Dexter Dietz, the Chuckwalla Reveille's owner and publisher, is in a federal witness protection program awaiting the possible trial in the Hague of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.
I met Dietz in San Francisco’s Haight, when I knocked at an apartment door with the inscription “Only the illusion doesn’t deceive."
He later became involved in shadowy transactions involving the sputtering insurrection in Southern Sudan. Returning to the States, he sought a quiet enterprise that would print easy money. The Chuckwalla Reveille, the weekly in a tiny desert town, had a small but steady trade with several real estate brokers and a car dealership. Dietz had no interest in reporting or editing but these matters are easily hired out.
He led a retired life until FBI agents took him into protective custody. I was sitting at the bar at the Merchants’ and Millionaires’ when Dexter rang. Could I come to Imperial County to guard his interests? I was at liberty, having just been fired for insubordination from a metro daily
(www.chuckwallaparade.blogspot.com).
I agreed to take the reins until the al-Bashir indictment is resolved.