For two years, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter John Diedrich has been seeking documents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on a local gun store that has been the subject of controversy. Despite heavy redactions by the agency, and differing responses to various FOIA requests, Diedrich was able to confirm the ATF recommended revocation of the store’s firearms license after a 2006 inspection. The store remains open, however, after players in the operation took on new roles to gain a clean slate. Diedrich’s package included a sidebar that looks at a budget provision that severely limits public access to ATF information.

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A Life at Sea/A Life at Risk, a six-part series by The Press of Atlantic City (N.J.), examined the crushing impact of federal and state fishing regulations on New Jersey’s $1 billion a year commercial fishing industry.  “The regulations use size limits, gear restrictions, seasons, quotas and other methods to reduce the catch. A new round of regulations is coming and the Department of Labor predicts they will be a factor in reducing fishing jobs by 16 percent over the next seven years.”

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A series by the Bristol (Va.) Herald Courier exposed problems with Virginia’s mineral rights leasing program. Landowners have been forced to lease their mineral rights to private companies with the promise of royalties in return. “But instead of reaching the pockets of mineral owners, the money is funneled into an opaque state-run escrow fund, where it has accumulated with scant oversight for nearly 20 years. As of October, the fund held more than $24 million – and that isn’t everything it should hold.”  The state has failed to monitor the companies’ compliance with the escrow and the Herald Courier found that payments were often not made during periods when wells were producing gas.

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Pfizer and Lilly lead a parade of U.S. companies that have paid $7 billion in penalties after promoting drugs for uses not approved by the FDA, according to a report by David Evans for the December issue of Bloomberg Markets. This unlawful behavior may not end until prosecutors force a drug company into bankruptcy.

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A special report by the Pioneer-Press (St. Paul, Minn.) explores the dealings of failed businessman Denny Hecker. Hecker’s business empire collapsed over the last year, and he filed for bankruptcy. Hecker is $767 million in debt. Many claim he “used his businesses as a personal piggy bank, siphoning money from his dealerships and rental-car companies to fund his other ventures and maintain his lavish lifestyle. State and federal investigators are looking into charges of money laundering, conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud.”

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Paul Barrett, Brian Grow and Jack Ewing of BusinessWeek investigated several rumors and allegations surrounding Glock, one of the leading arms manufacturers in the U.S. The accusations include a complicated network of shell companies, illegal campaign contributions and a close look at the attempted murder of the company’s founder, Gaston Glock.

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Many homeowners have struggled to obtain loan modifications through Litton Loan Servicing, according to a report by Mc Nelly Torres for ConsumerAffairs.com. Dozens of complaints against Litton have been filed with ConsumerAffairs.com. Months-long delays on promised modifications have left many customers vulnerable to or victims of foreclosure. Litton settled a class action suit last spring “alleging that the company failed to credit borrowers’ mortgage payments in a timely fashion, then turned around and charged late fees for the purportedly tardy payments. In some cases, consumers’ accounts were put into default.”

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Hazardous lending practices approved by the directors of Cape Fear Bank appear to have contributed to the bank’s failure, according to a report by Stella M. Hopkins of The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer. John Davie Waggett, a successful pharmacist, tried his hand at real estate development securing over $18 million in loans. The largest lender was Cape Fear, and Waggett served on its board of directors. “The Observer’s examination of board meeting minutes, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, indicates the directors often approved loans exceeding regulatory guidelines. For example, banks are generally not supposed to lend 100 percent of a property’s value. That may have happened in at least one of Waggett’s Cape Fear loans.”

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Claims by Bo Beckman, a Twin Cities investment manager, to be among the top money managers in the United States led to an investigation by Dan Browning of the Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.). Among other things, he found that Morningstar says it never rated Beckman, and his own mother sued him twice.

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A story by Michael Jamison of the Missoulian (Missoula, Mont.) shows that the contracting scheme the federal government is employing to award stimulus contracts favors large corporations over small- and medium-sized firms.  In an effort to speed up the bidding process, the federal government is using indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, or IDIQ, contracting.  “An IDIQ is a broad and open-ended agreement, in which the government essentially creates a sort of long-term, all-purpose contract under which specific tasks can later be defined. The scheme moves projects quickly - which is a priority for economic stimulus jobs - but critics argue it’s anti-competitive, because only a handful of large firms can afford to engage on such undefined and unrestricted terms.”  In Montana, a local contractor successfully completed four federal border stations over the last several years.  Stimulus money is funding the erection of several more ports, but the contract was awarded to Parsons Corp., a California company.  Parsons is not new to federal contracts, and is linked to several failed building projects in Iraq.

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