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It had lurid allegations of sex in the office, a man in a position of power and an intern - or in this case, a teachers aide - and the silent complicity of perfidious unions. But A fine NEA moment turned out not to be the Trib s finest hour. The piece concerned the travails of Wayne Nadeau, a Vermont educator recently elected to the National Education Associations executive committee. Citing a Vermont Press Bureau story as its source, the Trib reported that Nadeau had admitted to having consensual sex with a female teachers aide. If anything was more shocking than this desktop sexcapade, it was the NEAs seemingly blas reaction. The Trib quoted NEA spokesperson Kathleen Lyons asserting that Having sex with a white female is not a disqualification. The Trib acknowledged that Nadeau voluntarily resigned from the executive committee, but concluded As for the NEA, dont get us started. Thats advice the Trib might wish the original source for the story - whoever it was - had followed. In fact, There is nothing to indicate that Nadeau had sex on a desk, or that he told the woman to be quiet, says Darren Allen, the bureau chief of the Vermont Press Bureau. While Nadeau did admit to having an affair on school grounds, and while he did resign from the NEAs executive committee when the affair came to light, the Trib s other details are whole-cloth stuff, Allen says. Which is a problem, considering that the Press Bureau was the only source the Trib cited. The bureau has never mentioned Nadeaus race, and only partly because he and the woman were both white: Its irrelevant, Allen says. Hes surprised the Trib feels differently: I dont know whats going on in Pittsburgh , but last time I was there, it seemed more enlightened than that. When Lyons saw her quote, she demanded a retraction from editorial page editor Colin McNickle. But McNickle kept insisting this was a news report, she says, and to prove it he sent her a copy of the report itself which the Press Bureau forwarded to City Paper . After poring over the document, Lyons and Press Bureau staffers discovered that McNickle had relied upon a July 16 Press Bureau story - but that the story had been doctored. Several key phrases had either been added to or changed in the 872-word piece see illustration . Lyons original statement to the Press Bureau, for example, had been changed from Having an affair is not a disqualification to Having sex with a white female is not a disqualification. Other details were invented outright: The fake account reports that Nadeau previously filed a race-based discrimination claim because he was black. The Trib did avoid repeating the most dangerous falsehood: The fake story asserts that Nadeau had slept with a student , a part of the doctored-up story that the Trib repaired with a little doctoring of its own. Still, Lyons suggests that because the Trib got that detail right, it should have suspected other details were wrong. They obviously knew there was something fishy, but they didnt call me. The nicest thing I could say about them was they were willingly duped. Lyons hasnt seen the story anywhere else, and calls to McNickle and Trib editor Frank Craig were not returned.
The Trib , however, made no mention of Nadeaus fictitious lawsuit, and correctly reported that Nadeaus partner was not a student but a teachers aide. The original Vermont Press Bureau story: Its a personal matter , said NEA spokeswoman Kathleen Lyons. Having an affair is not a disqualification, and I know its something he regrets. The story as altered, according to the Tribune-Review , by a third party: Its a personal matter , said NEA spokeswoman Kathleen Lyons. Having sex with a white female student is not a disqualification and I know its something he regrets. Original: Nadeau admitted that during the 2001-02 school year he had consensual sex with a female paraprofessional in his classroom. Nadeaus classroom was closed, the sexual activity occurred at times when students were, and might have been, present in the building, the agreement said. Altered version: Nadeau admitted that during the 2001-02 school year he had consensual sex with a female student on his desktop in the classroom. Nadeaus classroom was closed, the aforementioned sexual activity occurred at times when students were, and might have been, present in the building. And Nadeau cautioned the student to not scream in pleasure, the agreement said. Original: Vermont NEA President Angelo Dorta said he only learned Wednesday about the matter because NEA attorneys who represented Nadeau were bound by attorney-client privilege not to disclose it to others. It will not affect his position with either union, officials said. Altered version: Vermont NEA President Angelo Dorta said he only learned Wednesday about the matter because NEA attorneys who represented Nadeau were bound by attorney-client privilege not to disclose it to others. It became known that Nadeau had treatened sic a discrimination lawsuit alleging that he had been single sic out because he was black . It will not affect his position with either union, officials said.
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