Business
Arizona developer’s checkered past
Mark Flatten of the East Valley Tribune in Phoenix completed a series on Jim Rhodes who has become in the most influential developer in Arizona’s East Valley. In December of 2006, he purchased over 1,000 acres of state trust land. The $58.6 million purchase gave him the right to “master-plan 7,700 acres in the area…
Read MoreSqueezing millions from pennies
Ron Campbell of the Orange County Register reports on Irvine businessman Mark Ellis who made millions of dollars through his money-losing penny stock company, Winsted Holdings. By reverse-splitting the stock and then flooding the market with billions of new shares, he effectively drove down the stock’s price to a hundredth of a penny.The story explores…
Read MoreInsurance settlements often undercut victim’s expenses
Investigative correspondent Drew Griffin, of CNN
Read MoreNJ taxpayers bankrolling Meadowlands development gamble
John Brennan and Jeff Pillets at The (Bergen County, NJ) Record went deep into the financial underpinnings of a developer’s promise to transform the state’s most infamous landmark from smelly garbage dumps and swamps into an Emerald City of golf courses, luxury condos and resort hotels. They emerged with a compelling story about the way…
Read MoreAuto execs’ flight costs questioned
Steve Wilson of WXYZ-Detroit looked into Big Three auto executives’ use of corporate jets for personal trips, despite cost-cutting pressures in the industry. The story estimated that non-business travel for a handful of top leaders costs in the neighborhood of $700,000 annually at both Ford and GM.
Read MoreGates Foundation investments scrutinized
Charles Piller, Edmund Sanders and Robyn Dixon of the Los Angeles Times explore the investments held by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and found that it “reaps vast profits every year from companies whose actions contradict its mission of improving society in the United States and around the world, particularly the lot of people…
Read MoreLaw opens boardroom doors
Jill Riepenhoff and Doug Haddix of The Columbus Dispatch used U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proxy statements to examine the boards of directors of 30 companies based in central Ohio. They found huge increases in compensation and an increase in directors serving on multiple boards since the 2002 passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Companies defend…
Read MoreComplaints rampant in insurance industry
Mike Casey of The Kansas City Star reports on the rampant dissatisfaction many consumers have with their insurance providers. The paper conducted an 11-month investigation into insurance problems and analyzed almost 35 million records, including over 600,000 complaints logged in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) database from 2003 through 2005. The analysis shows…
Read MoreHurricane shutter fraud on the rise
Sarah Okeson of Florida Today reports that hurricane storm shutter fraud is on the rise in Florida. Records from the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida show that at least six companies offering storm shutters have unsatisfactory records, and at least one faces criminal charges. Complaints range from shoddy workmanship to theft of deposits. A…
Read MoreEmpire Zone abuses afford millions to a lucky few
The (Syracuse, N.Y.) Post-Standard’s Mike McAndrew and Michelle Breidenbach expose abuses of New York’s “Empire Zone” tax breaks which negate the programs intended purpose:” to create jobs in targeted impoverished areas.” One mall owner was able to cash in on about $14 million in tax breaks by paying the city of Geneva to expand the…
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