Crusading newspaperman Pat Booth, renowned for his work to help exonerate Arthur Alan Thomas, has died.
Booth, one of New Zealand's most respected investigative reporters, passed away today at a rest home in west Auckland. He was 87.
He spent nearly 40 years at the now defunct Auckland Star, becoming editor, and is most known for his tireless work on the Thomas miscarriage of justice case and the Mr Asia Crime syndicate.
The stories were scandalous and horrifying and were reported by Booth and a team of his reporters in a depth rarely achieved.
As part of the campaign for a pardon for Thomas, Booth wrote a book, Trial by Ambush.
This was followed by another campaigning book, Beyond Reasonable Doubt by British investigative author David Yallop.
Booth's eight-year crusade resulted in Arthur Allan Thomas, wrongly jailed for double murder, receiving a full royal pardon.
A Royal Commission report stated that detectives had used ammunition and a rifle taken from Thomas' farm to fabricate false evidence against him.
A 2014 police review of the case acknowledged police misconduct was probably the explanation for the key evidence against Thomas (a spent cartridge case).
He also helped reveal an international drug ring during the notorious Mr Asia investigations. He wrote a book on the international drug smuggling ring, The Mr Aisa File: The Life and Death of Marty Johnstone.
Booth kept his hand in, writing "Off Pat", a column for the Eastern Courier until three years ago.
Booth met his wife Valerie Davies while working at the Auckland Star. In 2014, Davies told The Australian Women's Weekly that at the time a romance in the newsroom was frowned upon, and she transferred to the Weekly in 1973 as a writer.
Booth also wrote an authorised biography of Sir Edmund Hillary titled Edmund Hillary: The Life of a Legend.
