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Tribune story made up events, woman says

The woman was featured in a front page story that ran Wednesday about car towing.

By BRADY DENNIS
Published April 28, 2005

TAMPA - A woman featured Wednesday in a Tampa Tribune story about car towing claimed veteran reporter Brad Smith made up events that never happened.

The front-page story, headlined "Private Towing Largely Unregulated," began with this line: "It's 2 a.m. Saturday, and Tracey Sievertson wants her Jeep Cherokee back."

Smith goes on to write that Sievertson had been "club-hopping on parking-scarce South Howard Avenue" the night her car was towed from a law office parking lot.

Not true, Sievertson said Wednesday.

"I was home that night with my family," she said. "He flat-out made it sound like I was there. . . . There was no club hopping. I was home with my child, enjoying a quiet evening."

Sievertson, a former reporter at WFTS-Ch. 28 in Tampa, said she had lent her car that night to a friend visiting from out of town. She said the friend met Smith and others out that night, and he knew Sievertson wasn't there when the car was towed.

She also said the story implies that the towing happened recently, when it actually happened weeks ago. Sievertson said she called editors at the Tribune Wednesday to complain about the "significant inaccuracies." She said the paper's management told her it would run a retraction.

Tribune publisher Gil Thelen referred questions about what he called "the Brad Smith matter" to the newspaper's executive editor, Janet Weaver.

Asked if she wanted to say anything about the allegations and rumors that Smith had been fired, Weaver declined.

"You can check it out in the paper tomorrow," Weaver said. "I'll be doing my saying in my paper tomorrow."

Attempts to reach Smith by phone and at his South Tampa home on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Sievertson said Wednesday that Smith contacted her with the premise of doing a story about pending state legislation that would require stricter regulation of towing companies. She said she agreed to be quoted and to have her picture taken because she felt it was "an important piece of legislation that's very valid for consumers."

"I've never experienced someone blatantly making up a scenario," she said. "I expected more from a fellow reporter."

The Times attempted to contact the other sources quoted in Wednesday's story. Several returned calls and said they hadn't noticed any serious inaccuracies in the story.

Pete Rockefeller, whose business was featured, said he was angry at how Sievertson portrayed his towing company. He also said his towing signs aren't obscured by bushes, as the story suggests.

Barney Fletcher, an inspector for the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission, had another complaint. Smith referred to him as a former wrecker driver.

"I've never been a wrecker driver," Fletcher said. "I can tell you that right now."

A reporter left the Tribune under similar circumstances in 2001 after a story questioned the work ethic of Hillsborough's judiciary. It began: "It's Friday at the Hillsborough County Courthouse. Do you know where your judges are?"

In the third paragraph, the story quoted someone identified as "Deputy Ben Garcia" saying it's hard to find a judge on Fridays to sign warrants. Officials later said no one named Ben Garcia works for the Sheriff's Office.

The Tribune was never able to locate the deputy or verify that he existed, and it later retracted the quotes attributed to Ben Garcia. The reporter, Lyda Longa, left the paper shortly after the story was published.

[Last modified April 28, 2005, 18:09:02]