The Smoking Gun

Last updated

The Smoking Gun
Available inEnglish
Owner William Bastone, Andrew Goldberg, and Joseph Jesselli
(TSG Industries Inc.)
Created byWilliam Bastone, Barbara Glauber, and Daniel Green
URL www.thesmokinggun.com
Commercialyes
Registrationnone
LaunchedFebruary 13, 1997;27 years ago (1997-02-13) [1]
Current statusactive

The Smoking Gun is a website that posts legal documents, arrest records, and police mugshots on a daily basis. The intent is to bring to the public light information that is somewhat obscure or unreported by more mainstream media sources. Most of the site's content revolves around historical and current events, although it also features documents and photos relating to out-of-the-ordinary crimes and people.

Contents

History

The website was founded in 1997, by William Bastone; his wife, Barbara Glauber, a graphic designer; and Daniel Green, a freelance journalist, formerly of The Village Voice , and the son of Stephen L. Green. Most of The Smoking Gun's content is obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and from public records such as court documents. The site has used those requests to assemble a collection of mugshots of current and historical celebrities. [2]

The cable network truTV, formerly Court TV, purchased The Smoking Gun, as well as the website Crime Library, in 2000. [3] A series of the same name premiered on Court TV in 2005, which featured some of the site's stories and assorted sketch humor, using string puppets. This series was later moved and shown on Adult Swim. [4]

The site published its second book, The Dog Dialed 911: A Book of Lists from The Smoking Gun, in October 2006.

From March 2008 until January 2011, on truTV, The Smoking Gun sponsored a cable television series called The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest... . The series was originally known as World's Dumbest Criminals, but was re-titled World's Dumbest... and began covering other topics. William was a cast member on the show alongside Smoking Gun writer Andrew Goldberg. They left the show after season 1. As of January 2011, the program was re-titled again to truTV Presents: World's Dumbest...

In June 2014, The Smoking Gun was sold back to William Bastone. [5]

Investigations

The Smoking Gun began to conduct investigations of criminal activity and publicize its results. [6] In August 2009, the site outed members of Pranknet, a virtual community notorious for tricking hotel and fast-food restaurant employees into setting off fire alarms, engaging fire-suppression systems, and engaging in humiliating acts. The group, whose members include two convicted child molestors, [7] [8] also engaged in threatening telephone harassment, placing fake Craigslist ads and shouting racial epithets and obscenities at people responding to them. The group members responded to Craigslist ads placed by young mothers selling household goods, and after gaining the seller's address in an exchange, members would threaten the seller, saying that they would go to their house to rape them and murder their children. [9]

In 2006, the site uncovered widespread fabrication in James Frey's alleged memoir A Million Little Pieces. This investigation led to a public rebuke of Frey by talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who had previously endorsed Frey's book as part of her Oprah's Book Club. Frey's book, describing his alleged years of drug and alcohol abuse and subsequent recovery, contained a number of descriptions of criminal or otherwise outrageous incidents. [10]

In 2010, the site revealed financial irregularities in Yéle Haiti, a charitable foundation set up by rapper Wyclef Jean, soon after he publicized its successful fundraising for disaster relief following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. As reported by The New York Times , the foundation had failed to file several years of tax returns. Later it was found to have illegally diverted funds to the personal use of Jean and some of his family. [11] In 2019 Jean admitted irregularities at the charity. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fugees</span> American hip hop trio from New Jersey

The Fugees are an American hip hop trio formed in 1990 in South Orange, New Jersey. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to prominence in the mid-1990s for their pioneering blend of reggae, R&B, funk and hip hop, which eschewed gangsta rap and made them one of the most significant alternative hip hop acts. They occasionally rapped in Haitian Creole, and were one of the first hip hop bands to incorporate live instrumentation during their performances, along with the Roots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Baldwin</span> American actor (born 1960)

Daniel Leroy Baldwin is an American actor. He is the second oldest of the four Baldwin brothers, all of whom are actors. He is best known for played the role of Detective Beau Felton in the NBC TV series Homicide: Life on the Street. He has also starred in films, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), Hero (1992), Mulholland Falls, Trees Lounge, Vampires, Phoenix, Paparazzi (2004), The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell (2006), and Grey Gardens (2009).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wyclef Jean</span> Haitian rapper and record producer (born 1969)

Nel Ust Wyclef Jean is a Haitian rapper and record producer. At the age of nine, Jean and his family emigrated to Northeastern United States. He formed the New Jersey-based hip hop trio Fugees in 1990 with fellow musicians Lauryn Hill and Pras Michel, for which Jean served as lead guitarist and producer. The group released the albums Blunted on Reality (1994) and The Score (1996), the latter became one of the best-selling albums of all time. Following their success, Jean released his debut solo album, Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival (1997), which yielded the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "Gone till November".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TruTV</span> American cable and satellite television channel

TruTV is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The channel primarily broadcasts reruns of comedy, docusoaps and reality shows, with a recent strong primetime focus on live sports programming produced by TNT Sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd Bridges</span> American actor (born 1965)

Todd Anthony Bridges is an American actor. He portrayed Willis Jackson on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and had a recurring role as Monk on the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. Bridges worked as a commentator on the television series TruTV Presents: World's Dumbest... from 2008 to 2013.

<i>Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival</i> 1997 studio album by Wyclef Jean

Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival, also known simply as The Carnival, is the debut studio album released by Haitian hip hop musician Wyclef Jean. The album was released on 24 June 1997. Wyclef Jean also served as the album's executive producer. The album features guest appearances from Celia Cruz and The Neville Brothers and multiple appearances from Jean's former Fugees bandmates, Lauryn Hill and Pras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Frey</span> American writer

James Christopher Frey is an American writer and businessman. His first two books, A Million Little Pieces (2003) and My Friend Leonard (2005), were bestsellers marketed as memoirs. Large parts of the stories were later found to be exaggerated or fabricated, sparking a media controversy. His 2008 novel Bright Shiny Morning was also a bestseller.

<i>A Million Little Pieces</i> 2003 novel by James Frey

A Million Little Pieces is a book by James Frey, originally sold as a memoir and later marketed as a semi-fictional novel following Frey's admission that many parts of the book were fabricated. It tells the story of a 23-year-old alcoholic and abuser of other drugs and how he copes with rehabilitation in a twelve steps-oriented treatment center.

<i>The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book</i> 2000 studio album by Wyclef Jean

The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book is the second studio album released by Haitian hip hop musician Wyclef Jean. The album was supported by its singles "It Doesn't Matter", "911" and "Perfect Gentleman". At the 43rd Grammy Awards his duet with Mary J. Blige, "911" earned him a nomination for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 2001. The album debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

<i>Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101</i> 2004 studio album by Wyclef Jean

Welcome To Haiti: Creole 101 is the fifth studio album by Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean, released on October 5, 2004. The album, which was co-produced by Jean and long time collaborator Jerry 'Wonda' Duplessis, combines elements of reggae, kompa, dancehall, bachata, and world music. The album contains guest appearances from the likes of Sweet Mickey, Foxy Brown, 2Face Idibia and Sound Sultan. The album was inspired by Jean's love for Creole music, and Jean stated that the album was designed to be as "far from Billboard Hot 100-topping music as possible", describing the record as an instant "cult classic".

A smoking gun is an object or fact that serves as conclusive evidence of a crime or similar act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wyclef Jean discography</span>

A

<i>truTV Presents: Worlds Dumbest...</i> American reality comedy television series

truTV Presents: World's Dumbest... is an American reality comedy television series produced by Meetinghouse Productions, Inc. and aired on truTV from 2008 to 2014.

craigslist Classified advertisements website

Craigslist is a privately held American company operating a classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums.

truTV (Latin American TV channel) Television channel

TruTV was a Latin American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Entertainment. The programming schedule is centred towards reality shows. It was launched on April 1, 2009 replacing Retro. It is divided in two feeds, one in Spanish language and another one in Portuguese language, for Brazil. In July 2010, an HD feed was launched.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pranknet</span> Criminal internet organisation based in Canada

Pranknet, also known as Prank University, was an anonymous prank calling virtual community that was involved in a string of malicious pranks and instances of telephone harassment, especially during 2009–2011. Their pranks were coordinated through an online chat room, and convinced others to cause damage to hotels and fast food restaurants of more than $60,000. The group was founded by a man who later referred to himself as "Dex1x1", later identified as a Canadian named Tariq Malik. The group has been linked to nearly 60 separate incidents.

General elections were held in Haiti on 28 November 2010, having originally been scheduled for 28 February. Ten senators and all 99 deputies were to be elected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy O</span> Musical artist

Jean Jimmy Alexandre, better known by his stage name Jimmy O, was a Haitian hip hop artist who was born in Port-au-Prince and lived in New York City. He was involved with Wyclef Jean's Yéle Haiti Foundation. Jimmy O performed his music in Haitian Creole.

William Bastone is editor and co-founder of The Smoking Gun website. In 1997, Bastone and his wife Barbara Glauber, who is a graphic designer, created The Smoking Gun with freelance journalist Daniel Green. In 1984, Bastone worked as an investigative journalist for The Village Voice. He started at The Village Voice as an intern, then worked his way up to being a contributing writer, then ended as a staff writer and investigative journalist. As an investigative journalist, he was responsible for covering City Hall, criminal justice issues, and writing about five of New York's most famous mafia families. TheSmokingGun.com was then bought by Court TV in 2000, enabling Bastone to quit his job with The Village Voice. He also co-wrote a book titled The Smoking Gun: A Dossier of Secret, Surprising, and Salacious Documents.

Yéle Haiti, also known as Yéle and legally known as the Wyclef Jean Foundation, was a charitable organization established in 2001 by the Haitian musician Wyclef Jean, who was born in Haiti and has kept ties there. The charity was incorporated in the U.S. state of Illinois.

References

  1. Westerdal, Jay (February 13, 1997). "TheSmokingGun.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info". DomainTools . Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  2. "Mug Shots | The Smoking Gun". www.thesmokinggun.com. June 12, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  3. "Backgrounder: William Bastone". NYU Journalism Bullpen. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  4. "Smoking Gun TV (TV Series 2005– ) - Company credits". IMDb . Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  5. "Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old Boss: A Note From TSG World Headquarters". The Smoking Gun. June 24, 2014.
  6. Anderson, Nate (August 7, 2009). "The Smoking Gun exposes PrankNet as Internet badboys cower". Arstechnica.com. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  7. Time Waster (August 6, 2009). "Another Pranknet Child Molester". The Smoking Gun. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  8. "Diboll woman says allegations against Markle are not shocking". KTRE.com. August 8, 2009. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  9. "Telephone Terrorist". The Smoking Gun . August 3, 2009. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  10. "A Million Little Lies". The Smoking Gun . January 4, 2006. Archived from the original on October 23, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  11. Sontag, Deborah (October 11, 2012). "In Haiti, Little Can Be Found of a Hip-Hop Artists Charity". The New York Times.
  12. "Wyclef Jean admits his Haiti charity 'made mistakes'". the Guardian. January 19, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2022.