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FD-350 (Rev. 5-8-81) cete page, name of newspaper, city and state.). (Mount Clipplng in Space Below) Date: Promoter says articles 7-26-90 [Edition: The PlainDealer false; PD defends 183B-cv-42510 Character: or Classification: accuracy Submitting Office He also said the promoters leased radios instead of using vol- unteer ham operators because of Indexing: convenience and safety in the rac- :. ing pits. He denied it was an attempt to boost costs and reduce By HARRY STAINER profits in which the city would and DON BEAN share. STAFFWAITERS Foster said he tried to talk to Webb before the series appeared James H. Foster told a Cuyahoga but was rudely rebuffed. He and County Common Pleas jury yester- Newcomb also talked to executive day that articles in 1984 and 1985 and managing editors before the probing the operations of the first article appeared and were told Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix they would be contacted, but were auto race were full of falsehoods. not,Foster said. through the judicial process of Foster and Charles K. Newcomb, Foster said the first article discovery, uncovered more damag- the partners who promoted the appeared the Sunday before the ing information than Webb did.. race, are suing The Plain Dealer 1984 race and was very damaging. Webb's articles"only touched the and'former PD investigative re- In an opening statement Tuesday, tip of the iceberg,"Colombo said. porter Gary Webb for$7.5 million. "We got the story right," Colombo A PD lawyer defended the arti- said. "It was earefully written and Jerome Kalur, lead lawyer for New- edited. There were no damages. eles as aecurate. comb and Foster, denied the city Colombo also said Foster and Webb is now a reporter at a San was shortchanged. Neweomb sold the rights to the race Jose, Calif.,newspaper. Walt The two men were forced out of at a profit. business because the newspaper The libel suit was filed in June wanted to be partners in promoting 1985Kalur and Colombo both Bogdanich, another former PD the race, Kalur said. He said the noted the time it took to go to trial. two men lost sponsors for the race. Common Pleas Judge Joseph F.. was dismissed from the case. "Webb engaged in selective MeManamon told the jury the time Foster.denied that Newcomb and "Kalur said."He knew was not wasted and showed jurors his associates paid themselves ahead of'time what he wanted the stacks of doeuments before him on close to $1 million out of race story to say. He interviewed people motions, the diseovery process and proceeds, which an article stated. for the series of stories not to deter- pretrial testimony. He also denied that the promoters mine the truth, but to enhanee his made nearly $100,000 by hiring own standing as an investigative re themselves to sell concessions at porter." the race instead of using local char- Louis A. Colombo, lead Iawyer ities as required by an agreement for The PD,in'an opening with the city. statement yesterday disputed Kalur Foster said the net proceeds on each point and said that lawyers, were far less than $100,000 and that the promoters used people from charities and paid them. He denied that the agreement with the city called for the concessions to be ac- tually turned over to charities. 183p-cv-y/O51dE6 G- SEARCHED. INDEXED FnED SERIALIZED_ CCIs [y] AUG 2 2 1950 b6 b7C NE Fb!/0oJ