Pedro Ferriz suggested last week that investigative reporter Ricardo Ravello received a bribe of 50,000 dollars from a drug trafficker  in order to stop printing stories about him.  Sergio Barragán Villareal, the drug trafficker, claimed this bribe occurred.  Commentator Pedro Ferriz used the statement to demonstrate just how corrupt Mr. Ravello, an investigative reporter and expert on the Mexican mafia, is.  Mr. Ferriz forgot to mention that it’s a common practice for drug traffickers to offer false claims about their enemies, in order to put the spotlight on them.

     Mr. Ferriz got his information from a television report aired by broadcasting giant Televisa.  An anonymous audio sent to Televisa was uncritically aired with the drug trafficker´s claim, on Joaquin Lopez Doriga´s news broadcast.

    This morning,  radio commentator Miguel Angel Granados Chapa  demonstrated just how false statements, like the one Mr. Ferriz gave to his radio audience that Mr. Ravello accepted a bribe to stop writing stories about the drug trafficker, are.  He gave a long list of stories written by the investigative reporter, critical of the drug trafficker,  that came out after the supposed bribe.  Mr. Ferriz has yet to take back his claim and offer apologies to his listeners for misleading information.

link to the story:     http://www.diario.com.mx/notas.php?f=2010/12/05&id=1098b858c547726531eda3aada9dfdbclink to Ferriz´s page:    http://www.imagen.com.mx/programa/pedro_ferriz_de_con/41/link to Granados Chapas page:    http://www.radiounam.unam.mx/site/index.php?Itemid=29&id=33&layout=blog&option=com_content&view=category