Guy Sterling

Sterling was born in Orange Memorial Hospital in Orange, New Jersey, to father Robert Sterling Sr. and mother Florence M. O’Mara. Raised in Dunellen, New Jersey, he graduated from Dunellen High School.[https://newarkpubliclibrary.libraryhost.com/repositories/3/resources/411 Guy Sterling Papers], Newark Public Library. Accessed July 30, 2024. "Guy graduated from Dunellen High School and University of Virginia." He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (class of 1970) and a master's degree in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (class of 1972).{{cite web|title=Columbia Journalism School Press Pass|date=1972-06-10|url=https://guysterling.files.wordpress.com/2019/08/press-pass-columbia-journalism-school.jpg|website=Guy Sterling|accessdate=2019-08-02}} He began his daily newspaper career in 1970 as a municipal government reporter with the Courier News in Plainfield, New Jersey, and ended it in Newark.{{cite web|title=The Courier-News Press Pass|publisher=The Courier-News|date=1971-01-01|url=https://guysterling.files.wordpress.com/2019/08/press-pass-the-courier-news.png|website=Guy Sterling|accessdate=2019-08-02}} Over the course of his career, Sterling routinely published as many as 200 bylined stories a year.

Sterling has authored two books: Elvis in Roanoke,{{cite web|title=Elvis in Roanoke|publisher=Leisure Publishing|date=1977-01-01|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3L8atwAACAAJ|website=Google Books|accessdate=2016-08-10}}{{cite web|title=Elvis in Roanoke Press Release|publisher=Leisure Publishing|date=1977-01-01|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BMphYUZJpRsfp74kLo21Mj6MEeNY9OZt/view?usp=sharing|website=Guy Sterling|accessdate=2021-08-05}}{{cite magazine|title=Newsmen author Elvis Presley book|magazine=Editor & Publisher|date=1978-04-08|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/16opxM-Dn4d3oFSiKihQGVCpq95RKlDXY/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-13}}{{cite web|title=Elvis in Roanoke Review|publisher=Carole Plaia|date=1978-05-01|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MAscAZxPaHrbfqazcTnB7f9E4ZZ-App_/view?usp=sharing|website=Guy Sterling|accessdate=2021-08-05}}{{cite web|title=Elvis in Roanoke Postcard|publisher=Jerry Hopkins|date=1978-07-25|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W0yHd5g_BPCb4yZ0_vEdpU0_T16U0WeW/view?usp=sharing|website=Guy Sterling|accessdate=2021-08-05}}{{cite news|title=Tall order to fill the big man's large shoes|newspaper=The Roanoke Times|date=2006-06-11|url=http://www.roanoke.com/webmin/news/tall-order-to-fill-the-big-man-s-large-shoes/article_b76172a6-0573-5064-a96c-f329fba5ed17.html|accessdate=2016-08-10}} published in 1977 when he was a reporter with The Roanoke Times & World-News (1975–78) in Roanoke, Virginia,{{cite web|title=The World-News Press Pass|publisher=The World-News|date=2006-06-11|url=https://guysterling.files.wordpress.com/2019/08/the-roanoke-times.png|website=Guy Sterling|accessdate=2019-08-02}} and The Famous, the Familiar and the Forgotten: 350 Notable Newarkers in 2014.{{cite book|title=The Famous, the Familiar and the Forgotten in 2014: 350 Notable Newarkers|publisher=Xlibris Publishing|date=2014-01-01|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BzSmCgAAQBAJ|isbn=9781499079913|accessdate=2016-08-10}}{{cite web|title=Breathing life into the Brick City: Author introduces Notable Newarkers, Jan. 27|date=2015-02-24|url=http://morristowngreen.com/2015/01/24/breathing-life-into-the-brick-city-author-introduces-notable-newarkers-jan-27/|website=The Morristown Green|accessdate=2016-08-10}}{{cite news|title=The Famous, the Familiar and the Forgotten: 350 Notable Newarkers Press Release|newspaper=Newark Public Library|date=2015-02-10|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WtNQyfaQ-qsaone9K4gEpEpSbKyhKyJv/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2023-07-22}}{{cite news|title=Former Star-Ledger Reporter Guy Sterling Pens New Book|newspaper=The Essex Times|date=2015-05-01|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KKPn9TymOwuxF196O90beC-4jky32nMn/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2023-07-22}}{{cite news|title=The Famous, the Familiar and the Forgotten: 350 Notable Newarkers by Guy Sterling|newspaper=Italian Tribune|date=2015-06-11|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/10a6CxkXgJISz21eLJsCvho23fd6S8OIq/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2023-07-22}}{{cite news|title=Star-Ledger reporter teaching Adult School of Montclair class|newspaper=NorthJersey.com|date=2015-12-03|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/15DQD92NFMs1mEraGf5D_lWW4W3u5zgxo/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2023-07-22}} He updated the Newark book on its tenth anniversary with an online edition.{{cite web|title=Notable Newarkers: Famous, Familiar, and Forgotten, Tenth Anniversary Edition|publisher=Guy Sterling|date=2024-06-11|url=https://newarknotables.wordpress.com/|website=Notable Newarkers|accessdate=2019-08-02}} In 2011 and 2012, he also wrote and produced a series of radio pieces on Newark's history for WBGO Jazz Radio 88.3 in Newark. They aired as a segment entitled "Guy Sterling's Newark" on the "WBGO Journal."{{cite web|title=Guy Sterling's Newark|date=2018-08-13|website=Guy Sterling|url=https://guysterling.wordpress.com/guy-sterlings-newark-2012-jazz-88-3/|accessdate=2018-08-13}}{{cite web|title=Guy Sterling's Newark Advertisement|publisher=Morristown Green|date=2011-01-01|website=Guy Sterling|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d4AkA9rbfNc7bqoIG3Ee_dZQeTMkwhBe/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2021-08-05}}

• {{cite web|last=Sterling|first=Guy|title=Guy Sterling's Personal Website|website=Guy Sterling|date=2017|url=https://guysterling.wordpress.com/|accessdate=2017-08-07}}
• {{cite web|last=Sterling|first=Guy|title=Newark Jazz Elders|website=Newark Jazz Elders|date=2016|url=http://newarkjazzelders.com/|accessdate=2016-08-12}}
• {{cite book|last=Sterling|first=Guy|title=The Famous, the Familiar and the Forgotten: 350 Notable Newarkers|publisher=Xlibris Publishing|date=2014|isbn=9781499079913|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BzSmCgAAQBAJ|accessdate=2016-08-09}}
• {{cite web|last=Sterling|first=Guy|title=Notable Newarkers: Famous, Familiar, and Forgotten, Tenth Anniversary Edition|website=Notable Newarkers|date=2024|url=https://newarknotables.wordpress.com/|accessdate=2024-06-26}}

Sterling spent almost 30 years as a general assignment reporter in Newark, starting in 1980 and retiring in 2009. He won a national award for excellence in music writing and was a member of The Star-Ledger staff that won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting. A story of his was used as the theme for an award-winning season of the HBO series The Sopranos{{cite news|title=Jersey cases inspire new 'Sopranos' season|newspaper=NJ.com|date=2003-01-09|url=http://www.nj.com/sopranos/stories/20040109sl_alltv.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313045937/http://www.nj.com/sopranos/stories/20040109sl_alltv.html |archive-date=2009-03-13 |accessdate=2018-08-30}} and, when he left daily journalism, he was given a retirement party by the mob and a plaque for his organized crime coverage by the U.S. Justice Department.{{cite web|title=Award from US Attorney's Office|publisher=US Federal Government|date=2009-01-01|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DZ412IBuaJTKsI3Hn1A5aX9jzlhfwn94/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-13}} Sterling was a lead reporter for The Star-Ledger for its coverage of the fatal Boland Hall fire at Seton Hall University in 2000, stories that continued for years.{{cite news|title='This one's for real!' Fire kills 3 in Seton Hall dorm prone to false alarms|publisher=The Star-Ledger|date=2000-01-20|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nhm41LEQhdhvUHBHmZDG3Gn5UtPih6ZK/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2021-08-09}}{{cite news|title=Mob informant's role in Seton probe: Stymied investigators cut deal for clues into who set fatal 2000 fire|publisher=The Star-Ledger|date=2003-07-08|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ooG05s-SVqmQVnDSFMYZMZFg-u6_A9Da/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2021-08-09}} They earned the paper its first-ever selection as a Pulitzer Prize finalist{{cite web|title=Finalist: Staff of The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ|publisher=The Pulitzer Prizes|date=2002-01-01|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/staff-107|website=Pulitzer|accessdate=2016-08-10}} along with the American Society of Newspaper Editors Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News Reporting by a Team in 2001.{{cite news|title=Jesse Laventhol Prize for Deadline News|publisher=The Pulitzer Prizes|date=2002-01-01|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-a5tE53rjGu67YdROJNM6d-Hsxdoc77q/view?usp=sharing|website=Pulitzer|accessdate=2018-08-13}}

Other major stories he covered included

• 1980 – Covered all legal proceedings against an Irvington man charged and later convicted of killing a Port Authority police officer on a PATH train,{{cite news|title=Irvington man guilty of killing P.A. cop in cigarette arrest|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1981-05-12|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HfhZXdCxVY_iYEXkrKW-bmgCIxvOOTK7/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-24}} the weeks-long PATH strike.{{cite news|title=More buses and fewer riders ease PATH walkout crunch|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1980-06-14|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eD0_jUsPmX-a9XtqYQ3u5WWzv_xH0lX-/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-24}} and broke the story that 1960's anti-war activist and counterculture ringleader Jerry Rubin had gone mainstream and joined a Wall Street brokerage firm.{{cite news|title=Jerry Rubin: 60s Radical Joins the Wall Street 'Establishment'|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1980-07-30|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_W6KJS-p06wUnhXMmdlZy1TV3R5eklMcXNVMnkyU2prRjZv/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-02-02}}
• 1981 – Wrote a series of stories on the growing problem of missing persons in New Jersey that led to legislation creating a missing persons bureau inside the New Jersey State Police,{{cite news|title=Missing persons: thousands just disappear without a trace|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1981-04-19|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tCv1z7SszHLsrRFUn3vwuROfdXA1W_q1/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2021-08-10}} among the first articles in the mainstream press on the federal government's interest in marijuana's potential as medicine and the subsequent approval of synthetic THC as an antiemetic.{{cite news|title='Marijuana medicine' program may fade away: FDA aide describes drug supply troubles|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1981-06-22|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_W6KJS-p06wbzgzYzNXU0VvWXM/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2017-08-10}}{{cite news|title=Marijuana as RX: THC relieves side effects of cancer treatments|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1981-06-23|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_W6KJS-p06wZlZaWnpmM2dPblE/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2017-08-10}}{{cite news|title=Firm cleared to sell pot 'derivative' as anti-nausea chemotherapy agent|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1985-06-07|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ofOPwPp844I6AMcCd54n7dCQA4hBUGit/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-28}} and a series of investigative pieces about corruption and mismanagement inside the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, a state agency based in Newark, that led to a probe by the Attorney General's Office.{{cite news|title=Investigative Report on the Corrupt Commission for the Blind|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1981-11-08|url=https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_W6KJS-p06waHdpZ1B2WFlMX0k?usp=sharing|accessdate=2017-08-15}}{{cite news|title=State takes over troubled agency for the blind: Human Services chief says fiscal management woes threaten clients|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1982-05-14|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sqw2AfQLeFuPoOLAboPIxhkJoQE54smB/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-27}}
• 1982 – Wrote an investigative piece he wrote on the growing problem of missing persons in New Jersey led the state Legislature to create a Division of Missing Persons within the New Jersey State Police{{cite news|title=Thousands Disappear without a Trace|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1981-04-19|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_W6KJS-p06wdFhVOVFLN2ExQ2c/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2017-08-12}}{{cite news|title=Trooper Help Asked for Missing Persons|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1982-03-09|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_W6KJS-p06wWW9RR2VYT0xRaHo1eFJ6Y3BhRmhnalFVMWdn/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2017-01-12}} and was the only New Jersey–based reporter to interview Richard Nixon after the former president moved to the New York area to rehabilitate his image in the final years of his life. They spoke on two occasions.{{cite news|title=Nixon at the Circus|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1982-11-27|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XefuMPCZ5EF81xV9ILmbZPOTJHGAYTuh/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-19}}{{cite news|title=Richard Nixon stays active as he turns 72|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1985-01-09|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_W6KJS-p06wX2xmWWNWSGFScU0/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2016-09-02}}
• 1983 – Covered the “CBS Murders” trial in New York in which a Keansburg handyman was convicted of killing four people,{{cite news|title=DA says CBS slay suspect killed for cash, eight week trial coming to a close|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1983-05-19|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F9jEP1gb4Ag8pU_3-6fQA4HOiBWJWQV3/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-26}}{{cite news|title=Jerseyan convicted of the CBS slayings|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1983-05-25|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/15MiYGvB_Z0cNkecdwlXzppAUOXcMDCRD/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-26}}{{cite news|title=CBS slayer sentenced to 100 years in prison|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1983-06-23|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EOyM8HNEluDQ9emsZWaz1FL5JV0muunx/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-18}} and the gangland slaying of Peter A. "Peter Rabbit" Campisi, a member of a Newark-based organized crime group whose body was found in the trunk of a car in New York, as well as the choking death of Peter S. "Petey Black" Campisi in June 2002.{{cite news|title=N.Y. lawmen identify body in a car as Peter Campisi|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1983-07-30|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bZOHASTnEYM7QPVQEhxfWnPne50Chqia/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-27}}
• 1984 – Broke all the stories about an undercover state investigation ("Operation Bacchus") of the liquor industry that resulted in numerous charges.{{cite news|title=Liquor dealers cited in kickback probe|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1983-03-25|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gWE_p6m_gFVnVKquRBDfDqh0yR-i_H5d/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-24}} and all the stories on a suspicious harness race at the Meadowlands Racetrack that triggered a riot by horseplayers and a second one at Garden State Park several years later that prompted a state investigation dubbed "Operation Longshot."{{cite news|title=Inquiry opened on law exacta payoff at Meadowlands|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1984-05-05|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KZDmuBKoGm7hdSOCblDzJaJG8sP4bc2P/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-26}}{{cite news|title=Race officials, lawmen command 'fix' probe|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1988-12-12|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gGfz2ktNzficdkrCsK_T3I2H6l28UBNq/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-26}}{{cite news|title=Two drivers and 4 others indicted in 'betting coup' at Garden State|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1989-05-05|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qXPBJNo2j7m_oqDfRauHLDe4Y0YRlFDo/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-27}}
• 1985 – Covered the “Pizza Connection” trial in New York City, the longest criminal trial in U.S. federal court history (lasting into 1987) in which 20 defendants, including six men from New Jersey as well as the former boss of the Sicilian mob, were accused of laundering Mafia drug money through a network of American pizza shops.{{cite news|title=The Pizza Connection|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1985-10-31|url=https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19MoI0qZ9-cslU58xSSOhkteqVbGzlYW9?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-18}}
• 1986 – Honored by the New Jersey Fire Prevention and Protection Association for a four-part series on the state of firefighting in New Jersey.{{cite web|title=Tablet for Guy Sterling from the New Jersey Fire Prevention and Protection Association|publisher=New Jersey Fire Prevention and Protection Association|date=1985-10-31|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CFGeuwH9epr331DMZImyug8PqUREZp_v/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-18}}
• 1987 – Worked with state Sen. Richard J. Codey in uncovering faulty hiring practices at a state psychiatric hospital in Monmouth County.{{cite news|title=Undercover legislator finds abuses: 'Criminal' ID submitted for mental hospital job|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1987-03-01|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mhg37yHA2onTgXfOyLjnaKy0KqFZzxCb/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-16}}{{cite news|title=Marlboro director is removed in management shakeup: hiring policy tightened to include criminal check|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1987-03-10|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hM0LVzbWhyhVKqpQgG04Z5ZLB328-G7H/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-27}}
• 1988 – Broke the stories that reputed Genovese crime family boss and former pro prizefighter John DiGilio had gone missing.{{cite news|title=Lawmen search for missing John DiGilio|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1988-05-09|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cFxqtwjtGuBPqaYG9NnSIqdJR7RkJl8O/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-17}} and was later found murdered.{{cite news|title=Body of John DiGilio found floating in Hackensack River|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1988-05-27|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/19NaWYpjeD3YwWA0CQm0Z1q_GhpddxWVB/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-17}}{{cite news|title=Imprisoned mob figure is indicted in 'rubout' of crime boss DiGilio|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1993-05-13|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/16w-6MuNa1BIuavI4vwrV7gcX1RyBb7TP/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-07-22}}
• 1989 – Flew to Richmond, VA, to lead the paper's coverage of the arrest of John List, an inconspicuous businessman who murdered his wife, mother and three children before fleeing their home in Westfield, NJ, and becoming one of America's most wanted fugitives for almost 18 years{{cite news|title=John List's captor "got the picture" right away|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1989-06-04|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WK_xaU9BXHd2-toX5Tl-09FJPRbsox4r/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-17}} and the mysterious death of Grateful Dead fan Adam Katz at a Meadowlands Arena concert and a subsequent grand jury investigation.{{cite news|title=Possible use of drugs cited in rock concert death|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1989-11-18|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iNZBy1QwGwRRhlNOWwIHDhmx4CXyHh6o/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-16}}
• 1989-92 – Covered the federal racketeering trial in Newark of Genovese crime family boss Louis "Bobby" Manna, who was accused of plotting the murder of rival mob kingpin John Gotti among other charges.{{cite news|title=Genovese boss and 3 guilty of plot to rub out John Gotti|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1989-06-27|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ydh5np-dNznuLNrFkFHbQeRLsudrg5Aw/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-27}}
• 1992-93 – Covered the longest criminal trial in New Jersey state court history, a year-long racketeering case in Newark against Robert "Cabert" Bisaccia and other reputed members of the Gambino crime family's New Jersey crew that ended in the convictions of all but one of the defendants.{{cite news|title=References to Gotti stir up opening of trial for accused Jersey mobsters|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1992-06-12|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lSES7UqVYKUiZ3-avzKxsbxXDm6IU5_d/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-06-28}}{{cite news|title=Newark racketeering trial erupts as lawyer, witness trade curses|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1992-11-19|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/10hVlOW-T4tEIdMgOGEqHeE8ohRttsvd0/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-06-28}}{{cite news|title=Six Defendants Guilty in Lengthy Gambino Trial|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1993-03-06|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_W6KJS-p06wVmlkekhsMG5DN3hKYWFEWkVrdHhUelAwazVV/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2016-08-24}}{{cite news|title=5 guilty mob figures sentenced to prison terms of 7 to 26 years|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1993-03-27|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XhrtHVALVKOkfYd9lgUGPQbmkZJP3ePk/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-07-22}}{{cite news|title=40 years for mobster: reputed Gambino chief in Jersey also fined $100,000|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1993-03-31|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cyB3YWXk3cQBgjQxyZsAIObrurCWPUiZ/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-07-22}}{{cite news|title=6 years later, mob trial jury is called back: 12 will be asked if sideshows affected verdict|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1999-03-03|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JQGY_v4RtMtb3gIXrJyzJh9ita7Gcj1G/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2021-08-09}}
• 1994 – Conducted a jailhouse interview with reputed New Jersey mob capo Anthony (Tumac) Accetturo after he turned state government informant.{{cite news|title=Mafia boss laments that greed is undoing traditional underworld|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1994-03-03|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/17ZZopKcw8NHH6EssNAh8C7QOkNhjc7A8/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-06-06}} and wrote the story that prosecutors would seek the death penalty in the New Jersey murder case that produced Megan's Law.{{cite news|title=Death penalty call in Megan murder|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1994-10-20|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NPI6dajU3Hq4HcL98_TV30Xl3TZVZeOn/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-07-26}}
• 1996 – Found former Seton Hall basketball star and Utah Jazz first-round draft pick Luther Wright a patient in an Essex County, NJ, psychiatric hospital. A subsequent story on Wright's life and the circumstances that left him institutionalized – co-authored by Sterling and entitled “Whose Dream Was It?”{{cite news|title=Luther Wright: Whose dream was it?|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1996-03-24|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZJgW11_zabAC_g2krvV_k9RiYg8Hjn6a/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-01-21}} – won the New Jersey Press Association award for best news feature story of the year.{{cite web|title=Awards Certificate from New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists|date=1996-11-11|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k2kDoe3eHfnmXqaXP-buoLiYdS1QjcyP/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2019-07-24}}{{cite news|title=Star-Ledger wins awards|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1996-11-12|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ojJ5Q9DUF2kLETKD26l_GANlEx3vy1-M/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2019-01-09}} and uncovered serious problems inside the Newark Jazz Festival that ultimately led to its undoing.{{cite news|title=Money woes sound sour note for jazz fest|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1996-06-23|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HuAk0__pNN1HwJyv8FJWR_DzOGaSNYOa/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-07-31}}
• 1998 – Was left the only press copy of a videotaped suicide note made by George Weingartner, a former Bayonne policeman and reputed crew boss of the Genovese crime family who was facing trial on state racketeering charges{{cite news|title=Former officer with mob ties is found dead: Police call it an apparent suicide|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1998-07-06|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P9ZOCKrTVYqysno7QlHTEPhjDUuEmpJx/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-06-30}}{{cite news|title=George Weingartner, ex-cop saw suicide as way to spoil trial|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1998-07-07|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gNFls1khbWkoUmeZZFPtvHZH7nEY9hxG/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-06-30}} and spent 17 years working to free New Jersey inmate Vincent James Landano, who was wrongfully convicted of killing an off-duty Newark policeman during the robbery of a Kearny, NJ, check-cashing business in August 1976. After years of legal wrangling that included a groundbreaking U.S. Supreme Court decision, the conviction was eventually overturned and Landano was acquitted of all charges at a 1998 retrial in Jersey City.{{cite news|title=James Landano Freed after 13 Years|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1989-07-29|url=http://centurionministries.org/wp-content/themes/centurion/images/cases/james-landano/james-landano-freed-after-13-years.pdf|accessdate=2016-08-10}}{{cite web|title=U.S. Justice Department v. James Landano|publisher=Guy Sterling|date=1993-02-01|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XbIyFBzLIob_9zfckd2_uCY30DdxOmbl/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2019-08-02}}{{cite news|title=Landano Verdict: Ecstasy and Agony|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=1998-07-28|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/10PL-TSdi-WlrunfeuxscE_EhOReOeyL1/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-06-30}}{{cite news|title=Landano, exonerated after years in jail for cop-killing, dies at 63|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=2002-11-12|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/12qjDUmOK6ihDaJbfAeoRMPQzuySJ8Jy-/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2021-08-09}}
• 2000 – Was featured in an Editor & Publisher article{{cite magazine|title=Trapped in Jewell Box: Newark newspaper knows but won't publish names of suspects|magazine=Editor & Publisher|date=2000-05-15|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PW0EoR8rvPPvivzCYsF4fG1N4BRCWny1/view?usp=sharing}} and editorial{{cite magazine|title=Public Rights on Trial: In their concern for 'fair trials,' judges are cowing media and keeping the facts about crimes away from citizens|magazine=Editor & Publisher|date=2000-06-22|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gRh82qGeE3XohTCyL-1p_jwUlosDweCl/view?usp=sharing}} focusing on The Star-Ledger's decision to withhold the names of suspects in the fatal Seton Hall dormitory fire while the investigation proceeded.
• 2004 – Covered the federal murder trial of Philadelphia crime boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino in Newark that ended in acquittal.{{cite news|title='The Crumb' to reprise his role as a mob turncoat in Newark homecoming|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=2004-01-25|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bv4T-7cr1w4tr4-3JGEQwV09ihD48IiQ/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-07-16}}{{cite news|title=Jury Clears Mobster of Ordering a Killing|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=2004-07-20|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_W6KJS-p06wdTlkMUhwQi1tRmp6b1RuTzBjUV9TdE5kY1dr/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-01-18}}
• 2006 – Debunked a claim by notorious murderer Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski that he was one of history's most prolific serial killers.{{cite news|title=The Iceman's Death Toll Melts Away|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=2006-05-23|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_W6KJS-p06wdC1DQmNBczBGcTItbGh2UHNDbnpqWjdmd25F/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-07-14}}
• 2007 – Broke the story that reputed Genovese crime family capo and accused murderer Michael Coppola was arrested on Manhattan's Upper West Side after 11 years as a fugitive from a Bridgewater, New Yersey, mob execution.{{cite news|title=Arrest ends long search for suspect in mob billing: N.J.'s most wanted found in N.Y.|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=2007-03-12|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jB0JPiU3zFTIszErYsUx68Btehp9UwKg/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-07-30}}{{cite news|title=A fugitive hidden in plain sight|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=2007-03-14|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NmpyXKzJoYRFwzZzpuQfxaF7KOIzHp_y/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-07-30}}{{cite news|title=Reputed mob boss' wife, son arrested|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=2007-03-29|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UNmnKQ97iy9NeuEpSwzFua1LXvZG5RLe/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-07-30}}
• 2008 – Disproved a developer's claim that an aging building in downtown Newark wasn't the Palace Chop House, where mobster Dutch Schultz was murdered in one of the most notorious gangland slayings in organized crime history{{cite news|title=Was this building a palace? Issues arise over place mobster fell|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=2008-09-15|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IN-LgdTh-sYJ-8F2SwxVsalhr7SGQqUl/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-08-22}} and when he retired from the paper, was given a plaque for his coverage of organized crime by the U.S. Justice Department and a retirement party by the mob.{{cite web|title=Organized Crime Writing|publisher=Mulholland Books|date=2011-02-24|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L0sTfZ4XGRKPmuUEnXcjQoC7O1I1rpmC/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2018-12-23}} The Sopranos creator David Chase credited one of his stories with serving as the theme for the series’ 2003 season,{{cite news|title=Jersey mob soon to get infusion of old blood: Lawmen are wary as jail terms end|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=2002-04-10|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J6iyLfS0fzZAFW09MFBB7dKabXc7l_Xu/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2020-06-26}} shows that were honored the following year with the primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, the first time a cable TV program won the award.{{cite news|title=New Jersey cases inspire new 'Sopranos' season|newspaper=NJ.com|date=2003-01-09|url=http://www.nj.com/sopranos/stories/20040109sl_alltv.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313045937/http://www.nj.com/sopranos/stories/20040109sl_alltv.html |archive-date=2009-03-13 |accessdate=2018-08-30}}

Following retirement in 2009, Sterling became involved in a number of civic projects in Newark, including

• 2009-21 – Helped lead the fight against the privatization of Newark's public water system and uncover corruption inside the agency managing the city's watershed property, an effort that resulted in two government investigations and multiple indictments and convictions.{{cite news|title=NJ comptroller alleges rampant corruption at Newark watershed, director pleads fifth|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=2014-02-19|url=http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/02/state_comptroller_alleges_rampant_corruption_at_newark_watershed.html|accessdate=2017-08-05}}{{cite news|title=Ex-Newark watershed director admits taking $1M in kickbacks|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=2015-12-21|url=http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/12/ex-watershed_director_indicted.html|accessdate=2017-08-05}}{{cite news|title=What Cory Booker isn't telling us about the Newark water crisis.|newspaper=Bob Braun's Ledger|date=2019-08-28|url=https://www.bobbraunsledger.com/what-cory-booker-isnt-telling-us-about-the-newark-water-crisis/|accessdate=2019-08-29}}{{cite news|title=Booker ally pressured Newark water contractors to donate to mayor's campaign, jailed official told FBI|newspaper=NJ.com|date=2019-08-29|url=https://www.nj.com/essex/2019/08/bookers-mayoral-campaign-profited-from-corrupt-newark-agency-jailed-official-told-fbi.html|accessdate=2019-08-29}}{{cite news|title=Big NJ water agency failed in scandal when Booker was mayor|newspaper=Associated Press|date=2019-08-29|url=https://www.apnews.com/2555c5c7c89044ecb025de97a98012a0|accessdate=2019-08-29}}
• 2010 – Organized and moderated the centennial commemoration of a fire that claimed the lives of 26 lady garment workers in a Newark sweatshop, the city's worst fatal fire.{{cite news|title=Deadly Newark fire sparked early call for reform|newspaper=NJ.com|date=2010-11-15|url=http://blog.nj.com/njv_mark_diionno/2010/11/decades-old_fatal_newark_facto.html|accessdate=2016-08-09}}{{cite news|title=Centenary events recall Newark fire|newspaper=New Jersey Jewish News|date=2010-11-24|url=http://njjewishnews.com/article/2548/centenary-events-recall-newark-fire?source=njjnrelated#.V6vkAfkrKiM|accessdate=2016-08-09}}{{cite speech|title=Guy Sterling's Written Remarks at the Fire Centennial Commemoration|publisher=Guy Sterling|date=2010-11-24|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_W6KJS-p06wZ2FKRGw0aXBkMXUxQk81VDh1SDBDZTY0UWRv/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2017-08-01}}{{cite web|title=Mormon Church Press Release|publisher=Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints|date=2013-11-06|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YK39qvco3rea7w5jPpCuPqaOKuyvChw4/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2019-01-09}}{{cite web|title=Memorial Plaque Dedication Brochure|publisher=Guy Sterling|date=2013-11-26|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KFnQtAxkvneehLB31c09jpzK4I218pWf/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2019-01-09}}
• 2016 – Organized and moderated a year-long series of monthly conversations with notable Newarkers at the Newark Public Library as part of the city's celebration of its 350th anniversary{{cite news|title=The sports that shaped the lives of 3 Newark athletes|newspaper=NJ.com|date=2016-07-29|url=http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2016/07/the_sports_that_shaped_the_lives_of_3_newark_pro_a.html|accessdate=2016-08-09}}{{cite news|title=Newark's gospel history is glorious|newspaper=NJ.com|date=2016-11-18|url=http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2016/11/newarks_gospel_history_is_glorious.html|accessdate=2016-11-20}} and spearheaded a drive to save Newark's nationally landmarked historic Krueger Mansion. Sterling's progress was followed in articles by several German news organizations, including Deutsche Welle.{{cite news|title= German brewer's US villa puts cultural heritage to the test|newspaper=Deutsche Welle|date=2015-03-11|url=http://www.dw.com/en/german-brewers-us-villa-puts-cultural-heritage-to-the-test/a-18824042|accessdate=2016-08-09}}
• 2019 – Director of oral history and a co-sponsor of “In Search of a Just City,” an exhibition on the old Essex County Jail (1837-1971) at Newark's Hahne's Building.{{cite web|title=Old Essex County Jail Oral History Project|publisher=Myles Zhang|website=Old Essex County Jail|date=2019-04-04|url=http://www.oldessexcountyjail.org/interviews/|accessdate=2019-04-11}}
• 2022 – Testified at a New Jersey Historic Sites Council hearing in opposition to the removal of the Christopher Columbus statue in Newark's Washington Park (Harriet Tubman Square).{{cite web|title=Submitted Remarks before State Historic Sites Council|publisher=Guy Sterling|date=2022-06-16|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mDgeeOv7LMbzOO188kd1T3ZfEGLGvL4O/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2022-06-18}}{{cite web|title=Spoken Remarks before State Historic Sites Council|publisher=Guy Sterling|date=2022-06-16|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/19kv04bE2clEXDv4c_I0jB1wlMUVz76Y2/view?usp=sharing|accessdate=2022-06-22}}
• 2019-24 – Chosen six consecutive years as one of New Jersey's 100 Irish-American leaders by InsiderNJ.{{cite news|title=Here Come the Irish: New Jersey's Leaders 2019|newspaper=InsiderNJ|date=2018-11-10|url=https://www.insidernj.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Irish%20List%202019.pdf|accessdate=2019-03-15}}{{cite news|title=InsiderNJ Presents Tom Barrett's New Jersey Irish American Leaders 2020 List|newspaper=InsiderNJ|date=2020-03-13|url=https://www.insidernj.com/insidernj-barrett-irish-2020/|accessdate=2020-04-12}}{{cite news|title=InsiderNJ Presents Tom Barrett's New Jersey Irish American Leaders 2021 List|newspaper=InsiderNJ|date=2021-03-16|url=https://www.insidernj.com/insider-nj-presents-tom-barretts-new-jersey-irish-american-leaders-2021-list/|accessdate=2021-03-22}}

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Category:Living people

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