Appeal pulled, Heinz's will is opened to public

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | 3/29/05 | Jim McKinnon

[bitt]

Executors of the estate of the late Sen. John Heinz have withdrawn their appeal of a judge's ruling that opens the will to public inspection.

Common Pleas Judge Frank J. Lucchino, in an order this month, granted petitions filed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Tribune-Review Publishing Co. to modify an order that sealed the documents more than a decade ago.

The estate documents, by court order without a public hearing, were impounded in Orphans' Court on April 5, 1991, a day after Heinz and six others were killed in a midair collision over suburban Philadelphia.

The Los Angeles Times and The Morning Call of Allentown, Pa., filed a lawsuit in July to open the sealed documents on grounds that the information was of greater public interest because Teresa Heinz Kerry, the senator's widow and an heir to his fortune, was in position to become the nation's first lady.

Those two newspapers, as well as The Philadelphia Inquirer, lost interest after Sen. John Kerry lost his bid to be president, but the Post-Gazette and the Tribune-Review continued to pursue the matter.

Lucchino ordered that the contents be made available for public scrutiny, with some personal and sensitive information in the documents to remain private.

[bitt]

'"This is a victory, not for prurience, but for the principle of openness," Post-Gazette Executive Editor David Shribman said yesterday.'

Nah...this is for prurience.....

[smoothsailing]

And John Heinz keeps on spinning....

[Southack]

It was 1991. The Gulf War was over. Saddam Hussein had already signed his surrender treaty...his 1993 WTC bombing hadn't even been hatched yet (nor his assasination attempt of former President Bush in Kuwait)...when two Republican Senators were killed in two different air crashes 1 day apart (April 4th and 5th).

But that was before the Internet...before blogs...back when the Corrupt Old Media could still spike news (or the right angle) if it wanted.

John Tower

Wikipedia

@import url(http://www.answers.com/main/content/wp/css/common.css); @import url(http://www.answers.com/main/content/wp/css/gnwp.css);

John Tower

John Goodwin Tower (September 29, 1925 – April 5, 1991) was a conservative Republican United States Senator from Houston, Texas. He served in the Senate from 1961 to his retirement in 1984, after which he served as chairman of the "Tower Commission" that investigated the Iran-Contra Affair. He was the first Republican Senator elected from Texas since Reconstruction.

 

 

H. John Heinz III

Wikipedia

@import url(http://www.answers.com/main/content/wp/css/common.css); @import url(http://www.answers.com/main/content/wp/css/gnwp.css);

H. John Heinz III

John Heinz

Henry John Heinz III (October 23, 1938–April 4, 1991), an American politician from Pennsylvania, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives (1971–1977) and the United States Senate (1977–1991).

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Heinz was the son of the eponymous Henry J. Heinz II, heir to the H. J. Heinz Company. Heinz graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1956 and Yale University in 1960. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1963. Then, Heinz served in the United States Air Force (1963) and United States Air Force Reserve (1963–1969).

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

two Republican Senators were killed in two different air crashes 1 day apart (April 4th and 5th).

Given, of course that every Enlightened One knows that there is no such thing as evil, nor any such thing as a Vast Left Wing Conspiracy, still.....I question the timing....

< /rhetorical questions OFF >

[conservative in nyc]

The opening up of the will is too little too late for the Presidential campaign.

[Miss Marple]

But not too late for the 2008 democrat primaries. Hmmm.

[nopardons]

bttt

[alwaysconservative]

Thanks for the ping, Southack! It always strikes me what an incredibly good looking man Heinz was. How Tah-ray-za could go from him to a present-day version of Ichabod Crane is simply mind-boggling to me. No wonder she has no interest in "public displays of affection" with John F'n.

And you're right again, without the new media of the internet, I NEVER would have known, much less make the connection of having two prominent Republicans die one day apart; both deaths were underreported, to say the least. Contrast that to the similar death of Wellstone, which some conspirazoids on the left still believe was suspicious, and which is STILL being investigated.

[hershey]

Kerry still has delusions. He believes he'll get the dem. nomination and win the whole kit and kaboodle next time. He actually shows up in the senate these days. Still as dumb as dirt, but he's going down that list of things he got nailed on and trying to fix them in time for '08. Form 180 has disappeared from his radar, alas, so the Heinz will needs an airing and anything else that shows Kerry up for the golddigging liar he is.

[wagglebee]

The problem is that if the WILL is unsealed but not the TRUST(S), we may not actually find out anything. In all likelihood the bulk of Heinz's wealth was passed through trusts rather than wills. Trusts are far more difficult to gain access to.

[Polyxene]

"...a present-day version of Ichabod Crane."

LOL!! You are SO right! And here I thought he looked like a horse-faced hyena! Thanks for the laugh -- I needed it!

I really like your tagline -- SO TRUE! Keep the faith!

[Bommer]

2 Republican Senators die in two separate plane crashes 1 day apart? Sounds like Arkancide to me!