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Reporter Laura Mahoney, along with data journalists Jasmine Han and Christina Brady, combed through thousands of documents, persisting through non-responsiveness to record requests, to show that California cities have negotiated little-disclosed deals to kick back tens of millions of dollars in local sales-tax collections to tech and e-commerce giants including Apple and Best Buy. She also found that one well-connected lawyer was brokering deals for the companies and cutting himself a portion of the proceeds from some deals while also advising the cities on their tax policies, in apparent violation of California law.