Ex-'Tribune' tech reporter found dead in his apartment
By Associated Press
Published December 7, 2003
TAMPA - A veteran reporter who worked for the Tampa Tribune and the Orlando Sentinel was found dead Friday in his apartment.
An autopsy was scheduled to determine the cause of death for Frank Ruiz, 57, Hillsborough County sheriff's Sgt. Alan Hill said Saturday.
Ruiz worked for the Tribune for 18 years, writing columns and covering business news before he left in 2000 to edit a technology magazine and freelance.
For the Tribune, he wrote a technology column and covered the personal computer and software industries, the Internet, networking, communications and electricity utilities.
"He became a local authority on computers and the Internet before the Internet took off," said Dave Szymanski, a former Tribune reporter. "He made it a mission to simplify the world of computing and he succeeded."
Ruiz left the Tribune to become the managing editor of the Maddux Report, a monthly bay area magazine that covers technology, business, finance, banking and real estate. Since 2003, he had been an independent freelance writer and contractor.
The Arizona State University graduate also was a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel from 1978 to 1982.
