Power & Politics: "adulterous sex, illegal drugs, bribery and extortion"

Former City Official Kills Himself in 'Miami Herald' Lobby
By E&P Staff
Published: July 27, 2005 8:15 PM ET updated 11 pm
MIAMI A former city commissioner arraigned four days ago on corruption charges shot himself in the lobby of The Miami Herald building Wednesday after asking to see a columnist, the newspaper reported on its Web site. He later died, according to the Herald.
The Herald said Arthur E. Teele Jr., a Republican, shot himself in the mouth shortly after 6 p.m. He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. He shot himself after asking a security guard if he could see columnist Jim DeFede, the newspaper said.
"He said to tell DeFede to tell his wife he loves her," the security guard told the Herald.
The Herald fired columnist DeFede later Wednesday because he tape-recorded a phone conversation with Teele without his knowledge, which is illegal in Florida. Publisher Jesus Díaz, Jr. said that The Herald had no choice but to dismiss DeFede because his conduct was potentially a felony crime and unethical.
Teele had been charged with 26 counts of federal mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
No one else was injured. The building was evacuated.
According to the Herald's web site: "A lengthy cover story that consumes much of tomorrow's edition of Miami New Times accuses Teele of being involved with drug traffic, bribery, extortion and sex with multiple mistresses and male prostitutes." Actually, the edition was on the streets at 3 p.m. Wednesday, shortly before Teele killed himself.
Reporter Francisco Alvarado, who wrote the story, told the Herald, ''It's just a surreal coincidence that he did this on the day my article came out...I really feel bad; I would never want anyone to harm themselves over something I wrote, but at the end of the day, I was just doing my job.''
According to the alt-weekly's Web site, that story opens this way: "Art Teele is a man of very big appetites, and because of them he is now in very big trouble. As the investigative report below indicates, the once-powerful politician is possessed of a seemingly insatiable craving for all things illicit -- adulterous sex, illegal drugs, bribery and extortion."
New Times Editor Jim Mullin told the Herald he did not know whether Teele read the story, which was on the street by 3 p.m. Wednesday. "It wasn't really a story; it was a police report," he added. "We were very conscious of stepping back from the report, not interpreting the report, just letting the report speak for itself."
DeFede, the Herald columnist, told the paper he spoke with Teele several times on Wednesday. "He was very upset," said DeFede, who has known Teele for 14 years. "He was not crying. But I would say the emotion in his voice was as if he's crying."
In their last call, right before he shot himself, Teele told DeFede he was at the Herald and leaving him a package. He did not sound particularly upset, DeFede said.
Miami police spokesman Delrish Moss told reporters that police received a report of a man, dressed in blue and holding a gun to his head, in the lobby of the Herald.
"We heard the shot as soon as officers arrived on the scene. He was shot in the head," Moss said.
Teele is also a former Miami-Dade County commissioner. He was convicted in March in state court of threatening a police officer as part of an unrelated corruption investigation that has yet to go to trial.
DeFede, a Herald columnist since June 2002, had previously worked at the Miami New Times. After his dismissal,
DeFede issued a prepared statement: "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."
source: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000999325