Media Meddlers: Lead Detective's Never Before Published Account of the Rubin "Hurricane" Carter Murder Case

PATERSON, N.J., May 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Fifty-three years ago, one of the most famous triple murder cases of the 1960's was splashed across the headlines – the trial of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a professional middleweight boxer, and his friend John Artis for the Lafayette Grill murders. 

In the early morning of June 17, 1966, Carter and Artis were in the Lafayette Grill in Paterson, New Jersey, when three people were shot and killed. Another man, who was shot through the head, miraculously survived. The state contended that after a night of heavy drinking, Carter and Artis committed these crimes as racial revenge for another tavern killing of a black man by a white assailant earlier that night.

Amid swirling controversy and accusations of racism, newspapers clamored for the immediate pardon of the defendants.  Bob Dylan wrote a song proclaiming their innocence, and Muhammad Ali protested for their freedom. So convincing was the roar outside of the courtroom that a governor almost pardoned Carter and Artis without a further trial.

Now, revealed for the first time, is Lead Detective Chief Vincent De Simone Jr.'s account of the investigation.  Media Meddlers (Hybrid Global Publishing) is  more than a story of a murder case.  It is a story of how celebrities and the media tried to sway public opinion on behalf of two convicted killers. It shares the never before published words of De Simone who lived with the case and the ramifications of the case until his death in 1979.

In Media Meddlers, Chief De Simone explains why he became convinced that Carter was the killer. De Simone and his fellow officers were vilified as corrupt, racist cops, and because of laws that forbid detectives to speak about a case while it's still in litigation, he was not able to respond publicly to the accusations. This book, which was brought to light by his son James De Simone, is Chief De Simone's opportunity to tell what really happened.

Vincent J. De Simone Jr. served Passaic County, N.J. for thirty-two years, starting as a patrolman in 1947.  Prior to being appointed Lieutenant in charge of the homicide squad in 1961, he was a Passaic County detective. Chief De Simone received a Purple Heart for his service in World War II, after being seriously wounded by a sniper's bullet in Germany. 

SOURCE James De Simone