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Pentagon program results in inflated prices

Lauren Markoe and Seth Borenstein of Knight Ridder Newspapers conducted a computer database analysis to show that a Defense Department purchasing program called prime vendor is costing taxpayers 20 percent more than the previous system. " Run by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the program is based on a military procurement strategy to speed delivery of supplies such as bananas and bolts to troops in the field." The database analysis consisted of a comparison of prices charged by a small segment of prime vendors and prices for the same items purchased from companies outside the prime vendor program. A total of 2.37 million pieces of equipment cost the government $37 million, $1.2 million more than what the government would have paid normally outside the program.

FEMA awards millions in extra payments after Katrina

Sally Kestin, Megan O'Matz and John Maines of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel continue their investigation into waste and fraud swirling around Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster aid, this time focusing on Hurricane Katrina. In three Louisiana parishes, FEMA issued more $2,000 aid checks than there are households, at a cost to taxpayers of at least $70 million. And in 36 parishes and counties in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, FEMA awarded $102 million to at least 51,000 more applicants than local officials said were displaced by the storm. " In Mobile, Ala., residents coached each other on the right words to use when calling FEMA to get the $2,000. Many who received the money never had to leave their homes. Some had minor roof leaks. "The newspaper's findings are based on a review of $1.46 billion in FEMA claims paid through Sept. 22 and interviews with officials from 54 counties and parishes.

Stabbing investigation uncovers budding gang activity

Stephanie Hooper of The Telegraph examined records obtained from the Nashua Police Department, as part of their six-day "Gangs of New Hampshire" series, to show the budding gang activity in Nashua and southern New Hampshire. The report that comes in three installments, unraveled the workings of a local chapter of one of the nation’s most organized violent street gangs — the Latin Kings. "The documents, many of which appear to come from a New York chapter or "tribe" contain the gang's rules and philosophies." A investigation into the stabbing attack against an 18-year-old city teen uncovered Latin King documents that Nashua Police seized from the gang leader's (or "inca" of the gang )apartment. See the documents or "constitution" of the Latin Kings.

Suburbs pay for St. Paul's mayoral race in Minn.

Tim Nelson and MaryJo Sylwester of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press analyzed nearly 12,000 campaign contributions to show that St. Paul, Minn., suburbs are paying for most of the mayoral race. According to the analysis, suburban residents have made 52 percent of the campaign contributions to the two general election candidates so far whereas donations from St. Paul residents now account for only 31 percent of the contributions. "All told, nearly 60 percent of the money for the mayoral candidate's re-election comes from the suburbs and just 26 percent of it is from St. Paul. " Experts contend that the suburbs' influence may be as much political as economic and that the voters that are most affected by the mayor's policies may not be seeing the payoff the way people from the suburbs do. See how the data was analyzed.

CEO salaries soar at disabled workers' expense

Jeff Kosseff and Bryan Denson of The Oregonian found that executive pay has soared at nonprofits that often give disabled workers less than the federal minimum wage. "In Texas, one of the biggest nonprofits paid $4.6 million to a management firm founded by its CEO. In Baltimore, another charity's top executive earned more than $700,000 in cash and benefits. And a Tennessee nonprofit boosted its CEO's pay and benefits eightfold over four years to $500,000. " The newspaper found more than 100 executives earning six-figure pay and benefits at the 50 most active nonprofits in the Javits-Wagner-O'Day program during 2003. This when eight of the biggest charities in the Javits-Wagner-O'Day program paid 1,644 subminimum wage workers a median rate of $1.93 an hour, according to Department of Labor records analyzed by the newspaper.

Patient care neglected at Texas jail

Jennifer Autrey, with contributions from Bill Teeter, of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reviewed documents of JPS Health Network, the organization that runs the county's public hospital and jail health-care system, to show that with the inmates' health care, nightmare medical experiences happened all too often. The investigation revealed that administrators overlooked numerous telltale signs of the medical crisis. "One teen-ager with a known heart defect was given Pepto-Bismol for chest pain, only to collapse and die from a split heart valve. " The jail doctors, who work for a physicians group through a contract with JPS, reported that they were hampered at their jobs. Also see a narrative derived from the paper trail.

Private foundation sponsored international travel of congressman

Bob Williams of The Center for Public Integrity and Steve Henn of Marketplace examine the organizational structure and business activities of the International Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources, or the IFCNR in their "Power Trips" series. IFCNR has alienated mainstream environmental groups and its tax documents show its major financiers include the Japan Whaling Association, the International Fur Traders Association, Monsanto and a company whose president was convicted of smuggling and violating endangered species protections. The report shows that "Congressman [Richard] Pombo is chairman of one of the most important environmental committees in the House of Representatives. He, his wife and a staffer have accepted $23,000 in international travel from the IFCN in the last 5 years." Experts on tax issues said the law requires Pombo to return the costs of the foreign trips to the foundation. "If not, both the foundation and the member of Congress could face stiff penalties from the IRS. "

Lobbyist Abramoff used aide, attacks to influence Congress

Susan Schmidt and James V. Grimaldi, with contributions from Alice Crites and Julie Tate, of The Washington Post report that lobbyist Jack Abramoff used an aide to Tom DeLay and attacks on allies to defeat the anti-gambling bill. Details of that campaign, reconstructed from dozens of interviews as well as from e-mails and financial records obtained by The Washington Post, provide an account of how one of Washington's most powerful lobbyists leveraged his client's money to influence Congress. A senior aide to Tom DeLay, Tony C. Rudy helped scuttle the bill in the House and, according to documents and the lobbyist's former associates, e-mailed Abramoff internal congressional communications and advice. Rudy received favors from Abramoff. "The work Abramoff did for eLottery is one focus of a wide-ranging federal corruption investigation into his dealings with members of Congress and government agencies."

Few minority businesses take advantage of federal program

Jeff Raymond of the The Brownsville Herald reviewed the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development program participant database to show that "only 10 of the Valley’s more than 12,000 minority-owned businesses identified in 1997 U.S. Census statistics avail themselves of the leg up. " Although the Rio Grande Valley is, on average, 85 percent Hispanic, few businesses are certified under a federal program meant to make minority-owned firms competitive in the marketplace. Through interviews with various minority business owners, it was found that the reasons for delays in enrolling in the SBA program for most amounted to this: Too little time for research and rumors that the government was a difficult customer.

Breakdowns in equipment thwart forecasts

Debbie Cenziper of The Miami Herald used forecast verification reports to show that breakdowns in crucial weather-observing equipment are foiling forecasters at the National Hurricane Center — the nation's first line of defense against tropical weather. "Buoys, weather balloons, radars, ground sensors and hurricane hunter planes, all part of a multibillion-dollar weather-tracking system run by the federal government, have failed forecasters during nearly half of the 45 hurricanes that struck land since 1992." Records show that forecasters have predicted tracks hundreds of miles off course, anticipated weak storms that grew all powerful, and powerful storms that eventually grew weak. The story includes information on how this story was researched and reported.

Ford leaves behind toxic legacy in N.J.

"Toxic Legacy" is a five-part series by reporters at The Record exploring the environmental and health impacts of paint sludge and other industrial waste dumped a generation ago in watersheds and other environmentally sensitive areas by the Ford Motor Co. For 25 years, ending in 1980, the automaker operated a massive assembly plant in Bergen County that produced nearly 6 million vehicles and an ocean of industrial waste. Much of that waste remains where it was dumped, including a woodland watershed that's home to a low-income community whose members claim Native American ancestry. "The Record found that Ford repeatedly dumped in poor communities and failed to clean up its mess. "The tract was subjected to a Superfund cleanup, but the EPA repeatedly declared the site clean even though slabs of paint sludge and other waste was still readily apparent.

Vast scope of priest abuse in Los Angeles

Jean Guccione and Doug Smith with contributions from William Lobdell of the Los Angeles Times tracked the assignments of 228 priests from 1950 through 2003 who have been named or identified as the subject of abuse complaints. The analysis reveals that because the accused priests moved around the archdiocese on average every 4.5 years, the total number of parishes in which alleged abusers served is far larger —more than three-fourths of the 288 parishes. "In at least eight cases, the archdiocese allowed priests to remain in ministry after receiving information about their alleged sexual interest in minors. " Starting in the 1950s, the percentage of diocesan priests who eventually would be accused of wrongdoing climbed steadily from about 6% to a high of 11.5% in 1983. See priest abuse accusations in the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

Unlicensed drivers responsible for deadly accidents in Va.

Bill Burke, with contributions from David Gulliver, of The Virginian-Pilot report that with swelling illegal migrant populations in Va., rogue vehicles being driven by unlicensed drivers have been responsible for a string of deadly accidents . "Since 2002, more than 90 people have been injured and 18 killed on the Eastern Shore in accidents involving Hispanic workers driving rogue vehicles. "Tennessee's lax registration regulations enable several migrants to get Tennessee tags because Tennessee does not require identification or proof of insurance when a vehicle is titled and plates are issued, as long as the motorist pays cash.

Metro officials spend excessively on travel in Mich.

Steve Neavling of The Bay City Times reviewed records to show that the Bay Metropolitan Transportation Authority has spent about $200,000 since 1999 on airfare, lodging, rental cars, valet parking, out-of-town meals and other travel expenses. These expenses came at a time when the agency was forced to reduce the schedules of bus routes and offered employees an early-retirement buyout to trim a $320,000 deficit. "The review of Bay Metro records is part of a Times ongoing examination of travel and meal expenses incurred by public agencies in Bay County. The first story revealed that the county's Road Commission spent more than $75,000 since 2001 on meals and travel expenses. "

Medical care under examination

Bill McKelway of the Richmond Times-Dispatch is doing a series of reports on the state of hospitals and medical care in the Richmond area. The latest in the series reports the story of Danielle Moore, a former prison guard who delivered a baby girl with severe cerebral palsy after staff and doctors at the hospital - Community Memorial Healthcenter — delayed the procedure. Medical experts who reviewed the case established that she had grounds for a medical malpractice suit and the baby should have undergone an emergency delivery long before she did. "Four obstetricians who reviewed the file concluded that baby's catastrophic brain injuries were caused by oxygen loss before her birth and in the hours afterward. " Other stories in the series use the National Practitioner Data Bank to look at disciplinary and malpractice actions taken against doctors and attempts to reform malpractice laws.

Open records survey carried out in Ky.

The Kentucky Press Association, The Associated Press, various newspaper and professional groups and several university student programs carried out a public records survey to determine whether public offices are allowing citizens to view government documents. "More than 100 students, volunteers and newspaper employees visited four local government offices on Oct. 21 seeking specific public records. They were told to act as any ordinary citizen when making their requests in the government offices." The survey showed that while most offices abide by the state's Open Records Act, compliance is not consistent. A request to inspect the city budget was readily met whereas a request made to the County Jail led to jail employees becoming intimidating.

Hmong girls raped, prostituted by gangs

Pam Louwagie and Dan Browning of the Star Tribune report on the growing problem of young Hmong girls who are raped and prostituted by Hmong gangs. A preliminary analysis found that "these girls were six times more likely than other victims to have been raped by five or more males ". The newspaper used an FBI list of Hmong surnames to extract data on prosecutions of these crimes. The stories explore the clash of cultures that hampers investigation of the crimes and allows them to continue with increasing frequency. See how this story was reported.

City approved slipshod repairs on homes

Mike McGraw and Michael Mansur of The Kansas City Star report that an investigation by The Kansas City Star revealed that the taxpayer-supported home maintenance program overseen by the city's former housing agency approved of shoddy repair work on homes leading to leaky roofs, sagging ceilings, buckling and poorly repaired foundations and dangerous furnaces and flues. Contractors working with the Housing and Economic Development Financial Corp., also known as HEDFC, even charged one elderly couple $700 for smoke detectors. "They didn't do the work that should have been done to ensure a safe and habitable house, such as proper wiring and flues. And the work that did get done was substandard, " said Paul Romer of AAA Certified Home Inspections.

Tough measures keep prisoners behind bars for life

Adam Liptak of The New York Times , examined information about prisoners serving life sentences in all 50 states, finding "that about 132,000 of the nation's prisoners, or almost 1 in 10, are serving life sentences. The number of lifers has almost doubled in the last decade, far outpacing the overall growth in the prison population . Of those lifers sentenced between 1988 and 2001, about a third are serving time for sentences other than murder, including burglary and drug crimes." Janet Roberts of The New York Times' computer-assisted reporting unit led the research for this series. The story includes a sidebar about how the story was reported.

Generous deals for Wash. dentists

Michelle Nicolosi of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that Washington state's dental board has been slow to act and has cut generous deals with some of the state's most complained-about dentists. The P-I investigation found that dentists were allowed to continue working in Washington with little restriction long after they lost licenses in other states, or were caught running dangerously unsanitary clinics, or had repeatedly injured patients. Dental board members and staffers from other states reviewed actions taken by the Washington's dental board and agreed that Washington has given some dentists much more leeway than they deserve. "The board appears to discipline dentists in a way that doesn't adequately protect the patients of Washington state,"said dentist Peter Hartmann, a past president of the Dental Board of California. "With few exceptions, none of these people should be practicing dentistry on the unassuming public," said Dr. Robert Pattalochi, former president of the Wyoming Board of Dental Examiners.

Hatch leads in money from alcohol interests

Lee Davidson at Salt Lake City's The Deseret Morning News reported that Orrin Hatch, despite being a former Mormon bishop teetotaler, has received more from alcohol interests than any other U.S. Senator this year — and he's among the top five in money from tobacco interests. The Deseret Morning News also searched Federal Election Commission reports filed monthly by political action committees of industry groups to verify data and update it with some more recent donations.

Candidate helped defeat ban on gambling

Jim Galloway and Alan Judd of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution report that Ralph Reed, who has vocally condemned gambling as a "cancer on the American body politic," quietly worked five years ago to kill a proposed ban on Internet wagering on behalf of eLottery Inc., a Connecticut-based company in the online gambling industry. The defeated legislation sought to control a segment of the gambling industry that went on to experience prodigious growth. A spokesman for Reed said that though the political consultant fought the ban as a subcontractor to Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff's law firm, he did not know "the specific client" that had hired Abramoff.

Maps show campaign contributions in Va.

With the Virginia governor's race just weeks away, the Virginia Public Access Project used mapping technology to create online dynamic maps of campaign contributions received by Virginia's statewide candidates. The map shades contributions by county and city, and links to detailed data on individual donors in those localities.

Despite crimes, U.S. soldiers immune from punishments in Iraq

Russell Carollo and Larry Kaplow of the Dayton Daily News and Cox News Service used a Pentagon database to show that "dozens of soldiers have been accused of crimes against Iraqis since the first troops deployed for Iraq. But despite strong evidence and convictions in some cases, only a small percentage resulted in punishments nearing those routinely imposed for such crimes by civilian justice systems." The paper analyzed records from the Army Court-Martial Management Information System, finding 226 soldiers charged between the initial deployment and Jan. 1, 2005.

Homes in high-risk areas predate Navy base

Jon W. Glass and David Gulliver of The Virginian-Pilot used city property records to show that " hundreds of homes in the highest-risk areas around Oceana Naval Air Station were built before it became an air base and before Navy flight patterns exposed some neighborhoods to potential jet crashes." A base-closing commission has recommended that Virginia Beach condemn and purchase properties in the neighborhoods around the base if its jets are to remain. More than 3,400 such properties exist, nearly twice an earlier city estimate. The story also includes a link to all residences in Oceana's highest crash zone, by street.

Sacramento nursing homes fail to meet minimum standards

Phillip Reese and Nancy Weaver Teichert of The Sacramento Bee used state inspection reports to show that " Sacramento nursing homes failed to meet minimum federal and state standards more often than facilities in the rest of the top 10 largest cities in California during the last two years". The leading complaints were quality-of-care, and "inspectors levied more fines for state citations against Sacramento homes than in any other city in the state during 2003 and 2004: $444,200 total, an average $19,300 per home."