As a member of the team who worked for four months to report John Breen's infamous theft from Maggie Rizer, I read with interest Bob Gorman's column that responded to Mayor Jeff Graham's request for a lottery license. I'd like to expand on the exodus of reporters that Mr. Graham seems so fond of bringing up and this story's genesis.

When I left the paper in 2005 after seven years, Mr. Graham mentioned to my replacement during a meeting that he believed that Ed Perkins, who had retired, and I were leaving because we did not support the stories and were "bullied into doing it" by Bob, who Mr. Graham opined was "out to get" him.

Bob's intention was never to "get" Jeff Graham. We'd been reporting throughout 2004 that Mr. Breen was charged with larceny, but we'd only been told so far that it had involved about $100,000 in bounced checks. I covered the story when he pleaded guilty in October and was stunned to hear that he'd stolen as much as $7 million from Miss Rizer.

Bob's reaction was this: "How the hell does someone manage to steal seven million dollars?" He held a meeting with me and Ed and said we had a duty to report every detail behind the theft. Ed and I, not feeling the slightest bit bullied, agreed. Bob decided to get Norah Machia and Chris Garifo involved. At a later meeting, Editor and Publisher John Johnson Jr. gave this simple instruction: Pursue the story with diligence and report it completely. Nobody told us to "get" Jeff Graham.

The story in question mentions John Breen's and Maggie Rizer's names at least 20 times more often than Mr. Graham's. Yet Mr. Graham believes that the story is really all about him. Had it been the paper's intention to "get" him, the story wouldn't have been published three months after he was elected mayor, when it was thoroughly researched, completed, timely and relevant. The paper would have sat on it for a couple of years and released it shortly before the most recent mayoral election. That is when you would purposely torpedo a public official.

As for me, I left the paper for a new challenge working as director of communications for state Sen. James W. Wright, not because of the story. A year later, my wife was accepted to law school in Virginia. I had a choice — stay in Watertown apart from my wife or leave with no job. I left. I still talk to Bob and we are very friendly. He bought me lunch when he heard I was leaving Watertown.

Finally, I am proud of the doggedness, professionalism and attention to detail that resulted in "All Bets Are Off," a sad story about how a man trusted by his famous stepdaughter, but addicted to alcohol and gambling, broke her trust, broke her heart and was then hoping for some shred of forgiveness and trying desperately to turn his life around after a horrible series of mistakes.

Tim Buckland

Lexington, Va.