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 "Florida Commissioner" ...
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Florida's Insurance Nightmare
The Herald-Tribune's series about the Florida property insurance market gives Floridians their first look at the risk of the insurance companies on which they rely. "In print and online, readers can see detailed financial information of more than 100 insurance carriers, the capital they have to weather a disaster, the degree to which they are overexposed, and the extent to which they are leveraged. It is the only public source to alert consumers whose homes might be in danger."
Tags: property insurance; fraud; hurricane; Florida; insurance fraud; National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Florida Office of Insurance Information;
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"Full Disclousure"
In this investigation, ABC Action News revealed a political scandal the included a county commissioner and candidate for the state senate. Commissioner Jim Norman failed to disclose several personal properties, including two boats and a lake front vacation home. As a result of the investigation, Norman was removed from the state senate race.
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Escambia County Commission
The News-Journals investigates bribery and Sunshine Law violations at the Escambia county government. The stories reveal that the county commissioners voted for the purchase of a dilapidated soccer complex "real-estate agent Joe Elliott, a buddy of then Commission Chairman W.D. Childers, the former Dean of the Florida senate." The county later proceeded with a second purchase from Elliott, a defunct car dealership. The land purchases totalled $6.2 million, at a time of tight budget and halt of major county projects. As a result of the publications, the Attorney General of Florida started an investigation that ended with indictments of four of the five county commissioners.
Tags: bribes; land transactions; money laundering; secrecy; reals estate; elected officials; financial disclosure statements; Willie Junior; public office
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The Clan Behind The Curtain
The failure of the punch cards in Florida has the voting machine industry ramped up to get a hold of any new voting machine business that may ride on the tails of the $3 billion subsidies under consideration by Congress. The Shoups, formerly the "first family of voting" and makers of the "U.S. Standard Voting Machine" are getting back into the business. Shoup senior is actually a convicted felon, and was fined and served a suspended sentence for offering to cast a better light on city commissioner Marge Tartaglione if she would give him the city's voting-machine repair business.
Tags: government relations; touch-screen technology; SVS; ATM; Automatic Voting Machine; local elections; vote- buying; vote tampering; election monitoring; SCARE; Florida recount; Bush; Gore; U.S. Standard Voting Machine; fraud; Ron Budd; Ransom Shoup II; election commissioner; Danaher 1242 c. 1982
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Land Deals Help County Commissioner Freeman
This Orlando Sentinel investigation delves into the "tangled financial dealings" of Orange County Commissioner Bob Freeman. Among the major findings are the commissioner's failure to pay taxes on his new home and his financial interlacing with "two key backers who also have needed commission approval for projects during Freeman's tenure." The reporters reveal the participation of the commissioner in questionable real-estate transactions. The story questions Florida's ethics laws for making it "almost impossible to hold politicians accountable for ethical problems - or even just sloppy record keeping."
Tags: land development; real estate; taxes; IRS; conflict of interest; financial disclosure; fund raising; Orange County; Florida
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Wheels of Fortune
The Sentinel investigates the watchdogs of Florida's wheels-for-the-needy service, a program that provides transportation for the poor, elderly and disabled. This service is paid for by taxpayers, and The Sentinel discovered those who are appointed to oversee the program spend even more of the public's money and profiting from doing so. Many of those who sit on the Board of Directors for the program are the same people whose businesses benefit form how the money is spent. Some of the board members have ties to contributions to many legislators who have helped keep the board active and have made lenient regulations for the appointment and expansion of board members.
Tags: Michael Griffin; Jim Leusner; Florida's wheels-for-the-needy program; Companies; Commissioners; Taxi cab companies
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No title (id: 7554)
Miami Herald uncovers violations of the Florida Sunshine Law by Hollywood, Fla., officials; the mayor and city commissioners held a secret meeting regarding the purchase of a building, 1990.
Tags: FL Greene