Unusual “Predator” battle between NBC, ABC hits the air
Don Day September 10th, 2007
ABC News’ Brian Ross and his “Investigations” team aired its look at NBC News’ Dateline NBC - and the later organization’s To Catch a Predator series. Ross’ report centers in on Dateline’s Predator sting in Murphy, TX. The sting followed the usual pattern: Dateline teamed with Perverted Justice and the local police department, trawled the web for local pedophiles and got them to show up at an area home. The unusual part was the fallout: the death of one of the men snared in the NBC investigation.
The ABC story covers much of the ground The Dallas Morning News and Esquire Magazine went over. But just as Dateline uses its talent and know-how to make the Predator stings come alive, the equally talented folks at 20/20 helped bring the story of Kaufman County, TX Assistant District Attorney Louis “Bill” Conradt Jr. into focus (VIDEO). The local SWAT Team went into Conradt’s home with guns drawn to arrest Conradt for allegedly soliciting sex with an underage teen online. 20/20 talked with Conradt’s sister, who showed 20/20 how the police came in, and explained how Conradt took his own life.
Former Murphy, TX detective Walt Weiss summed up events surrounding Conradt’s death: “I understand he took his own life, but I have a feeling that he took his own life when he looked out the door and saw a bunch of television cameras outside.”
In an ABCNews.com webcast, Ross and his producer tackle the notion that ABC is investigating NBC for ratings gain. The pair dismiss the notion, and the producer says he began probing the store after he learned the Collin County District Attorney dropped all charges connected with the Murphy Dateline stings.
“If you want to entertain, that’s OK, but you have to get the police work done,”Collin County District Attorney John Roach said. “The police department was not in control of the entire investigation. They weren’t calling the shots, somebody else was.” Roach said evidence was compromised and lacking. Perverted Justice told ABC that Roach was deceitful and incompetent.
The Murphy PD would not talk for ABC’s story.
Dateline NBC aired a story last Wednesday (two days before the ABC 20/20 story aired) with what it called an update to the Collin County story. The Dallas Morning News says the Dateline piece “slammed” Roach. ABC’s Ross himself slammed NBC:
“There is no sense that they’re trying to learn something or do anything differently,” Mr. Ross said. “They have absolutely stood up and said we are proud of what we’ve done and we would do it again. They’re taking a position in advance of our story. Some would call it spin.”
2 Comments Add your own
1. Thomas Austin | September 12th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
The great police writer once compared news reporters to hookers. His point was that they create their own news. Many insiders with newspapers and magazines agree with this also.
Running a sting is one of the most dangerous things you can do. A respected member of the community who is cornered is likely to suicide, and in some cases, kill an officer.
The fact that these people mishandled evidence and caused cases to be thrown out is something that should cost them time in jail, a healthy fine, or a guilty verdict in civil court.
The cavalier treatment by those responsible of the man who killed himself was a tragedy.
Officers have a different way of doing things that often leads to help and counseling for the offender. Whatever the man did, he did not need to be cornered into a fatal self-inflicted wound.
I know of several newsmen who helped the police and acted in the right way when information was given to them. Sadly, their number are few.
Most reporters, with a small exception, always lied and misquoted officers until they received very little cooperation from the police. They rank somewhere below the cockroach on the food chain, but that is just one man’s opinion.
2. kevin | September 15th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
if the man had nothing to hide, why did he kill himself? as an assistant da, he should be used to cameras and press coverage. i’ve watched the dateline pieces, and they make sure the intent is there through chat logs, phone conversations, etc before pouncing. do you really think any of these people drove all the way over to a strangers house to warn them that there are predators on the internet? (the most common excuse for being there).
i don’t think you can lay this death at the feet of the media as a whole or dateline. the man obviously had issues or suicide would not have been an option.
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