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Raab's latest expose began last fall when he was approached by several people skeptical about the validity of Hurricane Carter's conviction. Raab agreed to read the trial transcript and found the case against Carter and Artis weak. He returned to the bar where the shootings occurred and retraced the steps of two key witnesses, Arthur D. Bradley and Alfred P. Bello, who were burglarizing a nearby sheet-metal company at the time of the Shootout. At the trial, both witnesses gave the impression that they were next door to the murder scene. Raab discovered that the metal company was actually 2½ blocks away. When Raab tried to question the two witnesses, both refused to talk. For nine months he and others following the case reminded them that two men had been convicted on the basis of their testimony.
Nasty Dog. Finally, in August, the men agreed to sign statements that they had perjured themselves. They told Raab and Public Defense Investigator Fred Hogan that Paterson police, incensed over Carter's earlier public protests against police brutality, had promised them protection if they implicated the two men. After further checking, Raab—who had moved from WNET to the New York Times while following the case—broke the story on Sept. 27. "Once Selwyn gets on a story, he's like a nasty dog yapping at your leg," observes CBS Reporter Milagros Ardin, a former co-worker at WNET. "He doesn't let go until he gets what he wants." Says Raab: "The secret of success in this business is to be a long-distance runner. I don't like the words investigative journalism. I believe in enterprise and patience."