:
Mo Aug 8 -

DEFEDE DEFIES
DYING MAN'S LAST WISH -

Have only recently relocated to South Florida, I am not familiar with the people involved in this situation, but was horrified by the recent news episode of Arthur Teele's suicide.

Although reporter DeFede was discharged from his columnist position at The Herald newspaper, he hasn't let that stop him from continuing to publicize the lurid elements surrounding Teele's death.

He appeared last Sunday on a local TV show hosted by Michael Putney. And the following is an excerpt from the Howard Kurtz national CNN TV show, Reliable Sources:

KURTZ: Let's explain what happened here.
Why did Art Teele call you shortly
before committing suicide?

DEFEDE: Well, I hadn't spoken to Art in about four months, and when he called me, he was calling me -- he was very upset, as you said, he was very distraught. He was almost in tears. He wanted to talk to me about allegations that were about to surface that he'd had a homosexual affair with a transvestite prostitute, who was in jail telling his story to various news media, and he was devastated by this. And as I started talking to Art, I didn't turn on the tape recorder until several minutes into the conversation, because initially I thought Art was just venting.

It was my distinct impression that Teele was so distraught because he didn't want his young son exposed to these lurid allegations and was desperate to shield the boy from what Teele seemed to believe would psychologically damage his son.

Despite Teele's evident wishes, DeFede continues to circulate this lurid discourse. I find DeFede's behavior monstrously insensitive.

Granted, there are some publications which cover such topics. But The Herald may not choose to join them.

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