Sometimes a great story drops in a reporters lap and he or she runs with it, as journalists like to say.
The Richard Hirschfeld story chronicled in a seven-part series, Letter From The Grave, which concludes today is the perfect example.
The catalyst for the project was a 31-page handwritten letter from Hirschfeld, who hanged himself Jan. 11 in the laundry room of a Miami prison. He was awaiting trial on charges that included conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
The letter, apparently composed by the larger-than-life lawyer-financier over several days before his suicide, was delivered to Virginian-Pilot reporter Bill Burke on Jan. 13. The document, Burke says, provided the perfect opportunity to tell Hirschfelds life story.
Burke and Hirschfeld, a Norfolk native, had stayed in touch with each other, primarily via e-mail, over the years, and Hirschfeld had hoped that Burke would write a book about his life and exploits.
They corresponded off and on for nearly four years, hoping one day to meet in person, the introduction to the series said.
The two men met briefly many years ago, says Burke, whose e-mail and phone contacts with Hirschfeld date to 2000, when Hirschfeld was a fugitive.
I had hoped to meet and spend time with him while he was in exile and write a story about who this guy was and what drove him, but that never happened, Burke said. Over the two years or so that we were in contact, I believe I earned his trust. He had initially been very skeptical about me, the press in general and the story I had suggested.
I wondered if Hirschfeld had corresponded with other journalists over the years.
He was in touch with two journalists he hoped might someday work with him on a book about his life story me and a producer for the BBC, Burke said.
What about his suicide letter did anyone else get a copy? Was it different from the final letter to his family thats mentioned in the series?
Hirschfelds family members got copies of the suicide letter. There was also a separate letter to the family, Burke said.
I dont know what was in the letter to the family, except for a brief excerpt that I quoted in Part 1 of the series, Burke said. The family chose not to share the entire letter with me, and I can understand their desire to keep his last words to them private.
Burkes initial reaction to Hirschfelds letter was amazement at some of the claims he made, admiration for the eloquence of his most heartfelt writing and sadness and compassion for his family.
There was so much fascinating information in the letter that it was an easy call to do a series, Burke said. My editors were sold from the start.
He had already done a lot of research on Hirschfeld back when he had hoped to meet with him abroad. Hence, the chapter heading evolved naturally out of the international cast of characters that made up his life story, from Nixon to Ali to Marcos to Castro to Saddam.
Still, Burke estimates that he ended up doing about 80 percent fresh reporting.
What Hirschfeld claims seemed the most preposterous or yielded less evidence to support?
Certainly the claim that he was involved in helping the government in the effort to combat terrorism is the most outlandish, he answered. If he didnt actually do it, he convinced a lot of people, some of them influential and highly placed, that he did.
Defense Department press officers never provided answers to repeated questions I asked about whether there was, in fact, a classified report detailing the activities of Hirschfeld and his associates in the war on terror.
Burke thought some of Hirschfelds claims to having gained access to Cuban leader Fidel Castros inner circle strained credulity a little, but Dale Cooter, a lawyer who visited him in Cuba three times, confirmed the claims. And Hirschfeld did have an uncanny knack for finding his way into the company of the rich and famous.
Using numerous sources, Burke was able to verify information. Some individuals didnt respond to his requests, among them the White House press office, Sen. Orrin Hatch and federal judges.
But most of the people I contacted were cooperative, Burke added. Its amazing how quickly I got a response when I left a phone message that said, ‘I have Richard Hirschfelds suicide letter and your name is in it. Please call me.
Burke mentioned in his series that Hirschfeld was kind of like the Woody Allen character Zelig, who had a habit of appearing mysteriously and unexpectedly in the presence of famous people.
A lawyer who was involved in one of his cases said Hirschfeld turned the practice of gate-crashing into a form of high art, Burke said.
Interestingly, Burke said he uncovered only one factual error in Hirschfelds letter : Roger Clemens of the Red Sox and Nolan Ryan of the Rangers didnt pitch against each other in May 1990, which is how Hirschfeld remembered it.
