Tuesday, April 06, 1999
Former reporter identifies confidential Chiquita source
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
After testifying Monday that protecting sources was “one of the highest responsibilities” of journalists, a former Cincinnati Enquirer reporter identified a source who had asked for confidentiality.
The reporter, Michael Gallagher, confirmed the name of the source while discussing articles he wrote last year about Chiquita Brands International Inc.
During his testimony in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, Mr. Gallagher said former Chiquita employee George Ventura provided him with information about the company.
Prosecutors contend that information included the secret codes Mr. Gallagher later used to access the company's computerized voice-mail system.
When asked how many sources had asked for confidentiality, Mr. Gallagher said at least a half dozen.
“Is one of those persons Mr. Ventura?” asked Mr. Ventura's lawyer, Marc Mezibov.
“It was,” Mr. Gallagher responded.
The answer came a few minutes after Mr. Gallagher had explained why he believes it is important for reporters to protect the identity of confi dential sources.
“It's one of the highest responsibilities a journalist has,” Mr. Gallagher said. “If you're going to promise someone confidentiality, you have to maintain that if at all possible.”
Mr. Gallagher discussed his dealings with sources during a pre-trial hearing for Mr. Ventura, who will face 10 felony charges at his April 19 trial.
Mr. Gallagher's testimony was his first public statement about the case since Enquirer editors fired him last year and published a front-page apology to Chiquita that accused the reporter of deceiving his editors.
In the apology, the newspaper renounced the articles about Chiquita and stated that it had agreed to pay the company more than $10 million.
Mr. Gallagher pleaded guilty months later to two charges accusing him of accessing the company's voice-mail system. He also signed a cooperation agreement requiring him to identify sources.
The reporter who co-authored the articles, Cameron McWhirter, was not charged with a crime and now works for the Detroit News. He also signed a cooperation agreement but was not required to identify sources.
In his testimony Monday, Mr. McWhirter said he never accessed the voice mail system himself.
Mr. McWhirter did not name his source but said he had received a call from an individual who provided several access codes. He said he then gave the information to Mr. Gallagher.
He said Mr. Gallagher told him he already had a different “high-ranking source” inside Chiquita who would provide recordings of the voice-mail messages. He said Mr. Gallagher also acknowledged that he had accessed the system himself three times to verify the information from his source.
Mr. McWhirter said Enquirer editors told Mr. Gallagher to stop accessing the system.
“The message that came down to us was that Mike was never to access the system again,” Mr. McWhirter said. “He was told to destroy the codes.”
Mr. Gallagher gave a different version of events. He said Enquirer lawyers initially told him there was no law in Ohio that would prevent him from accessing the system.
Weeks later, he said, the newspaper's lawyers told him there was a federal law against it.
“It was relayed to me that it might be illegal,” Mr. Gallagher said. “By then, I had accessed (the system) 15 to 20 times.”
Even after learning it might be illegal, Mr. Gallagher said, he continued to access the system.
Former Enquirer Editor Lawrence Beaupre, who now is a news executive with Gannett Co. in Arlington, Va., declined comment on the court hearing but challenged Mr. Gallagher's testimony.
“Mike Gallagher is an admitted liar and felon, and anything he says should be judged on that basis,” Mr. Beaupre said.
Enquirer local news editor David Wells, who oversaw the reporters' work on the Chiquita articles, said the newspaper's editors and lawyers acted quickly when Mr. Gallagher told them he had accessed the system.
“As soon as his editors knew about the access, he was told never to do it again,” Mr. Wells said after the hearing.
Mr. Gallagher and Mr. McWhirter also gave conflicting testimony when asked how the Enquirer handled the notes and taped conversations it had accumulated while researching the Chiquita articles.
Mr. Gallagher said he asked for and received approval from his bosses to destroy many of his tapes and notes so they could not fall into the hands of Chiquita lawyers if the company filed a civil lawsuit.
“I was concerned about protecting sources,” he said.
Mr. McWhirter said he never heard anyone instruct Mr. Gallagher to destroy tapes.
The two reporters were questioned Monday as part of a hearing on motions filed by Mr. Ventura's attorneys, who have asked the judge to bar a jury from hearing taped conversations between the reporters and the source identified as Mr. Ventura.
Mr. Mezibov contends the tapes were made without Mr. Ventura's approval and after he had been promised confidentiality by the reporters.
Judge Ann Marie Tracey will hear final arguments on the issue today.
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