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Critcally
Acclaimed Investigative Reporter
Andy Thibault to Deliver Pew
Memorial Lecture at
Widener University
Contact:
Donna Rooney Tel. (914) 669-5990; Donna.Rooney@rcn.com
Debra Koke Tel. (914) 428-0217; DebraKokePR@verizon.net
Professor Janine M. Utell, Ph.D., Tel. (610) 499-4527; jmutell@mail.widener.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LITCHFIELD,
CT. Sept. 25, 2004 - Investigative reporter Andy Thibault will deliver the
Pew Memorial Lecture Law & Justice in Everyday Life to the Widener
University community in Chester, PA, on Monday, Oct. 18, 2004 at noon. The
lecture is free and open to the public.
From the latest in headline grabbing news to stories and events that rock
the American justice system, Andy Thibault will bring to light true life
stories of ordinary citizens as they encounter the justice system. From
the pages of his critically acclaimed book Law & Justice in Everyday
Life -- with a foreword by F. Lee Bailey and introduction by Howard Zinn
-- Mr. Thibault's lecture will tackle political cover-ups, government
misconduct, police corruption and civil rights violations, and give first
hand accounts and commentary on his experiences with these issues as an
investigative reporter.
Mr. Thibault has reported on police brutality in Hartford, Connecticut,
the Russian Mob in Brooklyn, New York, and the pipe bombing at Centennial
Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia. He also covered the independent counsel
investigation into the finances of the late U.S. Commerce Secretary, Ron
Brown, and the Young & Rubicam "Come Back to Jamaica"
kickback scandal. Most recently, he has written about the cover-up of a
sexual assault at the Niantic, Connecticut women's prison.
Immediately following Mr. Thibault's lecture will be a Q & A period.
Members of the audience are encouraged to ask Mr. Thibault questions
and/or comment on the lecture.
About Andy Thibault:
Thibault, author of Law & Justice in Everyday Life, is a columnist for
Law Tribune Newspapers, adjunct professor of journalism at the University
of Hartford and managing partner of Murzin-Thibault Investigative Group
LLC. He is the author of the History of the Connecticut State Police, just
out this fall, and business books including The 12-Minute MBA for Lawyers.
He is editor of APS Publications (http://www.apsreview.com/), the
publishing arm of the Association of Productivity Specialists, and a
contributing writer for State's Most Wanted (www.statesmostwanted.com).
He also manages a non-profit foundation that awards $1,000 prizes annually
to young poets and writers in Connecticut. The IMPAC-Connecticut State
University Young Writers Trust (www.ctyoungwriters.org) has given $100,000
to teen-age poets and writers since 1998.Mr. Thibault has been an editor
at such publications as The Hartford Courant, The Stamford Advocate, The
Commercial Record, Norwich Bulletin, Register Citizen and The Times
Leader. His profiles of subjects including poets and prosecutors, as well
as essays on the arts, have appeared in Connecticut Magazine and Northeast
Magazine. His work has also appeared on
"Page Six" of The New York Post. He is a former commissioner and
hearing officer for the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission, an
agency charged with opening access to government records; a former vice
chairman of the Litchfield Board of Education and a former board member of
the Connecticut Commission on the Arts.
Thibault's work as an investigative reporter and feature writer has earned
numerous state and national awards. A judge from the Society of
Professional Journalists writing competition said this about Thibault's
probe of the cover-up of a hit-and-run death in a Connecticut city:
"The writer explores whether New London's former mayor benefited from
a widespread cover-up for the 1973 hit-and-run death of a college student.
Witty, compelling -- the writer has a knack for speaking in conversational
tone, all the while quietly weaving in crucial facts to support his
arguments that more people should be outraged by the shoddy circumstances
surrounding the 1973 investigation."
He co-authored and edited a series on the court system's handling of a
juvenile sexual assault case in 1982 and 1983 that led to changes in
Connecticut law regarding the status of juveniles in adult court. The
series won first place prizes from the National Newspaper Association for
investigative reporting, the New England Press Association for community
service and the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists for
in-depth reporting. Twice since 1999 Thibault's notes and sources were
sought by a lawyer who subpoenaed him to federal court. He refused to give
up the sources and notes, and the court and the lawyer eventually left him
alone. His legal expenses were subsidized by friends, colleagues, pro bono
assistance from attorneys Phil Russell, Roy Ward and Norm Pattis and the
Society of Professional Journalists Legal Defense Fund.
Connecticut's state court judges, in reaction to a satirical column
Thibault wrote about the prospects for the notorious basketball judge
Bobby Knight to gain appointment to the bench (http://www.andythibault.com/Cool%20Justice%20-%2010-2-00.htm),
cancelled their subscriptions to The Connecticut Law Tribune en masse.
(http://www.andythibault.com/Judge-Law%20Tribune.htm)
"In terms of what we buy and distribute in the judicial branch, we
have a choice, and right now we're not buying the Law Tribune," said
the Connecticut Chief Court Administrator, Robert Leuba. "There are
some attitudes being used editorially which are not helpful to improving
communications among the legal community … " Law Tribune Publisher
and Editor Vincent Valvo said the cancellations -- valued at $16,000 in
annual revenue - didn't put a significant dent in his paper's circulation
or finances. But, he allowed, "We are not happy that the judiciary as
a branch of government has decided to boycott us."
In September 2004, the Hartford Courant and The Connecticut Law Tribune
reported that the FBI seized notes, cameras, a journalist's phone book
containing sources and other materials from investigators working with the
Murzin-Thibault Investigative Group. Lawyers chastised the government for
taking the materials, noting the Fourth Amendment prohibits such seizures.
Mr. Thibault is a member of the National Conference of Editorial Writers,
the Society of Professional Journalists, the Connecticut Library
Association and the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. He
also serves on the advisory board of the Connecticut Center for the Book,
an affiliate of the Library of Congress. His current writing projects
include books about prosecutorial misconduct, political corruption and the
murder of a black youth by a white policeman in Connecticut, as well as a
series of short stories about the adventures of a private eye.
Andy Thibault and his wife, Lora, an insurance company executive, are the
parents of four children.
Additional information about Andy Thibault is available at
www.andythibault.com.
Thibault signs copies of Law & Justice In Everyday Life during the
Hotchkiss Library of Sharon (Ct.) annual fundraiser August 1, 2003.
About Pew Charitable Trusts:
Pew Charitable Trusts, a multi-purposed charity that has awarded billions
of dollars of grants for health, science, the environment, art and
children. The Trusts also fund the Pew Research Center for the People and
the Press.
Additional information is available at: www.pewtrusts.com
------------------------
ANDY THIBAULT
P.O. Box 1415
Litchfield, CT 06759
tntcomm82@cs.com
www.andythibault.com
*Phone: 860-567-8492 *Fax: 860-567-9119
*Cell: 860-690-0211
COLUMNIST
Law Tribune Newspapers
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, JOURNALISM
University of Hartford
MANAGING PARTNER
Murzin-Thibault Investigative Group LLC