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“The Pentagon’s unnamed contractors placed 14th on the Defense Department’s ranking of top contractors for 2008, according to an Aerospace Daily analysis of an independent national database of government contracting data,” reports Michael Fabey. The analysis also showed that all work associated with these unnamed contractors was completed in either Iraq or Afghanistan. The Federal…
Read MoreThe Arizona Republic reported that Max Dunlap, convicted of killing Don Bolles, died at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Tucson on Tuesday. “Dunlap, 80, was convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in 1993. He was serving a life sentence. Dunlap was unresponsive Tuesday morning in the Rincon medical unit in Tucson. Staff performed CPR…
Read MoreAn investigation by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and University of Wisconsin-Madison journalism students found gaps in one of the state’s biggest proposed stimulus projects: a half-a-billion-dollar high-speed passenger rail line between Madison and Milwaukee. They found that in some cases, the trains wouldn’t match current commuting and travel routes. And officials are calling…
Read MoreThe Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune reviewed 19 million Florida real estate transactions to determine the impact of housing fraud on the collapse of the housing market. “The year-long investigation found that more than 50,000 Florida properties were flipped under suspicious circumstances from 2000 through 2008. Those flips artificially drove up housing prices and tax bills and…
Read MoreMilwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters Cary Spivak and Ben Poston uncovered the latest fallout from the mortgage crisis: foreclosed properties abandoned by lenders, also known as “walkaways.” Using city and county databases the reporters found that walkaway properties were already costing the city of Milwaukee more than $400,000 in back taxes, fees and demolition costs. The…
Read MoreWe’re now regularly posting member news online, in addition to its home in the printed Journal. We’re offering Web-only content and consolidating links to some of our online features that provide tips and behind-the-scenes insight into investigative reporting. The site will work in conjunction with the printed version, and members can still access the full…
Read MoreMark Benjamin of Salon.com reports on problems plaguing Arlington National Cemetery. The cemetery’s deputy superintendent, Thurman Higginbotham, has been at the center of an Army investigation involving an illegal wiretap. The grounds of the cemetery have suffered under his direction as well. “One of Higginbotham’s failures, say employees, has been his inability to rectify disturbing…
Read MoreClark Merrefield, along with fellow CUNY graduate students, analyzed New York state’s compensation program for those found to be wrongfully convicted. Their findings showed that it takes years for recipients to receive their compensation, and the payment rates are wildly uneven despite promises to the contrary.
Read MoreWelcome to the new online site for The IRE Journal. Here you will find timely posting of our popular Member News feature, some Web-only content and links to other features. This site will work in sync with the print Journal, now published quarterly. Much of the Web site content will be open to all site…
Read MoreAn investigation by Matthew D. LaPlante and Nate Carlisle of The Salt Lake Tribune found that “Logan City received repeated warnings that a privately owned canal that runs along the base of a steep bluff posed a danger to those living below, but the city failed to act on that safety issue, or even to…
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