The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "IRE Award" ...
-
Louisiana Horror Movie
“Louisiana’s Horror Movie” grew out of our 2011 IRE award winning investigation “Hiding Behind the Badge”. That series ended with the guilty pleas of former Plaquemines Parish Sheriff Jiff Hingle and businessman Aaron Bennett. Through investigative determination, “Louisana’s Horror Movie” uncovered possible public corruption by a former FBI agent and looked at his questionable relationship with the Hingle. What led us to this discovery was a piece of “Hiding Behind the Badge” we felt had not been fully explored: the money Hingle made from the B.P. oil spill. Even after the initial stories were reported, we felt there was more there. So we kept digging. It wasn’t February of 2012 that we uncovered Hingle's ties to former FBI agent, Robert Isakson. We requested emails, looking for more information to connect the dots. We had to fight the current sheriff’s office for the emails and eventually got them. The emails helped us show an improper relationship between the Hingle and Isakson – now a businessman getting contracts from Plaquemines Parish. This series eventually launched another FBI investigation, this time with Isakson in the crosshairs.
Tags: FBI; FBI agents; corruption; broadcast
-
The Big Eddy Club
The book re-investigates the "stocking stranglings, the murders of seven white women in Columbus, Georgia, that took place over an eight-month period 1977-8." The author has collected fresh evidence that the convicted Carlton Gary, may be innocent.
Tags: civil rights; evidence; DNA; semen; teeth marks; Georgia; stocking stranglings; murder; Thomas H. Brewer; Carlton Gary; re-investigate; wrongful conviction
-
Tales of a Mafia Mistress
The biggest mafia case of 2007 was the Roy Lindley DeVecchio murder trial, where the defendant was a decorated ex-FBI agent. The whole case rested on the mistress of gangster Greg Scarpa Sr., Linda Schiro.
-
The Town the Law Forgot
LA Weekly chronicled "the intersection of organized crime and public corruption in the Hispanic suburbs of Los Angeles County and in revitalized downtown Los Angeles. ... The overarching conclusion is that local law enforcement's piecemeal approach to gang and drug-related crime is not sophisticated enough to make a dent."
Tags: crime; drug; urban; elected officials; attorneys; political operatives; lobbyist; corruption; police department; city
-
School Bus Breakdown
This investigative series found that South Carolina owns and operates the oldest, least safe, and most polluting school bus fleet in the country. The investigation also addressed the state's failure to mandate a school bus replacement age.
Tags: education; safety; transportation; buses; schools; school districts
-
A Matter of Life or Death
Examining "how crimes eligible for the death penalty were prosecuted in Georgia over a 10-year period," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that sentence varied by circuit court.
Tags: Georgia; murder; death penalty; attorneys; armed-robbery murder; death sentence; life sentence; Furman v. Georgia; FOIA
-
On Shaky Ground
Investors in Baltimore are using ground rents to seize homes and extract fees from property owners. Minor debts turned large during lawsuits, some even filed against departed property owners instead of their heirs.
Tags: property; ground rents; colonial law; lawsuits; property owners; lawsuits; rent;
-
Insurance Investigation
The Star examined the insurance industry, using consumer complaints totaling more than 10,000 pages, interviewed hundreds of sources and gathered records for all 50 states. After sifting through information regarding the best and worst companies for consumer complaints both nationwide and in Kansas and Missouri, the Star discovered that Allstate Insurance of Northbrook, Illinois "had the most complaints for claims handing in the country," and "Farmer's Insurance Exchange of Los Angeles led all insurers for complaints over using credit histories to set premiums - a practice consumer advocates call discriminatory." In Kansas, American Investors Life Insurance Co. Inc. of Topeka had the worst complaint record of any annuity provider in the state. The study also found widespread fraud, and also that the insurance industry receives more complaints than banks and stock brokerages. Adding to the problems are the people who have scammed billions of dollars out of insurance companies, which raises premiums across the board.
Tags: insurance; fraud; American Investors Life Insurance Co. Inc.; Allstate Insurance of Northbrook, Illinois; Farmer's Insurance Exchange of Los Angeles
-
Vows of silence: The abuse of power in the papacy of John Paul II
This book exposes the Vatican's cover-up of sexual abuse by a powerful religious order favored by Pope John Paul II, the Legionaries of Christ. The order operates worldwide and was founded in Mexico by the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, who has been accused by nine former members of abusing them when they were boys. Through the Legionaries of Christ, Degollado has ingratiated himself with the pope, insulated himself from scrutiny by having his followers take a personal oath to never criticize him or his decisions, and avoided investigation and prosecution.
Tags: BOOK; Catholic church; Pope John Paul II; sexual abuse; Vatican; Marcial Maciel Degollado; Catholic church sex scandal; religion; faith
-
LNG: Analyzing risk
This ongoing investigation examines the potential risks of damage from a liquified natural gas supertanker or onshore facility. The Register's research, analyzed with help from those in the academic community, showed that if such a supertanker caught fire, the blaze would be much, much larger than what federal documents and officials have suggested. Federal officials also conceded that a certain type of flammable insulation is commonly used on the supertankers, despite earlier assertions to the contrary.
Tags: LNG; liquified natural gas; supertanker; shipping; environmental risk; public safety