![[freedomtowernight_edited.jpg]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_i7tmcOiJ4hc/RoJ3zn0O-9I/AAAAAAAAAFw/5Y4WaIwDd6k/s1600/freedomtowernight_edited.jpg)
Art Teele Commits Suicide (UPDATED)
Former Miami-Dade County and city of Miami commissioner Arthur Teele committed suicide in the lobby of the Miami Herald Building this evening shortly after 6 PM.
I've been trying to get the latest from the Miami Herald site, but the building was evacuated after the incident and their links aren't working at the present time.
UPDATE 7/28 6:30 AM: Herald columnist Jim DeFede was fired by the paper late yesterday for illegally recording a phone conversation with Teele earlier in the day.
DeFede, who defended Teele several times in his columns despite Teele's checkered past, issued a prepared statement: (emphasis mine)
''In a tense situation I made a mistake,'' he said. ``The Miami Herald executives only learned about it because I came to them and admitted it.
``I told them I was willing to accept a suspension and apologize both to the newsroom and our readers. Unfortunately, The Herald decided on the death penalty instead.''
Jim, the law is the law, right? As champion of the little guy, you should have known that recording conversations without the consent of both parties is a crime.
Then again, DeFede has had problems interpreting the law in the past.
I've been trying to get the latest from the Miami Herald site, but the building was evacuated after the incident and their links aren't working at the present time.
UPDATE 7/28 6:30 AM: Herald columnist Jim DeFede was fired by the paper late yesterday for illegally recording a phone conversation with Teele earlier in the day.
DeFede, who defended Teele several times in his columns despite Teele's checkered past, issued a prepared statement: (emphasis mine)
''In a tense situation I made a mistake,'' he said. ``The Miami Herald executives only learned about it because I came to them and admitted it.
``I told them I was willing to accept a suspension and apologize both to the newsroom and our readers. Unfortunately, The Herald decided on the death penalty instead.''
Jim, the law is the law, right? As champion of the little guy, you should have known that recording conversations without the consent of both parties is a crime.
Then again, DeFede has had problems interpreting the law in the past.
posted by Robert at 8:44 PM
2 Comments:
He blew it. I know someone who knows Defede personally and says he's not a bad guy. In the limited communications I had with the guy he's been a gentleman. I don't like any of his opinions though. ask yourself this though. If the person he was recording was a white house insider like deep throat would they have fired him.
Conductor,
I don't necessarily think DeFede is a bad guy in general, but his character assassinations and bias were just over the top.
He might have done what some consider to be the honorable thing by admitting the recording to his boss, but that doesn't absolve him in any way.
As far as your last question goes, probably not.
Post a Comment
<< Home