Back in July 2008 I recounted my frustration in the Journal management's handling of an investigative story I was working on in July of 2007 that involved a massive local mortgage fraud by Kurt Heintz.
The fact that the two top editors and high-priced lawyers hired by the Journal to review my documents were unable to see clearly what law enforcement and I could see from the county and township records remains a mystery. Actually it's no mystery, they were just afraid.
While I was in California, Heintz and an accomplice pleaded guilty to the massive mortgage fraud and now faces 30 years in prison. The $20 million scam also ended up with Mr. Heintz's wife being stabbed by a defrauded investor, which finally dragged the Journal kicking and screaming into the investigation.
I will always believe if the Journal and its top-gun lawyers had not been scared out of their skins at the size of this fraud and too timid to run the story, the stabbing may not have happened and justice may have come sooner.
Not to mention the Journal would have had a kick butt story that would have alerted its readers to a major fraud in their midst that would have been an early snapshot of the financial real estate crash that we are now all facing.
It is what is wrong with journalism run by civil attorneys. So when I hear now in a quote in the Journal that the new editor is all about investigative reporting I chuckle. Let's just hope that none of the Journal's attorneys end up in the Justice department.
Good riddance Kurt W. Heintz (which the Journal spelled "Heinz" as in 57 varieties in its jump headline) may you be a lesson to somebody.
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4 comments:
Someday, perhaps over a beer, I'll trade you stories about how legal fears/frightened editors/newspaper conflicts of interest excised considerable meat from out Academics & Athletics package.
It was a very good story as it ran. It could have been considerably better.
I'll look forward to it.....
Sentencing was suppose to be yesterday, June 3rd 2009 for both. Anyone know if that happened and if so what the outcome was?
Has any been able to find out about sentencing? I know it was delayed until November but I have not located any informtation since
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