Marty Griffin

Background

• Works at KDKA
• Hosts Marty's Army. (See letter below)
• Marty Griffin on Wikipedia
• Jounalism grad from Ohio University

Details

Dallas meltdown

• http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1997/march/media-did-marty-griffin-get-conned

Email from 2006

Dear Enlistees:

Welcome to the fight, my friends. Thank you for enlisting in Marty’s Army.

Here are our marching orders:

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat. --Theodore Roosevelt

Are you ready to create change? As we gear up for the fall election, here are some of the things that our voices have already been able to accomplish in less than nine months.

Last January 12 miners were trapped by an explosion inside the Sago Mine in Buckhannon, WV. To prevent a similar disaster in Pennsylvania we rallied to the aid of State Senator Richard Kasunic, D-Dunbar, a sponsor of Senate Bill 949. Senator Kasunic says that 'Senate Bill 949 was stalled, headed nowhere, until KDKA got involved.'

Remember 74-year-old Marilyn Devine of West Mifflin, arrested and accused of robbing $6,000 from a bank? Turns out Marilyn was trying to help her drug addicted son. We found Marilyn a lawyer who is handling the case for free. Right now she is undergoing counseling and will most likely receive probation for her crime. Marilyn called us live on News Talk 1020 KDKA to say 'Thank you very much Mr. Griffin. I made a mistake. I was trying to help my son. I never intended to hurt anybody.'

In May of 2006 The Real Deal uncovered volunteer firefighters who were not just convicted felons but convicted arsonists. Right now Senate Bill 583 sits ready for passage by the full House and Senate and will be signed into law before the November elections. The bill would make it illegal for convicted ! arsonists to become volunteer fighters.

In July of 2006 The Army turned out to help the Malone family, who had recently moved from Montana to Tarentum. When they got here they learned they’d been ripped off for $5,000. That’s when Marty's Army stepped in. Within two days we had the family living in temporary housing. Within three days we had offers of dozens of homes for the family to live in. Within a week we’d recovered all of the money the family lost.

Last month, Terra Johnson called The Real Deal with a problem: her son is autistic but the dog recommended for him by doctors was causing her to get evicted. That’s where we stepped in, producing a lease agreement that shows pets are allowed for medical reasons. We contacted the federal agency that funds the project and the Johnson family was spared eviction.

But our biggest battle still lies ahead of us: gaming reform.

State Representative Jane Orie came to the Army with shocking news -- vast loopholes and lack of oversight of the state's gaming regulations allowed -- among other things -- children to become slots suppliers. The Army responded quickly and within days Pennsylvania’s biggest lobbyist, Stephen Wodjak, was forced to pull out as a middleman. The unsavory details of the gaming provisions prompted former Allegheny County Executive Jim Roddey to also withdraw his application.

Governor Rendell went public on KDKA and credited Marty's Army with 'driving the agenda of the Commonwealth.' Jane Orie says 'what you are doing is a tremendous public service -- you are protecting the people of Pennsylvania.' The battle for gaming reform is far from over. We won't stop until there is reform in ACT 71.

This is just a sampling of some of the change you have helped create. But we're not done. We'll continue to take up the good fight.

REMEMBER: ONE VOICE A WHISPER . . . OUR VOICE A ROAR.

Thanks…

Marty Griffin