The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
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Food stamp fraud runs rampant in King County
Food stamp fraud has been a problem in the business district of Seattle for years. The problem was so bad, in fact, that a three-year investigation by federal agents could not clean up the mess. Chris Ingalls and KING 5 News have uncovered new “information that may explain why: Our analysis of government data shows…
Read MoreThe New Mafia
The Daily investigates the increasing number of Mexican drug cartels in American suburbs. The team was led by reporter Josh Bernstein and “spent six months traveling” through Mexico to document how the “drug cartels are becoming ‘The New Mafia’ in America.” Smugglers bring illegal immigrants into the country and hold them in “drop houses,” which…
Read MoreNatural-gas drilling poses risks, regulation is lax
“Drilling Down,” a series by The New York Times, explores the the risks of natural-gas drilling, along with efforts to regulate the industry. “The relatively new drilling method — known as high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking — carries significant environmental risks.” For each well the process can create over a million gallons of wastewater…
Read MoreIdentity thieves targeting tax returns
In one of the fastest growing forms of identity theft, crooks are using a stranger’s Social Security number and other personal information to fool the Internal Revenue Service into diverting the person’s rightful refund to the thieves’ pockets, according to a Scripps Howard News Service investigation. The volume of tax- or wage-related identity theft complaints…
Read MoreEPA underreports radiation in nation’s drinking water
A KHOU-Houston report reveals that the federal EPA allows water companies to avoid reporting certain types of radiation contamination in the public’s tap water, giving a false picture to the American public about their water safety. For example, if the radiation comes from uranium, utilities can subtract that radioactivity out of their final reports to…
Read MoreCalifornia hospital chain reports high rates of malnutrition
A California Watch report reveals that facilities managed by California hospital chain Prime Healthcare are reporting unusually high malnutrition rates in its Medicare patients. Shasta Regional Medical Center in Redding, Calif. has reported that “16.1 percent of its Medicare patients 65 and older suffered from kwashiorkor, according to a California Watch analysis of state health…
Read MoreAnalysis of aviation data reveals frequent safety problems
“A six-month examination of more than 150,000 reports filed by pilots and others in the aviation industry over the past 20 years reveals surprising and sometimes shocking safety breaches and close calls at local, regional and major airports throughout the country.” The investigation was a collaboration between members of the Investigative News Network and National…
Read MoreFired officer had history of misconduct allegations
A recently fired Milwaukee police officer under federal investigation after a woman said he raped her on duty in July has been accused of breaking the law five times before, according to department records obtained by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Gina Barton. Three of the previous allegations involved sexual misconduct — two with female prisoners…
Read MoreProgram for violent offenders deporting non-criminal immigrants
“Secure Communities, a federal immigration-enforcement program designed to identify and deport violent illegal immigrants, has increasingly targeted and deported undocumented immigrants with no criminal backgrounds,” reports Thomas Francis of the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting. Nationally, 28 percent of the immigrants deported since the program began in 2008 have been “non-criminal” immigrants. In Florida, the…
Read MoreConvicted attorneys continue to practice in Wisconsin
At least 135 attorneys with criminal convictions are practicing law in Wisconsin — including some who kept their licenses while serving time and others who got them back before they were off probation, an investigation by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters Cary Spivak and Ben Poston has found. The roster includes lawyers with felony or misdemeanor convictions…
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