Lucy Morgan
Lucy Ware Morgan[2] (née Keen; October 11, 1940 – September 20, 2023) was an American long-time reporter and editorialist at the Tampa Bay Times (previously known as the St. Petersburg Times).[3]
For other people named Lucy Morgan, see Lucy Morgan (disambiguation).
Lucy Morgan
Life and career[edit]
Born in Memphis, Tennessee on October 11, 1940,[4] Morgan began her career at the Ocala Star Banner in 1965,[4] and moved to the St. Petersburg Times in 1968. While working full-time as a reporter, she attended Pasco-Hernando State College and received her associate degree.[5]
In 1985, she and Jack Reed shared the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for their coverage of corruption in the Pasco County Sheriff's Office; she was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in that category.[4] In another case, in 1973, she was convicted of contempt for refusing to disclose a confidential source; the Florida Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 1976.[6] In 1982 she was a Pulitzer finalist for her investigation of drug trafficking in north central Florida counties.[5][7] She became Capital Bureau chief in Tallahassee in 1986 and later worked on special projects and as a columnist.
A 2012 All Things Considered profile described Morgan as "an institution in Florida".[8] Seven years after her first announced retirement[9] led to a continued active reporting career, she announced her full retirement in January 2013.[10]
Morgan was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame in 2006.[11] In 2005 the Florida State Senate renamed its press gallery in her honor.[9][12]
Morgan's investigation into a $49.6 million mortgage fraud/Ponzi scheme in Glenville, North Carolina (where she was retired) by the Miami developer Domenico Rabuffo — while he was in the United States Federal Witness Protection Program[13] — was the subject of the American Greed episode "Goodfella Gone Bad".
Lucy Morgan died in Tallahassee on September 20, 2023, following complications from a fall in May. She was 82.[1][14]