man, an elderly man who is against Nino's crimes in the city. He shoots and kills Nino as he exits the courtroom; Nino falls to his death.Christopher Williams as Kareem Akbar, a bank teller turned gang member of the CMB.Vanessa Estelle Williams as Keisha, a female gang member of the CMB.Tracy Camilla Johns as Uniqua, Gee Money's ex-girlfriend who falls for Nino.Anthony DeSando as Frankie Needles in His Arms, a mobster who has connections with the CMB from his boss, Don Armeteo. Nick and Scotty force him to persuade Gee Money to admit Appleton to the gang.Nick Ashford, as Reverend OatesKeith Sweat, as singer at the weddingFlavor Flav, as a DJ.Production The film is based upon an original story and screenplay written by Thomas Lee Wright.[3][citation needed ] He had previously written a draft of The Godfather Part III.[4] He later wrote, directed and produced Eight Tray Gangster: The Making of a Crip, a documentary of gang life in South Central Los Angeles.[5][citation needed ]
    • The screenplay was co-written by Barry Michael Cooper, formerly an investigative reporter with the Village Voice. He also wrote the screenplays for the dramatic films Above the Rim (1994) and Sugar Hill (1994). The latter film also starred Snipes.
    • Cooper's rewrite was adapted from his December 1987 The Village Voice cover story entitled "Kids Killing Kids: New Jack City Eats Its Young," about the drug war in Detroit.[6] The account referred to the 20th anniversary of the 1967 riots in Detroit, and in its wake, the rise of crack cocaine gangs in the late 1980s, such as Young Boys Inc., and the Chambers Brothers.
    • Peebles's 1991 film is set in New York City and was filmed there between April 16 and June 6, 1990.
    • Reception Harlem's real life
    • Graham Court, known in the film as the "Carter".
    • New Jack City received a favorable reception by film critics for its cast, storyline, and soundtrack.[7] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half stars out of four, writing:
    • Truffaut once said it was impossible to make an anti-war movie, because the war sequences would inevitably be exciting and get the audience involved on one side or the other. It is almost as difficult to make an anti-drug movie, since the lifestyle and money of the drug dealers looks like fun, at least until they're killed. This movie pulls off that tricky achievement. Nino, who looks at the dead body of Scarface and laughs, does not get the last laugh.[8]
    • Time Out London described the film as "a superior example of what used to be called blaxploitation."[9]
    • The film initially premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 1991, before being released nationally on March 8, 1991. The film, produced with an estimated $8,000,000 budget, grossed $7,039,622 during its opening weekend. It became the highest-grossing independent film of 1991, grossing a total of $47,624,253 domestically. The film holds a 77% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 30 reviews.
    • American Film Institute Lists
    • AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Thrills - Nominated[10]AFI's 10 Top 10 - Nominated Gangster Film[11]Soundtrack New Jack City '-- original soundtrack to the filmHome media DVD was released in Region 1 in the United States on August 25, 1998 and Region 2 in the United Kingdom on July 26, 1999, it was distributed by Warner Home Video. DVD was re-released as a Two-Disc Special Edition in Region 1 in the United States on August 23, 2005 and Region 2 in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2006.
    • Special Edition DVD features:
    • Commentary by: director and co-star Mario Van PeeblesNew Jack City: A Hip-Hop ClassicHarlem World: A Walk InsideThe Road to New Jack CityOriginal music videos: "New Jack Hustler" (Nino's Theme) by Ice-T, "I'm Dreamin'" by Christopher Williams, and "I Wanna Sex You Up" by Color Me BaddOriginal theatrical trailerCultural influence The New Orleans-based Rap label Cash Money Records is named after the Cash Money Brothers gang.[12] Cash Money Records rapper Lil Wayne has a series of albums titled Tha Carter after The Carter Complex,[13] and Lil Wayne and Tyga have referred to themselves as Young Nino.[14][15] Wrestler New Jack got his name from this movie.[citation needed ] Comedian Gary Gulman refers to the movie in his Comedy Central special "In This Economy," when ranting against the now defunct Blockbuster video stores and their late fee policies.[16]
    • Reboot Deadline announced that Warner Bros are rebooting the film with Malcolm Mays writing.[17]
    • References ^ a b "New Jack City (1991)". Box Office Mojo. May 21, 1991 . Retrieved September 1, 2015 . ^ Blaise, Judd. "New Jack City (1991)". Allmovie . Retrieved October 6, 2012 . ^ (As determined by Writers Guild of America arbitration) ^ see The Godfather Companion by Peter Biskind (HarperPerennial, 1990), pp. 134-5 ^ The film explored the Rodney King riots from a gang member's perspective. The Hollywood Reporter described this Discovery Channel production as "more frightening and sympathetic than any existing dramatic films on the subject". ^ "Hooked On The American Dream-Vol.1: New Jack City Eats Its Young - Kindle edition by Barry Michael Cooper. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @" . Retrieved September 4, 2015 . ^ Wilmington, Michael (March 8, 1991). "Plot Twists Litter Harlem Thriller 'New Jack City ' ". The Los Angeles Times . Retrieved October 26, 2010 . ^ Roger Ebert. "New Jack City". Chicago Sun-Times. May 1, 1991. ^ "New Jack City (1991), directed by Mario Van Peebles | Film review". Timeout.com . Retrieved September 1, 2015 . ^ "AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Thrills Nominees" (PDF) . Afi.com . Retrieved September 4, 2015 . ^ "AFI's 10 Top 10 Ballot" (PDF) . Afi.com . Retrieved September 4, 2015 . ^ "Cash Money Records - The Independent Years (1991-1998) at the Amoeblog". Amoeba.com. July 31, 2009 . Retrieved September 1, 2015 . ^ Andy Kellman (June 29, 2004). "Tha Carter - Lil Wayne | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic . Retrieved September 1, 2015 . ^ "Lil Wayne '' D.O.A. Lyrics | Genius". genius.com . Retrieved September 4, 2015 . ^ "Young Nino, fuck a bitch in a peacoat '' Faded Lyrics Meaning". genius.com . Retrieved September 4, 2015 . ^ [1] ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 23, 2019). " ' New Jack City' Reboot In Works With 'Snowfall's Malcolm M. Mays Writing". Deadline . Retrieved September 23, 2019 . External links New Jack City at Box Office MojoNew Jack City on IMDbNew Jack City at Rotten TomatoesNew Jack City official site at WarnerVideo.comNew Jack City movie review by Janet Maslin for the New York Times (1991)Cooper, Barry Michael (2011, March 16). "New Jack, New Jack: Big City of Dreams." Baltimore City Paper.
  • Outrageous HSBC Settlement Proves the Drug War Is a Joke - Rolling Stone
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    • Sat, 07 Mar 2020 14:38
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    • If you've ever been arrested on a drug charge, if you've ever spent even a day in jail for having a stem of marijuana in your pocket or ''drug paraphernalia'' in your gym bag, Assistant Attorney General and longtime Bill Clinton pal Lanny Breuer has a message for you: Bite me.
    • Breuer this week signed off on a settlement deal with the British banking giant HSBC that is the ultimate insult to every ordinary person who's ever had his life altered by a narcotics charge. Despite the fact that HSBC admitted to laundering billions of dollars for Colombian and Mexican drug cartels (among others) and violating a host of important banking laws (from the Bank Secrecy Act to the Trading With the Enemy Act), Breuer and his Justice Department elected not to pursue criminal prosecutions of the bank, opting instead for a ''record'' financial settlement of $1.9 billion, which as one analyst noted is about five weeks of income for the bank.
    • The banks' laundering transactions were so brazen that the NSA probably could have spotted them from space. Breuer admitted that drug dealers would sometimes come to HSBC's Mexican branches and ''deposit hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, in a single day, into a single account, using boxes designed to fit the precise dimensions of the teller windows.''
    • This bears repeating: in order to more efficiently move as much illegal money as possible into the ''legitimate'' banking institution HSBC, drug dealers specifically designed boxes to fit through the bank's teller windows. Tony Montana's henchmen marching dufflebags of cash into the fictional ''American City Bank'' in Miami was actually more subtle than what the cartels were doing when they washed their cash through one of Britain's most storied financial institutions.
    • Though this was not stated explicitly, the government's rationale in not pursuing criminal prosecutions against the bank was apparently rooted in concerns that putting executives from a ''systemically important institution'' in jail for drug laundering would threaten the stability of the financial system. The New York Times put it this way:
    • Federal and state authorities have chosen not to indict HSBC, the London-based bank, on charges of vast and prolonged money laundering, for fear that criminal prosecution would topple the bank and, in the process, endanger the financial system.
    • It doesn't take a genius to see that the reasoning here is beyond flawed. When you decide not to prosecute bankers for billion-dollar crimes connected to drug-dealing and terrorism (some of HSBC's Saudi and Bangladeshi clients had terrorist ties, according to a Senate investigation), it doesn't protect the banking system, it does exactly the opposite. It terrifies investors and depositors everywhere, leaving them with the clear impression that even the most ''reputable'' banks may in fact be captured institutions whose senior executives are in the employ of (this can't be repeated often enough) murderers and terrorists. Even more shocking, the Justice Department's response to learning about all of this was to do exactly the same thing that the HSBC executives did in the first place to get themselves in trouble '' they took money to look the other way.
    • And not only did they sell out to drug dealers, they sold out cheap. You'll hear bragging this week by the Obama administration that they wrested a record penalty from HSBC, but it's a joke. Some of the penalties involved will literally make you laugh out loud. This is from Breuer's announcement:
    • As a result of the government's investigation, HSBC has . . . ''clawed back'' deferred compensation bonuses given to some of its most senior U.S. anti-money laundering and compliance officers, and agreed to partially defer bonus compensation for its most senior officials during the five-year period of the deferred prosecution agreement.
    • Wow. So the executives who spent a decade laundering billions of dollars will have to partially defer their bonuses during the five-year deferred prosecution agreement? Are you fucking kidding me? That's the punishment? The government's negotiators couldn't hold firm on forcing HSBC officials to completely wait to receive their ill-gotten bonuses? They had to settle on making them ''partially'' wait? Every honest prosecutor in America has to be puking his guts out at such bargaining tactics. What was the Justice Department's opening offer '' asking executives to restrict their Caribbean vacation time to nine weeks a year?
    • So you might ask, what's the appropriate financial penalty for a bank in HSBC's position? Exactly how much money should one extract from a firm that has been shamelessly profiting from business with criminals for years and years? Remember, we're talking about a company that has admitted to a smorgasbord of serious banking crimes. If you're the prosecutor, you've got this bank by the balls. So how much money should you take?
    • How about all of it? How about every last dollar the bank has made since it started its illegal activity? How about you dive into every bank account of every single executive involved in this mess and take every last bonus dollar they've ever earned? Then take their houses, their cars, the paintings they bought at Sotheby's auctions, the clothes in their closets, the loose change in the jars on their kitchen counters, every last freaking thing. Take it all and don't think twice. And then throw them in jail.
    • Sound harsh? It does, doesn't it? The only problem is, that's exactly what the government does just about every day to ordinary people involved in ordinary drug cases.
    • It'd be interesting, for instance, to ask the residents of Tenaha, Texas what they think about the HSBC settlement. That's the town where local police routinely pulled over (mostly black) motorists and, whenever they found cash, offered motorists a choice: They could either allow police to seize the money, or face drug and money laundering charges.
    • Or we could ask Anthony Smelley, the Indiana resident who won $50,000 in a car accident settlement and was carrying about $17K of that in cash in his car when he got pulled over. Cops searched his car and had drug dogs sniff around: The dogs alerted twice. No drugs were found, but police took the money anyway. Even after Smelley produced documentation proving where he got the money from, Putnam County officials tried to keep the money on the grounds that he could have used the cash to buy drugs in the future.
    • Seriously, that happened. It happens all the time, and even Lanny Breuer's own Justice Deparment gets into the act. In 2010 alone, U.S. Attorneys' offices deposited nearly $1.8 billion into government accounts as a result of forfeiture cases, most of them drug cases. You can see the Justice Department's own statistics right here: If you get pulled over in America with cash and the government even thinks it's drug money, that cash is going to be buying your local sheriff or police chief a new Ford Expedition tomorrow afternoon.
    • And that's just the icing on the cake. The real prize you get for interacting with a law enforcement officer, if you happen to be connected in any way with drugs, is a preposterous, outsized criminal penalty. Right here in New York, one out of every seven cases that ends up in court is a marijuana case.
    • Just the other day, while Breuer was announcing his slap on the wrist for the world's most prolific drug-launderers, I was in arraignment court in Brooklyn watching how they deal with actual people. A public defender explained the absurdity of drug arrests in this city. New York actually has fairly liberal laws about pot '' police aren't supposed to bust you if you possess the drug in private. So how do police work around that to make 50,377 pot-related arrests in a single year, just in this city? Tthat was 2010; the 2009 number was 46,492.)
    • ''What they do is, they stop you on the street and tell you to empty your pockets,'' the public defender explained. ''Then the instant a pipe or a seed is out of the pocket '' boom, it's 'public use.' And you get arrested.''
    • People spend nights in jail, or worse. In New York, even if they let you off with a misdemeanor and time served, you have to pay $200 and have your DNA extracted '' a process that you have to pay for (it costs 50 bucks). But even beyond that, you won't have search very far for stories of draconian, idiotic sentences for nonviolent drug crimes.
    • Just ask Cameron Douglas, the son of Michael Douglas, who got five years in jail for simple possession. His jailers kept him in solitary for 23 hours a day for 11 months and denied him visits with family and friends. Although your typical non-violent drug inmate isn't the white child of a celebrity, he's usually a minority user who gets far stiffer sentences than rich white kids would for committing the same crimes '' we all remember the crack-versus-coke controversy in which federal and state sentencing guidelines left (predominantly minority) crack users serving sentences up to 100 times harsher than those meted out to the predominantly white users of powdered coke.
    • The institutional bias in the crack sentencing guidelines was a racist outrage, but this HSBC settlement blows even that away. By eschewing criminal prosecutions of major drug launderers on the grounds (the patently absurd grounds, incidentally) that their prosecution might imperil the world financial system, the government has now formalized the double standard.
    • They're now saying that if you're not an important cog in the global financial system, you can't get away with anything, not even simple possession. You will be jailed and whatever cash they find on you they'll seize on the spot, and convert into new cruisers or toys for your local SWAT team, which will be deployed to kick in the doors of houses where more such inessential economic cogs as you live. If you don't have a systemically important job, in other words, the government's position is that your assets may be used to finance your own political disenfranchisement.
    • On the other hand, if you are an important person, and you work for a big international bank, you won't be prosecuted even if you launder nine billion dollars. Even if you actively collude with the people at the very top of the international narcotics trade, your punishment will be far smaller than that of the person at the very bottom of the world drug pyramid. You will be treated with more deference and sympathy than a junkie passing out on a subway car in Manhattan (using two seats of a subway car is a common prosecutable offense in this city). An international drug trafficker is a criminal and usually a murderer; the drug addict walking the street is one of his victims. But thanks to Breuer, we're now in the business, officially, of jailing the victims and enabling the criminals.
    • This is the disgrace to end all disgraces. It doesn't even make any sense. There is no reason why the Justice Department couldn't have snatched up everybody at HSBC involved with the trafficking, prosecuted them criminally, and worked with banking regulators to make sure that the bank survived the transition to new management. As it is, HSBC has had to replace virtually all of its senior management. The guilty parties were apparently not so important to the stability of the world economy that they all had to be left at their desks.
    • So there is absolutely no reason they couldn't all face criminal penalties. That they are not being prosecuted is cowardice and pure corruption, nothing else. And by approving this settlement, Breuer removed the government's moral authority to prosecute anyone for any other drug offense. Not that most people didn't already know that the drug war is a joke, but this makes it official.
  • Scarface (1983 film) - Wikipedia
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    • Sat, 07 Mar 2020 14:33
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    • 1983 crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma
    • Scarface is a 1983 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and distributed by Universal Pictures.[4] It is a remake of the 1932 film[5] and tells the story of Cuban refugee Tony Montana (Al Pacino) who arrives in 1980s Miami with nothing and rises to become a powerful drug lord. The cast also features Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia, F. Murray Abraham, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.[4]
    • Pacino became interested in a remake of the 1932 version after seeing it, and he and producer Martin Bregman began to develop it. Sidney Lumet was initially hired to direct the film but was replaced by De Palma, who hired Stone to write the script. Filming took place from November 1982 to May 1983. The film was shot in Louisville and in Los Angeles. The film's soundtrack was composed by Giorgio Moroder. De Palma dedicated this version of Scarface after the writers of the original, Howard Hawks and Ben Hecht.
    • Scarface premiered in New York City on December 1, 1983, and was released on December 9, 1983. The film grossed $45 million at the domestic box office and $66 million worldwide. Initial critical reception was negative due to excessive violence, profanity, and graphic drug usage. Some Cuban expatriates in Miami objected to the film's portrayal of Cubans as criminals and drug traffickers. In the years that followed, however, critics have reappraised it, and it is now considered by some to be one of the best films in the crime genre, and one of the greatest remakes ever. Screenwriters and directors such as Martin Scorsese have praised the film, and it has been referenced extensively in pop culture, especially in hip hop music[7][8] as well as comic books, television programs, and video games, although over the years, the film has been regarded as a cult film.[9][10][11]
    • Plot [ edit ] In 1980, Cuban refugee and ex-convict Antonio "Tony" Montana arrives in Miami, Florida, as part of the Mariel boatlift, where he is sent to a refugee camp with his best friends, Manny Ribera, Angel Fernandez and Chi-Chi. The four are released and given green cards in exchange for murdering a former Cuban general, Emilio Rebenga, at the request of Miami drug dealer Frank Lopez. They become dishwashers in a diner, but a disgusted Tony proclaims that he is meant for bigger things.
    • Frank's right-hand man, Omar Suarez, sends the four to purchase cocaine from Colombian dealers, but the deal goes bad. Angel is dismembered with a chainsaw, while Manny and Chi-Chi rescue Tony and kill the Colombians. Suspecting that Omar set them up, Tony and Manny insist on personally delivering the recovered drugs and money to Frank. During their meeting, Tony is attracted to Frank's trophy wife, Elvira Hancock. Frank hires and befriends Tony and Manny. Months later, Tony is reunited with his mother Georgina and younger sister Gina, of whom he is fiercely protective. Disgusted by his life of crime, Georgina throws Tony out. Manny is attracted to Gina, but Tony tells him to stay away from her.
    • Frank sends Tony and Omar to Cochabamba, Bolivia to meet with cocaine kingpin Alejandro Sosa. Tony negotiates a deal without Frank's approval, angering Omar, who leaves to contact Frank. Sosa claims that Omar is a police informant and that Frank has poor judgement; Tony witnesses a beaten Omar hanged from a helicopter. Tony vouches for Frank's organization, and Sosa, taking a liking to Tony, agrees to the deal, but not before warning Tony to never betray him.
    • Back in Miami, Frank is infuriated by Omar's demise and the unauthorized deal struck by Tony, while Tony starts his own independent cocaine operation. At a nightclub, corrupt detective Mel Bernstein attempts to extort money from Tony in return for police protection. Tony angers Frank further by openly pursuing Elvira in the club. Tony spots Gina and her drug dealer boyfriend, Fernando, making out in the men's bathroom while she snorts cocaine. Both of them are beaten. Hitmen attempt to assassinate Tony, but he escapes. Tony, certain that both Bernstein and the assassins were sent by Frank, confronts him, with Manny and Chi-Chi in tow. At gunpoint, Frank confesses to the attempted hit and begs for his life, but he and Bernstein are killed. Tony marries Elvira and becomes the distributor of Sosa's product. He builds a multimillion-dollar empire, living in a vast, heavily guarded estate.
    • By 1983, however, Tony becomes dissatisfied with his lifestyle and cocaine addiction. His money launderer demands a greater percentage, while Manny resents Tony's growing paranoia and abusive treatment of Elvira. A sting by federal agents results in Tony being charged with tax evasion, with an inevitable prison sentence. Sosa offers to use his government connections to keep a desperate Tony out of prison, but only if Tony assassinates a journalist intending to expose Sosa about his drug operations. During a public dinner, Tony accuses Manny of causing his arrest and Elvira of being an infertile junkie, causing Elvira to leave him.
    • Tony travels to New York City to carry out the assassination with Sosa's henchman, Alberto, who plants a radio-controlled bomb under the journalist's car. However, the journalist is unexpectedly accompanied by his wife and children. Disgusted, Tony kills Alberto before he can detonate the bomb and returns to Miami. An enraged Sosa calls Tony to promise retribution. Tony, at his mother's behest, tracks down Gina. Tony finds Manny with Gina; in a fit of rage, Tony shoots Manny dead, after which Gina tearfully tells Tony that she and Manny had just got married the day before and wanted to surprise him. A stunned and remorseful Tony returns to his mansion, bringing Gina along, and begins a massive cocaine binge by himself in his office.
    • While Sosa's men begin attacking the mansion, a drugged Gina appears and accuses Tony of wanting her for himself and attempts to kill him, but is slain by one of Sosa's men, who is in turn killed by Tony. With Tony's men all dead and assassins outside, Tony turns a grenade launcher-equipped rifle on Sosa's men, mowing down many. Tony is repeatedly shot by the remaining attackers, but continues to taunt them until he is fatally shot from behind by the shotgun-wielding assassin known as The Skull. His corpse falls into a fountain below, in front of a statue with the inscription "The World is Yours".
    • Cast [ edit ] Geno Silva portrays the assassin who kills Tony Montana, credited as The Skull.[13] Richard Belzer portrays the Babylon Club M.C.[14] De Palma regulars Charles Durning and Dennis Franz provided uncredited voiceover dubbing of the Immigration and Naturalization Service officers who interrogate Montana in the opening scene.[15] Lana Clarkson appears as Manny's dance partner at the Babylon Club.
    • Production [ edit ] Development [ edit ] Oliver Stone (pictured in 1987) wrote the script for
    • Scarface while struggling with his own addiction to cocaine.
    • Scarface began development after Al Pacino saw the 1932 film of the same name at the Tiffany Theater while in Los Angeles. He later called his manager, producer Martin Bregman, and informed him of his belief in the potential for a remake of that film.[12] Pacino originally wanted to retain the period piece aspect, but realized that because of its melodramatic nature it would be difficult to accomplish.[16] Sidney Lumet became attached as the director, developing the idea for Montana to be Cuban arriving in America during the Mariel boatlift.[12][17]
    • Bregman and Lumet's creative differences saw Lumet drop out of the project. Lumet had wanted to make a more political story that focused on blaming the current Presidential administration for the influx of cocaine into the United States, and Bregman disagreed with Lumet's views.[16] Bregman replaced him with Brian De Palma, and hired writer Oliver Stone, later stating that it took only four phone calls to secure their involvement.[citation needed ] Stone had seen the original 1932 Scarface and didn't enjoy the film so he initially rejected the offer.[19] Only after he talked to Lumet was he convinced to accept the offer since they agreed on transforming the film from a period piece to a contemporary film,[19] saying, "Sidney had a great idea to take the 1930s American prohibition gangster movie and make it into a modern immigrant gangster movie dealing with the same problems that we had then, that we're prohibiting drugs instead of alcohol. There's a prohibition against drugs that's created the same criminal class as (prohibition of alcohol) created the Mafia."[19] Stone researched the script while battling his own cocaine addiction.[20] He and Bregman performed their own research, traveling to Miami, Florida where they were given access to records from the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Organized Crime Bureau. Stone moved to Paris to write the script, believing he could not break his addiction while in the United States, stating in a 2003 interview that he was completely off drugs at the time "because I don't think cocaine helps writing. It's very destructive to the brain cells."[16][21]
    • Casting [ edit ] Pacino insisted on taking the lead role as Tony Montana, although Robert De Niro had been offered it and had turned it down.[12][22] Pacino worked with experts in knife combat, trainers, and boxer Roberto Duran to attain the body type that he wanted for the role. Duran also helped inspire the character, who had "a certain lion in him", according to Pacino. Meryl Streep's immigrant character in Sophie's Choice (1982) also influenced Pacino's portrayal of Tony Montana. Bauer and a dialect coach helped him learn aspects of the Cuban Spanish language and pronunciation.[16]
    • Pfeiffer was an unknown actress at the time, and both Pacino and De Palma had argued against her casting, but Bregman fought for her inclusion.[12] Glenn Close was the original choice for the role, while others were also considered, including Geena Davis, Carrie Fisher, Kelly McGillis, Sharon Stone, and Sigourney Weaver.[23]
    • Bauer got his role without even auditioning. During the audition process, casting director Alixe Gordin saw Bauer and instantly noted that he was right for the role of Manny, a judgment with which both De Palma and Bregman agreed. He was the only actual Cuban in the principal cast. John Travolta was considered for the role.[12][22][24]
    • Filming [ edit ] Pacino was injured during rehearsals for a gunfight when he grabbed the barrel of a prop gun which had just been used to fire several dummy bullets. His hand stuck to the hot barrel and he was unable to remove it immediately; the injury side-lined him for two weeks. The gunfight scene also includes a single camera shot directed by Steven Spielberg, who was visiting the set at the time.[25] During filming, some Cubans objected to the film's Cuban characters being portrayed as criminals by non-Cuban actors. To counter this, the film features a disclaimer during its credits stating that the film characters were not representative of the Cuban-American community.[24]
    • Despite its Miami setting, much of the film was actually shot in Los Angeles, as the Miami Tourist board was afraid that the film would deter tourism with its depiction of the state as a haven for drugs and gangsters.[26] Tony's opulent Miami mansion was portrayed by El Fureidis, a Roman-styled mansion in Santa Barbara, California.[27] The picture was shot over 24 weeks from November 22, 1982 to May 6, 1983.[28][29] The special effects were performed by Ken Pepiot and Stan Parks.[30]
    • Rating [ edit ] Scarface was given an X rating in America three times for extreme violence, frequent strong language, and hard drug usage.[31] The restrictive rating was more associated with pornography at the time, and it both limited the number of cinemas willing to screen such a film and restricted promotional advertising, which could affect any box office takings. One cause of the X rating was the notorious scene early on, where Montana's associate Angel is dismembered with a chainsaw off screen. De Palma made edits to the scene and resubmitted it to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) but was again given an X rating. He made further edits and resubmitted it from three to five times before refusing to further edit the film, telling Universal to either release it in its current form or fire and replace him with someone who would edit it. Universal opted to appeal the MPAA's decision. Studio president Robert Rehme attended the hearing which was presided over by his friend MPAA President Jack Valenti. Among those speaking on behalf of the film during the appeal were film critic Roger Ebert, the head of Florida's Broward County organized crime division, and the head of a major theater chain named Alan Friedberg. MPAA member Richard Heffner later admitted that he could have fought harder to retain the X rating, but he believed that Valenti did not support the decision, as he did not want to alienate the big film studios. The decision was overwhelmingly in favor of releasing the film with a less restrictive R rating.
    • In response, De Palma argued that his original version should be rated R if the latest version was now considered R-rated. The MPAA refused and would only allow the latest edit to pass with an R rating. De Palma believed that the changes were minor enough to be unnoticeable and released the film uncut anyway, only confessing to it months after the film's release.[32][33]
    • Music [ edit ] Instead of using popular music from the period in which the film is set, the generic music in Scarface was produced by Academy Award-winning Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder. Reflecting Moroder's style, the soundtrack consists mostly of muzak-like synthesized new wave, electronic music. De Palma said that he repeatedly denied Universal's requests to release the film with a "pop" score because he felt Moroder's score was adequate.[34]
    • Release [ edit ] Theatrical [ edit ] Scarface premiered on December 1, 1983, in New York City, where it was initially greeted with mixed reaction. The film's two stars, Al Pacino and Steven Bauer, were joined in attendance by Burt and Diane Lane, Melanie Griffith, Raquel Welch, Joan Collins, her boyfriend Peter Holm, and Eddie Murphy, among others.[35] It was then given a wide release on December 9, 1983.
    • Home media [ edit ] Scarface was initially released by MCA Home Video on VHS, CED Videodisc, Laserdisc, and Beta in the summer of 1984 '' a two-tape set in 1.33:1 pan and scan ratio '' and quickly became a bestseller. A 2.39:1 Widescreen VHS would follow years later in 1998 to coincide with the special edition DVD release. The last VHS release was in 2003 to counterpart the 20th anniversary edition DVD. The 2003 DVD was remastered and re-released through Universal Records.
    • The television version of Scarface premiered on ABC on January 7, 1989.[36] 32 minutes of violence, profanity and sex were edited out, and much of the dialogue, including the constant use of the word "fuck", which was muted after the beginning of "f-" or replaced with less offensive alternatives.[37]
    • The film received a North American DVD release on the film's fifteenth anniversary in 1998, featuring a non-anamorphic widescreen transfer, a "Making of" documentary, outtakes, production notes, and cast and crew biographies. This release was not successful, and many fans and reviewers complained about its unwatchable video transfer and muddled sound, describing it as "one of the worst big studio releases out there".[38] In 2003, Music Inspired by Scarface, a Def Jam Recordings compilation album, featured songs by various hip-hop artists which either draw direct inspiration from the film, or contain subject matter that can relate to the film.[39]
    • Scarface was released on Blu-ray on September 6, 2011, in a two-disc, limited edition, steelbox package.[40] Though this set was criticized for its poor picture quality due to usage of an old master created from the DVD release.[41] Disc two is a DVD of the 1932 Scarface, featuring a TMC-produced introduction by Robert Osborne and an alternate ending. Bonus features include The Making of Scarface documentary, and a new retrospective documentary: The Scarface Phenomenon.[42]
    • A special gift set, limited to 1,000 copies, features the Blu-ray set housed in a cigar humidor, designed by humidor craftsman Daniel Marshall. The humidor box set retailed at $999.99.[43]
    • A standard 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and limited edition set were released on October 15, 2019. The limited edition set contains a specially made statue, a newly remastered transfer, and for the first time on Blu-ray the 1932 original. There is also a standard set which contains the same 4K transfer and a remastered 1080p disk but does not include the 1932 version.[44][45][46] A month later on November 19, the 1932 original was given its own individual release.[47] The 4K release ports over all of the old special features and adds one new one, which is a reunion special in tribute to the 35th anniversary of the movie's release.
    • Video games [ edit ] Scarface got its own direct tie-in with the 2006 video games Scarface: The World Is Yours and Scarface: Money. Power. Respect.
    • Reception [ edit ] Box office [ edit ] Scarface was released theatrically in North America on December 9, 1983. The film earned $4.5 million from 996 theaters during its opening weekend, an average of $4,616 per theater, and ranking as the second-highest-grossing film of the weekend behind Sudden Impact ($9.6 million), which debuted the same weekend. It went on to earn $44.6 million in North America and $20.4 million from other markets, for a total of $65.1 million. This figure made Scarface the 16th highest-grossing film of 1983, and seventh highest grossing R-rated film in North America for 1983.[3][48] It has since been given three re-releases in 2003, which featured a remastered film for the film's 20th anniversary, 2012, and 2014, bringing the total earned to $45.4 million domestically, for a total of $66 million worldwide.[3]
    • Critical response [ edit ] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 81% approval rating based on 68 reviews, with an average rating of 7.42/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Director Brian De Palma and star Al Pacino take it to the limit in this stylized, ultra-violent and eminently quotable gangster epic that walks a thin white line between moral drama and celebratory excess."[49] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100 based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[50]
    • The initial release of Scarface was met with a negative critical response,[12] and drew controversy regarding the violence and graphic language in the film.[51] The New York Magazine defined it as an empty, bullying, and overblown B movie.[52]
    • Writers Kurt Vonnegut and John Irving were among those who allegedly walked out in disgust after the notorious chainsaw scene.[53]At the middle of the film, Scorsese turned to Bauer and told him, "You guys are great '' but be prepared, because they're going to hate it in Hollywood ... because it's about them."[54]
    • Roger Ebert rated it four stars out of four in his 1983 review, and he later added it to his "Great Movies" list.[55] Ebert wrote, "DePalma and his writer, Oliver Stone, have created a gallery of specific individuals, and one of the fascinations of the movie is that we aren't watching crime-movie clich(C)s, we're watching people who are criminals."[56] Vincent Canby praised the film in The New York Times: "The dominant mood of the film is... bleak and futile: what goes up must always come down. When it comes down in Scarface, the crash is as terrifying as it is vivid and arresting."[57]
    • Leonard Maltin was among those critics who held a negative opinion of Scarface. He gave the film 1½ stars out of four, stating that Scarface "wallows in excess and unpleasantness for nearly three hours, and offers no new insights except that crime doesn't pay. At least the 1932 movie moved." Maltin included an addendum to his review in later editions of his annual movie guide, stating his surprise with the film's newfound popularity as a cult-classic.[58]
    • In his review for Newsweek, David Ansen wrote, "If Scarface makes you shudder, it's from what you think you see and from the accumulated tension of this feral landscape. It's a grand, shallow, decadent entertainment, which like all good Hollywood gangster movies delivers the punch and counterpunch of glamour and disgust".[59] Jay Scott writes in his review for The Globe and Mail, "For a while, Al Pacino is hypnotic as Montana. But the effort expended on the flawless Cuban accent and the attempts to flesh out a character cut from inch-thick cardboard are hopeless."[60] In his review for The Washington Post, Gary Arnold wrote, "A movie that appeared intent on revealing an alarmingly contemporary criminal subculture gradually reverts to underworld cliche, covering its derivative tracks with outrageous decor and an apocalyptic, production number finale, ingeniously choreographed to leave the antihero floating face down in a literal bloodbath."[61]
    • Accolades [ edit ] The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
    • 2003: AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains:Tony Montana '' Nominated Villain[62]2005: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:Tony Montana: "Say "hello" to my little friend!" '' #61[63]2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:#10 Gangster Film[64]Notably Scarface is the only remake to appear in the same AFI 10 Top 10 list as the original film. It is #10 while the 1932 original is #6.
    • Legacy [ edit ] Mural of Pacino's "Tony Montana" character in
    • Wynwood in 2012
    • Pacino was already an established successful actor, but Scarface helped launch Pfeiffer's and Mastrantonio's careers, both of whom were relatively unknown beforehand, and both went on to individual successes.[24] Entertainment Weekly ranked the film #8 on their list of "The Top 50 Cult Films,"[65] and Empire Magazine placed it among the top 500 films of all time, at #284.[66] In 2009, Total Film listed it at number 9 on their list of the 30 Greatest Gangster movies.[67] Scarface was among the earliest films in which the expletive "fuck" is used persistently, 226 times in total.[68] The company set up by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to launder money was named Montana Management after Pacino's character.[69]
    • The release of Scarface coincided with the rise of hip hop music, and the film has had a lasting influence on hip hop artists.[70] American rapper Nas compared himself to Tony Montana and compared rapper Jay-Z to Manolo, both characters from Scarface, on Nas' track "Last Real Nigga Alive" from his album God's Son, during the time of the high-profile feud between the two.[71]
    • In 2010, artist James Georgopoulos included the screen-used guns from Scarface in his popular Guns of Cinema series.[72] Dark Horse Comics' imprint DH Press released a novel called Scarface: The Beginning by L. A. Banks.[73][74] IDW publishing released a limited series called Scarface: Scarred For Life. It starts with corrupt police officers finding that Tony has survived the final mansion showdown. Tony works at rebuilding his criminal empire, similar to the game The World Is Yours.[75]
    • Among other films, Scarface served as a major inspiration for the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which took place in a representation of 1980s' Miami and featured music from the film's soundtrack, as well as a recreation of Montana's mansion.[76][77][78]
    • The quote "Say hello to my little friend!" from the film's climactic scene has become a pop culture staple, and ranked 61 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes list.
    • WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall described the characters Tony Montana and Manny Ribera as an inspiration for his gimmick Razor Ramon. Ramon's nickname (The Bad Guy) and catchphrase ("Say hello to The Bad Guy") derive from Montana's quotes: "Say hello to my little friend" and "Say goodnight to the bad guy".
    • Future [ edit ] Cancelled sequel [ edit ] In 2001, plans were made for hip hop artist Cuban Link to write and star in a sequel to Scarface titled Son of Tony.[79] The plans drew both praise and criticism and, after several years, Cuban Link indicated that he may no longer be involved with the project as the result of movie rights issues and creative control.[80]
    • Remake [ edit ] Universal announced in 2011 that the studio is developing a new version of Scarface. The studio stated that the new film is neither a sequel nor a remake, but will take elements from both this version and its 1932 predecessor, including the basic premise: a man who becomes a kingpin in his quest for the American Dream. Martin Bregman produced the 1983 remake and would produce this version also,[81] with a screenplay by David Ayer,[82] and David Yates in talks to direct the film.[83]
    • On March 24, 2014, TheWrap reported that Pablo Larra­n was in negotiations to direct the film, along with Paul Attanasio writing the film's script. The film's update will be an original story set in modern-day Los Angeles that follows a Mexican immigrant's rise in the criminal underworld as he strives for the American Dream.[84] Jonathan Herman was set in March 2015 to rewrite both drafts of the script.[85]
    • On August 10, 2016, Deadline Hollywood reported that Antoine Fuqua was in talks to direct the film.[86] On September 28, 2016, Variety reported that Terence Winter would be penning the script for the film.[87] In January 2017, Fuqua left the project and Diego Luna was cast in the lead role.[88] On February 10, 2017, it was announced that the film would be released in theaters on August 10, 2018, with the film's script being written by the Coen brothers.[89]
    • On March 30, 2018, it was announced that Fuqua will direct the new film with Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer writing the screenplay.[90]
    • On August 9, 2018, the film had not been released in theaters as originally planned and filming had been announced to start in October 2018. Filming would take place in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Mexico.[91]
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Retrieved December 7, 2013 . ^ "A Totally Rad Roundup of 80s Flicks in Honor of Vice City". Rockstar Games. January 9, 2013 . Retrieved December 7, 2013 . ^ * "The Making Of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City". Edge. December 7, 2012. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013 . Retrieved December 7, 2013 . "The Making Of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Page 2)". Edge. December 7, 2012. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013 . Retrieved December 7, 2013 . ^ "Son of Tony". Ozone Magazine. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011 . Retrieved January 2, 2007 . ^ "Cuban Link Starts His Chain Reaction". Latin Rapper. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014 . Retrieved January 2, 2007 . ^ Fleming, Jr., Mike (September 21, 2011). "Universal Preps New 'Scarface' Movie". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013 . Retrieved November 5, 2013 . ^ Fleming, Jr., Mike (November 29, 2011). "David Ayer To Script Updated 'Scarface'date=". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014 . Retrieved April 7, 2014 . ^ Finke, Nikki (July 31, 2013). "David Yates In Final Talks For 'Scarface' Helm Now Universal "Very High" On Script". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014 . Retrieved April 7, 2014 . ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Spider-Man 4 Circling John Malkovich, Anne Hathaway". The Wrap. Santa Monica, California: The Wrap News Inc. March 24, 2014. Archived from the original on April 21, 2014 . Retrieved March 24, 2014 . ^ Siegel, Tatian (March 18, 2015). " ' Scarface' Remake Moving Forward With 'Straight Outta Compton' Writer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. United States: Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved March 22, 2015 . ^ Fleming, Jr., Mike (August 10, 2016). "Antoine Fuqua Circling New 'Scarface' At Universal". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. ^ Fleming, Jr, Mike (August 10, 2016). " ' Wolf of Wall Street' Scribe to Write Antoine Fuqua's 'Scarface' Reimagining (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. United States: Penske Media Corporation. ^ Scott, Ryan (January 31, 2017). "Diego Luna Is the New Scarface, Director Antoine Fuqua Exits". Movie Web. United States: Watchr Media. ^ "Scarface Remake Gets Coen Brothers Script, Release Date". February 10, 2017 . Retrieved February 10, 2017 . ^ Jacobs, Lola (March 30, 2018). " ' Scarface' Reboot To Focus On Core Immigrant Narrative". Vibe. United States: Billboard Media. ^ Zinski, Dan, Antoine Fuqua's Scarface Remake Starts Filming This Fall, Screen Rant, retrieved on August 12, 2018 Bibliography [ edit ] Bogue, Ronald (Winter 1993). "De Palma's Postmodern" Scarface" and the Simulacrum of Class". Criticism. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. 35 (1): 115''129. JSTOR 23113595. Hodgson, David S. J.; Mylonas, Eric (2006). Scarface: The World is Yours : Prima Official Game Guide. Prima Games. ISBN 978-0-7615-5050-1. Labombarda, Arnaud (2010). Scarface, ou le fantasme du paradis [Scarface, or the fantasy of paradise] (in French). Editions L'Harmattan. ISBN 978-2-296-22424-7. McAvennie, Michael (2007). Say Hello to My Little Friend!: The Quotable Scarface (TM). Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-6846-9. Pape, Alexander Christian (2010). Drogen in den Filmen "Scarface" und "Maria, llena eres de gracia": Mediale Darstellung, Problemvermittlung und gesellschaftliche Hintergr¼nde [Drugs in the films "Scarface" and "Maria, llena eres de gracia": multimedia presentation, problem mediation and social backgrounds] (in German). GRIN Verlag. ISBN 978-3-640-75514-1. Prigg(C), Steven (2004). Movie Moguls Speak: Interviews with Top Film Producers. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-7864-1929-6. OCLC 55738228. Stevenson, Damian (2015). Scarface: The Ultimate Guide. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-329-30523-6. [self-published source? ]Tucker, Ken (2011) [2008]. Scarface Nation: The Ultimate Gangster Movie and How It Changed America (ebook ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1-4299-9329-6. OCLC 213451426. Wilczynski, Stefan (2010). Subtexte in erfolgreichen Spielfilmen '' am Beispiel des Films Scarface [Subtexts in successful feature films '' using the example of the film Scarface] (in German). GRIN Verlag. ISBN 978-3-640-66386-6. External links [ edit ] Wikiquote has quotations related to: Scarface
  • Super Fly (1972 film) - Wikipedia
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    • Super Fly is a 1972 American blaxploitation crime drama film directed by Gordon Parks Jr. and starring Ron O'Neal as Youngblood Priest, an African American pimp and cocaine dealer who is trying to quit the underworld drug business. The film is well known for its soundtrack, written and produced by soul musician Curtis Mayfield. It was released on August 4, 1972.
    • O'Neal reprised his role as Youngblood Priest in the 1973 film Super Fly T.N.T., which he also directed. Producer Sig Shore directed a second sequel, The Return of Superfly, released in 1990, with Nathan Purdee as Priest. A remake was released in 2018.
    • Plot [ edit ] Priest (Ron O'Neal), a suave top-rung New York City drug dealer, decides that he wants to get out of his dangerous trade. Working with his reluctant friend, Eddie (Carl Lee), Priest devises a scheme that will allow him make a big deal and then retire. When a desperate street dealer informs the police of Priest's activities, Priest is forced into an uncomfortable arrangement with corrupt narcotics officers. Setting his plan in motion, he aims to both leave the business and stick it to the man.
    • Cast [ edit ] Ron O'Neal as Youngblood PriestCarl Lee as EddieJulius W. Harris as ScatterSheila Frazier as GeorgiaCharles McGregor as Fat FreddieSig Shore (billed as Mike Richards) as Deputy Commissioner ReardonCurtis Mayfield as Himself (The Curtis Mayfield Experience)Master Henry Gibson as Himself (The Curtis Mayfield Experience)Production [ edit ] The film was financed by two directors and Gordon Parks, who had directed the 1971 film Shaft.Sig Shore, who produced Super Fly, plays Deputy Commissioner Riordan, or "The Man".[3]
    • Nate Adams coordinated the fashion and wardrobe for the film. He had done several fashion shows prior to Super Fly. He still owns many of the suits, shoes and fedora hats.
    • Charles McGregor, who plays Fat Freddie, was released from prison before the film's production. The film was shot by director of photography James Signorelli, who would go on to become the film segment director for Saturday Night Live.
    • Of the people who acted in Super Fly, actor Carl Lee, who played Eddie, enjoyed great fame until he abused drugs '' in particular, heroin. He died in 1986 of an overdose. The film's soundtrack by Curtis Mayfield was well enough received that he was sought for other soundtracks. The songs "Freddie's Dead" and the title song both shot up the Pop Top Ten chart in late 1972, with each single selling over a million copies.
    • Large white companies produced many of the blaxploitation films, and Super Fly is no exception. The film was acquired and distributed by Warner Bros., and had a white producer, Sigissmund Shore. African-Americans were a part of the process as well, with Gordon Parks, Jr. as director and Phillip Fenty the screenwriter. The movie generated roughly $4 million in profits. Shore received the bulk of the profits, 40 percent, while the actors, directors, and scriptwriters split the remaining profits. The soundtrack alone generated about $5 million in profits '' one of the first film soundtracks to earn such a sizable return '' primarily from the biggest singles "Super Fly" and "Freddie's Dead". As the soundtrack's composer, Mayfield was the only other person in the production who earned revenue approaching Shore's.
    • Despite the controversy surrounding Super Fly ' s drug use, the production of the film made significant advances for African-Americans. The Harlem community backed Super Fly financially, and a number of black businesses helped with the production costs. Another quality that distinguishes Super Fly from other blaxploitation films was the technical crew, the majority of which was non-white, constituting the largest non-white technical crew in its time. Altogether, such an independently financed film ultimately had unusually large financial backing.[4]
    • Reception [ edit ] At the time of its release, there were many African-Americans that were displeased with the images of themselves portrayed in films such as Super Fly, Sweet Sweetback's Baadassssss Song, and Shaft. African-Americans voiced their opinions on the matter. Junius Griffin, the head of the Hollywood branch of the NAACP stated, ''we must insist that our children are not exposed to a steady diet of so-called black movies that glorify black males as pimps, dope pushers, gangsters, and super males.''[5]
    • Super Fly resonated with many of the post-Civil Rights Movement generation of African Americans, who saw Youngblood as a new example of how to rise in the American class system.[6] Several California organized crime veterans, including drug trafficker "Freeway" Rick Ross, have cited the film as an influence in their decision to take up drug dealing and gang violence.[7] The Congress for Racial Equality, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and other organizations attempted to block the film's distribution and pushed for more African-American involvement in Hollywood's creative process. The Student National Coordinating Committee also protested the film as a tool of white oppression.[6]
    • Manthiahas Diawara suggested that the film's glorification of drug dealers served to subtly critique the civil rights movement's failure to provide better economic opportunities for black America and that the portrayal of a black community controlled by drug dealers serves to highlight that the initiatives of the civil rights movement were far from fully accomplished.[8] The filmmakers maintain that it was their desire to show the negative and empty aspects of the drug subculture. This is evident in the movie from the beginning as Priest communicates his desire to leave the business. Nearly every character in the film, with the notable exception of his "main squeeze," tries to dissuade Priest from quitting; their chief argument being that dealing and snorting are the best he ever could achieve in life.
    • On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 24 reviews, and an average rating of 7.3/10.[9]
    • Box office [ edit ] After an initial gross of $24.8 million, the film was re-released in 1973 and earned $2 million in US and Canada rentals.[10] It was the highest-grossing blaxploitation film at the time.[11]
    • DVD release [ edit ] A standard definition DVD was released by Warner Brothers on January 14, 2004'--the day its star, Ron O'Neal, died after battling cancer. The original red and black Warner logo is replaced by the updated AOL/Warner logo used at the time of DVD release. Additionally, the end credits on the original film release and video cassette, differ from the DVD. On the original release and videocassette the film end credits roll with a shot of the top of the Empire State building and the title track ("Superfly") plays. After "The End" is displayed, the film fades to black but Mayfield's "Superfly" continues to play for a few minutes until the track ends. In the DVD release, Warner Bros. decided to fade out the track midway right as "The End" is shown, and again brings up the AOL/Warner logo.
    • On June 26, 2018 The Warner Archive Collection Released "Super Fly" on Blu-ray and has received mostly praise for its Video & Audio Restoration.
    • Remake [ edit ] As of 2018[update], Director X was remaking Superfly, with a cast that includes Trevor Jackson and Jason Mitchell.[12]
    • See also [ edit ] List of American films of 1972List of blaxploitation filmsReferences [ edit ] ^ a b "Super Fly (1972) - Credits". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . Retrieved March 23, 2018 . ^ a b "Super Fly (1972) - Notes". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved March 23, 2018 . ^ Cavanaugh, Jack (2006-08-25). "Sig Shore, 87, Producer of 'Superfly ' ". The New York Times . Retrieved 2011-02-01 . ^ Quinn, Eithne (2010). " ' Tryin' to Get Over': 'Super Fly', Black Politics, and Post'--civil Rights Film Enterprise". Cinema Journal. 49 (2): 86''105. doi:10.1353/cj.0.0183. JSTOR 25619772. ^ Bogle, Donald (1973). Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks; an Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films. New York: Viking Press. pp. 231''266. ^ a b Lehman, Christopher P. (2014) Power, Politics, and the Decline of the Civil Rights Movement ^ Johnson, Scott (2011-01-09). "The return of "Freeway" Ricky Ross, the man behind a crack empire". Contra Costa Times. ^ Diawara, Manthia. ''Homeboy Cosmopolitan.'' In Search of Africa, 252. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998. ^ "Super Fly (1972)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media . Retrieved June 12, 2018 . ^ "Big Rental Films of 1973". Variety. 9 January 1974. p. 19. ^ Verrill, Addison (31 May 1973). "Black Reaction Fear Reputedly Cues W.B. Dropping 'Fly' Sequel". Daily Variety. p. 1. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (2018-01-16). "Trevor Jackson & Jason Mitchell To Star In Sony's 'Superfly' Remake From Director X; Future & Joel Silver To Produce". Deadline . Retrieved 24 January 2018 . External links [ edit ] Super Fly on IMDbSuper Fly at the TCM Movie DatabaseSuper Fly at AllMovie
  • Gordon Parks Jr. - Wikipedia
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    • ( October 2013 ) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)Gordon Parks Jr.
    • BornGordon Roger Parks Jr.
    • December 7, 1934Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
    • DiedApril 3, 1979 (1979-04-03) (aged 44)Nairobi, Kenya
    • Cause of deathPlane crashGordon Roger Parks Jr. (December 7, 1934 '' April 3, 1979) was an American film director, best known for the 1972 film Super Fly.[1]
    • Contents
    • 1 Life and career 2 Filmography 3 References 4 External links Life and career [ edit ] Parks was born to Sally Alvis and photographer and director Gordon Parks in Minneapolis in 1934.[1] The younger Parks followed in his father's footsteps after his father had success with the blaxploitation hit Shaft (1971).
    • Parks was killed with three others when their small airplane crashed after takeoff near Nairobi, Kenya, where they had gone to make a film.[2] He was 44 years old.
    • Filmography [ edit ] Super Fly (1972)Three the Hard Way (1974)Thomasine & Bushrod (1974)Aaron Loves Angela (1975)References [ edit ] ^ a b Fraser, C. Gerald (April 4, 1979). "Gordon Parks Jr., Film Maker, Dead '' Director of 'Super Fly' and Other Black-Oriented Pictures in Plane Crash in Kenya". The New York Times . Retrieved 2011-01-31 . ^ "Filmmaker Gordon Parks; victim of airplane crash", The Day, April 3, 1979. External links [ edit ] Gordon Parks Jr. on IMDbvteFilms directed by
    • Gordon Parks Jr.Super Fly (1972)Thomasine & Bushrod (1974)Three the Hard Way (1974)Aaron Loves Angela (1975)Authority control BNF: cb14694310q (data) ISNI: 0000 0000 2426 6736 LCCN: n85138273 VIAF: 15035046 WorldCat Identities (via VIAF): 15035046

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