Draft:Stephanie Barry

Stephanie Barry is an American newspaper and online investigative journalist based in Springfield, Massachusetts. Since 1998, Barry has written for The Republican newspaper in Springfield and its affiliated website, MassLive.com. Her work has included uncovering sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy, reports of police brutality and delving into unsolved cold cases. She has been repeatedly honored by the New England Newspaper and Press Association. Barry has been a featured guest on more than a dozen national television news magazines and podcasts.

Journalism career
Shortly after graduating from Westfield State University, Barry was hired to write for Franklin and Holyoke magazines, published by The Springfield Newspapers. From there, she took a job as a staff reporter at the Union-News and then The Republican, and MassLive.com, where she has remained.

Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno
Barry covered the shooting death of Adolfo Bruno on November 23, 2003. "Big Al" was a caporegime with the Genovese crime family based in New York City, who ran the Springfield, Massachusetts faction of the organization. The multi-state prosecution decimated Greater Springfield's organized crime terrain and temporarily jammed a lid on its trappings: extortion, widespread sports-betting and a general bully culture. In a series of interviews with organized crime figures and law enforcement, Barry detailed how the mob's influence waned in the city after Bruno's death. Assistant U.S Attorney Elie Honig noted in his Up Against the Mob podcasts, "It’s rare for outsiders to get mobsters to talk, but reporter Stephanie Barry always managed to get the inside scoop on organized crime in Springfield."

Clergy sexual abuse
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield was stained by numerous scandals involving sexual abuse of children at the hands of clergy. Barry reporting extensively on rape allegations against Bishop Christopher J. Weldon, as well as the murder of altar boy Danny Croteau by the Rev. Richard R. Lavigne. Neither man was brought to justice during their lifetimes. . Barry was honored by the New England Newspaper and Press Association with a pair of first place awards in 2022 for her coverage, which delved not only into the complex legal proceedings but the impact on victims of sexual abuse. "(Barry) skillfully shifts the story through time and employ the chilling dialogue between the detective and the defrocked priest at the center of the investigation," NENPA judges wrote.

Police brutality
Barry has probed numerous allegations of wrongdoing and excessive force by members of the Springfield Police Department. On July 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it found the SPD Narcotics Bureau to be engaging in a pattern or practice of excessive force. On April 13, 2022, the DOJ announced that it reached a consent decree with the SPD. The agreement requires a court-appointed independent monitor, improved reporting of uses of force, more training, and better internal investigations of misconduct. Barry's reporting noted that between 2013 to 2018, command staff did not make a single excessive force referral to the Internal Investigations Unit involving the narcotics unit.

Cold cases
Barry has reported on several cold cases, most notably the April 15, 1992 abduction and murder of Agawam, Massachusetts, school teacher Lisa Ziegert, which remained unresolved for 27 years. For years, Barry chronicled the impact on the family and community, the seemingly hopeless investigation and finally the successful resolution of the case. On September 23, 2017, police approached Gary Schara of West Springfield, Massachusetts, for a DNA sample to match evidence at the crime scene. Schara entered a guilty plea on September 25, 2019 to the charge of murder in the first degree pursuant to the theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty for Ziegert’s murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Barry covered every moment of the resolution of the case from Schara's booking at the Agawam police station to his sentencing in Hampden Superior Court in Springfield, Massachusetts. She has detailed the hunt for Ziegert's killer in appearances on NBC and CNN news programs.

Media appearances
Barry is a frequent guest on New England Public Media's long-running Connecting Point news magazine. She has also appeared on Dateline NBC, CNN's Forensic Files II and Crime and Justice with Ashleigh Banfield and A&E Cold Cases. In addition, Barry has been featured on the true crime podcasts Rigged, Original Gangsters, The Perfect Scam and multiple episodes of Up Against the Mob.