By By Jeanine Poggi

Professor Jamal Watson attended his investigative journalism class Wednesday morning, hoping to put a weekend of chaos behind him. The former executive editor of The Amsterdam News was arraigned Saturday in Manhattan Criminal Court on a charge of grand larceny in the amount of $1,000, according to New York State court documents.

Watson, 31, who was an executive editor at the African-American paper for the last two years, was arrested Friday morning in connection with allegations of pilfering $1,000 from the paper’s summer intern budget.

Elinor Tatum, publisher of the newspaper, said Watson was fired after his arrest due to the finding of checks deposited into his account.

“I have never received a letter and have not been notified of being fired,” Watson said.

The charge comes after a public dispute in October between Watson and publisher-emeritus, Wilbert Tatum. The two disputed the importance of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s refusal to debate in Harlem. After the incident, Watson said he was asked to resign, but refused.

Watson, who recently bought a new home in Harlem, was released without bail for cooperating with the authorities. He is set to appear in court on March 7, 2006, but he said he hopes the case will be resolved before going to trial.

Watson is a former reporter for The Boston Globe and The Baltimore Sun and is a weekly columnist for the New York Sun. According to Watson he graduated from Georgetown University in 1994 and received his master’s from Columbia University in 2003. -Contribution by E.W. Blankenbaker

Please check back with HofstraChronicle.com as we continue to develop this story.

Jamal Watson, journalism adjunct, was arrested for allegations of grand larceny. (Photo Courtesy jamalwatson.com)