She quit and she should have. The next two cases were much more complex and much more worthy of note. Reporter Mike Gallagher of the Cincinnati Enquirer was fired, his entire investigative report called untrue and he was charged with stealing voice mail from Chiquita Brands, largest supplier of bananas in the United States. Let's deal with stolen voice mail first. Reading stories in The New York Times and elsewhere, it appears that Gallagher had an accomplice and may not have actually stolen voice mail from Chiquita.
Theft is wrong, period.
None, I say, but some editors differ and indicate it is okay to receive and use the stolen goods as long as the reporter or a member of the media staff didn't do the actual theft. But there is another dimension to this incident. It appears that the story was largely accurate and federal investigators are looking into Chiquita's operation in Central America. So, while the reporter tainted his work with apparent theft, it appears the bulk of his work yielded real problems by Chiquita. The most amazing thing is how such a story got into print if it was so flawed.