Newspaper executives arrested for story

Published: Oct. 19, 2007 at 9:09 AM
Order reprints
PHOENIX, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Jailed employees of The Phoenix New Times said they were practicing civil disobedience in alerting the public the paper had been subpoenaed by a grand jury.

Michael Lacey, the executive editor, and Jim Larkin, the chief executive, were arrested Thursday night in Phoenix on charges that a story they wrote revealed grand jury secrets, The New York Times reported Friday.

The Phoenix New Times is owned by Village Voice Media, which also owns The Village Voice in New York.

Lacey and Larkin revealed in the story that Village Voice Media company, its executives, its reporters and the names of the readers of its Web site had been subpoenaed by a special prosecutor for the grand jury, the Times reported.

The Phoenix New Times is under investigation for publishing the home address of Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio on its Web site several years ago. The paper and Arpaio have battled over stories it published about Arpaio's real estate holdings, the Times reported. Arpaio has garnered national attention for running tough jails.

Steve Suskin, a lawyer for Village Voice Media, said the arrests "represent an act of revenge and a vindictive response on the part of an out-of-control sheriff.”


© 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.



Judge: No women ski jumping in 2010 games (14 min)
High court: Political ads on buses legal (15 min)
UPI NewsTrack Sports (20 min)
Boy, 12, allegedly raped schoolmate (20 min)
UPI NewsTrack TopNews (20 min)
Mickelson withdraws from British Open (25 min)
Grain futures close mixed (31 min)
fark
Prospect Heights, Illinois Police Department HQ to close to the public on Fridays. Citizens are...
This sounds safe: 500,000 people with access to military weapons, all going through nicotine withdrawal...
"She's an opportunistic gold-digging attention whore," says opportunistic gold-digging attention...
Llost llamas llocated in Llouisville
2001: Teacher fired for sleeping with student. 2003: Hired again by same school. 2006: Fired again...
Drunk man on tractor leads police on wild, 40-minute chase at speeds up to 12 MPH