BY JOHN NOLAN
The Associated Press
A special prosecutor subpoenaed staff members from The Cincinnati Enquirer for an investigation into whether property was stolen from the Chiquita company for an expose, the publisher said Monday. The Enquirer on Sunday renounced articles it published May 3 questioning the business practices of Chiquita Brands International Inc. and said it agreed to pay the banana company more than $10 million to settle any legal claims.
The newspaper said it had fired the lead reporter on the Chiquita series, Mike Gallagher, because he stole taped Chiquita phone messages on which the series was based and deceived his editors about how the information was obtained.
Publisher Harry M. Whipple declined to discuss who was subpoenaed, how many employees or what the subpoenas demanded. Mr. Whipple said he could not comment because of the investigation by Cincinnati lawyer Perry L. Ancona, the special prosecutor.
"I've never had any contact with Perry Ancona, but subpoenas have been issued," Mr. Whipple said.
Mr. Ancona said he would not comment on the investigation.
The Hamilton County sheriff also is investigating whether Chiquita property was stolen.
The newspaper has said its reporting "created a false and misleading impression of Chiquita's business practices."
The Enquirer's 18-page report on Chiquita accused the company of improper land dealings overseas, involvement in a bribery scheme in Colombia and putting public health at risk with pesticide use on Central American banana farms. The section was illustrated with maps, photographs of Chiquita documents and pictures of Central Americans interviewed by Enquirer reporters.
Mr. Whipple had said in early May that the Chiquita reporting was supported by multiple sources inside and outside Chiquita. Opinions in the city were divided Monday about the newspaper, owned by Gannett Co. Inc.
Angela Massie, a businesswoman, said the damage is already done to Chiquita.
"It's nice to have the media. They inform you of certain things," Ms. Massie said. "But then when it gets to be underhanded and stealing voice mail . . . that's a little bit like those tabloids. I think that was a little bit too far."
Ms. Massie said, however, she would not stop buying the Enquirer. "It's something they should have figured out before they actually ran the story, but at least they owned up to it," said Chris Steele, an analyst in management systems at Procter & Gamble Co.
Mr. Gallagher, 40, had been at the paper since 1995. Contacted at his home Monday, he declined to comment.
His lawyer, Patrick J. Hanley, said: "There's going to be a lot of information that comes out in the future, but at this time we're just not going to get into it with the media."
Enquirer reporter Cameron McWhirter, 34, wrote the Chiquita stories along with Mr. Gallagher. David Wells, 46, local news editor at the Enquirer, directed the investigative team.
Attempts to contact both staff members at the newspaper for comment Monday were referred to Mr. Whipple. Employees were instructed not to discuss the case with outside reporters.
