A tip from the ‘mayor of Corona del Mar’ paid off

The passing of former Newport Beach Mayor and Councilman Phil Sansone

this month left many with a tinge of sadness. And I have to include

myself on this assuredly long list.

Sansone is at the top of the list of my all-time favorite

politicians. For a reporter, he was a dream come true, always good

for a story, whether it was between cigarette breaks at council

meetings or during his early morning coffee just before tee-time on

Wednesday mornings at the Newport Beach Country Club.

He was honest to a fault sometimes, but you always knew where you

stood with him.

I last spoke to Sansone by telephone just before he left to live

in Hawaii. I kidded him about learning how to surf, spending time

with hula dancers and golfing too much.

We kept up an e-mail correspondence from time to time afterward;

the most recent was right before the November election in which he

gave his not-so-flattering opinions on Greenlight and some of its

leaders.

That was typical gruff stuff from the “mayor of Corona del Mar,”

who used to castigate environ- mentalists as “those people who are

worried about the birds and the bees.”

I have a special debt of gratitude to Sansone, my fellow Italian

whom I referred to as “my paisano,” that I’m going to share for the

first time.

Journalists, as some of you know, are reluctant to reveal sources

of news stories. Watergate reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein

have vowed to never reveal the source known simply as Deep Throat

until that person has died. Some reporters have gone to jail to

protect their sources.

Now I’m going to reveal that Phil Sansone was the tipster who led

me to the biggest news story of my career, some 11 years ago.

It was October of 1992 and I was at a meeting at the Newport Beach

City Council Chambers, ironically, to hear the police department’s

latest plans to crack down on Fourth of July revelers in West

Newport.

Some things never change, right?

While I was at the meeting, Sansone tapped my shoulder and asked

me to come outside.

I followed him toward the City Hall entrance and after we were

outside of earshot of everyone, he gave me some shocking news.

Police Chief Arb Campbell and one of his top captains were being

sued for sexual harassment by some dispatchers, he said.

“I don’t think anything is going to come of it,” he told me, “but

the Los Angeles Times has the story. They called me about it. And I

don’t want them to have it and not the Daily Pilot.”

I probably could’ve hugged him right there, but instead I excused

myself and ran for a pay phone (cell phones were fairly new gadgets

back then). I called my editor, Steve Marble (ironically now at the

Times), and told him the story.

He and some other editors made some calls and we were able to

break the story the same time the Los Angeles Times did. The Register

was left in the dust.

The story turned into a rollicking, year-long saga that ended up

with Campbell being fired along with his top captain, Tony Villa.

Before it was over, 10 women would sue the department and the city

and several others would get settlements.

Sansone was certainly wrong that nothing would come of it, but he

also became a major part of the story as the city, under then City

Manager Kevin Murphy’s direction, underwent a massive investigation

into the department.

The result was many changes, I think for the good, with the top of

the list being the hiring of current Chief Bob McDonell.

So back to the Sansone tip.

All of that happened before Times Mirror purchased the Pilot, so

the Times had no affiliation with us. And the next day the reporters

and editors there were livid that we had the story the same day as

they did.

They called around City Hall asking who tipped us off. One former

Daily Pilot staffer, who was working at the Times, even called our

newsroom trying to pick our brains on our source.

But I never told, until now.

I only tell the story today to pay homage to Sansone, as a man who

always looked out for his community, even his community paper.

He gained the moniker “the mayor of Corona del Mar” because people

trusted that he did things with his constituents in mind, not for any

personal glory. He fought for his the village he loved so much and

broke ranks with his trusted allies if he didn’t believe they were on

the right course.

He was the epitome of what politicians should be.

Sansone told it like he saw it, often in sailor-like language and

most every person I know who encountered him, be it a journalist, a

fellow council member, a business leader or an everyday resident, had

nothing but respect for the man.

I thanked Sansone many times for thinking of me that night and

giving me the tip. But I’ll take this spot to do that one more time.

Thanks paisano. I’m going to miss your e-mails and buon fortuna.