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With longtime general manager Kent Brownridge on his way to retirement, Jann Wenner will need a new bad cop to his (moderately) good cop. The early money is on Gary Armstrong, Wenner Media's chief marketing officer.

And what do we know about Armstrong? Not much, really. Except this, from Page Six two months ago:

Us Weekly has another embarrassing staff issue. Just two weeks after Hot Stuff editor Tim McDarrah was arrested for trying to solicit a minor, the staff was told on Tuesday that the magazine's marketing head, Gary Armstrong, would be "on hiatus" for a month. An insider said, "He was sent to rehab." Armstrong was told to deal with his drinking after he was ejected from the Us Weekly Young Hollywood Hot 20 party.

Our own tipster elaborates this morning:

gary Armstrong got out of alcohol rehab two weeks ago, at the company's expense. At us weekly's young hollywood party two months ago he verbally assualted paris hilton and other famous guests and had to be escorted out of the party by us weekly publisher vicci rose.... the company threw him into rehab after that.

While, generally, we'd never criticize anyone for enjoying his drinkie-drinkie, in this particular case we really fail to see what the problem was. From where we sit, God bless anyone who verbally assaults Paris Hilton.

Earlier: Did Kent Brownridge's Stones Get Rolled?