Tuesday, April 20, 1999
Chiquita-Enquirer deal info is sought
Lawyer asks why others not charged
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A former lawyer for Chiquita Brands International Inc. wants prosecutors to explain why he was charged with stealing company voice-mail messages while some Cincinnati Enquirer employees were “given a walk.”
The lawyer, George Ventura, asked a judge Monday for permission to question company officials, a former special prosecutor and Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis.
His attorneys said the interviews are necessary to determine whether a legal settlement last year between Chiquita and the newspaper played any part in the decision to charge Mr. Ventura and not Enquirer employees.
As part of the settlement, the Enquirer agreed to pay Chiquita more than $10 million and renounced articles that quoted the voice-mail messages.
“I am interested in knowing whether or not the Enquirer's agreement with Chiquita has some bearing on who is being prosecuted in this case and who is not,” said Mr. Ventura's attorney, Marc Mezibov.
To determine the company's possible influence, he said, Mr. Ventura's defense team is entitled to details about the agreement with the newspaper.
Specifically, he said, the agreement could explain why the grand jury did not indict former Enquirer reporter Cameron McWhirter and former editor Lawrence Beaupre.
Mr. Mezibov said the evidence shows that Mr. McWhirter received the voice-mail access codes from Mr. Ventura and then passed the codes on to another reporter, Michael Gallagher.
Mr. Gallagher, who was fired by the newspaper, has pleaded guilty to two felony charges accusing him of illegally accessing the voice-mail system. Mr. McWhirter has said he never accessed the system himself.
Mr. Mezibov also cited testimony from Mr. Gallagher about the destruction of tapes he had made while investigating the company. Mr. Gallagher has said that Mr. Beaupre and Enquirer lawyers gave him the go-ahead to destroy the tapes.
Mr. Beaupre, however, has challenged Mr. Gallagher's testimony and labeled the reporter “an admitted liar and felon.”
Enquirer publisher Harry Whipple declined to comment on the case or the newspaper's settlement with Chiquita.
Special prosecutor Daniel Breyer said no one got preferential treatment from sheriff's investigators or from former special prosecutor Perry Ancona.
He said Mr. Gallagher is the only Enquirer employee who is “similarly situated” to Mr. Ventura — and he already has pleaded guilty to two felonies. Mr. Ventura is charged with 10 felonies.
In a motion filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, Mr. Breyer described Mr. Ventura as a motivating force behind the reporters' research into Chiquita's business practices.
Judge Ann Marie Tracey is expected to rule on the issue before Mr. Ventura's trial in July.
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