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 "Sarasota County" ...
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Paying out millions, and playing favorites
The series explored favoritism and ethical lapses in the way Sarasota County government awarded lucrative contracts to private vendors. We found that the county relied too much on "piggybacking," a purchasing shortcut that allowed low and middle-level employees to essentially award contracts to whoever they wanted without bids.
Tags: Sarasota County; private vendors; piggybacking; contracts
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Pretrial Release: Has the system gone awry?
The Herald-Tribune uses a computer analysis to reveal "laws on pretrial release are ripe for abuse." A defendant awaiting trial can be "Released on Recognizance" (ROR) under Florida law -- allowed to remain free without having to post any type of bond. But an analysis of 2,430 people granted ROR in Sarasota County over a period of one year found nearly 200 people were released without bail "were arrested on new charges and given ROR again," that hundreds were granted ROR despite "a history of serious crimes or of failing to appear for trial," and that "some judges routinely bend the rules when it comes to releasing longtime or violent crooks." The investigation also revealed that "blacks stand a much worse chance of being granted ROR because the conditions are skewed in favor of middle-class whites."
Tags: bail; release; release on recognizance; judges; pretrial; arraignment; prosecution; defendant; ROR; computer-assisted reporting; CAR
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BENCH: Trial judges often keep their seats without facing election. So when a Florida lawyer challenged an incumbent, he rocked the de facto merit selection system.
In Manatee County, Florida (a town near Tampa Bay), the judicial system has come under fire. According to the article, "Until recently, a judge hadn't been knocked off the bench in an election for 30 years." The article describes how difficult it is for a lawyer to compete for a bench position that's already occupied.
Tags: Manatee County; Florida; trial judges; Tampa Bay; lawyers; law; judges; bench; Matthew McMillan; Matthew E. McMillian; Sarasota County; Desoto County; scandal; election; de facto merit selection system; incumbent
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Roots
Daily Record (Morris County, N.J.) tracks drug money from Florida through Montana and back to New Jersey and discovers that Morris County officials had invested in a Montana mining company that was linked to the drug money, which was also competing for the Morris County garbage disposal contract.
Tags: Sarasota Precision Mining; Chambers Development; Cadillac Restaurant and Casino; Luciano; MADD Enterprises; Skygas; politics; fraud; conflict of interest