Wyman Westberry

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Wyman Westberry (born May 25, 1941) is an American

Born on May 25, 1941, in Wayne County, Georgia, Westberry was the sixth of ten children. He graduated from Wayne County High School and attended college in Savannah, Georgia and the City College of New York (CCNY – also part of the City University of New York), prior to being drafted to the U.S. Army to serve as an engineer.^[1] After his career in the army, he relocated to St. Marys, Georgia, where he worked as a millwright at Gilman Paper Company, the largest privately held paper company in the United States.^[4][15] Westberry was later elected as president of the labor union.^[2][15]

Gilman Paper Company litigation

In 1970, members of Ralph Nader's "

Those employed by Gilman Paper Company included local politicians, such as the City of St. Marys mayor Richard Daly and Georgia State Representative Robert W. Harrison.^[1][3][16] Harrison also served as the attorney for the St. Marys mill; the attorney for the surrounding cities of St. Marys, Kingsland, and Folkston; the attorney for the local school board and the hospital authority; and the attorney for Camden and Charlton Counties. At its peak, the mill's executive vice president and general manager, George W. Brumley, reported that Gilman Paper Company was the only major Georgia industry south of Brunswick and east of Waycross, estimating 75 percent of the economy of Camden County to be directly dependent on Gilman Paper Company.^[1][3][12] According to Nader associate and journalist James Fallows:

The result was a climate of suspicion and fear. Wyman Westberry drew all the shades in his house before he would talk with us – and this was a marvel of courage. Another man would talk with outside visitors only after he had turned out every light and waited for the visitors to creep into his dark and apparently vacant house. Most others would not consider talking at all.^[1]

Following his contact with Nader's Raiders, Westberry provided internal documents and a series of detailed interviews to journalists. In March 1970, he was fired from Gilman Paper Company.^[4][17]

Georgia's Democratic Primary of 1970

After his termination, Westberry encouraged his friend and local physician, Carl Drury, to run for the office of

In the spring of 1972, Westberry disclosed his identity as the whistleblower in Harper's Magazine article, Democracy and the Good Life in a Company Town.^[3] Newsweek and The Washington Post also published articles chronicling Westberry's activities in St. Marys, in addition to several regional and statewide publications.^[1][14][19] Later that spring, Mike Wallace and the film crew of CBS Evening News 60 Minutes visited St. Marys to interview Gilman Paper Company's executive vice president and general manager, George Brumley, and report on the allegations waged by Westberry and Drury.^[2][16]

With national publicity and activity in the state legislature at its peak, Gilman Paper Company supervisor, William (Tommy) Thomas, offered his fellow mill employee, Lawrence Brown, $50,000 to kill Westberry.^{[1][2][3][20]} According to his later testimony, Brown never intended to follow-through with the contract, but instead warned Westberry of the solicitation. The FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation provided Brown with covert listening devices to record his conversations with Gilman Paper Company's supervisor Thomas, manager Brumley, and attorney Harrison. On the evidence gathered, a federal grand jury convened to take testimony about the murder plot in May 1972.^{[3][5][18][21]}

On October 15, 1975, the United States grand jury, sitting at Savannah, indicted George W. Brumley, Vice President and resident manager of the Gilman Paper Company at St. Marys, Georgia; Robert W. Harrison, longtime attorney, former legislator, and local counsel for Gilman Paper Company; and William (Tommy) Thomas, an employee of Gilman.^[22] A nine-day jury trial resulted in the conviction of all three defendants on all pending counts, including conspiracy to commit murder.^[1][5][6][8] Also in 1975, 13 employees of Gilman Paper Company successfully sued the company regarding pollution-control equipment.^[1]

Subsequent career

In the 1980s, Westberry established Mom & Pop Stores, Inc.^[23] In 1992, he founded ATN, Inc. He serves as chairman of the board of ATN, Inc. and AmTel, Inc.^[24] Both companies have been subject to criticism by Prison Rights Movement organizations, such as the Prison Policy Initiative.^[25][26][27]

Personal life

Westberry has remained a resident of St. Marys, Georgia.^[2] He has one daughter, Alexandra Westberry.^[28]

References