Just as preparations were in full swing for the annual lobbying orgy, one of the masterminds of Politico’s marquee event suddenly emerged from his professional grave like one of the ghouls haunting Scrooge, unnerving many of his former colleagues.
Or, as Politico might write: Meet Tim Ball.
An award-winning designer, Ball lifted Politico’s weekly newspaper out of obscurity with eye-catching covers on everything from Viktor Orbán to Israel to JK Rowling. He was also a driving force behind the Politico 28, taking the lead on the design and conception of the annual glossy magazine that accompanied the event.
Unfortunately, he also has an eye for small boys.
Ball, who joined Politico Europe in its early days and became its art director, was detained two years ago at Washington’s Dulles Airport, en route from Brussels, where he had celebrated that year’s ‘P28’. Customs agents discovered a large quantity of child sexual abuse material in his possession – enough to earn him a 12.5-year sentence in a US penitentiary.
In a note discovered by investigators, Ball described himself as “the kind of man parents warn their children about”, according to court filings. Describing himself as a “predator”, Ball said he had an “insatiable attraction” to young boys, and that he knew which families in his neighbourhood had sons in ground-floor bedrooms.
Politico management, for obvious reasons, kept the affair hush-hush, making no staff announcements about his arrest or the aftermath. Ball was fired prior to his conviction and then disappeared in jail – until a couple of weeks ago when he suddenly re-emerged on Instagram from his prison cell and began reaching out to former colleagues.
In a series of posts, he blamed his travails on drug addiction and made the shocking claim that “his victims only ever existed on a screen”.
“Having to say goodbye to Politico – without actually being able to say goodbye – was more painful than I could have imagined,” he wrote. “I am so proud of what I accomplished over my 8.5 years at the creative helm there”.
‘Virgins’
The feeling, to say the least, isn’t mutual. Ball’s unexpected resurrection has rattled his former colleagues, at least one of whom went through counselling to cope with the shock of discovering his paedophilia.
Some in Politico’s Brussels newsroom are wondering why management didn’t pick up on his behaviour earlier. Ball was an avid poster on Instagram with thousands of followers, many of them colleagues. What is more, he spent long stints with management’s knowledge living and working in Thailand and Indonesia, countries known to attract paedophiles.
His Instagram wasn’t the only red flag. A former Politico colleague who visited Ball’s private residence in Brussels' St. Catherine neighbourhood described to The Chattering Classes photographs of boys on the walls.
Chinese whispers
Current and former ‘Politicos’ who have contacted The Chattering Classes in recent weeks say Ball wasn’t the only sexual deviant in their midst. A former correspondent, who is suspected of being a Chinese spy, was also a notorious groper who harassed colleagues and people outside the organisation, these people have told Euractiv.
The Chattering Classes has documented a dozen cases of victims who describe unwanted touching and inappropriate text messages sent by the correspondent. Several of the victims complained to Politico management and were ignored over many months, they say.
It was only after the reporter stood outside the home of one of their victims that they took action, Politico sources tell us. Those same sources insist management knew about the reporter’s behaviour but did nothing until it became impossible to ignore.
We put these and related questions about Ball and the alleged spy to Politico earlier this week and received the following response:
“Politico does not comment on personnel matters as they are confidential. Any violation of our code of conduct is met with swift action.”
Jamil Anderlini, Politico’s former European editor and current regional director – who oversaw both Ball and the alleged Chinese spy – did not respond to a request for comment. Nor did Politico Vice President Freddie Martyn, a senior aide who works closely on P28.
Out of Print
Amidst the swirl of spy allegations and sexual perversion, Politico’s management has decided to shutter Ball’s pride and joy – its once-weekly newspaper, just months after it was named one of the world’s best-designed papers. RIP!
In a note to staff on Thursday seen by us, the plan for "sunsetting" the print edition comes as editors scrap newsletters on cities and central banks too.
"As we always do at Politico, we honor everything that brought us to this moment as we keep relentlessly innovating for the future," the note states.
The print endgame caught many staff off guard, who say they are tired of being left out of the loop and demand more rights – which is why they’re closing in on forming a union.
Word on the street is that they now have enough support for one.
Solidarity!
