Labor--New York (State)--Buffalo.]]> Playwriting.]]> Interview One
Manny Fried turns 80 and reflects on his life and the struggles he endured after being blacklisted from 1956 to 1972 for his political beliefs. He says that growing up as one of nine children, “We were taught to be honest and stick up for your rights.” In his books and plays he writes about relationships inside the labor movement. “I tried hard to be a voice for the American worker,” he tells Rich Newberg.

He talks about refusing to answer any questions by the House Un-American Activities Committee, and about receiving support from Albert Einstein. Fried says the committee did not have a constitutional right to exist. He says he has no regrets, even though his life has been tough. He says, “I’ve tried to embody my experience in plays I write and the novels I write.”

The interview is conducted at the Alleyway Theater before scenes are rehearsed for his play “Big Ben Hood.” Fried says the underlying theme is, “The need to be true to yourself, the need to have integrity, and the need to make a choice and not try to stand on the fence.”

When the interview ends, the actors on stage celebrate Manny Fried's birthday, surprising him with a song and a cake. He joins them on stage and blows out the candles with one breath. The actors, including Jim Santella, pay tribute to Fried, pointing out his honesty and integrity.
March 1, 1993
Interview Runs: 12:36
21:18 including b-roll

Interview Two
In 1994 Manny Fried is interviewed by Rich Newberg at home, where he discusses his lawsuit against the FBI and the price he paid for being labeled “the most dangerous man in Western New York.”

At age 81, he discusses the lawsuit he filed against the FBI based on testimony he learned two years earlier from a former FBI worker. He says the woman told him that the FBI set up 25 agents to follow him around the clock, bug his conversations, read his mail and work toward getting him indicted.

Fried says the most important goal of his lawsuit is to “have them admit what they did... and to make amends and so it’s not easy for them to do it again.” He says former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, through his agents, damaged his marriage and convinced neighbors not to allow their children to play with his children. Fried says the agents assigned to his case also convinced friends of his wife Rhoda, who came from an upper class Buffalo family, to stop socializing with her. He says they went to her friends’ employers or clients and pressured them to stay away from the Fried family.

Rhoda’s family owned the upscale Park Lane Restaurant and apartment building on Gates Circle in Buffalo. She had been a part owner but was barred from entering the restaurant according to Fried, after a priest called for a boycott of the establishment.
Fried blames the actions of government agents for breaking his wife’s spirit and believes they were probably responsible for her death. He says she had become an alcoholic and a heavy smoker and eventually had a stroke.

He says he has no regrets having been a member of the Communist Party in Western New York, whose goals locally he says were to “better the standard of living, the wages and the working conditions of the people here.” But he adds, “The only sense of guilt I have about this whole thing is what my wife and kids went through and the part I played in sticking up for these ideals.” He says, “They went through hell on account of it and that bothers me yet!”

The number one hope expresses at age 81 is that “working people are able to get decent jobs and don’t have to worry where their bread’s coming from.” He adds, “I want people to have enough to eat. I want them to have decent homes. I want them to get along. That’s what I want.”

[June 9, 1994]
[Interview Runs: 31:01]
[32:58 including b-roll]]]> Newberg, Rich (Writer, Reporter)]]> 1994-06-09]]> Murphy, Kurt (Graphic Artist)]]> eng]]> Labor--New York (State)--Buffalo.]]> Playwriting.]]>
His refusal to answer questions from the House Un-American Activities Committee earned the respect of Albert Einstein, who sent him a note on April 16, 1954 saying, “You did the right thing and fulfilled your duty as a citizen.”

After finding it impossible to find work in the US, Fried took a job with a Canadian company as a life insurance salesmen. He established his voice as a playwright, author, actor and teacher. He began teaching creative writing at Buffalo State College in 1972.

Later in life he sued the FBI for emotional and financial damage, claiming he and his family were harassed and intimidated by twenty-five agents under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover. Fried’s book, “The Un-American,” retells the nightmare he and his family were made to endure.

When Manny Fried passed away in 2011 at the age of 97, Buffalo News columnist Colin Dabkowski wrote, “He remained a guiding presence in Buffalo’s theater, literary and social activist communities and was widely regarded as the most important figure on Buffalo’s theater scene.”

Manny Fried told his story to Rich Newberg, who produced three reports in 1993 and 1994.]]> Newberg, Rich (Writer, Reporter)]]> 1994-06-02
1994-06-09]]> Murphy, Kurt (Graphic Artist)]]> eng]]> Terrorism--New York (State)
]]> Yemeni Americans --New York (State)--Lackawanna]]>
They had attended a al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan in the Spring of 2001, just months before the attacks on the United States.

In his State of the Union address in 2003, President George W. Bush referred to the six as being part of an “al-Qaeda cell.” He said that along with other alleged cells broken in Hamburg, Milan, Madrid, London and Paris, “We have the terrorists on the run. We’re keeping them on the run. One by one the terrorists are learning the meaning of American justice.”

The men had grown up in the second largest Yemeni community in America and were all native born or naturalized U.S. citizens. One was a soccer star in high school. Another was voted “friendliest” in his graduating class.

There was never proof that the six had been plotting terror attacks on American soil or that they were, in fact a homegrown terrorist cell.

However, in December 2003, faced with possible long prison sentences if found guilty during a trial, all pleaded guilty to “providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.” They were given sentences ranging from seven to ten years.

Author Dina Temple-Raston, who wrote the book “The Jihad Next Door: The Lackawanna Six and Rough Justice in an Age of Terror,” says the men left the training camp early when they realized America would be a target.

During a 2007 interview on National Public Radio’s “Talk of the Nation,” Temple-Raston, NPR’s FBI correspondent, said the men were addressed by Osama bin Laden, who told them there were suicide bombers ready to take action against the United States and Israel.

After returning to Lackawanna, she said the men were not truthful to the FBI about their activities in Afghanistan and were later arrested.

As part of the plea bargain agreements, the defendants agreed to cooperate with federal terrorism investigators.

A seventh suspect from Lackawanna, Jaber Elbaneh, escaped from a Yemeni prison but later turned himself in to Yemen authorities in 2007. He had been placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list.

The alleged recruiter of the Lackawanna Six, Kamal Derwish, was killed by a drone in Yemen on November 3, 2002.]]> Newberg, Rich (Writer, Reporter)]]> Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (publisher of digital)
]]> Murphy, Kurt (Graphic Artist)]]> Miller, Van, 1907-2015.]]> Buffalo Bills (Football team) -- History.]]> Radio broadcasting of sports -- New York (State) -- Buffalo -- History]]>
Born in Dunkirk, New York, south of Buffalo, Miller’s career echoed his calls in the booth, building to a crescendo from humble beginnings as a summer replacement announcer at WBEN-TV (now WIVB-TV) in the mid-1950s to the station’s legendary sports anchor. His upbeat delivery was punctuated by humor and wit, which became his trademarks on the air. He retired from WIVB in 1998 after a forty-three year run.

In 2004, Van Miller became the first local play-by-play announcer to be honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ten years later his name was added to the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame at the team’s home stadium in Orchard Park, New York.

During his final interview with WIVB-TV Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg, Miller reflected on his broadcast career in Buffalo, saying, “ That was a great ride. I was the luckiest man in the world.”

Miller coined many phrases and catchwords that added to his signature style during Bills games. During the final days of his life, when he was barely able to speak, Van Miller mustered enough energy to raise his hands from his bedsheets and utter a parting word to his Channel 4 colleagues who came to say their final goodbye. It was his word describing the euphoria when the Bills would score a winning touchdown. “Fan-damonium!” Van’s longtime WIVB-TV colleagues who were at his bedside, anchor Jacquie Walker, senior correspondent Rich Newberg, and meteorologist Don Paul, believe Miller wanted Buffalo fans to know they were still number one on his mind. ]]> Newberg, Rich (Writer, Reporter)]]> Swenson, Scott (Photographer, Editor)

]]> (publisher of digital)]]> Murphy, Kurt (Graphic Arts Director)]]> eng]]> Wolfer, Gayle.]]>
The owner of the house, Craig Bush, was allegedly a cocaine dealer looking to sell his home and get out of the drug dealing business. He was also shot and suffered brain damage. His fiancé had been handcuffed by the shooter but managed to escape from the house during the time when Ms. Wolfer was being shot.

Wolfer put up a struggle after the assailant’s handgun initially jammed. She survived her three bullet wounds and less than five months later, by sheer coincidence, came upon the man who shot her. She identified the shooter as Edward Beaufort-Cutner, an Erie County sheriff’s deputy who happened to be mounted on a horse during a patrol at the Erie County Fair.

During his trial it was determined Beaufort-Cutner had stolen $2,600 cash from Bush’s home before he shot his victims. Beaufort-Cutter was convicted of attempted murder, robbery, burglary, and weapons counts. He was sentenced to 29 to 50 years in prison.

Ms. Wolfer’s story was so compelling that a made-for-TV movie called “With Murder In Mind” aired on CBS in 1992. The late actress Elizabeth Montgomery played Wolfer’s character. Gayle and her companion Robert Sprague, who had played a key role in her recovery, attended the filming in Atlanta and served as extras in the movie.
Sprague’s character was played by Robert Foxworth.

WIVB-TV reporter Rich Newberg and photographer-editor Jack Keller documented the making of the movie in a four-part series that aired in May 1992. There were two other Buffalo connections to the making of the movie. Jack Maurer, the executive producer, and Joanie Cuff, an associate producer, were from Western New York. Cuff personally knew Ms. Wolfer and attended school with her children. ]]> Newberg, Rich (Writer, Reporter)]]> Keller, Jack (Photographer, Editor)]]> Murphy, Kurt (Graphic Arts Director)]]> eng]]> Cuomo, Mario M., 1932-2015.]]> Governors--New York (State)]]>
In 2015, following Cuomo’s death at age 82, WIVB-TV Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg talked with Masiello and the governor’s former spokesman in Buffalo, Tim Clark, about Cuomo’s unique ability to connect with people, even if they did not agree with him politically. ]]> Newberg, Rich (Writer, Reporter)]]> Mombrea, Mike Jr. (Editor)]]> Murphy, Kurt (Graphic Arts Director)]]> eng]]> Dwyer, Cynthia.]]> Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981.]]>
Mrs. Dwyer, a freelance writer and book editor, had obtained an Erie County Sheriff’s press card and had a long history of taking up causes of the underdog. Despite warnings that travel to Iran could be dangerous, she made the journey, only to be arrested on May 5th, 1980 and charged with being a spy for the CIA.

She may have been set up for arrest by possible agents of the revolutionary government who had spoken to her of a plan to free five American hostages separated from the larger group. There had earlier been an aborted U.S. rescue attempt that ended with a helicopter crash and the loss of eight American service personnel.

Inside the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, Mrs. Dwyer said she was subjected to about 50 hours of interrogation. She was quoted as saying she “heard executions of many Iranians accused of treason.” She later said she had lived in “constant fear of death” during her nine months of incarceration.

On February 4, 1980, two weeks after the 52 hostages were released, Cynthia Dwyer was tried and convicted of espionage. She had been denied a lawyer and called the proceedings a “kangaroo trial…complete nonsense.” However, five days later, thanks, in part, to intervention by the Swiss government, Mrs. Dwyer was released by the Ayatollah Khomeini and expelled from Iran.

She arrived at Kennedy Airport in New York on February 11, 1981 and was immediately reunited with her family. Her husband, John Dwyer, Chairman of the English Department at Buffalo State College, had kept Cynthia’s story in the headlines. WIVB-TV news reporter Rich Newberg had established a trusted relationship with the family and provided Buffalo, CNN, and CBS Newsfeed with updates during Mrs. Dwyer’s ten-month odyssey.]]> Newberg, Rich (Writer, Reporter)]]> Mombrea, Mike Jr. (Photographer, editor)]]> Murphy, Kurt (Graphic Artist)]]> Yearke, Don (Photographer)]]> eng]]> McCray, Riccardo.]]> Murderer--New York (State)--Buffalo.]]> Murder investigation--New York (State)--Buffalo]]> One of the most horrific crimes in Buffalo history unfolded in the early morning hours of August 14, 2010. A gunman shot four people to death, execution style, and wounded four others. It happened at the City Grill restaurant on Buffalo’s Main Street.

The shootings followed an argument inside the restaurant. One of the victims who were shot to death had been celebrating his first wedding anniversary.

The gunman escaped, and during the days that followed, many Buffalo inner city residents lived in fear that there would be more bloodshed. Although there were more than a hundred patrons in the restaurant at the time of the shootings, authorities said they were having a hard time locating people willing to cooperate.

Buffalo police had arrested a suspect less than 12 hours after the shootings, but he turned out to be the wrong man.

Eleven days later, as authorities were closing in on another man who had emerged as the main “person of interest,” 23-year-old Riccardo McCray decided he would rather surrender peacefully than risk a showdown with Buffalo Police.

On August 25, 2010, community activists Darnell Jackson and Bishop Perry Davis brought McCray to WIVB-TV studios in North Buffalo. Jackson had contacted the station’s senior correspondent, Rich Newberg, the night before, indicating McCray was seeking a safe haven to surrender. 

Newberg had a long history of reporting on the struggles of inner city residents, and had provided nightly updates following the City Grill shootings. 

While McCray waited for his attorney to arrive, Newberg interviewed the suspect, who volunteered the fact that he had been at the City Grill at the time of the shootings, but denied being the shooter.

McCray was then peacefully taken into Buffalo Police custody and charged with first and second-degree murder and possession of a weapon.

At McCray’s trial, Newberg was called as a witness for the prosecution. His entire interview of McCray was played for the jury in a packed courtroom.

McCray was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
]]>
CITY GRILL MASSACRE RETROSPECTIVE
1. WIVB-TV Anchor/Reporter Dave Greber’s retrospective dating back almost ten years includes footage from the City Grill massacre that had never been made public before. Greber interviews former WIVB-TV Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg who reflects on the day Riccardo McCray was brought to him to surrender. McCray was later convicted of murder, attempted murder, and criminal possession of a weapon.
February 17, 2020
(Runs: 6:18)


SURRENDER OF RICCARDO MCCRAY
2. Shortly after handling the surrender of Riccardo McCray, the primary suspect in the City Grill shootings, WIVB-TV Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg gave a first hand account of how it all unfolded. It was posted on the WIVB-TV website. Newberg would later testify at McCray’s trial. He was a witness for the prosecution. His entire interview of McCray was played for the jury.
August 2010
(Runs: 4:05)

FIRST TELEVISED REPORTS OF MCCRAY’S SURRENDER
WIVB-TV / News 4 Buffalo
August 25, 2010
(Runs: 13:44)
3. Reports begin with “Breaking News” cut-in to programming followed by Rich Newberg’s first reports on McCray’s surrender, McCray being charged with the City Grill shootings, community reaction, and potential use of Newberg’s interview with McCray as evidence by prosecutors.

MCCRAY ARRAIGNMENT
WIVB-TV / News 4 Buffalo
August 26, 2010
(Runs: 2:05)
4. Riccardo McCray is arraigned on charges including murder attempted murder, and weapons possession.

EXPERTS REVIEW MCCRAY SURRENDER AND
INTERVIEW
September 3, 2010
(Runs: 3:00)
5. WIVB-TV Legal Analyst Terry Connors and former New York State Attorney General Dennis Vacco review the video showing the McCray surrender and interview. They believe the interview by Rich Newberg could be used in court.

RICH NEWBERG TESTIFIES AT MCCRAY TRIAL
(March 25, 2011)
(Runs: 2:32)
6. WIVB-TV Investigative Reporter Luke Moretti reports on Rich Newberg’s testimony in court as a witness for the prosecution. Newberg said his role was to obtain information from McCray who chose to answer all the questions that were raised and denied being the shooter.

REPORT ON JURY DELIBERATIONS
(March 31, 2011)
(Runs: 3:22)
7. WIVB-TV reporter Laurie Schultz says jurors wanted to review the testimony of the getaway car driver. She then shows excerpts of closing arguments by the prosecution and defense. Her report includes surveillance video of the shootings used as evidence in McCray’s trial.

MCCRAY FOUND GUILTY (3/31/2011)
(Report Aired: April 1, 2011)
(Runs: 2:23)
8. After seven hours of deliberations, the jury finds Riccardo McCray guilty of three counts of first degree murder and several counts of attempted murder in the first degree. Prosecutors believe the surveillance video was powerful evidence in the trial.
McCray never took the stand and there were no witnesses who testified in his behalf.

MCCRAY SENTENCING
(June 2, 2011)
(Runs: 2:59)
9. Riccardo McCray receives the maximum sentence of life without parole. WIVB-TV reporter George Richert shows courtroom video of victims’ family members emotionally telling the judge the impact of McCray’s actions on their lives and the lives of their loved ones. McCray killed and wounded his victims by firing 10 shots within 17 seconds.
McCray stood up during sentencing and once again declared that he wasn’t the shooter. Upon passing sentence, Erie County Judge Sheila Di’Tullio told McCray, “You’re a thug and you’re a murderer and you’re a person with no remorse and no conscience. Quite simply, Riccardo McCray, you take a life and you get life.”

[42:05 —Total running time for segments 1 though 9]

COVERAGE OF CITY GRILL MASSACRE
RICH NEWBERG REPORTS
(August - September 2010)
(Runs: 1:09:16)
10. Comprehensive series of reports beginning with the morning of the shootings at the City Grill in downtown Buffalo and ending with the surrender of Riccardo McCray to Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg at WIVB-TV studios.
[1:09:16 — Total running time for these reports]

[1:51:34 — Total running time for 1 through 10]]]> Newberg, Rich (Writer, Reporter)]]> Mombrea, Mike Jr. (Photographer, editor)]]> Woodson, Paul (Photographer)]]> Ersing, Rich (Photographer)]]> 2010-08-25 (McCray surrenders)
2011-03-31 (Found Guilty)
2011-06-02 (Sentenced to life without parole)]]> Murphy, Kurt (Graphic Artist)]]> eng]]> Rigas, John J., 1924-]]> Adelphia Communications Corporation]]> On July 24, 2002, 77 year old John Rigas, the founder and CEO of Adelphia Communications Corporation, was indicted on charges of securities, wire, and bank fraud. Two of his sons, Timothy and Michael were also charged, along with two company executives. Timothy had been Adelphia’s financial officer. Michael served as chief operating officer.

John Rigas, the son of Greek immigrants, had started Adelphia in 1952 with a $300 dollar investment. He grew the company to the nation’s fifth largest cable company.

Following the indictments, John Rigas talked exclusively with WIVB-TV Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg, refuting federal charges of conspiring to defraud investors, looting corporate accounts, and failing to disclose $2.3 billion dollars in company debts.
]]> Newberg, Rich (Writer, Reporter)]]> Mombrea, Mike Jr. (Photographer, editor)]]> Murphy, Kurt (Graphic Artist) ]]> eng]]> Rigas, John J., 1924-]]> Adelphia Communications Corporation.]]> On July 8, 2004, John and Timothy were found guilty of conspiracy, securities and bank fraud. They were convicted of hiding $2.3 billion in debt, while looting Adelphia of $100 million.

Michael avoided prison by pleading guilty to making a false entry in a financial record. Michael Mulcahey, the former director of internal reporting for Adelphia, was acquitted. The government’s main witness, James Brown, Adelphia’s former vice president for finance, had pleaded guilty to fraud in 2002.

Less than a year later, on June 20, 2005, John Rigas, who at age 80 suffered from heart problems and bladder cancer, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. His son Timothy received a 20-year prison sentence. John’s sentence was later reduced to 12 years, and Timothy’s to 17 years, after a federal appeals court threw out part of the government’s case.

John and Timothy began serving their prison terms on August 13, 2007, when their initial appeals were denied. Two weeks earlier, John sat down with WIVB-TV Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg, proclaiming his innocence and desire to clear the family name.

U.S. District Judge Leonard Sand had also ruled that after serving two years, John could regain his freedom if he were diagnosed with less than three months to live. On February 19, 2016, after serving 8 years in federal prison,Rigas, at age 91, was granted a compassionate release. He had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

]]> Newberg, Rich (Writer, Reporter)]]> Mombrea, Mike Jr. (Photographer, Editor)]]> Murphy, Kurt (Graphic Artist) ]]> eng]]> DeJac, Lynn]]> Criminal investigation--United States--Case studies]]>

In 2007, DeJac’s conviction was vacated after Buffalo Police cold case detective Dennis Delano brought forth DNA evidence he claimed linked DeJac’s ex-boyfriend, Dennis Donohue, to Crystallynn’s death. Donohue could not be charged because he had testified before a grand jury and was granted immunity from prosecution. However, he was later convicted of murdering a woman he had once dated.

DeJac, according to the Innocence Project, became the first woman to be exonerated of murdering someone based on DNA evidence. She had given birth to twin boys while behind bars and later married their father, Chuck Peters, while serving her sentence. She also had an older, estranged son, Edward.

WIVB-TV Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg and News 4 Chief Photographer Mike Mombrea Jr. were with DeJac the day of her release and also documented the reunion with her family. During a live interview that evening, DeJac told Newberg, "The truth will set me free." 

Shortly after the state of New York paid DeJac a settlement of $2.7 million dollars, she was diagnosed with cancer. She died at age fifty on June 18, 2014. Her husband and twin sons, Keith and Douglas were with their mother when she passed away.

]]> Newberg, Rich (Writer, Reporter)]]> Mombrea, Mike Jr. (Photographer, Editor)]]> Hutchinson, Dave (Photographer)]]> Micole, Mike (Live truck technician)]]> Meegan, Martha (WIVB-TV Assignment Editor)]]> Murphy, Kurt (Graphic artist)]]> Smith, Bennet Walker]]> African Americans--New York (State)--Buffalo--History]]> African Americans--Civil rights--New York (State)--Buffalo--History]]> Originally aired on WIVB-TV.]]> Newberg, Rich (Writer, Reporter)]]> Schultz, Laurie (Writer, Reporter)]]> eng]]>