Author Bio
Jeff Benedict is an award-winning investigative journalist, a lawyer, and a best-selling author of six books. He is a contributing writer for the Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated and the Hartford Courant. His upcoming book THE MORMON WAY OF DOING BUSINESS is based on exclusive interviews with top corporate executives at Dell, JetBlue Airways, Deloitte & Touche USA, American Express, Madison Square Garden Corp., and Harvard Business School, all of whom are Mormons.
Benedict holds a J.D., an M.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in History. He is licensed to practice law in Connecticut. He is the former president of the Connecticut Alliance Against Casino Expansion, a non-profit corporation that he founded with business, civic and religious leaders from around Connecticut. In 2003 Benedict partnered with Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to lead an effort to enact landmark legislation to stop casino expansion in the state. In 2004 Congress called Benedict to testify before a committee investigating the influence of money and lobbyists on the U.S. Interior Department's decisions to grant tribal recognition status to groups backed by casino moguls. Benedict's testimony revealed that Donald Trump and others had pumped tens of millions of dollars into the process.
Benedict's books include the bestseller Pros and Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL (Warner Books, 1998). The subject of an HBO documentary on crime in sports, Pros and Cons generated a firestorm of controversy. Following the book’s publication, the NFL adopted new policies governing criminal conduct by its players.
In 2000 Benedict published Without Reservation: How a Controversial Indian Tribe Rose to Power and Built the World's Largest Casino (HarperCollins). This book was the subject of a 60 Minutes segment and prompted calls for a Congressional investigation into the legitimacy of the Mashantucket Pequot tribe and its land boundaries. Without Reservation is currently being made into a movie.
In April 2003 Benedict wrote No Bone Unturned: The Adventures of a Top Smithsonian Forensic Scientist and the Legal Battle for America's Oldest Skeletons (HarperCollins). It chronicles the life of a top government scientist, Dr. Doug Owsley, who is engaged in the landmark lawsuit over Kennewick Man, the oldest intact skeleton ever found in North America. The book was the subject of an ABC News 20/20 profile and was the basis of a Discovery Channel documentary. Subsequently, a U.S. Appeals Court ruled that the federal government erred in denying scientists access to Kennewick Man and has ordered the government to release the skeleton for study.
In 2004 Benedict published– OUT OF BOUNDS: Inside the NBA's Culture of Rape, Violence and Crime (HarperCollins), which was the subject of a two-part special on ABC's 20/20.
Benedict has also written two books on violence against women. Public Heroes, Private Felons: Athletes and Crimes Against Women (Northeastern University Press1997) and Athletes and Acquaintance Rape (Sage Publications, 1998) both developed out of groundbreaking research that Benedict conducted while serving as the research director at Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Society. Benedict designed and published the first national studies into the prevalence rates of athletes to abuse women, as well as studies on the arrest and conviction rates of athletes who commit crimes against women. The results of these studies appeared in the Sociology of Sport Journal (1997) and the Journal of Sport & Social Issues (1995).
Benedict has served as an expert witness on behalf of domestic violence and sexual assault victims, as well as an advisor and consultant to lawyers representing victims of violence. He is also a frequent essayist. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Village Voice, Hartford Courant, Chronicle of Higher Education and ESPN's on-line magazine. He has appeared as an expert on ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, HBO, ESPN and Court TV.
Benedict is 40. He and his wife have four children. They live in Connecticut. He can be reached via email at jeff@jeffbenedict.com.