Rich Connell, longtime Times investigative reporter and editor, dies at 71

Rich Connell, an award-winning investigative reporter and city-county bureau chief for The Times whose deep knowledge of L.A. government helped shape a generation of young reporters, died Friday at 71.

The suspected cause of death was a heart attack, said Ian Connell, his son.

Connell’s three decades at The Times included working on the paper’s investigative team where he chronicled the international rise of Mara Salvatrucha, the gang known as MS-13, uncovered a federal corruption investigation of Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alatorre and exposed flaws in the 911 emergency response system.

His byline also appeared on some of the biggest stories of the 1990s: the beating of Rodney King, the 1992 L.A. riots, O.J. Simpson’s trial and the Northridge earthquake.

Connell, known as a versatile talent, took on many roles in the newsroom. He rewrote breaking stories for the front page, mentored reporters and planned multimedia stories over the course of his career.

“No undertaking was too big or complicated for Rich,” said Joel Sappell, a former Times editor and reporter. “And nothing seemed to be out of his comfort zone.”

Connell was born in 1951 in Hermosa Beach. After graduating from Cal State Long Beach with a degree in journalism, he was hired by the South Bay newspaper the Daily Breeze.

His drive for perfection was on display early in his career: As an assistant city editor at the Daily Breeze, he once issued a memo to reporters that was entitled: “Connell’s 5 C’s.” This list encouraged reporters to be clear, concise and more.

He joined The Times in 1982 as an education and local government reporter. Later, as an investigative reporter, he dug into stories about California’s energy market, the 9/11 attacks, the state’s planned high-speed rail, L.A. City Hall corruption and the City of Industry’s governance.

Times reporter Robert Lopez, who worked with Connell on many investigative pieces, recalled Connell’s resourcefulness when they traveled to El Salvador around 2005 to investigate MS-13.

The pair were in a hotel bar the night before a planned visit to a prison to interview gang members when Connell had the idea of using a video recorder for their story.

Connell went to the lobby of the hotel, carrying a wad of bills. The concierge returned 15 minutes later with a camera for rent. Connell ended up shooting hours of video for the story, Lopez said, footage that was more powerful than anything that they could write.

“This was early on and no one was shooting video,” Lopez said. “He was thinking, how can we tell this story?”

Connell won awards for his investigative, multimedia and feature work, including two Investigative Reporters & Editors medals. He was also part of a team that won a 1997 Goldsmith Prize for investigative reporting for a series that scrutinized large contributions to the Democratic Party by influential Asian donors.

Tall and square-shouldered, Connell could be an imposing figure when demanding information.

Sappell, the former Times staffer, said that Connell “could penetrate bureaucracies better than any reporter I ever worked with. He simply could not be brushed aside or intimidated. He got to the bottom of whatever he pursued. He was truly a marvel, a gift to readers and to his editors.”

In 2011, Connell moved to the Metro editing staff as chief of The Times’ City-County bureau. A former local government reporter, Connell liked to talk through stories with reporters and was excited when they brought him unusual pitches.

Times reporter Kate Linthicum, who formerly covered City Hall and now is a correspondent in The Times’ Mexico City bureau, recalled Connell’s help on a story about problems with the city’s 911 system.

“He was so supportive, coaching me on how to conduct difficult interviews and how to stand my ground when an official questioned our reporting,” Linthicum said.

Connell’s reporters could also face long nights and exacting edits as Connell liked to tinker with their copy until it was just right.

“He wanted it to be the best it could be,” former Times reporter Catherine Saillant said. “He wanted it to be L.A. Times quality. He had high standards.”

If Connell could be a tough editor, he also had a playful side. In what reporters would later call the “St. Paddy’s Day Massacre,” Connell — then at the Daily Breeze — once took the newsroom out for lunch at Hennessey’s Tavern, an Irish pub in Redondo Beach, on St. Patrick’s Day.

One beer led to another and the group ended up drinking for several hours. The reporters turned to Connell for advice on whether they should return to the newsroom. “Do as I would do,” Connell told them — a line that would be repeated by his colleagues for years.

Back at the near-empty office, the Breeze’s city editor Frank Suraci worried he wouldn’t be able to get out the next day’s paper. He sent an assistant city editor to the bar to retrieve the reporters, but that editor instead started drinking too. “No one came back,” said Suraci, who sent out a “scathing” note to the staff the next day.

Connell married Millie Hernandez in 1977 and the couple settled in Lakewood, where they lived for the last 37 years. He was devoted to his two young grandchildren.

He’d grab an empty paper towel roll and pretend it was a telescope, or make up elaborate stories for his grandchildren. Connell had a “magnetic pull” with kids; he’d get down on their level and “be extremely present in whatever they were doing,” said his son.

Connell was good at leaving his work behind when he got home, his son said, and being with his family. “You wouldn’t know there was a lot of craziness” in Connell’s job, his son said.

Connell left The Times in 2015, one of many longtime staffers who took buyouts that year under then-owner Tribune Publishing.

In recent years, Connell pursued his hobbies, such as golf and boating, and listening to bluegrass music, his son said.

Connell is survived by his wife, son, daughter Kara and two grandchildren.