29-04-2025
American-Statesman takes top Texas honors for feature writing, sports photography
The Austin American-Statesman won first place in feature reporting and sports photography in the Texas Managing Editors annual Excellence in Journalism competition.
Investigative reporter Tony Plohetski took the top honor in feature writing for his story on an Austin man who FBI agents accused of conning people out of millions. Photojournalist Aaron E. Martinez won first place in sports photography for a photo of a University of Texas softball player celebrating after scoring a key run.
Statesman journalists were also recognized for general column writing, editorial writing, video, comment and criticism, sports feature writing, news photography and photojournalism. Sports reporter David Eckert won second place in the Star Sports Reporter of the Year category, and photojournalist Jay Janner won third place for Star Photojournalist of the Year.
Plohetski's reporting walked readers through a chilling plan in which Saint Jovite Youngblood, a 51-year-old husband and father living in a 4,000-square-foot home in Manor, just east of Austin, scammed at least 20 people in Austin and across the nation out of millions of dollars, with some victims believing their safety depended on high-dollar payoffs.
Austin real estate developer Eric Perardi in June 2022 received an urgent call from Youngblood, whom he had known for five years. Youngblood requested an in-person meeting to go over some troubling news: Los Zetas, a Mexican drug cartel, had put out a hit on Perardi and his children — they could be kidnapped and killed as soon as that summer day.
"They believe I had all this money from projects I've done," Perardi recalled telling Youngblood. He also said the cartel knew that Perardi had a multimillion-dollar life insurance policy.
Federal documents, however, laid out the case as an epic fraud. A magistrate judge called the crimes "the most massive pattern of intimidation of threats and violence and death I have ever seen."
The victims were old and young, wealthy and middle-class: a manager and bartender at a golf course; a seatmate on a Vegas-bound flight; a fellow estate sale customer; and a man who sold exotic fish for Youngblood's aquarium.
The Texas Managing Editor's contest judges said Plohetski's story was an "excellent telling of a great cautionary tale, written with empathy but also a swift-moving sense of narrative."
Plohetski's feature writing award was in the circulation category for Texas' largest newspapers.
For Martinez's celebratory photo, the judges said they "loved the emotions from the player after scoring a key run, very nice clean simple frame."
Column writing: Bridget Grumet earned second place.
Editorial writing: American-Statesman editorial board earned second place.
Video: Mikala Compton earned second place.
Comment and criticism: Deborah Sengupta-Stith earned third place.
Sports feature: Statesman earned an honorable mention.
News photography: Statesman earned an honorable mention.
Photojournalism: Statesman earned an honorable mention.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: American-Statesman takes top Texas honor for feature writing
