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Ron Campbell of the Orange County Register investigated the the shady practices of the American Deputy Sheriff’s Association, one of America’s most ineffective “charities.” In 2004, after being banned from seven states, an Ohio judge seized the charity and appointed a new receiver to oversee operations. However, the new management did not eradicate the problems.…
Read MoreMc Nelly Torres of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that consumer complaints registered against state-licensed contractors have significantly increased since the hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005. As a result, consumers are having to wait twice as long for resolutions to their complaints. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation cites insufficient resources and staff…
Read MoreIn “The Cruelest Cuts,” a six-part series by The Charlotte Observer, the paper examines the human cost of bringing poultry to the table. The series illustrates how one N.C.-based poultry processor, House of Raeford Farms, masked injuries inside its plants and ignored its largely Latino workers who complained of debilitating pain. To conduct the series,…
Read MoreKen Dilanian of USA Today used invitations, interviews and FEC records to compile a partial list of lobbyist-hosted fundraisers for DC politicians. Other fundraisers take place at private residences in DC owned by lobbyists. The story illustrates how lobbyists and politicians have found ways to skirt the laws banning gifts to lawmakers. “USA TODAY counted…
Read MoreKevin Wack of the Portland Press Herald investigated the impact that drivers with suspended licenses are having on Maine roads. His series explores the dangers they pose and how efforts to address the problem are falling short. “The newspaper analyzed records from about 160,000 motor-vehicle crashes that occurred from 2003 to 2006 using a statewide…
Read MoreEric Longabardi of ERSNews.com is reporting that an Erin Finn, whose “resume runs the gamut from model to escort, house sitter, and Internet tech geek” is likely to be the lead witness for the federal wiretapping and racketeering case against Anthony Pellicano, a Hollywood private investigator. The Enterprise Report interviewed Finn over the last 18…
Read MoreDan Kane and Benjamin Noilet of the News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) report that reforms introduced a decade ago and meant to repair the “scandal-plagued” Board of Transportation in North Carolina have done little to end the corruption. Despite laws introduced to curb their influence, fundraisers are still landing prime spots on the Board. “The…
Read MoreAn investigation by MSNBC.com’s Bill Dedman shows that at least 17,000 bridges went more than two years between inspections, despite the federal law requiring an inspection every 24 months. The investigation was based on newly released data from the Federal Bridge Inventory which includes inspections through 2006. “Although Congress in 1971 ordered rigorous standards for…
Read MoreA joint investigation by the Center for Investigative Reporting and ABCNews.com found that top fundraisers for both the Clinton and McCain presidential campaigns lobby for foreign governments, and have facilitated meetings between their clients and the senators. “Professor James A.Thurber of American University says that in the case of foreign lobbying, scrutiny is ‘even more…
Read MoreA yearlong investigation by Geoff Dutton and Mike Wagner of The Columbus Dispatch found that Ohio’s DNA testing program for inmates seeking to prove their innocence is so flawed that police and courts routinely discard evidence after trials. The five-day Dispatch series found that nearly a third of the denials examined by the newspaper failed…
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