Ace TV Reporter Fired For Trying To Splash The Big Story

Chicago’s WMAQ-TV fired an enterprising investigative reporter for crossing those vague and ambiguous journalist's lines in pursuit of a story. TV stations want the ratings for their very survival and sometimes put incredible pressure on reporters to come back with real news.

A salacious and big story in the Chicago area is that of missing Plainfield women, Lisa Stebic, a mother of two. Plainfield police zeroed in on the “usual suspect”, Craig Stebic the estranged soon to be divorced husband of the woman. Police just don’t have either probable cause to arrest anyone or the body of the missing woman, yet. There’s little doubt that this is a sensational tale of domestic intrigue and murder.

These cases are broken through the words and behavior of the suspects. Keeping your target nervous and talking nearly always does the trick. Sooner or later they get caught in lies or simply spill their guts. Apparently Jacobson knew this and wanted to break the case herself and also slaughter her competition along the way.

One thing for sure is reporters are not to become surrogate cops or police informers. Yesterday, Plainfield Police Chief Don Bennett told reporters "Jacobson has in the past informed the Plainfield Police Department of her prior conversations with Mr. Stebic."

Smart cops will take help wherever and whenever they can get it. Of course police hope that their helpers don’t endanger themselves or interfere in the investigation.

You don’t become an award winning, top three-market TV reporter without taking risks. TV news has lost its audience and a large percentage of their financial resources because of the Internet and the cable TV explosion. Most TV reporters I know are trying to figure out how they can put their kids through college and retire in light of shrinking paychecks and dismal future.

Jacobson was clearly out to get the story at too high a personal cost. Instead, Jacobson became the top news story in Chicago. Her journalistic crime was simply getting caught. That was aggravated by WBBM-TV making Jacobson’s investigation their own top story.

Had Jacobson not been discovered by the competition and had she succeeded in helping police solve the mystery she’d have been paraded around like a ratings show pony rather than a disgraced former reporter.

Somehow I don’t think this will be the end for Jacobson. I fully expect her to pull a rabbit out of her hat and somehow capitalize on her current misfortune.

Here’s what the Chicago tribune had to say.

Spector Missing Murder Evidence Evaporated Today

Former Spector defense lawyer Sara Caplan failed to give prosecutors their phantom fingernail fragment evidence they’d counted heavily on to make their case. Prosecutors, Pat Dixon and Alan Jackson somehow invented a theory that Lana Clarkson put up a fight with Phil Spector and had a small portion of her acrylic fingernail shot off during the shooting.

Sara Caplan revealed that Dr. Henry Lee, a forensics expert picked up a unknown white object off the floor hours after the cops turned over Spector’s home to his legal defense team. Had Dr. Lee found any items of relevant physical evidence he’d have been required to turn it over to police or prosecutors.

Dixon and Jackson claimed that any fingernail fragment somehow contained bullet wipe. Prosecutors claimed that this would prove Spector murdered Clarkson. Today that theory was more like butt wipe than bullet wipe. Sara Caplan was asked for the first time for the size of that item and she said it was about the size of her fingernail and made a diagram. Further testimony revealed that the item was in fact too large to be the fragment from Clarkson’s broken nail.

The prosecutors should have asked just a few more questions and they could have avoided the quicksand they fell into. Remember it was Judge Fidler who vouched for Caplan’s credibility over that of Dr. Lee in earlier proceedings. I have one word, OUCH!

Sara Caplan didn't lie she just was not asked enough questions in the earlier proceedings.

Spector Trial Is In A Legal Quagmire

The murder trial of record producer, Phil Spector has turned into a predictable mess that has little to do about the death of Lana Clarkson or actual evidence that she was murdered or that Phil Spector is a killer.

Judge Larry Paul Fiddler let in everything including the kitchen sink to influence the jury exactly as the evidence starved prosecutors wanted to the absolutely prejudice of the accused. That as prosecutors, Pat Dixon and Alan Jackson spend every waking moment trashing the defendant’s character in every possible way. When prosecutors don’t have a case for murder, they can win by making the jury hate the defendant and pity the dead woman.

Adding to the circus is the defense team headed by the judicially castrated and now absent Bruce Cutler. I can’t help but believe that every single Spector defense lawyer now wishes he or she never went to law school. I suspect they also are praying to see the day they can pee on Larry Fidler’s tombstone.

Now the foremost defense forensic expert Henry Lee has apparently abandoned the job he was hired to do. Fear not, for there are enough qualified experts to show Clarkson died by her own hand.

Today the California Supreme Court dealt a blow to former Spectior defense lawyer, Sarah Caplan. She will be forced to testify or be jailed. I have suspected that Caplan lied in earlier proceedings and her lies will be exposed unless she now takes the Fifth to avoid self-incrimination. Spector may well benefit from whatever Caplan does next.

Today the jury saw and heard the very credible testimony from a long time close friend of Lana Clarkson, Jennifer Hayes-Riedl. Hayes-Riedl painted a sad and desperate picture of Clarkson’s tragic life. Clarkson was despondent because she failed as an entertainer and was forced into taking her humiliating, menial and par-minimum wage job at the House Of Blues.

Clarkson failed as an actress, comic and writer. Clarkson was mixing powerful narcotic painkillers with alcohol, was hopelessly in debt and nearly destitute. Although Clarkson was pretty, her life was not.

Clarkson got some fame that eluded her by ending her own life while a guest in Phil Spector’s home. One does not have to guess too long to figure why the CSI people found Lana Clarkson’s saliva on Phil Spector’s penis and Spector’s saliva was on her breast. Clarkson’s visit to Spector’s home may have been more about commerce than for traditional romance.

Before I hated this prosecution because I was convinced that Spector killed no one. Now I hate the prosecution equally because it forced the heartbreaking and salacious expose’ of Lana Clarkson’s once private life.

This trial is nothing but horrible and slow torture for Phil Spector and anyone who ever loved Lana Clarkson.

There’s Hope For An American Presidency

Ronald Regan led the country for eight really good years. He was a peacetime president that fought the taxem’ to death and reckless spend mentality that makes slaves out of too many Americans.

Since the great man left office we’ve had a sorry bunch or pathetic pretenders to the throne. Two big government, Texas Liberals wearing Republican clothing, and the commander of the Waco TX Military Assault Team, who governed American with a Whitehouse intern performing sex acts on him under his desk. Twenty-four years of mediocre jerks and an Arkansas criminal running this country was way too long.

The two major political parties have put up their presidential lineup and it was horrendous.

The Democrats put up the mastermind perjurer of Travelgate, and a Black Maverick with a drug history, while they try to raise a former Vice President from the dead.

Republicans have offered their best Left Wing Liberals who pretend to be Republicans. Leading off is a former New York Mayor, Communist North Viet Nam’s most successful mind control experiment, and a dark horse, Liberal Mormon (huh?).

Out of the ashes of these failed campaigns comes a proven somewhat Conservative Republican with rich experience who also happens to be a gifted actor, Fred Thompson.

For the first time in my lifetime I can see the Whitehouse not switching parties after a two-year term.

The referendum on the Left-Wing standard bearers was revealed in the failed Illegal Alien Amnesty Bill (improperly called immigration reform). You can count the 2008 votes in the rating of Conservative talk radio shows against the unsuccessful Bolshevik offering, Air America.

Talk radio and Internet has thankfully ended the stranglehold Liberals held on our mass media.

The narrow victories regaining Control of both houses of Congress will see a short life as Americans have seen the betrayal of America by the Liberal fringe element.

2008 has hope of a new Chapter of the American dream with Fred Thompson leading us out of the Abyss. Yes, Crimefile endorses Fred Thompson for President.

Phil Spector Is Innocent

You can argue that Phil Spector has not led a perfect life, made mistakes and has personality issues. Yes Spector is somewhat eccentric as we expect of most artists his age. I’d argue that we are all richer because of Spector’s work product. I’ve been stuck in a musical time warp since the day Spector did his greatest work.

How did Lana Clarkson die? I think we’ve seen some guesses and tried to figure probabilities. We can only follow the real evidence and our system of convicting the accused only after guilt is proven, beyond a reasonable doubt.

To guess what happened does a huge disservice to the memory of Lana Clarkson, her family and friends. We don’t know what happened and I’d argue that Spector may well be somewhat responsible for Clarkson’s death even if he did not pull the trigger. Just letting a drunken Clarkson handle a loaded firearm may have been negligent. Again we’d have to guess if that was the case.

The filing of charges against Phil Spector did not bring Clarkson back to life or somehow make her death less painful to her loved ones. What the prosecution did bring was a salacious and tabloid driven expose’ of Lana Clarkson tragic personal problems. Clarkson should be remembered for her glamour and talent not for addictions, and financial problems. That changed as prosecutors brought charges not supported by evidence against Phil Spector.

This may have been a crime of some kind and Spector may have been involved but we can’t convict anyone on a guess.

In our world killers do get away with murder all the time. It’s an ugly part of our free society that we can’t determine a solution to every crime and have perfect justice.

I hope we’d all rather see a man who’s probably guilty go free than hang an innocent. Person. Our system of justice and fairness is much bigger than even Phil Spector.

Former Deputy Sheriff Ivory Webb Acquitted Today.

This case was the result of a regrettable event of January 29, 2006 in Chino California. After a high speed chase by Webb of a Chevrolet Corvette and subsequent crash the excited officer shot the car’s passenger, Elio Carrion three times wounding him.

Webb was charged with Attempted Voluntary Manslaughter and Assault With A Firearm. That inquiry is now over after a San Bernardino jury cleared him of both charges.
Webb’s shooting was caught on tape by someone that just happened to have a video camera. The tape was of poor quality and left unanswered questions. Speaking of questions Webb was interrogated far too soon after the event while the adrenalin was still pumping through his body. No criminal defense lawyer in the land would have let Webb talk about this event so soon afterwards.

Fear and survival are the rule for cops placed in these life and death events where decisions are made in split-seconds. No second chances are offered officers that don’t act to protect themselves quickly enough. We hope that training kicks in and the correct action is taken. There can be no doubt that Webb has attended the funerals of good cops murdered in the line of duty during his career. Webb was acutely aware of just what could happen to him while performing his duties.

Under the stress of the moment did Ivory Webb even say what he meant to Carrion when on the tape it appears he said, “Get up! Get Up!”? It’s no secret that our own minds can play tricks on us while we are under life threatening stress. What was absent here for Webb’s prosecutors was a motive by the officer to do harm to what we’ve since learned was an unarmed man.

Under the stress of the moment instincts and perceptions take over. It may well have been impossible for Webb to remember just what it was that caused him to fire on Carrion in the darkness. Prosecutors said Webb’s story changed. Perhaps it was because Webb remembered after he had sufficient time to calm down.

Is the punishment over for Ivory Webb you ask? Not by a long shot. In most cases like these the cleared officers are broke, unemployed, depressed and their marriages fail. The civil cases go forward against them and they must relive the event for the rest of their lives.

Perhaps Ivory Webb will somehow beat the odds and have a decent future. We will just have to see what’s in the cards.

Illegal Alien Amnesty Is Dead

I guess our politicians are so far removed from the American people and their problems they continued efforts to push an economic disaster down our throats.

We’ve been invaded for decades by economic refugees, drugs and criminals from Mexico and poverty stricken countries beyond. These desperate people know full well that there are boundless entitlements and benefits in the USA. Bonuses await law-breaking aliens such as free medical care, education and millions of businesses willing to pay tax free cash for workers.

Mexico and the other Latin nations have been shamelessly exporting their crime, poverty and least desirable members of their population here for too many decades.

A cabal developed between Liberal politicians looking to expand their political base and some Conservatives who want to totally destroy organized labor. The Liberals seek the importation of impoverished and dependant people guaranteed to vote the liberal ticket.

The people damaged the most by this invasion are our own poor and minorities who have been forced to compete for the services that have become their birthright. There is no way that allowing millions of poor people to squat on our soil will somehow improve or economy. Our schools, hospitals and penal system are all in critical condition by the failure of our government to enforce our immigration laws.

Our deceitful politicians supporting the open border policy played with words suggesting that a “path to citizenship” for those who break our laws is somehow not amnesty. The supporters of the amnesty legislation refused to call it what it was, amnesty.

Hopefully the American voters can remember to oust those six-year term Senators for their betrayal of the very people that elected them.

Spector Prosecutor Is No Match For Veteran Medical Examiner

Former San Antonio Medical examiner, and book author, Dr. Vincent DiMaio, is an accomplished and incredibly bright man. He is also a defense witness hired by Phil Spector's defense team to examine, evaluate and deliver his findings to the empanelled jury. That’s been exactly what he’s been doing for the past two days.

Dr. DiMaio agrees with the L.A. Medical Examiner’s findings on Lana Clarkson’s cause of death. However the manner of death is where this renowned expert parts company with the L.A. pathologist. Dr. DiMaio produced some really top notch medical exhibits and demonstrated to the jury how Clarkson’s death was a simple, self-inflicted suicide.

The young and brash prosecutor, Alan Jackson was just not equipped or bright enough to match wits with the venerable Dr. DiMaio. Jackson could not contain his seething anger as he watched his prosecution theory fall apart so early in the trial. The obvious baiting of Dr. DiMaio by Jackson scored no points with the jury.

Mr. Jackson’s prosecution is all smoke and mirrors as his case is built on the really stale ramblings of disloyal and disgruntled former sexual conquests of the famed record producer. The fact is Phil Spector never injured or killed anyone in his 67 years on this earth.

When the physical evidence is added up along with a missing murder motive, suicide is the only reasonable answer to this mystery. The only thing that makes sense is Lana Clarkson who was both drunk (.12 blood alcohol content) and under the influence of narcotic pain killers, killed herself.

Lana Clarkson was 40, overweight at 160 pounds, in failing physical and mental health, addicted to both alcohol and drugs, flat broke when she was at the end of a unremarkable and uncertain acting career. Clarkson’s story is a heartbreaking tale of another life chewed up and spit out in Hollywood. In Hollywood dreams only come true sometimes.

Blaming Phil Spector and punishing him for Clarkson’s death is unreasonable and un-American.

Prosecution To Rest Its Case In Spector Trial

Prosecutors have put on their case of gossip, hatred and screwy theories against Phil Spector. This as in a final act of desperation, they beg the trial judge to allow just one more so-called witness that claims to have heard a drunken Phil Spector make hostile and disparaging statements directed at “women”. Of course this too is many years prior to Clarkson’s troubling death.

Without real evidence a, trial by character assassination was the only way the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office could possibly proceed and that has been eagerly facilitated by Judge Larry Paul Fidler’s rulings.

Absent from the prosecution’s case is a single item of physical evidence or a motive suggesting Clarkson’s death did not result from her own horse-playing with the Colt Cobra .38 or a suicide. The physical and medical evidence presented does not implicate Phil Spector or anyone other than Lana Clarkson in this very sad event.

This has been a trial of salacious gossip, sensational tabloid style journalism and book authors making money by trashing a legendary music icon. Don’t forget to add in a cornucopia of internet blogger offerings on this mess.

Don’t be surprised to see former Spector lawyer Sara Caplan, invoking her right against self-incrimination under cross-examination by defense lawyers if she is actually forced by the prosecution to testify before the jury. I can promise that the cross-examination of Caplan by the defense won’t be pretty. Judge Fidler will pay dearly for vouching for Caplan’s earlier testimony by declaring her, “the most credible witness” a motion hearing.

Phil Spector was tried and convicted by the press long before any jury was impaneled. The jury has been and will continue to do what all juries do these days when they get in front of the personal computers, and that’s doing Google inquiries about the case and its players.

One simple fact remains and that is that the prosecution should have never should have brought this case to trial unless or until they had real evidence.

Paris Hilton Should Be Treated Just Like Anyone Else—Sure

Okay, we’ve heard from all of the angry folks that demanded Paris Hilton “pay” for her crimes related to DUI, driving while her license was suspended and a probation violation just like anyone else.

When will they learn that Hilton is not just anyone? Hilton is indeed very special. Hilton’s first post-jail exclusive Today Show interview will bring her a cool $1 million bucks. Hilton can count another million for hosting a few Las Vegas, getting out of jail celebrations. I don’t think the demand for whatever it is that Paris Hilton has to end anytime soon.

For the little folks caught drunk behind the wheel they too will get some perks like getting fired from their jobs, and being deemed uninsurable by the auto insurance industry. Did any of the ordinary jail birds get truckloads of fan mail like Paris Hilton while doing their time in the Heartbreak Hotel?

Crime is not supposed to pay like a giant, over-stuffed slot machine unless you’re of course, Paris Hilton!

ACLU plans a CATCH-A-COP-ON-CAMERA, anti-brutality campaign.

This silly idea is on the move again in St. Louis, MA. Here is a re-post from Monday, January 02, 2006

The St. Louis MO. Branch of the ACLU announced they were planning to give away video cameras so that people prone to police brutality victimization could tape the cops beating them. Forgive me for being skeptical of this ACLU brainstorm but I think it’s both comical and a waste of their donor’s money.

There’s a nervous buzz about this among my Chicago cop friends who fear that video scenes taken out of context could land them on the other side of the prison bars. I guess this is some sort of retaliation for the installation of the Chicago Police Ghettocams in high crime neighborhoods. Wait a second! This is happening in St. Louis, not in Chicago.

Smile! You're on GHETTOCAM!

But what if they do this, catch-a-cop-on-camera crap here? Officer Wallupemgood put that question to me. I told him I thought that this was a tit for tat situation, just don’t get caught on camera dishing out too much tat!

Okay, being the wise man I am, I figured out the reality of this situation. If the ACLU hands out the cameras to responsible people in these neighborhoods where the brutality complaints are being made, that’s the end of the problem. Responsible people work at jobs and need to sleep at night when this stuff supposedly happens. The camera operators and the cameras will be, in bed, snug as a bug in the rug. There will be no incriminating video popping up on the Six O’clock News.

All right, the ACLU is smarter than that. The ACLU will give the cameras to the neighborhood lads in the thick of the action. This should not create a care in the world! Let’s see, the ACLU hands out 10 cameras to the boyz in the hood. Five will be traded for crack or that AK they’ve been looking at. The other five will be in the hands of those too enamored with their new toys to give them up. These cameras will be working all the time! Of course they’ll start with the homemade porn flicks. Then they will use the cameras to tape each other in their colors and whip out firepower so they can see themselves on TV like their heroes, Tupac and Tookie.

Finally, the good part! Our boyz use these cameras donated by the good folks at the ACLU to document their next crime spree. Guess who will catch these guys and confiscate the cameras as evidence? You’ve got it! Yep, Officer Wallupemgood!

This is what ABC news ia saying now.

Catch The Bulldog tonight On WTTW-TV Chicago, Channel 11

The Dean of Chicago’s Crime Reporters, John Drummond will be seen Wednesday, June 20 at 7 p.m.

Organized crime expert John Drummond will talk with Carol Marin on Chicago Tonight. They will discuss what to expect during the “Family Secrets”trial, and what may be learned about the Chicago Outfit.

Chicago Tonight airs weekdays at 7 p.m., with repeats at 1 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. The staff is dedicated to providing coverage of current events in Chicago and issues of importance to the city.

For more information, check out their website at: http://www.wttw.com/chicagotonight