The Murder Of Chauncey Bailey

Was A Newspaper Editor Murdered To Keep A Story Out Of Print?

(CBS)  This story begins with a journalist murdered this past summer in Oakland, Calif., presumably because of a story he was working on.

His name was Chauncey Bailey, and just this past week he was honored posthumously with the George Polk Award - one of journalism’s most prestigious honors - for the story that may have cost him his life.

The story Bailey was working on was about, of all things, a bakery. But not any ordinary bakery: it’s called "Your Black Muslim Bakery," and as CNN's Anderson Cooper reports, it was once a multi-million-dollar business as well as a major religious and political power in Oakland.

But the bakery's leaders were known for using tactics right out of "The Godfather." Bailey was investigating some of those tactics, which made some bakery leaders angry.

And angering the bakery was risky business, as Oakland police knew all too well.

---

"Rumors about them killing people or, forcing them to do stuff that they didn't want to do, was rampant throughout the community," Assistant Chief Howard Jordan remembers. "People were scared to talk. People were scared to call the police."

Jordan has been an Oakland cop for 19 years. He says Your Black Muslim Bakery was on police radar for a long time.

It looks harmless enough on the outside, but at its height, the bakery employed about 200 people, many of them ex-convicts, who converted to Islam. And some of them didn't seem to spend too much time in the kitchen.

Your Black Muslim Bakery opened its doors in Oakland more than 30 years ago, selling bean pies and fish sandwiches. It was started by a man who called himself Yusuf Bey, a black Muslim who preached a philosophy of self-reliance and self-esteem.

Over the years, the bakery provided jobs and hope to hundreds of African-Americans in Oakland's inner city. But the positive outward image of the bakery never told the whole story. Inside the building, there were some very sinister things going on.

"It doesn't seem like many folks at the bakery were baking too many pies. It seemed to have just become a criminal enterprise," Cooper remarks.

"That's a fairly accurate statement," Jordan agrees. "It went from a business that was conducting legitimate business to a business interested in doing fraud, real estate fraud, assaults, robberies, vandalism, to promote a criminal cause versus a religious cause."

But in 2002, bakery founder Yusuf Bey was arrested on 27 counts of abusing and raping 12 and 13-year-old girls taken in by the bakery. He was accused of fathering children by them, and of stealing their welfare payments.

According to many reports, Bey fathered more than 40 children by different women at the bakery. As the Bey family, and its business, grew, they opened a dozen stores and owned a security company, a dry cleaner, a school, and properties in the area. In the process, the bakery became something of a law unto itself.

"A lot of Oakland cops told me that they left certain neighborhoods to the Bey family," says reporter Chris Thompson.

"Let them take care of business however they wanted?" Cooper asks.

"Yeah," Thompson says.

Thompson revealed the bakery's secrets in the East Bay Express, a weekly paper. He exposed a trail of "violence, brutality and fraud that stretches back almost a decade." Members of the bakery were furious.

[timmma831]

What you fail to realize is the political motivation behind this report and CBS''s investment in this story with one of the biggest elections in history going on? Anyone? Anyone at all? Thats sad.

[gkc99]

"Anderson may not be the one to do it, but this organization and the way the Oakland police handled the murder of Chauncey Bailey deserves further investigation"--Posted by librablue


The Oakland pigs are crooked as hell and have been for decades. Like when they let the Hell''s Angels attack peaceful demonstrators back in the ''60s. Every Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown has been unable to bring them to heel.

[librablue-2009]

This was another excellent report by Anderson Cooper.

The only difference between the members of %u201CYour Black Muslim Bakery%u201D and the unauthorized militia groups in the United States is that they have been allowed to hide behind the cover of religion.

Having said that, I think, based on the number of crimes they have gotten away with, they have had a great deal of help, directly and indirectly, from the Oakland police department. I am sure that Sgt. Derwin Longmire is not the only friend %u201CYour Black Muslim Bakery%u201D has in the department.

The unmonitored meeting between Devaughndre Broussard and Yusuf Bey lV was inexcusable. I truly believe that they set up Broussard to be their fall guy.

I wonder how many similar groups are out there using religion as a cover to carry out their terror tactics.

Anderson may not be the one to do it, but this organization and the way the Oakland police handled the murder of Chauncey Bailey deserves further investigation.

[justice4none]

Terrorislam0, your an idiot, bet you get scared every time the terror alert color is changed, Terror? you never question why gas is so high while bush holds hands and Kisses the Saudis ( where the majority of hijackers purportedly came from ) duh... wake up

History of OPD is tainted by CONTELPRO, informants and provocateurs, The question they refuse to answer is how they solved the crime so fast? Answer is, their planted informant was there when Mr. Bailey was targeted and may have participated. Either way they allowed it to happen anyway.

Or why did the police and the D.A go out of their way to intervene and let IV out on 5 concurrent bails to keep him on the street even when known violence against the community was happening. Or why they postponed indefinitely taking IV into custody after his conviction and sentencing 3 weeks prior to Chauncey''s murder in Vallejo.

Anyone following this in the Bay Area knows that OPD handling of this has been real shady from the start. Including releasing Mackey who either drove the van or committed the murder even after multiple witnesses gave statements while Mackey was in custody and they still released him ( free to this day ).

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Don''t believe me, just read Oakland Tribune and SF Chronicle articles about OPD involvement all this and more is in there.

[justice4none]

History of OPD is tainted by CONTELPRO, informants and provocateurs, The question they refuse to answer is how they solved the crime so fast? Answer is, their planted informant was there when Mr. Bailey was targeted and may have participated. Either way they allowed it to happen anyway.

Or why did the police and the D.A go out of their way to intervene and let IV out on 5 concurrent bails to keep him on the street even when known violence against the community was happening. Or why they postponed indefinitely taking IV into custody after his conviction and sentencing 3 weeks prior to Chauncey''s murder in Vallejo.

Anyone following this in the Bay Area knows that OPD handling of this has been real shady from the start. Including releasing Mackey who either drove the van or committed the murder even after multiple witnesses gave statements while Mackey was in custody and they still released him ( free to this day ).

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Don''t believe me, just read Oakland Tribune and SF Chronicle articles about OPD involvement all this and more is in there.

[justice4none]

History of OPD is tainted by CONTELPRO, informants and provocateurs, The question they refuse to answer is how they solved the crime so fast? Answer is, their planted informant was there when Mr. Bailey was targeted and may have participated. Either way they allowed it to happen anyway.

Or why did the police and the D.A go out of their way to intervene and let IV out on 5 concurrent bails to keep him on the street even when known violence against the community was happening. Or why they postponed indefinitely taking IV into custody after his conviction and sentencing 3 weeks prior to Chauncey''s murder in Vallejo.

Anyone following this in the Bay Area knows that OPD handling of this has been real shady from the start. Including releasing Mackey who either drove the van or committed the murder even after multiple witnesses gave statements while Mackey was in custody and they still released him ( free to this day ).

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Don''t believe me, just read Oakland Tribune and SF Chronicle articles about OPD involvement all this and more is in there.

[salomah]

terrorislam0,
Let me help you invest in a dictionary. The phrases "accused of" and arrested for" do NOT equate to "Found Guilty of" .

Let us remeber that this is the same Oakland police department that accused and arrested members of the very organization that instituted the practice of free breakfast for underpriveliged children in the school system.

This is the same police department that allow a murder suspect to have conversations with an "accused" co-conspirator unrecorded and unmonitored. (anyone who''s watched more that 2 episodes of "Law and Order" can see the issues with that.

I don''t have time to educate you on the irregularities of law enforcement in Oakland, so I will just bid you "peace" ~~ Salaam

[oakcitizen]

terrorislam0
What is the murder rate in the city that you live in? When whether you call the police is a question vs an automatic response than you can humor me with your comments!

[salomah]

Thank You for your post Oakcitizen. As a former member of Your Black Muslim Bakery (YBMB), let me say that if the allegations made in the story are true then someone definitely needs to be prosecuted for what YBMB has become. Especially in lght of the ideals under which in was founded by Dr. Yusef Bey, Sr..

I have seen with my own eyes that Dr Bey did in the community through teaching self reliance and community responsibilty. I confess I have not been back to the bakery in years but I will say again that if it has strayed this for from the teachings and principles it was founded on then the Dr. Bey I once knew would want someone (the correct person) prosecuted.

As-salaam-alaikum,
Salomah Nuri Ali

[timmma831]

Thank you for your post oakcitizen. I agree with alot of what you said, and am happy that I''m not the only one who has sense.

O and caliengineer your hate speech is laughable if it wasnt so sad, i dont consider you an American with those anti-semetic words.

[oakcitizen]

Oakland has one of the highest murder rates in the San Francisco Bay area. This past week the Mayor of Oakland proposed to City Council the hiring of more officers. In light of this story, more police are not a problem. If the Black Muslim Bakery has been on the radar, the police have %u201Cleft certain neighborhoods to the Bey family%u201D and a top cop and lead investigator on the case is a friend is, not only the family of Chancey Bailey, but the city of Oakland does not have a chance for justice. http://www.chaunceybaileyproject.org/. I have seen on the news that the current editor of the Post has a very difficult time getting police response to threats on his life as recently as a few months ago. Police corruption has been an ongoing issues in Oakland http://www.oaklandcityattorney.org/Notable/Riders.html
I think 60 Minutes missed the real. The Muslims are not the problem, it is a systemic problem.

[caliengineer]

Truth is, America - correctly established as a nation under God - should have never allowed false religions such as Islam, Mormonism, Hinduism and Buddhism to take root here. God is clear that He does not allow this. Any wonder He removed His hand of protection? When God protects you, there is no 9/11!

[mrvolleyba11]

sounds like police incompetence or corruption also! who would not have taped those two individuals conversation when they were alone??? the conversation could have revealed all kinds of criminal activity and incriminating evidence! Only a corrupt officer (in charge) would have not recorded it!!!

[carlalee2]

sandy777 you are an idiot.

[pfd572]

These aren''t true Muslims. Islam does not teach this behavior or in any way condones it. Once again, its a radical, fanatic or criminal group using religion as the excuse or cover up for illegal and violent activities. Just as it has throughout the ages: the Inquisition, massacre of protestants in France and England, holocaust, the Balkans. And do we suppress a story about a faction of Black Muslims anymore than a story about Catholic priests if a Catholic is running for President? I don''t think so, timma831. And the fact that this isn''t a story in Oakland is a negative on your city. A man may have been murdered for trying to expose massive crime that hurts or exploits your fellow citizens.

[juwboy]

AntiZion said:

"Iraqi oil is now pumped to Haifa Israel ... "

And the point you''re making is ... ?

[antizion]

"Murderous Muslims?"

---------------------

Step into reality wacko. The US has murdered 1.1 million Muslims in Iraq. They defended themselves from a invasion based in lies and fabricated Niger uranium documents produced at the pervertagon office of special plans.

The Iraqis, killed nearly 5000 defending themselves.

Iraqi oil is now pumped to Hafia Israel through a pipeline Saddam shut down in the 70''s.

Welcome to reality morons.

[tbweb]

This is an important story and highlights the benefits of anonymous Blogging. But equally interesting stories can also be published about Neo Nazi Skinheads who are a far greater threat inside the U.S. and around the World.

[sandy777-2009]

chriskee....sounds like a great idea. Get the CIA, ICE, FBI and RICO in on this and get those idiotic murderous muslims out of Oakland. I totally agree with you. I hope the government officials pick up on this story and arrest those muslim thugs.

[timmma831]

Shame on you CBS!!! 60 min. should be ashamed of them self. Playing politics this time of year takes you out of a good journalism and puts you in a bias hole (no better than Fox News). To think they would play a negitive black muslim story whie one of the leading presidental candidates has a black muslim backround make me want to protest the entire CBS network. They call themselves a news source, haha ya in 1973, Today there just another corprate shill that pumps out special interest garbage. And to the others who made those ignorant comments before mine (GET OFF THE COUCH AND READ A BOOK) you make America look as dumb as Bush sounds! Your the reason I''m sad that my country is full of ignorace and hate. I live in oakland and this isn''t even the big story in our community, so the thought that anyone from who knows where (probably the middle of America by the sound of it) would have such stupid comments as these about a story they know nothing about besides this CBS propaganda report makes me realize how uneducated my country is.