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THE SHAPIRO AUDIO FILES

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If you wish to download the .MP3 audio files, right click with mouse and select "SAVE TARGET AS" and then save the file in your hard drive.

Click on the links showing the .MP3 audio files and you can hear them using using Windows Media Player.

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http://http://www.acandyrose.com/30K_20k.mp3
19 seconds (48 kb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): Shapiro and Joe Mullins speculating on how much is paid for tabloid stories.

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Art_Examiner_20k.mp3
52 seconds (128 kb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): Shapiro talking to Art Dworkin, an editor at the National Examiner, a sister paper of the Globe. Dworkin is telling Shapiro that Brian (reference to Brian Williams, a former Globe news editor who is then editor at the National Examiner) is asking for some type of list of names and information of the Boulder grand jurors and Shapiro tells him the Rocky Mountain News ran a full page spread on information about the jurors.

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/JM_on_Thomas_64k.mp3
9 minutes 27 seconds (1.35 mb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): On August 17, 1998, Jeff Shapiro and Joe Mullins talking about the Globe's file on Steve Thomas discussing his mother and family. His (Thomas') grandfather was a very famous admiral. Steve's relatives from Austin, Texas. Mullins tells Shapiro it might be something they can use to get an interview with Steve Thomas. Mullins says he thinks Steve's father left his mother. Steve Thomas lived in Sweden for a while. Globe has letter from family he lived with. Steve was an exchange student. Letters say he was very kind and polite as a child. Mullins says Steve Thomas wants to be the hero. Shapiro says Steve Thomas is very intense and very focused and pretty angry. Shapiro keeps asking Mullins how Steve's mother died but Mullins keeps avoiding to answer him. Mullins tells Shapiro not to talk to anybody about this information. (Note: There is a long pause while Mullins had Shapiro on hold)

http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Hero_Cop_64k.mp3
Audio file not available at this time

(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): "Later, in the second clip recorded around Oct. 17, Mullins discusses further how a story on Thomas and his deceased mother could be used to get an interview with the former cop."

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Conference_Call_1_120k.mp3

On or about August 18, 1998
Part I of this Conference Call is not available at this time

http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Conference_Call_2_20k.mp3
16 minutes 35 seconds (2.37 mb file)

(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): "An important note: In the middle of the call, there is a four-minute overlap of another, unrelated conversation between Shapiro and Mullins. Shapiro says he accidentally recorded over the conference call several weeks after the original conversation. Doug Longhini, a producer for CBS' "48 Hours," which aired portions of this conversation in a March show covering the Ramsey investigation, says he sent the original conference call tape to a laboratory, and it did test as being authentic. Editor & Publisher found no evidence that Shapiro intentionally tampered with this tape, but there is also no evidence of what Shapiro said during that four-minute gap, particularly in regard to the Globe's efforts to pressure Steve Thomas for information."

(ACandyRose RECAP): August 18, 1998 (approx.), Conference call with Jeff Shapiro, Tony Frost, Joe Mullins, Candace Trunzo, the Globe managing editor; Craig Lewis, a former Globe general editor. Discussion on the Enquirer 911 story and who possibly leaked the story as well as who from the Globe should work who in the BPD, DA's office or people who have left the BPD including other reporters who may know something or who have connections to get information.

(Names mentioned on this tape: Chuck Green, a columnist for The Denver Post; Peter Boyles, a Denver radio talk-show host; Larry Schiller, author of the JonBenet book, "Perfect Town, Perfect Murder' Former Boulder Detective Steve Thomas; Boulder Detective Ron Goasage; Alex Hunter, Boulder district attorney; John Eller, Tom Koby, a former Boulder police chief; the former lead police investigator; Boulder police chief Mark Beckner; Bill Wise, first assistant district attorney for Boulder; Charlie Brennan, reporter at the Denver Rocky Mountain News; Alli Krupski, former reporter for the Boulder Daily Camera)

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/CL_on_Thomas_20k.mp3
3 minutes 24 seconds (499 kb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): August 27, 1998 (approx.). Shapiro talking to Craig Lewis, a Globe general editor. Lewis was assigned to deliver the Thomas "family" photographs. Craig tells Shapiro that the package of photographs has been sent to Steve Thomas. Shapiro is asked to leave Steve Thomas alone for now.

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Craig_Message_20k.mp3
43 seconds (107 kb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): Jeff Shapiro leaves message on answering machine to Craig Lewis thanking him for not telling Joe Mullins and Tony Frost about Steve Thomas plus he has some interesting things he wants to tell Craig in private.

http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/JRJS-CL_20k.mp3
2 minutes 02 seconds (300 kb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): Craig Lewis calls Jeff Shapiro back. Jeff mentions he's working on a Fleet White story and that Jeff had heard that Patsy Ramsey was saying that Fleet White had sexually assaulted her daughter. Craig curious about what private stuff Shapiro wants to talk about. Craig makes arrangements to meet Jeff at a place called Peaberry's, a coffee shop at Baseline and Broadway in Boulder, Colorado. Jeff is concerned that what he has to tell Craig doesn't get back to Joe Mullins or Tony Frost.

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Florida_Visit_JM-TF_20k.mp3
2 minutes 24 seconds (354 kb file)

(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): "The tabloid's editors consider Shapiro's cooperation in an October 1998 Newsweek profile on the young tabloid reporter a profound betrayal. Mullins is concerned that Shapiro would air his critical views of the tabloids in the national news weekly."

(ACandyRose RECAP): Jeff Shapiro talking to Joe Mullins and voicing his concern that Tony Frost wants him to come to Florida in person regarding the October 1998 Newsweek article. Jeff is concerned that he is being set up and wondering why Frost wants him to personally come to Florida.

http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Newsweek_20k_20k.mp3
2 minutes 48 seconds (411 kb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): Jeff Shapiro telling Joe Mullins that Newsweek is doing a profile on Shapiro. Jeff admits he talked with Dan Glick to do the article. Jeff concerned that Tony Frost may fire him because he didn't get permission before hand.

http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/JMJS_Frost-FLA_20k.mp3
2 minutes 14 seconds (334 kb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): Jeff Shapiro talking to Joe Mullins. Jeff says he ready to leave for Florida and is still concerned why he needs to go to Florida personally to see Tony Frost. Joe tells Shapiro that Frost wants to talk some fucking sense into Jeff.

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Frost_20k.mp3
11 minutes 01 seconds (1.57 mb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): Tony Frost calling Jeff Shapiro. A woman named Lo-Mai Lai, assistant general council for the Globe is asked to be present during the conversation. Frost asks right off if Jeff is taping the call and Jeff says no he is not. Shapiro says Joe Mullins has left and he is thinking about resigning also, says Ramsey case is slow. Frost is questioning Shapiro regarding a letter he may be writing to Michael Rosenbloom, publisher of Globe Communications Corp. Jeff says he is coming up on his two year anniversary and considering leaving.

Discussion on how Larry Schiller is going to portray Shapiro in his book. Jeff says it will be positive. Frost says Jeff is not an employee of Globe but is free lance so he doesn't understand why he wants to contact Mr. Rosenbloom. Jeff says his an independent contractor and his contract is up December 5th. Frost wants to know what Shapiro's problem is and Jeff tells him there is just a difference of opinion. Shapiro says he may free lance to more publications upon February 28th. Frost tells Shapiro that he hears he is tape recording all his conversations and even taping conversations with Tony Frost. Shapiro tells Frost he can believe whatever he wants to believe. Jeff says that probably all started when Globe ordered him to tape his conversation with Pam Griffith. Jeff says he is sick of the media game, and not even sure he wants to be a reporter anymore.

Jeff does admit he has recorded some conversations. Jeff says he thinks he should consult with an attorney before he continues to speak. Jeff says he is loyal to his principals, his ethics and the law. Frost asks if he personally instructed Shapiro to do anything illegal. Shapiro tells frost that he has witnessed criminal activity while working at the Globe. Frost thinks it has to do with Larry Schiller's book. Shapiro said when he called Frost from Charlevoix, Michigan that it was alright to talk with Larry Schiller. Frost says that Shapiro has made his bed and he must sleep in it. Shapiro tells Tony Frost he has a selective memory.

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Frost_Pressure_20k.mp3
7 minutes 47 seconds (1.11 mb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): Jeff Shapiro talking to Joe Mullins. Shapiro asks if he can do the John Ramsey talks to the Globe story if that would ease off pressure from Tony Frost. Jeff said "somebody" says she thinks John Ramsey wouldn't mind a positive story. Jeff said Tracy said he heard that John Ramsey did talk to Shapiro. Shapiro says John Ramsey denied in a DA interview that he talked to Globe on the telephone but then he admitted that that was why he had his telephone number changed. Mullins suggest Shapiro write up the story and then they can see what it goes. Joe Mullins tells Shapiro they know John Ramsey is part of the cover up and Jeff says because of the box thing...with Archuleta. Mullins says yeah, that's one thing. Shapiro says he still has John Ramsey's telephone number on his caller ID and he has Ramsey's telephone number on his phone bill where he talked to him for 49 minutes. Shapiro suggest making it like a Q and A type story.

Full Text Transcript Here (Transcribed by SkyJustice)

http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/u'll_b_hero_20k.mp3
22 seconds (55 kb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): Jeff Shapiro talking to Joe Mullins. Mullins telling Shapiro he'll be hero if he can get a good story.

Full Transcript Here (Transcribed by SkyJustice)

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Intruder_Theory_20k.mp3
54 seconds (133 kb file)

(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): "On Aug. 28, a tip came in to Lewis that a Ramsey friend had a theory on who killed JonBenet. Lewis sent Shapiro to check it out. Later, Shapiro calls Lewis to tell him that it’s just another "intruder theory."

(ACandyRose RECAP): August 28, 1998 (approx.), Jeff Shapiro talking to Craig Lewis. Lewis sent Shapiro on a lead to see a woman (somebody's mother) that turned out to be somebody with an intruder theory and Lewis says, "Well that's worthless"

Full Text Transcript Here (Transcribed by Cathy)

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/JR_Revealed_JM_20k.mp3
15 minutes 16 seconds (2.18 mb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): On September 4, 1998, Jeff Shapiro and Joe Mullins talking and Mullins wants to know what Jeff had talked to Craig Lewis about. Jeff tells Mullins he had a conversation with Nedra a few days ago and also back in June he had a couple conversations with John Ramsey. Mullins wanted to know why Shapiro didn't report them to the Globe. Jeff said he wanted try and develop a relationship and basically feel out the situation.

Shapiro tells Mullins that John Ramsey actually called Shapiro. Ramsey told Shapiro that he wanted to get together in person and even suggested meeting in Boulder where John Ramsey said he went often. A suggestion was that they get together at Pasta Jay's late after it closed for the evening. Shapiro tells Mullins that John Ramsey acted as though he really doesn't know what happened and that he (Ramsey) stands by Patsy. Mullins wanted to know if he (Jeff) recorded it and Jeff said no.

Shapiro tells Mullins that he called John Ramsey the first night, on a Sunday night, eleven o'clock his (Ramseys) time on May 30th. Shapiro told John Ramsey he didn't think it was him regarding the murder and then Shapiro tells John who he is, tells him his name and John Ramsey admits that he knew who he was. Shapiro expected John Ramsey to hang up on him but he didn't. John Ramsey asked him (Jeff) what he thought of the woman who was attacked on Baseline. Shapiro called John Ramsey back again a week later and this time he left message with Patsy Ramsey and within 30 seconds Shapiro's phone rings and it's John Ramsey calling him back. This was around 7:30pm John's time. Shapiro said he was careful not to mentioned the word Globe so there would be no liability in his relations to the that.

Shapiro says he told John he wanted to extend an offer and be his source in a way and let you know what's going on. Shapiro says he told John that no matter what he did to search for an intruder that it keeps coming back to Patsy and then there was just silence on the line and he changed the subject to keep the conversation going. (Parts here are bleeped out on some names being talked about regarding intruder theories) Shapiro mentions John Andrew Ramsey and asks John if his son still hates him (apparently regarding an incident between Shapiro and John Andrew) and Ramsey tells him no. Jeff said John Ramsey said he didn't see the nightgown when he first found JonBenet. Jeff said he told John Ramsey that one day he would like to write about John. John Ramsey told Shapiro the most important thing is to find out who killed JonBenet.

Shapiro tells how John Ramsey did agree with Shapiro that the killer drew the heart on JonBenet's hand. Shapiro asked if John had seen the heart on JonBenet's hand when he put her to sleep that night and Ramsey said no. Shapiro asked John if JonBenet could have drawn the heart on her hand herself and John told him no. Shapiro tells Mullins that he didn't let John know that he had a witness that said that Patsy would draw a heart on JonBenet before. Regarding Fleet White, Shapiro tells how John Ramsey was laughing and thought it was hysterical when he told him how Fleet White had chased him (Shapiro) up the street one day.

Joe Mullins was not happy that Shapiro didn't report this information to the Globe, said it could have been a page one. When Mullins suggested that Shapiro do a write up on the story, Jeff tells him that he (Jeff) told John Ramsey the conversation was 'off the record.' A conversation then go on between Shapiro and Mullins where Jeff reminds Mullins regarding an incident when they (assuming the Globe) burned Steve Thomas one time regarding a comment Thomas said about throwing down his badge and that that was suppose to be 'off the record.' Shapiro tells Mullins that when he went back to talk to Steve Thomas that he (Thomas) jumped all over him about burning him, something regarding the autopsy and that Steve Thomas was agitated that Koby said he (Koby) was going to find out who was behind the incident.

Shapiro tells Mullins that he again called John Ramsey a week later and Melinda answered the phone and that she asked who was calling and he told her 'Jeff' and then she gave the phone directly to John Ramsey. Ramsey said he was busy though and spending time with his son. Shapiro asked him if had received what he (Jeff) had sent to him and John said yes and that he had to look over it.

The conversation then go into Shapiro telling Mullins that Jameson told him (Shapiro) that the Ramsey lawyers found out that John Ramsey had talked to him (Shapiro) and they put a stop to everything. Shapiro says that the Ramseys were becoming pretty liberal and that they let (name bleeped) into the house and that they (Ramseys) were talking to Shapiro.

Mullins is agitated and wanted to know if he (Shapiro) was going to write up the inteview. Jeff reminded him it again that it was suppose to be 'off the record.' Mullins suggested Shapiro write up a transcript of what John Ramsey told him and send it to john to see what response he gets. Mullins tells Shapiro he betrayed the Globe and was taking money under false pretenses. Shapiro asks why, just because he talked to John Ramsey and didn't report it and Mullins says yes. Shapiro asked what Mullins wants to do. Mullins asks if he wants Frost to fire him.

Mullins mentions Steve Thomas again and about the story on the family history and photos that they were going to use to hopefully get Thomas to give them an interview. Mullins reminds Shapiro about him (Shapiro) talking to Jameson and Carol and letting things out that he (Jeff) shouldn't be doing and that it is damaging to the Globe.

Partial Transcript here (Transcribed by ACandyRose)

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/JS_Ramsey_JM_20k.mp3
11 minutes 18 seconds (1.61 mb file)


(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): "Also, note that part of Shapiro's job was to fax daily clips from regional papers to the Florida newsroom. He forgot one day, fueling the reprimand by Mullins."

(ACandyRose RECAP): Jeff Shapiro and Joe Mullins talking. Mullins wants to know if Shapiro has written up the transcript for the article regarding his talking with John Ramsey but at first Shapiro thinks he is talking about a story on some secret evidence that Lawrence Schiller had told him regarding Fleet White and tells him that the story is missing from his hard drive and all of his disks and that he can write it up but it won't be in the original format.

Mullins then tells him no that it is the article where he (Shapiro) talked with John Ramsey on the telephone that he is asking about. Shapiro reminds him that he had to find out if John Ramsey will allow him to do it but Mullins tells him he wants it anyway and that the people at the Globe want to read it. Shapiro is concerned that if he gives it to them without John Ramsey's okay that they will use it. Mullins reminds Shapiro that he is paid by the Globe to do this reporting so the interview is basically sold to them (Globe).

Shapiro tells Mullins that he just doesn't feel right giving them the interview and that is isn't right to do that considering the interview was 'off the record' with John Ramsey. Mullins demands that he wants to see it even though it will be stamped as 'off the record.' (NOTE: There is a long silence here where apparently Shapiro isn't sure how to respond to Mullins).

Mullins reminds Shapiro that he has been a reporter before Shapiro was born. Shapiro reminds Mullins that what he had with John Ramsey was a 'conversation' not an interview. Mullins tells Shapiro that he will not work with him again if he doesn't sent it to him and that the interview will not be used unless John Ramsey gives an okay for the article to be used. Mullins also wants a copy of the telephone bill showing the 49 minutes Shapiro talked to John Ramsey as well as a photo of his caller ID showing John Ramsey's telephone number where he called Shapiro as proof.

Mullins asks if the Globe pays for Shapiro's telephone calls and he tells them only the ones that are circled and that this call won't be circled. Mullins demands either he does it or they are through. Shapiro reminds Mullins that the Globe couldn't have used the story anyway and if it is used or they contact John ramsey that Ramsey will know that Shapiro betrayed him.

Mullins wants to know if there anything in the papers yesterday and why Shapiro didn't send them. Shapiro tells him he got confused and thought Craig Lewis took care of it. Shapiro is still not comfortable sending the article. Mullins says do it and if Shapiro doesn't then he will not be working with Mullins.

(Names mentioned on this tape: Matt is Matt Sebastian, Boulder Daily Camera reporter; Craig is Craig Lewis; Ellis is Ellis Armstead, Ramsey private investigator working for Ramsey attorneys)

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Lawyer_Letter-CL_20k.mp3
9 minutes 35 seconds (1.37 mb file)

(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): "Note that toward the end of this clip, which was recorded in either late August or early September 1998, Lewis mentions an incident where Thomas secretly wears a "wire," or a recording device, during a conversation with Shapiro. The comment refers to an incident nearly a year earlier when Shapiro tells the detective about an alleged effort by the Boulder district attorney, Alex Hunter, to use the tabloids in order to smear a lead police investigator on the Ramsey case. Thomas wears a wire to record Shapiro's account of what happened, and when the detective resigned in August 1998, he notes the incident in a letter he released to the media."

(ACandyRose RECAP): August or early September 1998 (approx.), Shapiro talking to Craig Lewis. Lewis asks if Shapiro received the letter from Steve Thomas' attorney (Peg Miller) and reminds him (Shapiro) not to go near Steve Thomas or they (Peg Miller) will file a restraining order. Shapiro asks what was in the letter to the Globe about him and Lewis says they threatened to file a restraining order if Shapiro contacts Steve Thomas. Lewis says they (Globe) will handle any communication with Steve Thomas via his attorney.

The restraining order is only a threat at this point according to Lewis and that Steve Thomas via his attorney (Peg Miller) is giving Shapiro the opportunity to cease and desist on his own from contacting Thomas. Craig Lewis is reminding Shapiro that if he doesn't honor the threat that then the whole would will know about it because it will then become a public record document.

Shapiro asks Craig, "what about you?" referencing how they (Thomas and/or his attorneys) reacted to the photos (Thomas family photos) and Lewis tells him that he didn't do anything. Lewis says they are not running the story even though he says Shapiro told Carol McKinley and other people. Lewis reminds Shapiro that they (Globe) have the photos and if they decided in the future to do a story they will but not now.

Lewis reminds Shapiro that everything he does and says comes back to him and that he has reminded him a hundred times about that. Lewis asks Shapiro he doesn't know why he can't just shut the fuck up. Lewis says they (Globe) can't trust him (Shapiro) and that is one of the reasons they had Shapiro sitting out front of Archuleta's house for two days without knowing why. Lewis says that story did break on the Internet regarding Archuleta with no attribution to the Globe but Lewis tells Shapiro that is because Shapiro had told (bleeped out) and (bleeped out) and Lewis also references Carol McKinley.

Craig Lewis calls Shapiro a motor mouth and asks Shapiro if he ever kept a secret in his whole life and tells Shapiro he can't understand why he told Carol McKinley about the story the Globe was going to do regarding Steve Thomas. Shapiro says he and Joe Mullins were with Tracy (?) just last night. Shapiro says he did not tell Carol McKinley. Shapiro says McKinley knows Steve Thomas but Lewis tells him that it is none of McKinley's business.

Craig mentions the secret wire recordings and tells Shapiro that Steve Thomas is not his friend and that he is threatening to file a restraining order against Shapiro. Shapiro tells Lewis he doesn't understand why Steve's attorney would talk to Globe about the restraining order threat. Shapiro admits that he must be wrong about Steve Thomas being his friend.

Lewis suggest to Shapiro that he needs some therapy. He reminds Shapiro that he will never find another situation where an employer will let him fuck up like he is saying that he was doing. Shapiro asks Lewis if he is going to tell Joe Mullins or Tony Frost about this and Lewis says he is not going to tell them anything. Shapiro thanks him.

Lewis says he doesn't want to hear from Julie Hayden that a restraining order has been fileed in Jefferson county against Shapiro. Lewis says 'don't contact him in any form ever.' Craig tells Shapiro that had did leave Steve Thomas a message but that was before he got the lawyer letter. He said this was on Monday or Tuesday and that it was regarding issues on Hunter and the search warrant for the hanger. Lewis says he never talked to Thomas though and just got his voice mail. Shapiro asks why Steve Thomas hates him (Shapiro) so much and Lewis says he doesn't know and he doesn't care.

(Names mentioned on this tape: Peg Miller is attorney for Steve Thomas; Carol McKinley, a Fox News correspondent; Julie Hayden is a Denver reporter for KMGH-TV)

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Lewis_FBI_20k.mp3
6 minutes 15 seconds (917 kb file)

(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): "By mid-February, the new JonBenet book by author Lawrence Schiller, who wrote The New York Times best-seller O.J. Simpson book, "American Tragedy," is going to reveal Shapiro went to the FBI about the plan to pressure Thomas. Shapiro knew that once the book hit the stores, it would end his relationship with the Globe . He was coming clean. Shapiro says he also knew from the Vanity Fair article that the Globe had ways of getting important publications before they hit the shelves. But it was a local newspaper that started the beginning of the end of Shapiro’s tabloid career. On Feb. 13, Lewis calls asking if an detailing Shapiro’s conversations with the FBI is true. The paper obtained an advance copy of Schiller’s book and took note of Shapiro’s visit to the federal authorities."

(ACandyRose RECAP): February 13, 1999, Craig Lewis calls Jeff Shapiro to ask him right out if he (Shapiro) turned the Globe into the FBI. Lewis tells Shapiro that apparently nothing came of it because they (Globe) hadn't heard anything from anyone. Lewis says he can't believe that Shapiro would do that and then he denies that the Globe did what Shapiro reported in the Rocky Mountain News article. Shapiro tells Lewis how sick to his stomach he was when they tried to back Steve Thomas into a corner regarding his (Thomas') family photographs. They also talk about a threat of a restraining order that Steve Thomas' attorney sent to both Lewis and Shapiro. Lewis tells Shapiro that he hates him and that it is well documented on that fact. Lewis accuses Shapiro of never listening to them (Globe) and that he (Shapiro) has ruined relationships with others because of his reputation. They get into it as to has the better reputation. Shapiro asks Craig Lewis if he wants to shoot him and Lewis tells him he would rather choke him instead. Shapiro then informs Lewis not to come to his apartment in Boulder but Lewis tells Shapiro that he wants to come there he will. Lewis says, "I don’t like the fact that you include me in some bull schit extortion story. ’Cause I know what was done and wasn’t done." and follows that with telling Shapiro to 'fuck off' and he hangs up on him.

Full Text Transcript Here (Transcribed by ACandyRose)

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/MJ_Fox_20k.mp3
36 seconds (89 kb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): Jeff Shapiro and Joe Mullins talking about a story they had on Michael J. Fox but that they didn't use the material for a story because of their (Globe) attorneys.

Full Text Transcript Here (Transcribed by SkyJustice)

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/MSNBC-OJ_20k.mp3
2 minutes 7 seconds (310 kb file)

(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): "The Globe's tabloid reporters based in Boulder had intimate relationships with many mainstream reporters, some from the nation's most respected news organizations. Here's just one of several examples on the Shapiro tapes that reflects how the Globe reporters tried to keep a good standing with their mainstream counterparts."

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Mullins_goodbye_20k.mp3
5 minutes 56 seconds (872 kb file)

(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): "Shapiro isn't sure who was paging him from the New York City hotel. He had just gone public with the fact he went to the FBI with his tapes, and was becoming irate. Here, he finally gets through to the room and discovers it is Joe Mullins who is in New York on assignment. Mullins and Shapiro had been anticipating the release of Lawrence Schiller's new JonBenet book, where the author discloses for the first time that Shapiro went to the FBI with his tapes. Mullins also knows that Shapiro, who was a key character in the book, is worried about how he was portrayed."

(ACandyRose RECAP): Jeff Shapiro connects a call back to Joe Mullins room 722. Mullins tells him that he has read Larry Schiller's book, Perfect Murder, Perfect Town and that the way Shapiro is portrayed is not as bad as he (Shapiro) had feared. Shapiro takes the opportunity with this call to tell Mullins that he really likes him a lot and that there was never anything personal between himself and Mullins.

Mullins tells Shapiro that he (Shapiro) has had one friend after another fuck him over. Mullins says Schiller's book is interesting. Jeff asks what Mullins is doing in New York and he says working. Shapiro tells Mullins that Tony Frost terminated him on Thursday and says that Frost said it was clear that the Globe could no longer use him in any capacity. Mullins was unaware of that news. Mullins says he was last in the Globe office on Thursday when Jeff Rutledge called and Mullins said that Frost told Rutledge that he would be acting under Mullins instructions now.

Shapiro asks Mullins if he thinks that the reason Tony Frost called him (Shapiro) was because of the book or that maybe whatever Rutledge told him. Mullins asked what Shapiro plans on doing and Shapiro really doesn't give him an answer. Mullins suggest Shapiro don't do anything that will cause him real harm. Mullins says that after reading the book, that if somebody makes a movie of the book that somebody would have to play Shapiro as it would be the most interesting character story. Shapiro is shocked that Mullins suggested that he would be that much of a character. Mullins says it has a 'Shapiro theme' and says that Schiller didn't fuck him over. Shapiro says he expected Schiller to just characterize him as young, naive, inexperienced. Mullins says it will surprise people that Shapiro being a tabloid was so much in the center of things.

At the end, Shapiro tells Mullins he will not tell anybody of this conversation.

(Names mentioned on this tape: Rutledge is freelance writer Jeff Rutledge, Penthouse magazine)

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Patsy_Heart_20k.mp3
1 minutes 35 seconds (233 kb file)

(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): "Here's an example that refers to a heart allegedly found drawn on JonBenet's hand after she was murdered. How that reported heart got on her hand remains a mystery. But, Shapiro discovers a letter signed by Patsy Ramsey that had a heart next to her signature"

(ACandyRose RECAP): Joe Mullins is talking to Jeff Shapiro about an article he was writing regarding a letter that Patsy Ramsey had signed that included a heart. Mullins asks where the original letter is and Shapiro tells him that he has it and Mullins suggests that he fax it over right away to go along with the story but then Shapiro also informs Mullins that he gave a copy of the letter to somebody in the Boulder Police Department and Mullins is not happy to hear that Shapiro was giving stuff to the BPD before he was showing it to the Globe. (Note: Several peoples names are bleeped out of this audio file)

Full Transcript Here (Transcribed by Susan)

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Santa_did_it_1_20k.mp3
1 minutes 37 seconds (240 kb file)

(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): "A former homicide investigator hired by the Boulder district attorney to assist in the investigation had recently resigned, leaving with a reported list of 28 possible intruder suspects. On Lou Smit's list is Bill McReynolds, a former University of Colorado journalism professor who played Santa Claus at a Ramsey party two nights before JonBenet's murder. Here, Mullins discusses the story the Globe would eventually publish around Christmas 1998."

(ACandyRose RECAP): Shapiro and Joe Mullins. Mullin says they are going for a headline 'Santa Did it.' Mullins tells Shapiro that he needs to talk to Lou Smit. Mullins says he doesn't want to lie to Lou Smit but we will run the story they will say the investigators believe they have cleared him. Do you know for a fact that to Lou that Santa is one of the people and that the Ramseys also believe he is, a possible perp. See how much Lou will give you on Santa. Shapiro says he will call Lou Smit and see what he can find. Shapiro asks if the headline will go on it being an investigator scenario and then Shapiro asks if they are going to say it's Lou Smit scenario and Mullins says yes and that he (Smit) doesn't believe the Ramseys did it and that he has developed a list of 20 suspects and Santa is one of them.


Click Globe cover for article

http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Santa_did_it_2_20k.mp3
35 seconds (86 kb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): Jeff Shapiro calls Mullins back to see if they are doing the Santa did it story. Mullins says it's being written. Mullins says the jest of the story is that the finger is being pointed at Santa.

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Shapiro_Doubts_20k.mp3
10 minutes 30 seconds (1.5 mb file)

(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): "In early 1998, events surrounding the Ramsey case slowed. Shapiro is sent to Los Angeles for further training and experience in tabloid reporting. By July, he is back in Boulder and on the Ramsey beat again. But there isn't much happening in the case. So, Shapiro - who was working as a free-lancer exclusively and under contract for the Globe - is asked to fly to Indiana and report on a group of friends who just won a Powerball lottery. Thirteen people took home $20 million each, and Mullins wants a story. The assignment bothers Shapiro and ultimately reveals his deeper concerns about tabloid journalism in general. There are actually several instances on the tapes where he seems to struggle with the tabloid's tactics. Here - July 31, 1998 - Mullins tells his reporter that if he can't write nasty things about innocent people, then he should get out of journalism."

(ACandyRose RECAP): July 31, 1998, Shapiro is talking to Joe Mullins. Shapario says that Candace Trunzo, managing editor of the Globe wants him to do other assignments. Shapario says he has problems with other assignments but he can't go after people that he thinks haven't done anything wrong and hurt them. Shapiro things everything he is doing is negative. Mullins suggest to find something positive in the story and then tells Shapiro that if he (Shapiro) can't do this story, then the Globe won't want to employ him.

Mullins tells Shapiro that if he is telling him that he can't take ordinary people and do ordinary stories that they can't use him. Shapiro says he doesn't know how much longer he can do the things they want him to do. Mullins tells Shapiro to decided that night and tell him in the morning.

Joe Mullins says "We don't make stuff up, that is something Globe doesn't do. They have to be from digging, from reporting."

http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Shapiro_Doubts_2_20k.mp3
5 minutes 12 seconds (762 kb file)

(ACandyRose RECAP): Shapiro and Mullins talking. Shapiro asks Mullins if he should go to Indiana to do the Powerball story. Shapiro is obviously not comfortable with going and he is telling Mullins that when he was in LA, he was told the headline has already been written and we have to find a way to justify the story. Jeff says that is just not the way he reports and he can't keep do it that way and he says it seems like they always try to do the angle before they do the story.

Shapiro says on stories for the Globe, he's not really there to find out what happened but more to make the story stick with what we can use. Mullins tells Shapiro if he comes up with a good story on any set of circumstances Globe will use it if it's appealing and interesting story. Shapiro reminds Mullins that their stores have to have some kind of kick.

Mullins says a person has to have enough personality to make things happen. They discuss Opra as example on how to get a story. Shapiro says he just thinks the Globe wants something bad in these guys backgrounds. Mullins tells him yes if that is a story but says there has to be something there with thirteen people who each winning twenty million dollars. Mullins says they could be murderers, they could be married ten times or one of them has a daughter who needs a heart transplant. Mullins tells Shapiro not to be so arrogant.

Mullins says if he (Shapiro) doesn't want to write nasty things about people who he (Shapiro) deems to be completely innocent then get out of it, get out of tabloids, get out of journalism because those things makes stories in newspapers and entertainment. Mullins tells Shapiro that if he thinks he can go on to a big paper and compete with the guy who are the best reporters that he can't do it. Mullins says "none of those big newspapers are going to pay you to sit around and investigate like we do."

Mullins tells Shapiro to tell him in the morning and either decide if he is not cut out for it. Mullins says, "I mean if you want to give the Enquirer a try you can do it but those guys, you would be subjected to a lot of pressure." At the end Mullins reminds Shapiro that if he goes on to do the story and if Mullins tells he that's the angle then he has to go with it.

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Vanity_Fair.mp3
Audio file not available at this time

(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): "With so many media organizations covering the Ramsey investigation, the Globe keeps close tabs on scoops made by competitors. In mid-1997, Ann Louise Bardach, a writer for Vanity Fair, obtained the Ramsey ransom note. It was a big scoop - and the Globe wanted it. Shapiro says the Globe obtained a copy of the magazine and the article before it hit the newsstands. A copy is later delivered to Boulder district attorney Alex Hunter as a goodwill gesture, Shapiro says. Here, Shapiro asks Lewis about the incident and whether Vanity Fair ever intended to sue the Globe."


Click Vanity Fair cover for article

(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): VANITY SCOOP, "In the fall of 1997, JonBenet coverage is still at its peak. And Vanity Fair magazine had a scoop: The monthly is set to publish the undisclosed full text of the Ramsey ransom note."

"Shapiro says that around September 1997, Lewis told him he went to Chicago and bought for $200 a copy of the Vanity Fair issue off the printing press days before it hit the stands. Lewis refused to respond to questions from E&P."

"According to the tapes, Vanity Fair sent an angry letter to the tabloid. Lewis and Shapiro discuss the purchase nearly a year later in an Aug. 10 telephone conversation, where Lewis quipped over the magazine’s accusations that the Globe swiped an issue from the magazine’s printing press."

"It actually hurt my feelings," Lewis smirks.

"Shapiro adds that he and Lewis brought the Vanity Fair story to Alex Hunter in a failed effort to barter for information. It’s not known what Hunter — who is portrayed negatively in the Vanity Fair story — did with the piece. Hunter wouldn’t comment. :

"Beth Kseniak, public-relations director for Vanity Fair , says the magazine wrote the Globe inquiring how it obtained a copy of the Ramsey story issue. Kseniak says the Globe responded that it was given a copy of the issue."

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http://www.jonbenetindexguide.com/Fleet_white_20k.mp3
Audio file not available at this time

(Editor and Publisher excerpts - July 28, 1999): "Mullins tells Shapiro that if the Ramseys are cleared by the Boulder grand jury, the couple will probably sue the tabloids. Shapiro goes on to discuss how one freelance tabloid reporter had listened in on Fleet White’s cell phone calls, a Ramsey family friend who discovered JonBenet with John."

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END OF AUDIO FILES ON THE SHAPIRO RECORDINGS

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The Tabloid Turncoat
Scoops, Tactics And The Mainstream
An Inside Look At Jonbenet Coverage
by Jim Moscou, Editor & Publisher Magazine, July 28, 1999

"Jeff Shapiro reaches deep into a kitchen cupboard to retrieve his most cherished JonBenet souvenir.

There, squirreled away on the top shelf, sits a cheap, tin box that he carefully carries over to his desk, just a few steps in his tiny Boulder apartment — and just a mile from where the little girl was slain. Flipping it open, Shapiro fights an unwitting grin before revealing the contents: two paperback books — and a letter.

"John sent me these," he says, referring to the father of the child beauty queen whose death remains an unsolved mystery.

Shapiro dodges the books — "How to Begin the Christian Life" and "Mere Christianity" — grabbing the letter instead. It is a note scripted on "John B. Ramsey" stationery and dated Dec. 23, 1998, two days before the second anniversary of JonBenet’s death. And it’s addressed to "Jeffrey."

In it, Ramsey conventionally thanks Shapiro for the flowers Shapiro sent several weeks earlier to celebrate the marriage of Ramsey’s eldest daughter, Melinda. It was a wonderful wedding, Ramsey added. And Shapiro’s arrangement had come to decorate the family-room table.

Then Ramsey politely complimented the tabloid reporter. "You have good investigative skills," he writes, "and there is so much wrong in the world that needs help."

(SNIP)

"Shapiro and his colleagues became peddlers of tidbits to mainstream reporters, erasing the already thin line that separates the two news genres. Also lining up for a glimpse of the latest JonBenet rumors are the police, the district attorney, and the Ramseys — all willing to drink from the Globe ’s vats.

Meanwhile, these splashes of half truths that Shapiro and his colleague Craig Lewis picked up along the way often become enough to "stand up" jaw-dropping headlines — banners that ravaged the lives of chance players in this drama.

For the most part, according to the tapes and Shapiro, Lewis — who was a general editor for the Globe and based in Boulder at the time — seemed to handle the dubious dealings of alleged payments for information and pressure tactics. Covering the Ramsey case was so important to the Globe , the tabloid kept Lewis in Boulder full time. He was also one of Shapiro’s bosses.

Shapiro is clearly an accomplice, but sounds on the tapes like a confused young man whose own reporting shreds ethical barriers. There are moments where he doubts — and stands up to — his editors aiming to smear innocent Ramsey bystanders. And, especially, when his editors aimed to embarrass his hero."

(SNIP)

"Lewis and Frost would not comment on any of the information revealed in Shapiro’s tapes.

Frost told The Associated Press in April, "There was not a threat to blackmail anyone." And, Lewis said: "The only person who ever says anything to Thomas about his mother was Jeff Shapiro."

Frost faxed this statement to E&P: "I am not interested in anything Shapiro has to say. In the weekly drama of tabloid journalism, Shapiro had but a small walk-on part. His knowledge of tabloids, and journalism in general, can be written on the back of a postage stamp, still leaving room for the Lord’s Prayer."

Joe Mullins did not return phone calls. Steve Thomas is currently working on a book about the Ramsey case and refused to comment.

Meanwhile, the tapes rolled on, snagging more insights of a tabloid’s ways."

(SNIP)

"During three conversations with John Ramsey, which sources have confirmed, Shapiro apologized for the Globe , saying that he is "… sorry for all the things that have been done to you." He tells Ramsey that he is "in a really bizarre position … trying to balance right and wrong every single day between the people I work for and what I really feel."

Ramsey doesn’t say much. (He also says that he has no concrete theories on who killed his daughter.) And, though he never tells Ramsey he is recording his editors, Shapiro did offer his testimony should the parents be cleared by the Boulder grand jury and decide to sue the Globe."

(SNIP)

"Shapiro is just one of dozens of ‘Believe It or Not’ characters that have emerged in this story," says Daniel Glick, a special correspondent for Newsweek magazine who has covered the Ramsey case since the day after JonBenet was killed. In October, Glick wrote a short article on Shapiro for Newsweek titled, "Tab Man: Old School, New Moves."

"Everybody who is in this case knows who this guy is," Glick adds. "He insinuated himself into virtually every corner of the story."

Those close to Shapiro watched him pound the pavement and work the phones at an incessant rate. One Colorado reporter says he got Caller ID because of Shapiro. Once engaged, Shapiro charmingly — skillfully — probes to find common ground with an interviewee and rarely allows an awkward moment of silence to pass.

Fox News correspondent McKinley, who also has been on the case since the beginning, says Shapiro got "drunk" with JonBenet, yet did tap remarkable sources. In turn, that created a disturbing journalism reality when tabloids and mainstream crossed paths, she says.

"A lot of mainstream media didn’t have their own sources," she says. "So the way they would get and verify information is they would call their tabloid buddies who would help them out. But it was at a price. In return, they want something from you. And you end up in the swamp."

It is, she calls it, a "devil’s dance."

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MORE NEWS ARTICLES BELOW ABOUT JEFF SHAPIRO

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What I saw at the feeding frenzy
by Frank Coffman, Boulder Weekley, February 29, 1999

"In the beginning, the Ramsey murder case seemed simple to solve. The day after the murder, as the Ramsey's housekeeper was leaving the Boulder police station, a detective working on the case told her, "I am confident we'll have an arrest by Sunday."

Instead of an early arrest, the Ramsey case turned into an interminable murder mystery and a feeding frenzy for the media. Children are killed everyday in this country, but the death of JonBenet was different. People around the nation and the world wanted to know all about it.

Almost overnight, Boulder was deluged by national media. The town resented the intrusion on its comfortable neighborhoods and on its image as an ideal place to live. At first, city spokesperson Leslie Aaholm refused even to acknowledge that the crime was a murder, referring to it as an "incident." Reporters ran up against a police department with little to say, except for a crabby police chief who scolded them for covering the story.

The Ramseys and their friends were also tight-lipped or hostile to the media. On one occasion, when a TV journalist drove up to the house of the Fernies (friends who were in the Ramseys' house on the morning of the murder), John Fernie walked up and spat on the vehicle before the journalist even got out. This was going to be a tough story, indeed.

To penetrate the wall of silence around the case, tabloid newspapers and TV shows employed methods that the mainstream news media wouldn't dream of using. The TV show American Journal paid the Ramseys' housekeeper $15,000 to appear on camera. the National Enquirer paid $40,000 for photos of JonBenet. One tabloid TV program used private detectives to pry into the Ramseys' telephone call logs and financial records, tracking the couple's whereabouts by keeping tabs on their credit card purchases.

In the months after the murder, tabloid reporters trailed the Ramseys wherever they went. Craig Lewis of the Globe recalls, "In the early days, we had three cars following the Ramseys-one car with reporters and two cars with photographers." Scott McKiernan, of Zuma photo agency, followed the Ramseys and staked out places they frequented. He also used a radio scanner to listen in on the cellular phone calls of former Ramsey friend Fleet White, overhearing him on one occasion tell his father that the Ramseys were trying to cast him as a suspect in the murder."

(SNIP)

"On a mission from God

Jeff Shapiro, a 24-year old novice reporter under contract with the Globe, moved to Boulder from Florida in March 1997.

Though he came as a journalist to cover the Ramsey murder, Shapiro felt he'd also been sent by God to help solve the crime. His e-mail address: "JBsAvenger" (i.e. JonBenet's Avenger).

Shapiro's plan was to go undercover and work the story from the inside out. Renting a place next door to the Chi Psi fraternity house where John Andrew lived, Shapiro succeeded in befriending Ramsey's son. He even joined the Episcopal Church that the Ramseys attended. But his persistent questions about the murder case blew his cover. John Andrew's friends became suspicious and warned the younger Ramsey off his engaging, earnest neighbor.

Shapiro was forced to move on to conventional news sources.

Surprisingly, the inexperienced reporter succeeded in cozying up to a crucial figure in the case: District Attorney Alex Hunter.

From May until October 1997, Shapiro was in almost constant contact with Hunter, who didn't seem to look upon him so much as a tabloid reporter, but as an energetic, likable young man who happened to have an infatuation with the case. The avuncular DA even gave the tabloid tyro his private phone numbers. Later he allowed a Globe photographer into his office to take his picture, though he had previously condemned the tabloid's publication of stolen coroner's photos of the crime scene and implements as "reprehensible." And by July 15, 1997, the Globe was quoting Hunter praising the paper's $500,000 reward offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.

Police detectives were also talking with Shapiro. The young reporter had won their favor when he informed them where they could get white nylon cord identical to the kind used in the murder. Detectives promptly went to the store and bought up all the cord. Although Shapiro was glad to take credit for the discovery, he actually learned about the cord when I mentioned it to him in a phone conversation in May 1997.

Shapiro's subjects didn't always appreciate his attention. Learning that the DA's office considered Fleet White a potential suspect in the case, Shapiro took to following White around. One day White noticed Shapiro tailing him in a car and angrily swung his vehicle around and went after the kid reporter. As Shapiro desperately jockeyed for an escape route, White repeatedly cut him off. The two raced across town until Shapiro got ahead in traffic and escaped through a changing traffic light.

Shapiro also found himself in the middle of the clash between Alex Hunter and the police department. The Ramsey investigation was then run by John Eller, an abrasive police commander who rubbed the DA the wrong way. Hunter tipped Shapiro that Eller was being accused of sexual harassment. (That allegation turned out to be false.) Shapiro in turn tipped police about Hunter's tip. In his bolt-from-the-blue resignation letter last August, Thomas alluded to the episode, writing melodramatically that "an informant" had told police of the DA's "plan to destroy a man's career." Last week, the hyperbolic Thomas again called for the Hunter's resignation over the Shapiro/Eller episode, charging that "the DA engaged the tabloids in a smear campaign." In a recent TV interview, Thomas claimed that Shapiro acted as his "mole inside the DA's office." Shapiro calls that characterization "ridiculous," though he concedes that Thomas did try to push him into such a role.

The reporter's tip to police ended up costing him his cozy relationship with Hunter.

Thomas too suffered repercussions when Police Chief Tom Koby chastised him for investigating the DA when he should have been investigating the murder of JonBenet. Koby also warned Thomas that he would be fired if he had any further contact with Shapiro-a directive that the reporter claims Thomas violated.

Shapiro's rapport with Thomas won him certain privileges. On at least one occasion, Thomas allowed Shapiro to sit in on a sensitive investigation. In July 1997, Thomas asked me to come to the police station to phone Pam Griffin, a friend of Patsy Ramsey, so that he could surreptitiously tape the conversation. The detective wanted to document a remarkable assertion that Griffin had made to me: Patsy Ramsey admitted to her that she wrote the so-called "practice note."

However, said Griffin, Patsy claimed that it was just the aborted start of an invitation to some event which Patsy couldn't recall. Thomas allowed Shapiro to monitor my conversation with Griffin. The session was a bust, though, when Griffin dismissed her previous comments as "speculation" about Patsy's actions.

Shapiro came to believe that his acceptance by Thomas made him a kind of junior detective on the Ramsey case. Others in the department considered him a pest and ignored his theory that Patsy Ramsey killed her daughter as part of a religious sacrifice. When Thomas resigned, he broke off ties with Shapiro, leaving the reporter crushed. Shortly after the resignation, Shapiro showed up unannounced at Thomas' home in Arvada, allegedly to warn him that the Globe planned to use pressure tactics to get an interview with him. The former detective responded with a warning of a restraining order if Shapiro ever came there again.

Having lost his official sources, Shapiro began drawing closer to the Ramsey camp. He finally came full circle, apologizing to John Ramsey for his paper's accusations against him. Fired by the Globe two weeks ago, Shapiro would now like to join the FBI. In the meantime, he intends to go on CBS' 48 Hours program to expose his former employer for using what he now believes were unethical methods.

Jeff Shapiro seemed to think that the case revolved around him, and for a brief time, it almost did. Incredibly, he managed to insinuate himself everywhere and gain the confidence of major figures in the case. He achieved enviable access, but he couldn't keep anyone's trust for long."

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Ever wonder how the supermarket tabloids really get their stories?
Written by Kathleen Kernicky, Staff Writer, Sun-Sentinel Co., March 4, 1999

"Call it the story of the tabloid tattler.

How a zealous cub reporter from South Florida goes "undercover" for a tabloid newspaper to investigate the murder of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, the juiciest tabloid story to come along since, well, the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson.

Reporter stops at nothing (well, almost nothing) to scoop the competition. In the process, young reporter gets tangled in a web of intrigue and deceit worthy of his hero, James Bond. Eventually, he becomes a double agent and begins documenting dirt on the tabloid while continuing to work there. Now he threatens to expose "the corruption" that he says pervades the topsy-turvy tabloid world. That's the story swirling around Jeff Shapiro, a former reporter for The Globe tabloid who grew up in Boca Raton.

(SNIP)

Author Lawrence Schiller, hawking his new book, Perfect Murder, Perfect Town (HarperCollins, $26) on national television, called Shapiro the Forrest Gump of the Ramsey case. Everywhere you turned, there he was. Newsweek featured a story on Shapiro in October. "I prefer to think of myself more James Bond than Forrest," quips the 25-year-old Shapiro, who was editing a Boca community newspaper before getting hired at the Boca-based Globe.

(SNIP)

"I have no problem being sneaky," Shapiro readily concedes.

"You're there to be a reporter and get the truth. I was sneaky, The Globe) was unethical … At some point, I drew the line. I said enough is enough."

(SNIP)

"I was naive," Shapiro now says of his relationship with The Globe, although he was savvy enough to begin secretly tape-recording his phone conversations with his editors last year. He says he did so, in part, to protect himself.

In October, he played one of the tapes for the FBI, alleging that it shows how The Globe had tried to "leverage" a Boulder detective by uncovering dirt about his long-deceased mother.

(SNIP)

"All I've done is use all the investigative techniques The Globe taught me to use against other people," says Shapiro, who says the tabloid paid him $1,000 a week and gave him a $200 a month car allowance.

"They bought me a telephone tape recording device." Now Shapiro, who says he has about 100 hours of tapes stored in a safe-deposit box, hopes to tell his story on CBS' 48 Hours, (a producer confirms Shapiro has been interviewed). And he's thinking about writing his own story, perhaps a book.

(SNIP)

"I love being a reporter," he says. "I still have that fire. I'm still young. I still want to be in the middle of certain things, although I don't necessarily want to interject myself into them as much as I thought I did. "Part of me wanted to be the hero of this case and to solve the murder of this little girl. I realize now that wasn't my role. It was to report the facts."

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Exposing the tragedies tabloids cause
by Randy Wyrick, Vail Daily News, August 22, 2003

"Globe editor Tony Frost lashed out at Shapiro for turning over the tapes and exposing some of the tabloid's methods. Shapiro said that in one recorded conversation, a livid Frost claimed his publication had more of an interest in proving the Ramseys were guilty than the Boulder Police Department or the Boulder County district attorney. Frost declined to be interviewed for this story, and said he wanted nothing to do with Shapiro."

(SNIP)

"For Shapiro, the turning point was a conversation with CU journalism professor Michael Tracey.

Tracey was working on an investigative piece about tabloids and the JonBenet Ramsey case for "48 Hours." It was finally Tracey who led Shapiro to turn his tape recorded conversations with his Globe editors over to the FBI.

"He finally decided what he was doing was wrong," said Tracey. "He became very upset when he thought about it. He actually came to tears."

(SNIP)

"Finally, as part of cutting his ties completely, Shapiro called John Ramsey to apologize for the connection to the tabloids, and for what the tabs had done to the murder victim's father."

(SNIP)

"These days, Shapiro is a second year law student at the University of Florida. His goal is to launch a foundation to help people who have been victimized by tabloids."

"There has to be some sort of institution that stands up to them," he said. "They're bullies, like the bullies in the schoolyard. If you stand up to them, they'll back down."

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REMEMBERING JONBENET RAMSEY, THE VICTIM

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A Death in Paradise (by Lawrence Schiller)

"Do roses know their thorns can hurt?" JonBenét asked me that one morning. I was the landscaper at the Ramseys' home during the last two years of her life. I remember how intelligent JonBenét was. That's why I never talked to her as if she were just a little kid. So when she asked me about thorns, I told her, "They're a rose's shield. They keep away animals who might eat them."

She would follow me all over the yard, finding something to do wherever I was working. All the topics you'd call natural science seemed to interest her.

"What is a year?"

"That's the length of time it takes for the earth to make one trip all around the sun."

"So I've been around the sun five times?"

"Right. And you've almost finished your sixth trip." I added that I'd completed the journey twenty-seven times. That stopped her. So many trips, she exclaimed.

That was probably the last time I spoke to JonBenét. Six weeks later I took the morning paper from my front steps and saw it. I don't even remember now what the headlines said.

I wanted to go over to the Ramseys'. Later that day, I did drive by. It was crazy—media, police, yellow tape going all around the house. Just totally crazy. I didn't even try to go in. I kept driving.

Brian Scott ."