David Scott Anderson asked me what I knew about the suicide of Arthur Teele. Journalist John Sugg has a post on his blog about Teele. Sugg personally knew Teele. Sugg used Teele as a source to break the high-speed rail scam that was pushedf on Florida taxpayers. Sugg refers to Teele as one of his "golden sources."

Teele killed himself in the lobby of the Miami Herald at around 6:00 PM. This incident has been a PR disaster for the newspaper. Herald reporter Jim DeFede had wriiten several stories about the corruption allegations against Teele.

Teele asked DeFede on the phone, "Who did I piss off in this town?" Carl Hiaasen contends that Teele pissed off the law. Sugg is not sure if any powers-that-be were after Teele. He is sure that Teele was on the take.

Defede was fired from the Herald on the ground that he recorded his conversation with Teele. Sugg wrote:

The taping allegation is a bogus rap. The events were an incredibly intense and emotional drama. DeFede acted hastily and under pressure. He probably erred. But if the Herald fired every reporter who had surreptitiously taped a call, the paper would have been starved for stories over the years. I confess to the offense while there.

The backlash from journalists against the Herald and Knight Ridder has been intense. Defede wants an outside arbitrator to decide his fate. Editor Editor Tom Fiedler is adamantly against that. Fieldler isn't doing much to end the rumors that Defede was fired by Knight Ridder Chairman Tony Ridder.

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