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 "machine" ...
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City Hall Heist
How a humble city utilities dept. worker stole $1 million from City Hall, with no one noticing. His fellow employees had no idea that mild-mannered "nice guy" Joe Phan was a millionaire and - relying merely on a rubber stamp, an ATM machine and a willing bank - was depositing stolen city checks into his personal account at the rate of more than $360,000 annually. Seattle Weekly dived into the story explaining for the first time who Phan was, how he pulled off a million-dollar heist, and how it could happen again.
Tags: City utilities department; city hall; theft
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The Cash Machine
An investigation reveals that the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office seizes millions every year in small amounts of cash seized from individuals stopped by police— but not necessarily arrested, and often never convicted of a crime. Through the use of "civil asset forfeiture," the Philadelphia D.A. has created a kind of forfeiture assembly line, pursuing cases for small amounts of cash by the thousands via a system which proceeds without regard to guilt or innocence and which places a tremendous burden of proof on the property owner. This investigation is one of the first quantitative looks into a big-city forfeiture operation and includes statistics compiled from reviews of thousands of court records as well as data compiled by hand.
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The Money Machine
The four part series about the Church of Scientology's vast and unusually aggressive fundraising aparatus reveals how the church collects tens of millions of dollars each year using tactics that intimidate and coerce the people it professes to help -- its parishoners.
Tags: Church of Scientology; funding; religion; church
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Photocopiers Hidden Danger
Many Americans are unaware that digital office copiers have hard drives in them. CBS News proves how easy it is to read the hard drives using software downloaded from the internet. Security experts say that criminal groups and foreign intelligence services are buying the machines for the documents they may hold.
Tags: technology; hard drive; copy; machine; foreign intelligence; domestic
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Wall Street Money Machine
The series showed how some bankers on Wall Street saw problems in the housing market long before the public and policy makers. This meant huge gains for the bankers and a loss of jobs and savings for the public.
Tags: Wall Street; bankers; housing crisis; housing bubble; mortgage
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The Radiation Boom
The reporter provides insight into the medical community's inadequate safety protections. Within these hospitals, the reporter documents the number of patients burned by the radiation of new machines, little government oversight,poorly trained personnel, and outdated equipment.
Tags: radiation; hospital; technology; FDA; overdoses
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Wall Street Money Machine
This series of stories reveals that several Wall Street bankers saw indications of the housing market meltdown "long before the public and policy makers." The three-part series offers a different look at the all too familiar results of bigger payouts for the bankers and huge job and savings losses for the public. The series covers the hedge fund Magnetar and the "mechanics" behind the failure of Merrill Lynch.
Tags: Merrill Lynch; Magnetar; CDOs; Wall Street; bankers; gains; payouts; economic crisis; BankAmerica; hedge fund; housing market; bribery
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"An Agency where Patronage is Job One - A Boston Globe Spotlight Team"
The Spotlight Team looked into rumors that the Massachusetts Probation Department was a "political patronage machine." The team revealed that at least 250 employees had political or personal connections to "state legislators or judges," including the commissioner.
Tags: John J. O'Brien; Massachusetts Probation Department; probation; Thomas M. Petrolati; West Roxbury; Thomas M. Finneran
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Kirby Investigation
The Kirby Vacuum has been around for decades and the selling tactics and tricks have been the same since the beginning. The salespeople go door-to-door, where they normally sell to elderly consumers and involve high pressure pitches. The investigation reveals that the salespeople normally won’t leave until they sign a contract and many stay for hours upon hours till the contract is signed. Further, many people have filed complaints with various agencies, complaining of the selling tactics used by these salespeople and yet nothing has been resolved.
Tags: households; homeowners; machine; salesmen; company; business; distributors; carpet; cleaning; nationwide; unethical
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Blood of Their Brothers, The Border Trilogy
After three policemen and a civilian were executed and beheaded, the investigation into the mayoral regime began. This investigation uncovered a multitude of problems and scandals. Also, it revealed the three policemen and the civilian were honest and innocent. The series "explicitly spelled out the machinations of violence that's claimed more than 10,000 lives since 2006."
Tags: Rosarito; Mexico; conflict; police; law enforcement; mayor; cops; murder; crime; mafia; government