David Barron of the Houston Chronicle reports that Channel 13’s undercover reporter Wayne Dolcefino pleaded no contest to charges of criminal trespass in Austin County:
“KTRK (Channel 13) reporter Wayne Dolcefino will serve nine months of probation-like supervision after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor trespassing charge in Austin County.”
“Dolcefino, 52, was sentenced by Austin County Court at Law Judge Daniel Leedy to deferred adjudication, which means he will not have an official conviction if he successfully completes his unmonitored “community supervision” and pays his $500 fine and $330 court costs.
He was accused of trespassing Jan. 8, 2008, on the Austin County ranch of Houston architect Leroy Hermes, said Austin County Attorney Travis Koehn.
“(Dolcefino) was videotaping at the entrance of Mr. Hermes’ property in Austin County. The gate had a keypad electronic lock, and they messed with that to the point that it opened up, and then went onto the property and videotaped it and then left,” Koehn said.”
The reason I highlighted this story was to make a point. We’re all for reporters and watchdog groups watching the government and keeping elected and public officials in line; however, for someone to grandstand at other people’s misdeeds and then commit one himself seems just a little hypocritical. Police cannot use evidence obtained illegally to make a case against a person suspected of a crime. Police and elected officials are also held to a higher standard of conduct because they are charged with monitoring and judging the public’s behavior. So, if news reporters feel it is their mission to expose corruption or misbehavior, that’s fine. However, shouldn’t they also hold themselves to a high and ethical standard of conduct lest they be nothing more than common hypocrites?
As of 11:31 PM, I couldn’t find this story on any of the other news websites, particularly Channel 13’s own site. Perhaps the story aired on the evening broadcast. If so, I missed it.
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