The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Austin" ...
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Concealing County Corruption: Anatomy of a Cover-Up
Wayne Dolcefino saves the best for last. In his final investigation for KTRK-TV, he and the 13 Undercover Unit demonstrated relentless persistence as they attempted to shake up a county government with an abysmal record of policing itself. This submission begins with four reports detailing shocking evidence of corruption inside the downtown precinct of Constable Jack Abercia. 13 Undercover spent several months doing painstaking surveillance -- catching the Constable’s deputies running his personal errands, working extra jobs on the clock and stockpiling never driven county patrol cars while lawmen were being laid off. 13 Undercover then managed to get a hidden camera inside the chief deputy’s office as he and two deputies talked openly about corruption inside the precinct. The language is often foul mouthed and always revealing. The FBI nabbed Aberica and two top commanders in a bribery sting weeks later. The veteran former constable is now awaiting trial. Eventually, 13 Undercover turned our cameras on county leaders to say “enough is enough.” Not only was action not forthcoming, it quickly became clear that many in positions of power wanted this all to go away without getting their hands dirty, without ending decades of a patronage system that made deputies feel required to give money to their boss’s campaigns and charities to keep their jobs. That was not an option. This investigation demanded accountability and we held leaders to the promises they made to the public. In late summer, 13 Undercover scored a major public records victory that revealed what one commentator dubbed "a cover-up of Nixonian proportions." The series culminated with the long awaited, and previously unimaginable, indictment of one of the county’s most popular elected officials – precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino. New county directives now prohibit constables from soliciting money from their deputies and legislation is expected to filed in Austin to protect county employees from further shakedowns.
Tags: Corruption; county government; officials
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Terror on the Tracks
"Terror on the Tracks" exposes major gaps in freight rail security. We spent months criss-crossing the state gathering undercover video of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway trains carrying hazardous cargo. We found locomotives idling, unlocked, unmanned, unguarded - with the key, called a reverser, inside. The reverser makes the train move forward or backward on the track. The presence of the reverser would allow any intruder with basic knowledge to steal the train - potentially making them easy targets for terrorists. Our sources - current engineers and conductors working for BNSF with everything to lose by talking to us - say the trains are much more vulnerable than the company or the government is willing to admit. During our investigation we discovered trains had been stolen before - mostly by joy riders - all across the country.
Tags: freight rail security; terrorists; hazardous; cargo; engineers; conductors
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17
Illinois is one of 12 states in the U.S. in which a minor who faces a felony charge is prosecuted in the "adult penal system." In this Chicago Reporter investigation, Angela Caputo reveals that the majority of minors charged with a felony and prosecuted as an adult are black 17-year-old males. She also reveals that most of the cases involve nonviolent crimes like "low-level drug sales" and "property theft."
Tags: felony; Chicago; Austin; Humboldt Park; North Lawndale; Roseland; West Englewood; Cook County; McArthur Foundation
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Bad Bargain
This article identifies several people who suffered consequences after switching from brand name drugs to generic ones. Furthermore, this article identifies loopholes that allow these generic drugs to reach the market. These generics, many of us believe are the same as the brand name ones, are actual substandard and un-equivalent.
Tags: Prescriptions; Drugs; Generic; Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Insurance companies; Brand Name; Doctors; Pharmacy; Pharmaceuticals
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Insurance Denied
"The article explores how health insurance companies deny coverage- or, in some cases, refuse to pay claims after initially approving coverage- for people believed to have pre-existing medical conditions."
Tags: medical issues; loan; coverage;
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Medical Secrets
Dr. Richard Austin is a Toronto-area gynecologist who has gained a reputation for botching surgeries. This story happened when 14 women "claimed they suffered emotional and physical harm after going under his surgical knife." After the initial story was published, more women came forward to tell about how they had also suffered injuries, often to their bowels, during procedures such as hysterectomies.
Tags: Medical malpractice; surgery; surgical injuries; hysterectomy; complications from surgery
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Writs Gone Wrong
The Austin American-Statesman investigates as writs of habeas corpus are found to have errors when submitted to the court. These writs are essential in death row appeals because they "help ensure that the right person will be executed and that verdicts are obtained in accordance with the U.S. and state constitutions." But the newspaper found that "court appointed lawyers routinely submit shockingly botched writs applications. Some are incomplete, incomprehensible or improperly argued. Others are duplicated, poorly, from previous appeals." Yet, these lawyers are not held accountable for these mistakes.
Tags: Writ of Habeas Corpus; death row appeals; court-appointed lawyers; lazy lawyers; overworked lawyers; case load
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Detective bent on solving man's slaying
A series of stories about crime in Austin, Texas. A look into the homicide unit, police department, detectives, patrol officers and other areas of law enforcement around the city.
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Crime Reporting
The collection of work includes a broad range of crime reporting angles, including: the impact on victims; the ramifications of crimes that sometimes escape public attention like robberies and stalking; how shoe leather police work can crack an international gambling and money laundering ring and bring a murder suspect who escaped to Mexico to trial in Austin for the first time in recent history.
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The Truth About Donor 1084
Using the story of mothers who used "Donor 1084" from a cryobank in Virginia, SELF magazine examines the problems that occur when a sperm donor is not completely honest about his medical condition, and passes on poor health to his children. Four mothers who had children using Donor 1084 not only found that his information was false, but that their children were suffering from diseases such as eczema. They contacted the sperm back, Fairfax Cryobank in Fairfax, Virginia, to report problems, but the cryobank did not take Donor 1084 off the market. There is also the story of a young law clerk who made 320 donations to California cryobank in the late 1980s, leading into the tragedy of one of his recipients. Brittany Johnson is a 17-year-old who "inherited a life-threatening kidney disease from Donor 276."
Tags: cryobank; sperm bak; Fairfax Cryobank; California Cryobank; eczema; kidney disease; falsification of health records