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 "Seizure" ...
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Drug Under the Rug
A four-month investigation into the whereabouts of Athens County law enforcement agencies' seizures and forfeitures of items obtained during drug busts revealed that many, particularly the Sheriff, failed to report these items to the Attorney General's Office and could not account for the whereabouts of these items when questioned.
Tags: Drugs; drug busts; forfeitures
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Car seizures at DUI checkpoints prove profitable for cities, raise legal questions
California law enforcement officials running sobriety checkpoints are more likely to seize cars from unlicensed sober drivers than from drunk drivers. Most of the drivers losing their cars are illegal immigrants.
Tags: driving; DUI; checkpoint; immigrant; sobriety
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Investigating the Economic Structure Behind the Moldovan Regime
Oleg Voronin is the richest man in the Republic of Moldova. Scoop reporting uncovered a massive mafia-like network which Oleg used to seize businesses and operate them for profit. Opposition was silenced through swift and quiet violence, media manipulation and threats.
Tags: Oleg; Voronin; Republic of Moldova; appropriations; seizure; body guard; media; opposition; communist; business; wealth
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Crossing the Line
"We're coming after you." That was the Houston Police Chief's message to thieves when he launched the elite, $5 million a year Crime Reduction Unit. The problem? Some of the department's own officers alleged "we're coming after you" meant violating citizens' rights and search and seizure laws to build flimsy cases and rack up arrest numbers that ultimately did little to fight crime. KHOU-TV identified how CRU officers routinely stopped, handcuffed and interrogated citizens for petty infractions such as jaywalking or riding a bicycle without a light. The vast majority of the time these citizens were let go, but if police did make an arrest, it was usually for trace levels of drugs, which often resulted in plea bargain prosecutions for minimal jail sentences. One veteran defense attorney described the CRU as nothing more than "a mill to get convictions."
Tags: Houston; Texas; law enforcement; arrest; Texas Public Information Act; Crime Reduction Unit
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Unraveling the Mystery of the "Dead City"
A painting by Egon Schiele titled "Dead City" belonged to Fritz Grunbaum and his wife before they died in the Holocaust. A quarter of a century later the struggle for recovering art raided by the Nazis still lasts as heirs try to reclaim the work.
Tags: Austria; WWII; Leopold Museum; Eberhard Kornfeld; Otto Kallir; Vienna; seizure;
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Police Complaints Rising
Brutality complaints were on the rise at three area law enforcement departments; they had increased by 25 percent in the last five years. Complaints about other officer misconduct, such as rudeness or harassment, also were on the rise. Few citizen complaints were validated by the departments, which investigated the complaints themselves. The majority of complaints were deemed unsubstantiated and in many cases they were classified as false, which subjected the complainant to possible criminal prosecution.
Tags: civil liberties; law enforcement; police brutality; search and seizure; excessive force; civil rights activists
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Dirty Money
Some law enforcement agencies have become addicted to seizing drug money. This story found:</p> <p>*Police agencies are seizing bulk cash from drivers and alleging it's drug money without finding any drugs, or, in many cases, without ever filing criminal money laundering charges.</p> <p>* Underfunded, usually rural police and prosecutor's offices have become dependent on seizing suspected drug money to carry out the basic functions of their offices, a state of affairs specifically discouraged by federal asset forfeiture laws.</P> <p>* In the extreme, some corrupt police forces are setting up "forfeiture traps," reminiscent of small-town speed traps, to catch suspected drug couriers and take their currency, a practice some attorneys call "highway robbery"</p> <p>* Some sheriff's departments have become more interested in confiscating cash than drugs, i.d. working southbound lanes into Mexico -- "our piggybank," one South Texas sheriff told me -- where they're more likely to catch money couriers. The reporters also found that these departments are not interested in investigating the couriers as a way to disrupt cartel activities -- all they're interested in is seizing the cash.</p> <p>* With little oversight built into state or federal asset forfeiture laws, some prosecutors' office are misspending their seized drug funds on things like margarita machines for the annual picnic and soccer uniforms for the police soccer team.</p> <p>* More and more law enforcement agencies are taking advantage of the "piggy banks" on their highways. According to the US Justice Department, in the past four years seized assets tripled from $567 million to $1.6 billion.</p>
Tags: Drug enforcement; seizure of money; US Justice Department; radio; forfeiture traps
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Sick drivers causing fatal wrecks
The story (and follow-up pieces) exmined the issue of dangerous sick drivers who fill U.S. highways. The July 21 story found that hundreds of thousands of drivers carry commercial licenses even though they also qualify for full federal disability payments. The tractor-trailer and bus drivers have suffered seizures, heart attacks or unconscious spells that led to deadly crashes, with violations found in every state.
Tags: bus drivers; truck drivers; National Transportation Safety Board; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; blackout
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Stopwatch
The Fredrick News Post determined if disparity existed in discretionary traffic stops by using law enforcemnet's own records. It found that blacks were more likely to be searched when stopped than white motorists.
Tags: warrant; search; seizure; drugs; race; racism; minority; discrimination;
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Confiscations at airport rise
Lee Davidson investigates weapon seizures by airport security, at every airport in the United States, from February 2002 through March 2005. Nearly 16 million prohibited items were confiscated over this period. Screeners found an average of one potential weapon per every 111 passengers. Report includes extensive tables.
Tags: CAR; FOI; airport security; TSA; weapons; aviation; Transportation Security Agency; baggage screening; confiscation