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Matt Birkbeck

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Matt Birkbeck (born Brooklyn, N.Y.) is an American investigative journalist and author.

He wrote the best selling books The Quiet Don (2013), about Mafia boss Russell Bufalino, A Beautiful Child (2004), which told the story of "Sharon Marshall" and her "father" Franklin Delano Floyd, and the sequel Finding Sharon (2018), which is a memoir about his ten-year effort, along with the FBI and National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, to find Sharon's true identity.

He also authored Deconstructing Sammy: Music, Money, Madness and the Mob (2008) about the life of Sammy Davis, Jr. and efforts to resolve his debts and his legacy; and A Deadly Secret: The Bizarre and Chilling Story of Robert Durst (2015), about New York real estate scion Robert Durst, who was accused of murdering his wife Kathie Durst and two others. A Deadly Secret was adapted into the 2017 Lifetime movie The Lost Wife of Robert Durst. The book was originally published in 2002.

Career

Birkbeck worked from 2004 to 2010 at The Morning Call[1][2][3] where he covered federal courts and wrote investigative stories.

His lengthy reporting on Pennsylvania's flawed gaming initiative exposed political corruption at the highest levels of state government, including then-Governor Ed Rendell and the state Supreme Court.[4] In 2009 he was subpoenaed to testify before a special prosecutor appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to investigate alleged leaks in the prosecution of a businessman with alleged mob ties who was awarded a license to operate a casino.[5] Birkbeck's reporting on the case served as the basis of his book The Quiet Don: The Untold Story of Mafia Kingpin Russell Bufalino,[6] which was published in 2013 by Berkley/Penguin.

Earlier, at the Pocono Record, he wrote a multi-part investigative series A Price Too High published in April 2001 that exposed how home builders, appraisers, mortgage companies and major banks conspired to defraud thousands of homebuyers, mostly minorities from the New York area, and forced them into bankruptcy and foreclosure. For his reporting, which spurred numerous state, local and federal investigations, as well as Congressional hearings, Birkbeck received an Investigative Reporters and Editors award in 2002. The New York Times followed up his reporting with a lengthy feature in April 2004.[7] Birkbeck and the Pocono Record were sued for libel by a home builder in 2003, and the case went to trial in Monroe County, Pa. in 2010 before a jury, which ruled in favor of Birkbeck and the newspaper.[8]

He has written magazine pieces and features for Boston Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, Reader's Digest, Playboy and others.

He was also a correspondent for People magazine covering mostly crime and human interest stories including the 1999 death of John F. Kennedy, Jr., the 9/11 attacks in New York, and the Robert Durst investigation. His work on the Robert Durst case led to the publication of A Deadly Secret in 2002.

In 2010 he joined business publisher Harrison Scott Publications, where he covers securitization and regulatory issues in Washington, D.C. HSP was sold to Green Street in 2020.

Books

Film adaptations

A Deadly Secret was adapted as a TV movie by Lifetime in 2017 as The Lost Wife of Robert Durst. It starred Katharine McPhee as Kathie Durst and Daniel Gillies as Robert Durst.

Deconstructing Sammy was optioned for a feature film, documentary and scripted TV series by Byron Allen for his Entertainment Studios in 2015.[9]

Awards

Birkbeck received an Investigative Reporters and Editors Award in 2002 for his groundbreaking stories on mortgage fraud in the U.S.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Matt Birkbeck". Mcall.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  2. ^ "Matt Birkbeck: About the Author". Harpercollins.com. March 24, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  3. ^ "Matt Birkbeck biography". Authors.simonandschuster.ca. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  4. ^ "DeNAPLES CHARGED ** Four counts of perjury filed over alleged ties to mobster, 3 others ** Casino license suspended, but Mount Airy remains open". Mcall.com. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  5. ^ Larry King. "Reporter again subpoenaed in DeNaples case". Inquirer.com. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  6. ^ Birkbeck, Matt (October 1, 2013). "The Quiet Don: The Untold Story of Mafia Kingpin Russell Bufalino". Amazon.com. Berkley. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  7. ^ Moss, Michael; Jacobs, Andrew (April 11, 2004). "Blue Skies and Green Yards, All Lost to Red Ink". Nytimes.com. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  8. ^ "Re: Gene Percudani v. Pocono Record". Morelaw.com. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  9. ^ Galuppo, Mia (October 28, 2015). "Sammy Davis Jr. Biography 'Deconstructing Sammy' Acquired by Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios". Hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  10. ^ Keith R. Stevenson. "Record reporter wins national award for real estate series". Poconorecord.com.
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