Gifted journo got death threats
Family and friends of a veteran journalist heard at his funeral yesterday he had once had a $30,000 price on his head.
Pat Booth, 88, died last Wednesday, leaving behind years of celebrated work including on the ‘‘Mr Asia’’ drug syndicate and the Arthur Allan Thomas case in the 1970s.
Booth was remembered at his funeral in Henderson, Auckland, as a gifted writer with a nose for news that served him well.
Media commentator Dr Gavin Ellis said Booth’s ‘‘Mr Asia’’ work on drug dealing and murder was a proud part of New Zealand’s journalistic history.
Ellis said Booth pushed the boundaries of reporting – despite the legal risks of his investigation, which often ran parallel with ongoing police investigations.
‘‘Good journalism means guts, but Pat’s perseverance in the face of threats to his family and his own life calls for a rare breed of courage,’’ Ellis said.
‘‘A few journalists working in New Zealand in the recent years have been subjected to death threats . . . Pat’s the only one I know who’s had a $30,000 contract on his head.’’
He said for Booth it was ‘‘the price to pay’’.
Yvonne Martin, another of Booth’s former colleagues, said he was a special breed of journalist.
He was drawn to rugby and at one point was accepted into a teachers college, but Booth’s true calling was writing.
‘‘I worked with Pat in the investigate team in the suburban newspapers in the early 1990s and you couldn’t help but be inspired by the warhorse, and the stories covering significant New Zealand events.’’
His children Mark, Therese, Grant, Sally and step children Victoria and James agreed Booth’s life as a journalist was intriguing when they were growing up.
But to them he was just their father who took them to rugby and cricket games, and who never missed an opportunity to talk to them.
‘‘He was well respected, but to me, he was just my dad,’’ Mark said.
Booth is survived by his four children, two step children, 14 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.