Examining an erroneous and malicious character assassination
Gary E. Schwartz, PhD
Reported on
www.drgaryschwartz.com
October 10, 2007
Summary
In what can be described as a character assassination segment on “Geraldo at
Large” on Saturday, October 6th, explicit defamatory claims were made
against Dr. Gary E. Schwartz concerning his ethics regarding fund raising
for afterlife research. The one-sided segment presented interviews with
three people – (1) Mr. Knopf, a father grieving the death of his son who had
been a former client of Ms. Campbell (2) a medium currently co-starring in
the television show Sensing Murder, and (3) Ms. Macy, an investigative
reporter hired by Mr. Knopf. The segment was highly selective and biased in
its reporting. A summary of the claims, with additional information not
shared on the segment, is discussed below. Together they reveal a very
different story.
Mr. Knopf claimed that Dr. Schwartz engaged in unethical fund raising
following the death of his son, including making statements regarding his
deceased son’s purported wishes from the other side. What the Geraldo
segment did not mention is that (1) it was Mr. Knopf who initiated contact
with Dr. Schwartz following Mr. Knopf’s successful private readings with Ms.
Campbell, (2) Mr. Knopf claimed that he was a very wealthy man who wanted to
honor his deceased son and help support afterlife research, (3) he invited
Dr. Schwartz to his home to discuss possible research programs that he would
fund, (4) Ms. Campbell provided specific information about his son’s wishes
from the other side, (5) Mr. Knopf promised The University of Arizona an
unrestricted gift of $100,000 but only followed through with $50,000 to The
University of Arizona, (6) Mr. Knopf communicated to Dr. Schwartz that Mr.
Knopf had recently been released from spending time in jail, (7) Mr. Knopf
also communicated to Dr. Schwartz that he was currently being sued by
partners in a medical school he purported to own, and (8) he was upset
because Dr. Schwartz refused to participate in a proposed business venture
with Mr. Knopf that would compromise Dr. Schwartz’s ethics.
Ms. Campbell claimed that she resigned from Dr. Schwartz’s laboratory in
2005, and that this speaks to her opinions regarding Dr. Schwartz’s ethical
behavior. What the Geraldo segment did not mention is that (1) new
guidelines and procedures for advancing the ethics and scientific
understanding for mediums were being formulated at that time, initiated
partly by some inappropriate behavior by Ms. Campbell and some other
mediums, (2) all mediums would be required to go through a nine step
evaluation procedure, including taking a government mandated human subjects
ethics examine required of scientists and research staff, plus take a test
based on a book describing previous scientific research with mediums, (3)
Ms. Campbell was upset that she would have to undergo the required testing
for the new guidelines and procedures, (4) she decided not to participate in
the testing, and therefore (5) she was about to be let go by the laboratory,
and chose to resign instead.
Ms. Macy claimed that she had interviewed other individuals who had been
approached by Dr. Schwartz for research funding in an unethical manner.
What the Geraldo segment did not mention is that (1) Ms. Macy had previously
contributed to the spreading of a false rumor concerning fund raising
related to Dr. Schwartz and the Forever Family Foundation, and that (2)
after being confronted with the facts, she had written a formal letter of
apology to Dr. Schwartz for her being part of spreading the false rumor.
One wonders why “Geraldo at Large” presented such a one sided story.
Geraldo made a point on the show of reporting that Dr. Schwartz did not
return their calls, with an implicit negative connotation. The truth is
that there was no genuine attempt by the Geraldo show to contact Dr.
Schwartz to have a fair representation of both sides of this story. What
Geraldo failed to mention was that the call to Dr. Schwartz’s office was
made only after closing hours of his office on Friday, October 5, for a show
that was ready to be aired on Saturday, October 6. Also, a call had been
made to Dr. Schwartz’s home late Friday night. As it happened, both Dr.
Schwartz and his wife were out of town that weekend. They returned to
Tucson on Sunday evening, October 7, after the show had aired.
As the title “Veritas Research Program” (
http://veritas.arizona.edu )
indicates, Dr. Schwartz and his colleagues are concerned with truth. As Dr.
Schwartz reports on his laboratory’s website
(
http://lach.web.arizona.edu/hos.htm),“Responsibility to the truth is the
heart of science.” The Geraldo segment about Dr. Schwartz reveals a
striking disregard for balanced truth in reporting. Legal action will be
taken against each and every individual who has made defamatory comments
against Dr. Schwartz, and the truth will be brought out in the court room1.