Guy Sterling Explained

Guy Sterling
Birth Date:	23 September 1948
Birth Place:	Orange, New Jersey
Occupation:	Journalist and Author
Alma Mater:	University of Virginia and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

Guy Sterling (born September 23, 1948) is an American journalist, author and historian. He spent most of his 35-year newspaper career as a reporter with The Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey, primarily covering the courts and criminal justice matters, the Meadowlands Sports Complex and the New Jersey Mafia.

Background and early life

Sterling was born in Orange Memorial Hospital in Orange, New Jersey, to father Robert Sterling Sr. and mother Florence M. O’Mara. Raised in Dunellen, New jersey, he graduated from Dunellen High School.^[1] He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (class of 1970) and a master's degree in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (class of 1972).^[2] He began his daily newspaper career in 1970 as a municipal government reporter with the Courier News in Plainfield, New Jersey, and ended it in Newark.^[3] Over the course of his career, Sterling routinely published as many as 200 bylined stories a year.

Author and independent researcher

Sterling has authored two books: Elvis in Roanoke,^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]} published in 1977 when he was a reporter with The Roanoke Times & World-News (1975–78) in Roanoke, VA,^[10] and The Famous, the Familiar and the Forgotten: 350 Notable Newarkers in 2014.^{[11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]} He updated the Newark book on its tenth anniversary with an online edition.^[17] In 2011 and 2012, he also wrote and produced a series of radio pieces on Newark's history for WBGO Jazz Radio 88.3 in Newark. They aired as a segment entitled "Guy Sterling's Newark" on the "WBGO Journal."^{[18] [19]}

External links

• Web site: Sterling. Guy. Guy Sterling's Personal Website. Guy Sterling. 2017. 2017-08-07.
• Web site: Sterling. Guy. Newark Jazz Elders. Newark Jazz Elders. 2016. 2016-08-12.
• Book: Sterling, Guy. The Famous, the Familiar and the Forgotten: 350 Notable Newarkers. Xlibris Publishing. 2014. 9781499079913. 2016-08-09.
• Web site: Sterling. Guy. Notable Newarkers: Famous, Familiar, and Forgotten, Tenth Anniversary Edition. Notable Newarkers. 2024. 2024-06-26.

Career at The Star-Ledger

Sterling spent almost 30 years as a general assignment reporter in Newark, starting in 1980 and retiring in 2009. He won a national award for excellence in music writing and was a member of The Star-Ledger staff that won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting. A story of his was used as the theme for an award-winning season of the HBO series The Sopranos^[20] and, when he left daily journalism, he was given a retirement party by the mob and a plaque for his organized crime coverage by the U.S. Justice Department.^[21] Sterling was a lead reporter for The Star-Ledger for its coverage of the fatal Boland Hall fire at Seton Hall University in 2000, stories that continued for years.^{[22] [23]} They earned the paper its first-ever selection as a Pulitzer Prize finalist^[24] along with the American Society of Newspaper Editors Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News Reporting by a Team in 2001.^[25]

Other major stories he covered included

• 1980 – Covered all legal proceedings against an Irvington man charged and later convicted of killing a Port Authority police officer on a PATH train,^[26] the weeks-long PATH strike.^[27] and broke the story that 1960's anti-war activist and counterculture ringleader Jerry Rubin had gone mainstream and joined a Wall Street brokerage firm.^[28]
• 1981 – Wrote a series of stories on the growing problem of missing persons in New Jersey that led to legislation creating a missing persons bureau inside the New Jersey State Police,^[29] among the first articles in the mainstream press on the federal government's interest in marijuana's potential as medicine and the subsequent approval of synthetic THC as an antiemetic.^{[30] [31] [32]} and a series of investigative pieces about corruption and mismanagement inside the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, a state agency based in Newark, that led to a probe by the Attorney General's Office.^{[33] [34]}
• 1982 – Wrote an investigative piece he wrote on the growing problem of missing persons in New Jersey led the state Legislature to create a Division of Missing Persons within the New Jersey State Police^{[35] [36]} and was the only New Jersey-based reporter to interview Richard Nixon after the former president moved to the New York area to rehabilitate his image in the final years of his life. They spoke on two occasions.^{[37] [38]}
• 1983 – Covered the “CBS Murders” trial in New York in which a Keansburg handyman was convicted of killing four people,^{[39] [40] [41]} and the gangland slaying of Peter A. "Peter Rabbit" Campisi, a member of a Newark-based organized crime group whose body was found in the trunk of a car in New York, as well as the choking death of Peter S. "Petey Black" Campisi in June 2002.^[42]
• 1984 – Broke all the stories about an undercover state investigation ("Operation Bacchus") of the liquor industry that resulted in numerous charges.^[43] and all the stories on a suspicious harness race at the Meadowlands Racetrack that triggered a riot by horseplayers and a second one at Garden State Park several years later that prompted a state investigation dubbed "Operation Longshot."^{[44] [45] [46]}
• 1985 – Covered the “Pizza Connection” trial in New York City, the longest criminal trial in U.S. federal court history (lasting into 1987) in which 20 defendants, including six men from New Jersey as well as the former boss of the Sicilian mob, were accused of laundering Mafia drug money through a network of American pizza shops.^[47]
• 1986 – Honored by the New Jersey Fire Prevention and Protection Association for a four-part series on the state of firefighting in New Jersey.^[48]
• 1987 – Worked with state Sen. Richard J. Codey in uncovering faulty hiring practices at a state psychiatric hospital in Monmouth County.^{[49] [50]}
• 1988 – Broke the stories that reputed Genovese crime family boss and former pro prizefighter John DiGilio had gone missing.^[51] and was later found murdered.^{[52] [53]}
• 1989 – Flew to Richmond, VA, to lead the paper's coverage of the arrest of John List, an inconspicuous businessman who murdered his wife, mother and three children before fleeing their home in Westfield, NJ, and becoming one of America's most wanted fugitives for almost 18 years^[54] and the mysterious death of Grateful Dead fan Adam Katz at a Meadowlands Arena concert and a subsequent grand jury investigation.^[55]
• 1989-92 – Covered the federal racketeering trial in Newark of Genovese crime family boss Louis "Bobby" Manna, who was accused of plotting the murder of rival mob kingpin John Gotti among other charges.^[56]
• 1992-93 – Covered the longest criminal trial in New Jersey state court history, a year-long racketeering case in Newark against Robert "Cabert" Bisaccia and other reputed members of the Gambino crime family's New Jersey crew that ended in the convictions of all but one of the defendants.^{[57] [58] [59] [60] [61] [62]}
• 1994 – Conducted a jailhouse interview with reputed New Jersey mob capo Anthony (Tumac) Accetturo after he turned state government informant.^[63] and wrote the story that prosecutors would seek the death penalty in the New Jersey murder case that produced Megan's Law.^[64]
• 1996 – Found former Seton Hall basketball star and Utah Jazz first-round draft pick Luther Wright a patient in an Essex County, NJ, psychiatric hospital. A subsequent story on Wright's life and the circumstances that left him institutionalized – co-authored by Sterling and entitled “Whose Dream Was It?”^[65] – won the New Jersey Press Association award for best news feature story of the year.^{[66] [67]} and uncovered serious problems inside the Newark Jazz Festival that ultimately led to its undoing.^[68]
• 1998 – Was left the only press copy of a videotaped suicide note made by George Weingartner, a former Bayonne policeman and reputed crew boss of the Genovese crime family who was facing trial on state racketeering charges^{[69] [70]} and spent 17 years working to free New Jersey inmate Vincent James Landano, who was wrongfully convicted of killing an off-duty Newark policeman during the robbery of a Kearny, NJ, check-cashing business in August 1976. After years of legal wrangling that included a groundbreaking U.S. Supreme Court decision, the conviction was eventually overturned and Landano was acquitted of all charges at a 1998 retrial in Jersey City.^{[71] [72] [73] [74]}
• 2000 – Was featured in an Editor & Publisher article^[75] and editorial^[76] focusing on The Star-Ledger's decision to withhold the names of suspects in the fatal Seton Hall dormitory fire while the investigation proceeded.
• 2004 – Covered the federal murder trial of Philadelphia crime boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino in Newark that ended in acquittal.^{[77] [78]}
• 2006 – Debunked a claim by notorious murderer Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski that he was one of history's most prolific serial killers.^[79]
• 2007 – Broke the story that reputed Genovese crime family capo and accused murderer Michael Coppola was arrested on Manhattan's Upper West Side after 11 years as a fugitive from a Bridgewater, NJ, mob execution.^{[80] [81] [82]}
• 2008 – Disproved a developer's claim that an aging building in downtown Newark wasn't the Palace Chop House, where mobster Dutch Schultz was murdered in one of the most notorious gangland slayings in organized crime history^[83] and when he retired from the paper, was given a plaque for his coverage of organized crime by the U.S. Justice Department and a retirement party by the mob.^[84] The Sopranos creator David Chase credited one of his stories with serving as the theme for the series’ 2003 season,^[85] shows that were honored the following year with the primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, the first time a cable TV program won the award.^[86]

Retirement

Following retirement in 2009, Sterling became involved in a number of civic projects in Newark, including

• 2009-21 – Helped lead the fight against the privatization of Newark's public water system and uncover corruption inside the agency managing the city's watershed property, an effort that resulted in two government investigations and multiple indictments and convictions.^{[87] [88] [89] [90] [91]}
• 2010 – Organized and moderated the centennial commemoration of a fire that claimed the lives of 26 lady garment workers in a Newark sweatshop, the city's worst fatal fire.^{[92] [93] [94] [95] [96]}
• 2016 – Organized and moderated a year-long series of monthly conversations with notable Newarkers at the Newark Public Library as part of the city's celebration of its 350th anniversary^{[97] [98]} and spearheaded a drive to save Newark's nationally landmarked historic Krueger Mansion. Sterling's progress was followed in articles by several German news organizations, including Deutsche Welle.^[99]
• 2019 – Director of oral history and a co-sponsor of “In Search of a Just City,” an exhibition on the old Essex County Jail (1837-1971) at Newark's Hahne's Building.^[100]
• 2022 – Testified at a New Jersey Historic Sites Council hearing in opposition to the removal of the Christopher Columbus statue in Newark's Washington Park (Harriet Tubman Square).^{[101] [102]}
• 2019-24 – Chosen six consecutive years as one of New Jersey's 100 Irish-American leaders by InsiderNJ.^{[103] [104] [105]}

Notes and References

1. https://newarkpubliclibrary.libraryhost.com/repositories/3/resources/411 Guy Sterling Papers
2. Web site: Columbia Journalism School Press Pass. 1972-06-10. Guy Sterling. 2019-08-02.
3. Web site: The Courier-News Press Pass. The Courier-News. 1971-01-01. Guy Sterling. 2019-08-02.
4. Web site: Elvis in Roanoke. Leisure Publishing. 1977-01-01. Google Books. 2016-08-10.
5. Web site: Elvis in Roanoke Press Release. Leisure Publishing. 1977-01-01. Guy Sterling. 2021-08-05.
6. Newsmen author Elvis Presley book. Editor & Publisher. 1978-04-08. 2018-08-13.
7. Web site: Elvis in Roanoke Review. Carole Plaia. 1978-05-01. Guy Sterling. 2021-08-05.
8. Web site: Elvis in Roanoke Postcard. Jerry Hopkins. 1978-07-25. Guy Sterling. 2021-08-05.
9. News: Tall order to fill the big man's large shoes. The Roanoke Times. 2006-06-11. 2016-08-10.
10. Web site: The World-News Press Pass. The World-News. 2006-06-11. Guy Sterling. 2019-08-02.
11. Book: The Famous, the Familiar and the Forgotten in 2014: 350 Notable Newarkers. Xlibris Publishing. 2014-01-01. 9781499079913. 2016-08-10.
12. Web site: Breathing life into the Brick City: Author introduces Notable Newarkers, Jan. 27. 2015-02-24. The Morristown Green. 2016-08-10.
13. News: The Famous, the Familiar and the Forgotten: 350 Notable Newarkers Press Release. Newark Public Library. 2015-02-10. 2023-07-22.
14. News: Former Star-Ledger Reporter Guy Sterling Pens New Book. The Essex Times. 2015-05-01. 2023-07-22.
15. News: The Famous, the Familiar and the Forgotten: 350 Notable Newarkers by Guy Sterling. Italian Tribune. 2015-06-11. 2023-07-22.
16. News: Star-Ledger reporter teaching Adult School of Montclair class. NorthJersey.com. 2015-12-03. 2023-07-22.
17. Web site: Notable Newarkers: Famous, Familiar, and Forgotten, Tenth Anniversary Edition. Guy Sterling. 2024-06-11. Notable Newarkers. 2019-08-02.
18. Web site: Guy Sterling's Newark. 2018-08-13. Guy Sterling. 2018-08-13.
19. Web site: Guy Sterling's Newark Advertisement. Morristown Green. 2011-01-01. Guy Sterling. 2021-08-05.
20. News: Jersey cases inspire new 'Sopranos' season. NJ.com. 2003-01-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20090313045937/http:/www.nj.com/sopranos/stories/20040109sl_alltv.html . 2009-03-13 . 2018-08-30.
21. Web site: Award from US Attorney's Office. US Federal Government. 2009-01-01. 2018-08-13.
22. News: 'This one's for real!' Fire kills 3 in Seton Hall dorm prone to false alarms. The Star-Ledger. 2000-01-20. 2021-08-09.
23. News: Mob informant's role in Seton probe: Stymied investigators cut deal for clues into who set fatal 2000 fire. The Star-Ledger. 2003-07-08. 2021-08-09.
24. Web site: Finalist: Staff of The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ. The Pulitzer Prizes. 2002-01-01. Pulitzer. 2016-08-10.
25. News: Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News. The Pulitzer Prizes. 2002-01-01. Pulitzer. 2018-08-13.
26. News: Irvington man guilty of killing P.A. cop in cigarette arrest. The Star-Ledger. 1981-05-12. 2018-08-24.
27. News: More buses and fewer riders ease PATH walkout crunch. The Star-Ledger. 1980-06-14. 2018-08-24.
28. News: Jerry Rubin: 60s Radical Joins the Wall Street 'Establishment'. The Star-Ledger. 1980-07-30. 2018-02-02.
29. News: Missing persons: thousands just disappear without a trace. The Star-Ledger. 1981-04-19. 2021-08-10.
30. News: 'Marijuana medicine' program may fade away: FDA aide describes drug supply troubles. The Star-Ledger. 1981-06-22. 2017-08-10.
31. News: Marijuana as RX: THC relieves side effects of cancer treatments. The Star-Ledger. 1981-06-23. 2017-08-10.
32. News: Firm cleared to sell pot 'derivative' as anti-nausea chemotherapy agent. The Star-Ledger. 1985-06-07. 2018-08-28.
33. News: Investigative Report on the Corrupt Commission for the Blind. The Star-Ledger. 1981-11-08. 2017-08-15.
34. News: State takes over troubled agency for the blind: Human Services chief says fiscal management woes threaten clients. The Star-Ledger. 1982-05-14. 2018-08-27.
35. News: Thousands Disappear without a Trace. The Star-Ledger. 1981-04-19. 2017-08-12.
36. News: Trooper Help Asked for Missing Persons. The Star-Ledger. 1982-03-09. 2017-01-12.
37. News: Nixon at the Circus. The Star-Ledger. 1982-11-27. 2018-08-19.
38. News: Richard Nixon stays active as he turns 72. The Star-Ledger. 1985-01-09. 2016-09-02.
39. News: DA says CBS slay suspect killed for cash, eight week trial coming to a close. The Star-Ledger. 1983-05-19. 2018-08-26.
40. News: Jerseyan convicted of the CBS slayings. The Star-Ledger. 1983-05-25. 2018-08-26.
41. News: CBS slayer sentenced to 100 years in prison. The Star-Ledger. 1983-06-23. 2018-08-18.
42. News: N.Y. lawmen identify body in a car as Peter Campisi. The Star-Ledger. 1983-07-30. 2018-08-27.
43. News: Liquor dealers cited in kickback probe. The Star-Ledger. 1983-03-25. 2018-08-24.
44. News: Inquiry opened on law exacta payoff at Meadowlands. The Star-Ledger. 1984-05-05. 2018-08-26.
45. News: Race officials, lawmen command 'fix' probe. The Star-Ledger. 1988-12-12. 2018-08-26.
46. News: Two drivers and 4 others indicted in 'betting coup' at Garden State. The Star-Ledger. 1989-05-05. 2018-08-27.
47. News: The Pizza Connection. The Star-Ledger. 1985-10-31. 2018-08-18.
48. Web site: Tablet for Guy Sterling from the New Jersey Fire Prevention and Protection Association. New Jersey Fire Prevention and Protection Association. 1985-10-31. 2018-08-18.
49. News: Undercover legislator finds abuses: 'Criminal' ID submitted for mental hospital job. The Star-Ledger. 1987-03-01. 2018-08-16.
50. News: Marlboro director is removed in management shakeup: hiring policy tightened to include criminal check. The Star-Ledger. 1987-03-10. 2018-08-27.
51. News: Lawmen search for missing John DiGilio. The Star-Ledger. 1988-05-09. 2018-08-17.
52. News: Body of John DiGilio found floating in Hackensack River. The Star-Ledger. 1988-05-27. 2018-08-17.
53. News: Imprisoned mob figure is indicted in 'rubout' of crime boss DiGilio. The Star-Ledger. 1993-05-13. 2020-07-22.
54. News: John List's captor "got the picture" right away. The Star-Ledger. 1989-06-04. 2018-08-17.
55. News: Possible use of drugs cited in rock concert death. The Star-Ledger. 1989-11-18. 2018-08-16.
56. News: Genovese boss and 3 guilty of plot to rub out John Gotti. The Star-Ledger. 1989-06-27. 2018-08-27.
57. News: References to Gotti stir up opening of trial for accused Jersey mobsters. The Star-Ledger. 1992-06-12. 2020-06-28.
58. News: Newark racketeering trial erupts as lawyer, witness trade curses. The Star-Ledger. 1992-11-19. 2020-06-28.
59. News: Six Defendants Guilty in Lengthy Gambino Trial. The Star-Ledger. 1993-03-06. 2016-08-24.
60. News: 5 guilty mob figures sentenced to prison terms of 7 to 26 years. The Star-Ledger. 1993-03-27. 2020-07-22.
61. News: 40 years for mobster: reputed Gambino chief in Jersey also fined $100,000. The Star-Ledger. 1993-03-31. 2020-07-22.
62. News: 6 years later, mob trial jury is called back: 12 will be asked if sideshows affected verdict. The Star-Ledger. 1999-03-03. 2021-08-09.
63. News: Mafia boss laments that greed is undoing traditional underworld. The Star-Ledger. 1994-03-03. 2020-06-06.
64. News: Death penalty call in Megan murder. The Star-Ledger. 1994-10-20. 2020-07-26.
65. News: Luther Wright: Whose dream was it?. The Star-Ledger. 1996-03-24. 2018-01-21.
66. Web site: Awards Certificate from New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. 1996-11-11. 2019-07-24.
67. News: Star-Ledger wins awards. The Star-Ledger. 1996-11-12. 2019-01-09.
68. News: Money woes sound sour note for jazz fest. The Star-Ledger. 1996-06-23. 2020-07-31.
69. News: Former officer with mob ties is found dead: Police call it an apparent suicide. The Star-Ledger. 1998-07-06. 2020-06-30.
70. News: George Weingartner, ex-cop saw suicide as way to spoil trial. The Star-Ledger. 1998-07-07. 2020-06-30.
71. News: James Landano Freed after 13 Years. The Star-Ledger. 1989-07-29. 2016-08-10.
72. Web site: U.S. Justice Department v. James Landano. Guy Sterling. 1993-02-01. 2019-08-02.
73. News: Landano Verdict: Ecstasy and Agony. The Star-Ledger. 1998-07-28. 2020-06-30.
74. News: Landano, exonerated after years in jail for cop-killing, dies at 63. The Star-Ledger. 2002-11-12. 2021-08-09.
75. Trapped in Jewell Box: Newark newspaper knows but won't publish names of suspects. Editor & Publisher. 2000-05-15.
76. Public Rights on Trial: In their concern for 'fair trials,' judges are cowing media and keeping the facts about crimes away from citizens. Editor & Publisher. 2000-06-22.
77. News: 'The Crumb' to reprise his role as a mob turncoat in Newark homecoming. The Star-Ledger. 2004-01-25. 2020-07-16.
78. News: Jury Clears Mobster of Ordering a Killing. The Star-Ledger. 2004-07-20. 2018-01-18.
79. News: The Iceman's Death Toll Melts Away. The Star-Ledger. 2006-05-23. 2020-07-14.
80. News: Arrest ends long search for suspect in mob billing: N.J.'s most wanted found in N.Y.. The Star-Ledger. 2007-03-12. 2020-07-30.
81. News: A fugitive hidden in plain sight. The Star-Ledger. 2007-03-14. 2020-07-30.
82. News: Reputed mob boss' wife, son arrested. The Star-Ledger. 2007-03-29. 2020-07-30.
83. News: Was this building a palace? Issues arise over place mobster fell. The Star-Ledger. 2008-09-15. 2018-08-22.
84. Web site: Organized Crime Writing. Mulholland Books. 2011-02-24. 2018-12-23.
85. News: Jersey mob soon to get infusion of old blood: Lawmen are wary as jail terms end. The Star-Ledger. 2002-04-10. 2020-06-26.
86. News: New Jersey cases inspire new 'Sopranos' season. NJ.com. 2003-01-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20090313045937/http:/www.nj.com/sopranos/stories/20040109sl_alltv.html . 2009-03-13 . 2018-08-30.
87. News: NJ comptroller alleges rampant corruption at Newark watershed, director pleads fifth. The Star-Ledger. 2014-02-19. 2017-08-05.
88. News: Ex-Newark watershed director admits taking $1M in kickbacks. The Star-Ledger. 2015-12-21. 2017-08-05.
89. News: What Cory Booker isn't telling us about the Newark water crisis.. Bob Braun's Ledger. 2019-08-28. 2019-08-29.
90. News: Booker ally pressured Newark water contractors to donate to mayor's campaign, jailed official told FBI. NJ.com. 2019-08-29. 2019-08-29.
91. News: Big NJ water agency failed in scandal when Booker was mayor. Associated Press. 2019-08-29. 2019-08-29.
92. News: Deadly Newark fire sparked early call for reform. NJ.com. 2010-11-15. 2016-08-09.
93. News: Centenary events recall Newark fire. New Jersey Jewish News. 2010-11-24. 2016-08-09.
94. Guy Sterling's Written Remarks at the Fire Centennial Commemoration. Guy Sterling. 2010-11-24. 2017-08-01.
95. Web site: Mormon Church Press Release. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 2013-11-06. 2019-01-09.
96. Web site: Memorial Plaque Dedication Brochure. Guy Sterling. 2013-11-26. 2019-01-09.
97. News: The sports that shaped the lives of 3 Newark athletes. NJ.com. 2016-07-29. 2016-08-09.
98. News: Newark's gospel history is glorious. NJ.com. 2016-11-18. 2016-11-20.
99. News: German brewer's US villa puts cultural heritage to the test. Deutsche Welle. 2015-03-11. 2016-08-09.
100. Web site: Old Essex County Jail Oral History Project. Myles Zhang. Old Essex County Jail. 2019-04-04. 2019-04-11.
101. Web site: Submitted Remarks before State Historic Sites Council. Guy Sterling. 2022-06-16. 2022-06-18.
102. Web site: Spoken Remarks before State Historic Sites Council. Guy Sterling. 2022-06-16. 2022-06-22.
103. News: Here Come the Irish: New Jersey's Leaders 2019. InsiderNJ. 2018-11-10. 2019-03-15.
104. News: InsiderNJ Presents Tom Barrett's New Jersey Irish American Leaders 2020 List. InsiderNJ. 2020-03-13. 2020-04-12.
105. News: InsiderNJ Presents Tom Barrett's New Jersey Irish American Leaders 2021 List. InsiderNJ. 2021-03-16. 2021-03-22.