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 "Shoddy Work" ...
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Failed Justice: Investigations in Minnesota
An MPR News investigation of an obscure murder case in rural Minnesota revealed shoddy work and incorrect testimony by the state's most prominent medical examiner, who has testified at more than 100 murder trials over the past three decades.
Tags: Minnesota; Coroner; Death; Incorrect Testimony; Shoddy Work
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System Failure
Investigation into the shoddy work on an MN medical examiner, which resulted in wrongful convictions.
Tags: Murder; Medical Examiners
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Start Freakin'
In Seattle, "Stop Freakin', call Beacon" is the catch-phrase that propelled Beacon Plumbing into an instantly recognizable brand and the region's largest emergency plumbing service. We found the company doing unlicensed plumbing work, shoddy repairs, and overcharging customers. Ensuing investigations revealed that the man in the Beacon uniform might not be a plumber at all and that his former dress code may have included pinstripes at the State lock-up.
Tags: fraud; consumer investigation; professional license; advertising;
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No Bargain Basement
This investigation exposed the shoddy practices of Vista Home Management, a mobile/modular homebuilder that catered to lower income buyers. The company used cheap contractors and then waited years to fix the problems that inevitably followed the thrifty construction.
Tags: contractors; construction; property; home owners
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Cost Cutting Costs Airlines Safety
The report investigated shoddy maintenance on a major U.S. air carrier as a result of cost cutting. CBS News was able to find internal documents and talk to whistle blower mechanics proving that United Airlines failed to do the required maintenance of its fleet and failed to use licensed mechanics as required by the FAA. Examples in this report include: secretaries signing work papers that needed certified mechanic's signatures; failed equipment shined up and reinstalled in planes without being repaired; and letters pressuring mechanics to ignore safety problems.
Tags: TAPE; cost cutting; airline; United Airlines; FAA; NTSB; mechanic; Transportation Department; whistle blower; airline safety; airplane; plane; airline maintenance; circuit breakers; secretary; safety problems; inspection; repair station; outsourcing
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Collapse of control
The Star-Telegram reports on "construction irregularities, shoddy oversight and waste of taxpayer funds that have riddled the Fort Worth school district for five years." Some of the findings are that two of the school's contractors regularly overcharged for jobs; the district was paying twice for the same job, as its employees worked on projects that have already been awarded to contractors; at least ten projects skirted standard bidding practices; internal controls were not in place. To report the issue, the team built a database of invoices and purchase orders.
Tags: budget scandals; finances; building codes; Texas public Information Act; FBI
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Danger Before Your Eyes
"Within the auto glass replacement industry, it has been an open secret that many of the 11 million car windshields installed each year are not put in correctly. In fact the shoddy and slapdash replacement work commonly performed can leave customers' cars unsafe - a consequence that even the technicians themselves often don't realize. Our story showed why a properly installed windshield matters to drivers - demonstrating the key safety functions that help to protect passengers in case of an accident. Then we went undercover to have several windshields replaced - allowing us to show many of the mistakes the installers often make."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; cars; auto glass replacement
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Body of Evidence Part 1-4
Dateline NBC examined the reliability of forensic evidence in crime laboratories, and found that these labs were understaffed, underfunded and overworked. In one case, the lab had a history of allegations of shoddy work, such as falsification of reports and inferior work.
Tags: VIDEOCLIP TAPE TRANSCRIPT crime; justice system; crime labs
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HUD Investigation
KRON-TV reports that "Crooked fences, electrical outlets that weren't properly wired, leaky gas pipes... those are just some of the things that we uncovered in Contact 4's investigation into the Housing and Urban Development's First-Time Home-buyers Program. Low-income consumers complained of shoddy work and excessive costs that were being levied by the contractor/realtor and the HUD-approved inspector. Contact 4 discovered that the contractor/realtor and the inspector appeared to have been using the government program for their own personal profit."
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1991 IRE TV Award Winners and Finalists Tape.
The 1991 IRE TV Award Winners and Finalists Tape is a compilation of 5 investigative stories. 1.) "Televangelists," Prime Time Live, ABC News investigates the business practices of three highly successful and prominent televangelists who capitalize on the beliefs of their followers and collect millions of dollars in tax-free donations each year; reveals phony faith healings and high-pressure money-making schemes. See #8402. 2.) "The Great American Bailout," PBS Frontline and The Center for Investigative Reporting San Francisco reports on the Resolution Trust Corporation and how it is ignoring the needs of low-income families in its bailout of the savings and loans program. See # 8259, 8260, 8261 and 8262. 3.) "Signed Sealed and Suckered," WDHD Boston uncovers rampant redlining of minority neighborhoods and a pattern of discrimination by home improvement contractors and second mortgage lenders, charging inflated prices for shoddy work and loan interest rates of 24 %. See # 8334. 4.) "Down the Drain," WKRN, Nashville looks at the city's water and sewer department and finds hundreds of thousands of dollars in rate payers' money wasted and "Good Ole' Boy" connections. See # 8231. 5.) "Trash Fraud in Onodaga County," WSTM, Syracuse N.Y. finds fraud within the trash hauling industry in Onondaga County, N.Y. The hauling company places weights in its trucks in order to cheat the system. See # 8171.
Tags: TAPE; ire; car; religion; telemarketing; legal discrimination; construction; garbage.