Webb resigned from The Mercury News in December 1997. He wrote that the series likely "oversimplified" the crack epidemic in America and the supposed "critical role" the dealers written about in the series played in it. In May 1997, after an internal review, Ceppos stated that, although the story was right on many important points, there were shortcomings in the writing, editing and production of the series. The Los Angeles Times and other major papers published articles suggesting the "Dark Alliance" claims were overstated and, in November 1996, Jerome Ceppos, the executive editor at Mercury News, wrote about being "in the eye of the storm". The series provoked outrage, particularly in the Los Angeles African-American community, and led to four major investigations of its charges. It also stated that the Contras may have acted with the knowledge and protection of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The series examined the origins of the crack cocaine trade in Los Angeles and claimed that members of the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua had played a major role in creating the trade, using cocaine profits to finance their fight against the government in Nicaragua.
Webb is best known for his "Dark Alliance" series, which appeared in The Mercury News in 1996. Hired by the San Jose Mercury News, Webb contributed to the paper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He began his career working for newspapers in Kentucky and Ohio, winning numerous awards, and building a strong reputation for investigative writing. Gary Stephen Webb (Aug– December 10, 2004) was an American investigative journalist.
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