Jesse Katz was a reporter for the [[Los Angeles Times|Los Angeles Times]] who spent months interviewing [[Ricky Ross|"Freeway" Ricky Ross]] in 1994 and produced extensive coverage of the L.A. crack trade.[^1] ### Reporting on Ricky Ross Katz observed Ross closely and provided some of the most detailed descriptions of his character and methods. "He does not have the culture of a gang member when you talk to him. He doesn't have the attitude. . .I mean, he was a capitalist," Katz said. Of Ross's business acumen, Katz noted: "He kept incrementally expanding his quantity, and every time he could do that, he was bringing the price down just a little bit more, and then what he would gain from volume, he would put right back into the operation. It was just classic economics. And he saw all this in a way I guess others didn't, or weren't as disciplined as him to act on."[^1] Katz described the DEA's sting operation against Ross in blunt terms: "To fuck with him. If the government decides to fuck with you and you take the bait, you are automatically fucked."[^2] ### Attempt to Scoop the Dark Alliance Series In March 1996, days before Ross's trial, Katz called [[Gary Webb]] at home to inform him he was writing a story about the upcoming trial and knew Webb was investigating [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]]'s connections to the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and the [[Contras]]. Ross, angry that Webb had decided not to publish before trial, had told Katz what he knew about the investigation. Defense attorney [[Alan Fenster]] had also filed a motion and affidavit referencing Webb's investigation, giving Katz a court document to use. Webb refused to confirm anything.[^3] Katz flew from his [[Houston]] office to [[San Diego]] to attend the hearing on the government's motion to prevent any mention of the CIA at trial. During the hearing, the entire proceeding was conducted in whispers at the judge's bench after prosecutor [[LJ Oneale|L.J. O'Neale]] noticed both reporters in the courtroom. "They can't do this!" Katz insisted to Webb. "How can they do this, just because we're here?" Katz's story ran the next morning, hinting at "new and surprising dimensions" involving Blandón and "ties to U.S. intelligence sources" but never mentioning the Contras. No reporter from the Times covered the actual trial.[^3] ### Role in Attacking the Dark Alliance Series In October 1996, the L.A. Times ran a three-day series attacking the Dark Alliance reporting. The first part, on the genesis of crack in L.A., was written by Katz. Though Katz himself had repeatedly referred to Ross as the first and biggest crack dealer in South Central and the master marketer whose activities were "key" to the spread of crack, he now found that Ross was a minor figure who had little to do with the crack explosion. The earlier stories in the Times stating exactly the opposite were simply ignored. Katz instead cited drug dealers like "Tootie" Reese, who had gone to jail when the crack market exploded and was never accused of selling crack, and "Waterhead Bo" Bennett, who did not start selling crack until 1985. Syndicated columnist Norman Solomon described Katz's story as "a show trial recantation."[^4] ### Footnotes [^1]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 7: "Something happened to Ivan" [^2]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 24: "They're gonna forget I was a drug dealer" [^3]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 26: "That matter, if true, would be classified" [^4]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 27: "A very difficult decision"