Los Angeles Times in OC Loses Key Investigative Reporter

I just learned that Christine Hanley, one of the last investigative journalists remaining at the already decimated Orange County bureau of the Los Angeles Times, has resigned.

For several years, Hanley was the lone daily reporter who joined me in determined pursuit of Sheriff Mike Carona's corruption at the Orange County Sheriff's Department. She broke key Carona stories, got reluctant witnesses to talk, found smoking-gun documents and withstood the intimidation that comes with challenging a twisted little man who had no business running California's second largest policing agency. Her excellence made me a better journalist.

Sadly, Hanley's departure from the Times is a victory for all the dirty politicians and bureaucrats who continue to roam our county.

Her June 1 email to colleagues follows . . .

]

Twenty years ago this summer, I pedaled my bicycle across
the United States, unsure where the adventure would take me. In a twist
I didn't expect, I made a friend along the way who–in a funny story
too long to share here–helped me land my first job in journalism.
Looking back, I don't think it was a coincidence. And it's been a sweet
ride.

As most of you know by now, I decided
earlier this year it's time for a clean break. I couldn't bring myself
to leave, however, before Mike Carona was sentenced. When I began
digging into his administration the better part of six years ago, I
didn't think it would take so long for everything to play out.
Considering the lengths he went to, directly and through his cronies,
to try to destroy my credibility and career, it was well worth the
wait. As he contemplates 5.5 years in prison, I move on to new
adventures with no regrets and my reputation fully intact.

It's
been an honor and privilege working with everyone. Thanks for
everything. I wish all of you the best of luck in these uncertain times
. . .

Before I cliche myself out of business, I retire.

Cheers,

Christine Hanley

–R. Scott Moxley / OC Weekly

R. Scott Moxley

CNN-featured investigative reporter R. Scott Moxley has won Journalist of the Year honors at the Los Angeles Press Club; been named Distinguished Journalist of the Year by the LA Society of Professional Journalists; obtained one of the last exclusive prison interviews with Charles Manson disciple Susan Atkins; won inclusion in Jeffrey Toobin’s The Best American Crime Reporting for his coverage of a white supremacist’s senseless murder of a beloved Vietnamese refugee; launched multi-year probes that resulted in the FBI arrests and convictions of the top three ranking members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department; and gained praise from New York Times Magazine writers for his “herculean job” exposing entrenched Southern California law enforcement corruption.