00:00:09
um well let me just ask you straight out did you kill irene garza no do you know who did uh no you won't tell
00:00:16
me anything get lost brother for almost 40 years richard schlesinger has made every minute of airtime count
00:00:28
i'm sorry he said what he said i will put you in the grinder in a meat grinder yeah
00:00:34
he claimed that they tried to do an exorcism on him i'm sorry did you say an exorcism
00:00:41
yes i know that you're a politician and not a priest but did he seem in need of an exorcism
00:00:46
with a glance i'm just gonna ask you just a couple of questions a simple question what do you think of her
00:00:53
you really want me to answer that i'd like to i think she's the worst thing that ever
00:01:00
was born in the united states of america he pulls us in a good percentage of the stab wounds on
00:01:06
the back were all postmortem after he was dead you have to restart this is i want to make sure your dad
00:01:12
absolutely died completely and utterly dead and every richard moment is in service
00:01:18
to the story he has a signature style and a distinctive way with words listen to him here
00:01:26
the story of carol's life with don lewis like so many florida stories begins like
00:01:32
a pulp fiction novel any reputable publisher would reject sussinger joined cbs news in 1984.
00:01:43
richard schlesinger cbs news bal harbor florida he worked in latin america the nicaraguan government says the contras
00:01:50
are stronger than they say he was an occasional anchor protesters at the final session of the aids conference an
00:01:58
investigative reporter for the evening news why wouldn't the faa install the air force system or something like it at
00:02:05
commercial airports he was witness to some of the most important world events the fall of the berlin wall the party is
00:02:14
over and a new reality is beginning to set in 9 11. when the world trade center was
00:02:20
brought to the ground the country was brought to its knees the war on terror take a look around they've used
00:02:27
helicopters armored vehicles he has a shelf full of honors including 10 emmys and two alfred i dupont
00:02:36
columbia university awards including one for this story cbs reports entered the jury room it marked the first time
00:02:45
network television cameras were given access to jury deliberations he just doesn't think she should get
00:02:52
more than him there wasn't a story richard couldn't tell in this area alone there are 6
00:02:59
300 pipes and cbs sunday morning showed his range about 550 cats have been adopted from
00:03:07
here from yiddish who hasn't schlepped to the store or fetched about the traffic
00:03:14
to dishing with liza minnelli this is being called your comeback yes i've come back honey i have crawled back
00:03:22
here he brought out the best in people and sometimes the unexpected mrs marcos what
00:03:30
do you feel about the verdict like this moment with the former first lady of the philippines imelda marcos
00:03:38
i have been living in in welfare this is welfare through it all you'd most often find
00:03:49
richard on 48 hours if i strangle you for instance like we do this one yeah but this is a very logical reaction i do
00:03:56
this exactly that's what you think happened richard didn't need to say much to make
00:04:02
a point it's critical that this go off without a hitch well it is we want things to go
00:04:08
not necessarily strictly by the numbers but within reason a smooth delivery of service
00:04:14
smooth delivery of certain delivery of service one story that meant a lot to him was
00:04:20
the case of irene garza a young woman from mcallen texas murdered in 1960. and you're going to find out
00:04:28
that the man who did this is john fight the main suspect was a priest they had a
00:04:36
pretty good case against him why wasn't he arrested he was protected by by the hierarchy of the catholic church
00:04:45
well dale tashme says that you told him that you did i'm sorry damn and there was his reporting on the case
00:04:55
of anthony graves in somerville texas nothing moves very swiftly except for the occasional freight train
00:05:03
and sometimes the desire for justice graves was wrongfully imprisoned for 18 years he spent most of that time on
00:05:13
death row this is my life this is my life in this fire gutted house firefighters found six bodies it
00:05:21
was probably the most brutal crime that ever happened in that part of the state they said i did it
00:05:27
and did you no no motive no reason no connection nothing richard was there when graves was
00:05:35
released from custody this is probably the dumbest question i've ever asked but i got to
00:05:40
ask you anyway how do you feel oh well i feel good i'll bet you do sir feel good
00:05:55
bridget's reporting helped anthony graves in his fight to be compensated for all those lost years
00:06:03
and his first stop is home to his sons who had grown up without him and at long last to an embrace
00:06:18
with his mother richard is most proud of the emmy he won for that story when was
00:06:24
the last time you were able to put your arm around your mother 18 years ago you haven't touched your son you know 18
00:06:30
years 18 years and no tribute would be complete without a mention of richard's true love flying
00:06:48
richard with the air national guard on patrol over new york city after 9 11. a few years later he got his private
00:06:56
license and he found a way to combine his flying skills with his reporting as he probed another mystery
00:07:06
first of all imagine the struggle involved in strangling a 170 pound man in this passenger seat
00:07:13
then if the plan was to push him out the door that's a challenge [Music] and richard's life has been full of
00:07:23
other adventures too this is where it happened on a quiet country road in cornwall connecticut i think right
00:07:29
around here is where i dropped in june 2021 richard almost retired in a very permanent sense he went into cardiac
00:07:39
arrest local volunteers all of them his neighbors in connecticut were able to bring him back one moment
00:07:46
i'm walking the next moment i'm in hartford hospital [Music] richard has recovered beautifully with
00:07:53
the help of his partner john gunther and their trusty dogs cyrus and gus which brings us to dogs
00:08:03
did we mention how much richard loves dogs all this work hours of grooming just to impress one person the judge
00:08:12
what do you want to avoid in a dog show what don't you want to happen if you're handling one of these doors i don't want
00:08:18
the dog to bite the judge number one rule don't bite the judge [Applause] as richard steps back from work he'll be
00:08:30
spending more time volunteering for the local animal shelter in life just like every story he's done
00:08:38
richard never misses the chance for the perfect ending richard schlesinger cbs news lafayette
00:08:46
colorado new jersey west berlin managua boston new york you