Double Exposure

If you believe NBC 6, he's an unethical businessman who exploits the poor. If you believe him, NBC 6 tossed ethics aside in a desperate bid for ratings

Comments (0) By Tristram Korten Thursday, Jul 12 2001

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One law-enforcement source, who asked not to be identified, says Alkhalifa's use of aliases aroused their interest. The businessman acknowledges his name has been spelled differently at various times. "This is such bullshit," he scoffs. "Why don't you come here and ask me what's going on? Sometimes with my Spanish-speaking customers, I tell them my name is Raphael rather than Rafaiy. Instead of Alkhalifa, which is a mouthful, I say Kalifa. You can use any name in this country as long as you don't use them criminally."

The criminal charges against him ended up being tossed out when the prosecutor appeared in court believing he had agreed to a postponement, only to find the defense ready for trial. "There was miscommunication between the defense and prosecutors," Ergio Fernandez explains.

Perfect timing: Reporter Alicia Ortega was able to go live as cops raided Funeraria Nacional Latina

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The judge dismissed the case without prejudice, which meant authorities could reopen it at a future date. And so they did, six months later, just in time to go live with Alicia Ortega on NBC 6, serving search warrants and carting off computers and business records from Alkhalifa's office. What inspired the renewed interest? Could it have been a television station in pursuit of a dramatic story designed to boost ratings? Fernandez demurs. "Anytime you have the dead remains of loved ones who are left leaking in the middle of someone's driveway, that's a cause for concern," he says. "It's a very unusual case, it's a case that we can't just let go by the wayside."

A few days before her reports were broadcast, Alicia Ortega contacted Alkhalifa, but when he figured out she was Deacon Ray Ortega's daughter he refused to meet with her. He also called the station to complain that, given his history with her father, she should not report the story.

"We investigated this whole question Mr. Alkhalifa had in regards to a conflict," says NBC 6's news director Geraghty. "I can see because Alicia and Ray Ortega are related it could have the appearance of a conflict of interest. We spent extensive time investigating and found that there was no conflict of interest." The station did send Stu Jacobs, the senior manager in charge of special projects, to interview Alkhalifa, who concluded as a result that Ortega was off the story.

Alkhalifa also believes that after he fired Alonzo, the ex-employee approached Ray Ortega and asked to speak with the deacon's daughter. His suspicions were later bolstered by the station's attorney, who wrote in response to an inquiry that "an unnamed third party asked Deacon Ortega for assistance in reaching his daughter. Merely passing a message to his daughter from an acquaintance does not present a conflict of interest."

After NBC 6 contacted him, Alkhalifa called his lawyers. They in turn engaged media consultant Seth Gordon, the well-known founder of GDB + Partners, a Miami public-relations firm. Over the years Gordon has had extensive dealings with the press and has developed a reputation for skillful spinning. Even before Ortega's reports were broadcast, Gordon prepared a lengthy press release and posted it on Business Wire, an Internet service that publishes industry communiqués and other global business information.

"Funeral-home operator believes WTVJ-NBC 6 orchestrated “Live TV' police raid to boost ratings," Gordon's release read. "Station denies story was motivated by bad blood between funeral-home owner and father of the reporter handling the story." Though it was pretty juicy stuff, none of the major media bit -- not the other local TV stations and not the Miami Herald, which maintains a news partnership with NBC 6 and frequently promotes the station's stories. (The paper did not advertise Ortega's funeral-home reports.)

The only news organizations responding to Gordon's press release were New Times and the Columbia Journalism Review, the respected national trade journal published under the auspices of Columbia University's graduate school of journalism. In its current issue, the magazine bestows upon NBC 6 one of its notorious darts for the station's conduct regarding the Alkhalifa story.

Today, nearly three months after the televised raid, no charges have been filed against Rafaiy Alkhalifa, and Miami-Dade Police officials decline to comment on the status of their investigation. Alicia Ortega has since left NBC 6 to be with her husband, who works for a television station in the Dominican Republic. News director Geraghty stresses that her departure was unrelated to the Alkhalifa controversy. (She could not be reached for comment.)

On behalf of Alkhalifa, Seth Gordon wrote to station general manager Don Browne and invoked the code of ethics of the Radio-Television News Directors Association: "Professional electronic journalists should ... present analytical reporting based on professional perspective, not personal bias."

NBC 6's counsel, Lynn Oberlander, who would not comment for this story, responded in a letter to Gordon: "Mr. Alkhalifa's operations are currently under investigation by the State Attorney's Office, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and the Miami-Dade Police. We stand behind our report as a fair, accurate, and balanced review of allegations concerning the operation of these funeral homes."