By: Mark Fitzgerald Fired Chiquita Brands International Inc. lawyer George Ventura should be allowed to go to trial in October on three of the six claims in his lawsuit accusing
The Cincinnati Enquirer of breaking promises to keep secret his identity as a confidential source in its "renounced" 1998 investigation of the fruit company, a federal magistrate has recommended.
"The ... magistrate recognized that Mr. Ventura has claims against Gannett [Co. Inc.] and against the
Enquirer which go to the heart of this dispute: that he was led astray, if you will, and [made] the victim of representations and broken promises and breaches of faith by the newspaper," said Ventura's attorney, Marc Mezibov.
Ventura was identified in a 1999 court case as a source by Michael Gallagher, who was fired by the
Enquirer for illegally accessing Chiquita's voice-mail system during his investigative reporting.
Enquirer President and Publisher Harry M. Whipple returned a phone call requesting comment and left a voice-mail message, but later efforts to reach him were unsuccessful.
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