WDRB reporting arrest

http://www.whas11.com/news/local/Chef-D ... 27323.html



"Statement from Chef S. Dean Corbett:

Last night, as many of you have heard, I was arrested. The charge is trafficking in a controlled substance, Vicodin. I would like to take a moment to explain the events that occurred last night and ask that the media and public please use compassion and understanding before judging me.

I have suffered from chronic pain for over fifteen years, with two back surgeries, a cervical fusion and kidney cancer. My surgeon would like for me to have a lower spinal fusion within the next ten months in order to alleviate the discomfort I feel on a daily basis. I’ve made no secret about being on back pain medicine in order to maintain three restaurants and a produce company. I am under the care of several doctors and have an authorized prescription for Vicodin. Many chefs have had similar back surgeries due to the amount of time they spend on their feet on concrete surfaces and are on similar medication. Those who know me, know that I am a highly productive, focused and hard working individual who doesn’t want to be sidelined by chronic pain.

Several weeks ago, I lent some of my Vicodin to a former chef who was on the same medication as me. He is in stage 3 Esophageal Cancer and in severe pain. He promised to return the Vicodin when he was able to refill his prescription. I did not realize at the time that was inappropriate. I have never sold nor ever will sell medications. I apologize to my family, my friends, the loyal customers of my restaurants and my produce company, and to the Louisville community.

I would like to ask the public to please not just believe what you read or hear in the media. I love this community and always strive to give back. I ask for understanding and privacy for myself and my family while this matter is handled by our court system.

Thank You,

Chef Deano"

Well I think that about wraps it up, I think we can all learn from this and move forward.

Hopefully that clears things up!

The man is a class act all the way around. He should start giving seminars to all the politicians, celebrities, and corporate executives who think that denying is the way to handle a bad situation like this. Maybe the judge will agree and assign that task to him as community service.

Chef, you have my support and sympathy.
Jim

I have nothing but love and respect for this man. I agreed Jim he is a class act all the way around.

I consider Dean a mentor and personal friend. Knowing what I know, once all of the details come out, this sensationalized media feeding frenzy will quickly fade away and give Dean and I something to chuckle about over a couple of Bud Lights someday in the future.

Yuck.

Now THAT's what oughtta be illegal.

I consider Dean a mentor and personal friend. Knowing what I know, once all of the details come out, this sensationalized media feeding frenzy will quickly fade away and give Dean and I something to chuckle about over a couple of Bud Lights someday in the future.

Yuck.

Now THAT's what oughtta be illegal.

Roger...Roger...Roger. Relax. I'm SURE what he meant to say was "Chuckle about over a couple of NABC's someday while bellied up to the bar at some chain restaurant".

[Robin Garr]

For the record, here's the formal copy of Chef Deano's statement. It appears the same as the one published by WHAS-11.

We're big supporters of Chef Dean here. As everyone in this forum, I think, has been saying, he's a class act, and when this uproar is over, he's not going to be the one with dirt clinging to him.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


March 9, 2012

Statement from Chef S. Dean Corbett:

Last night, as many of you have heard, I was arrested. The charge is trafficking in a controlled substance, Vicodin. I would like to take a moment to explain the events that occurred last night and ask that the media and public please use compassion and understanding before judging me.

I have suffered from chronic pain for over fifteen years, with two back surgeries, a cervical fusion and kidney cancer. My surgeon would like for me to have a lower spinal fusion within the next ten months in order to alleviate the discomfort I feel on a daily basis. I’ve made no secret about being on back pain medicine in order to maintain three restaurants and a produce company. I am under the care of several doctors and have an authorized prescription for Vicodin. Many chefs have had similar back surgeries due to the amount of time they spend on their feet on concrete surfaces and are on similar medication. Those who know me, know that I am a highly productive, focused and hard working individual who doesn’t want to be sidelined by chronic pain.

Several weeks ago, I lent some of my Vicodin to a former chef who was on the same medication as me. He is in stage 3 Esophageal Cancer and in severe pain. He promised to return the Vicodin when he was able to refill his prescription. I did not realize at the time that was inappropriate. I have never sold nor ever will sell medications. I apologize to my family, my friends, the loyal customers of my restaurants and my produce company, and to the Louisville community.

I would like to ask the public to please not just believe what you read or hear in the media. I love this community and always strive to give back. I ask for understanding and privacy for myself and my family while this matter is handled by our court system.

Thank You,

Chef Deano

He has a sweet family, and I hope they don't suffer for this. At the outside, it's an error in judgment. We'll be giving Corbett's our business as a gesture of support.

I'd go to the mat for Chef Dean. He is class act personified. No question.

Sensationalistic journalism, for shame.

The sensationalism and now just out right inaccurate reporting continued in the WDRB 10 pm news tonight. How difficult is it to get a quote correct?

WDRB just reported incredibly incorrectly that Dean Corbett said "he was buying more because he gave his to a friend.". Making it sound like he was doing a drug deal.

Quoting Dean above "Several weeks ago, I lent some of my Vicodin to a former chef who was on the same medication as me. He is in stage 3 Esophageal Cancer and in severe pain. He promised to return the Vicodin when he was able to refill his prescription. I did not realize at the time that was inappropriate. I have never sold nor ever will sell medications"

So they sensationalize it this morning and continue to get it wrong. What would people believe who only saw this news story.

A public apology is way overdue!

FOLLOWUP: I sent an email tonight to WDRB with the info above demanding a FULL public apolgy for their false sensational reporting.

The sensationalism and now just out right inaccurate reporting continued in the WDRB 10 pm news tonight. How difficult is it to get a quote correct?

WDRB just reported incredibly incorrectly that Dean Corbett said "he was buying more because he gave his to a friend.". Making it sound like he was doing a drug deal.

Quoting Dean above "Several weeks ago, I lent some of my Vicodin to a former chef who was on the same medication as me. He is in stage 3 Esophageal Cancer and in severe pain. He promised to return the Vicodin when he was able to refill his prescription. I did not realize at the time that was inappropriate. I have never sold nor ever will sell medications"

So they sensationalize it this morning and continue to get it wrong. What would people believe who only saw this news story.

A public apology is way overdue!

Our media is sick, Jerry. Dean is a saint and I'm ignoring all the other garbage in this story.

If this country would quit wasting our money on a drug war we wouldn't even be having this conversation. I feel sorry for the man, what goes in his body should be his own business.

I think it's important to remember that these local news reporters are people too. It's easy to blame "the media" for sensationalism. While inaccurate reports do happen, I don't think these reporters purposefully destroy the facts for the sake of sensationalism - if for no other reason than they take their jobs seriously and understand that maintaining credibility is important to doing the job.

I think it's important to remember that these local news reporters are people too. It's easy to blame "the media" for sensationalism. While inaccurate reports do happen, I don't think these reporters purposefully destroy the facts for the sake of sensationalism - if for no other reason than they take their jobs seriously and understand that maintaining credibility is important to doing the job.

That's very diplomatic and objective, Matthew. But I have to call "bollocks". I have no sympathy for the virtually nameless people involved in malicious reporting, because they don't have the enormous and damning public to address later. Of course they're feeding the appetite, but it's a little ludicrous to expect LHB to stop and pay homage to their competitive efforts.

I think it's important to remember that these local news reporters are people too. It's easy to blame "the media" for sensationalism. While inaccurate reports do happen, I don't think these reporters purposefully destroy the facts for the sake of sensationalism - if for no other reason than they take their jobs seriously and understand that maintaining credibility is important to doing the job.

Do you know many people in media? Perhaps it's different for the old guard, but I know the new guard is pushed to do exactly that -- destroy the facts and peoples' characters for sensationalism and ratings. The whole credibility bit went out the window about when the internet began destroying advertising dollars. Granted, the local news is better than national, but I know of quite a few cases where they flat out made things up in order to make the story more watchable. This wasn't "misunderstood" or "maybe misinterpreted," but flat fraudulent distortion. I polled nearly everyone in an old neighborhood I lived in to see who the "vast majority of residents" saying something entirely false was, and, surprise, no one had talked to the local reporter, except one woman who said the exact opposite. If we're learned nothing else from the last decade of news reporting it is, in fact, that credibility means absolutely nothing.

I think this was a typical "take down the supposedly wealthy" play attempting to tap into that "populist anger." I don't think they realized, whatever the situation, that there aren't very many people in the city who think Corbett is anything but a great guy, and that they'd be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Course, all that said, the damned news story has been sent to me nearly two dozen times, I've seen it on Facebook repeatedly, and they have far more comments on their online postings than they normally do, so innocent or not, I'd say they've achieved the real end of media -- ratings.