An area political strategist and businessperson, Larry Ligas, a person not of Puerto Rican origin, claimed credit for spearheading the story. He said he got information, much of it from former Puerto Rican independence movement propagandist, Rafael Marrero, and gave it to "Sun-Times" journalist Michelle Campbell. Campbell verified what Ligas sent her and added some information of her own. Ligas posted a press release praising the "Sun-Times" story prior to its release. Ben Joravsky of the "Chicago Reader" stated that Ligas was "relatively unknown" at the time of the story's release. Marrero, at the time, was an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He had been trying to sabotage the Juan Antonio Corretjer Puerto Rican Cultural Center, which had a working relationship with Clemente. Marrero would later give testimony in which he accused parties of perpetrating fraud.