A Media Feeding Frenzy Turns Out to Be Just Pizza

It sounded like a good story--the possible capture of Oklahoma bombing suspect John Doe No. 2, America’s “Most Wanted Man,” by our own Santa Monica police last Friday.

Officers hugged each other in the parking lot.

Chief James T. Butts Jr. planned a news conference.

Reporters flocked to the station.

But the hours passed and no word came. It got cold. It got dark. The media got hungry.

To take the edge off, a radio reporter and a television crew ordered pizza delivered to the parking lot. Everyone dug in, using the hood of Chief Butts’ Buick as a table--hey, it was there. Even Butts came down for a slice.

At 9 p.m., a change of scene to the Civic Auditorium, where city workers brought out a huge vat of coffee and handed out candy bars.

Still, no word.

Finally, action--sort of. In the best use of a cellular telephone since the order for pizza earlier in the evening, City Manager John Jalili called Butts and strongly suggested he “put an end to this.”

Sure enough, the drifter that police had arrested was a faux Doe. Even though he looked like the infamous suspect, drove a car with Oklahoma plates and gave a false name when arrested on suspicion of auto theft, the FBI had come up with no connection between him and the April 19 bombing.

Good pizza, though.

ERASING THE RED: With Election Day ’96 still a long way off, Republican Rich Sybert is in the midst of an aggressive drive to erase his campaign debt and start building a financial nest egg for his next run at Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills), whose district includes Malibu.

Sybert, a former planning director for Gov. Pete Wilson, had a year-end campaign deficit of $566,877.29 after he lost a close race last fall to represent the 24th Congressional District. But he said his financial state is not as bad as it looks because he owes most of that money to himself.

And he also staged a fund-raising reception together with the Republican Party of Los Angeles County at a private home in Beverly Hills last week. The event featured Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld, a popular Republican whose name has been floated as a future presidential prospect.

Earlier in April, Sybert hosted another visiting VIP--Haley Barbour, chairman of the Republican National Committee. He snagged about $12,000 there.

ECO-UPDATE: Remember the Westside’s own Ex-Officioteam, last heard from braving the rigors of the Utah outback in a weeklong, round-the-clock, race on foot, horseback, canoe and bicycle? Well, they were disqualified over the weekend when two members dropped out.

The precise problem was not known at press time, but organizers of the Eco-Challenge race said hypothermia, intestinal complaints and foot fatigue were the biggest factors in the elimination of at least 15 of the original 50 teams from the grueling competition.

Two members of the Ex-Officio squad were said to be carrying on unofficially, having linked up with the survivors of a team sponsored by a rival clothing firm.