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 "bidding" ...
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KSHB: Questionable Contracts
A 41 Action News investigation scrutinized the bidding process for a $32 million energy project with Kansas City Public Schools. The investigation revealed that a businessman who acted an unpaid adviser early in the process eventually founded his own company and won the lucrative contract. The reporting lead to a resignation by a high-ranking district leader and a canceled contract. The ongoing investigation later examined other contracts and discovered a district facilities manager had helped award millions of dollars of work to a company with whom he had a personal relationship. That part of the investigation showed the district did not have a conflict of interest policy in place for district employees.
Tags: broadcast; public schools; personal relationship; corruption; bidding process
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The Brunswick Stew
“The Brunswick Stew” is a series of investigative reports that began with plea from a citizens group in Brunswick, Virginia. They asked for help shining some light on what was going on in their county. The effort would take several months. Filing FOI requests and pouring over a seemingly endless pile of paperwork, a number of serious issues came to light. Illegal bonuses and contracts, back room politics, political favoritism in the awarding of bids, and a blatant case of public safety being put at risk are what “The Brunswick Stew” unveils.
Tags: broadcast; illegal contacts; backroom politics; political favoritism; public safety
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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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The Gravy Train
An in-depth look at the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad revealed $100,000 of questionable purchases on the general manager's public credit card and a blatant disregard for state and city public bid laws.
Tags: railroad; bid laws; spending; taxpayer; public entity; New Orleans
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Watchdog website and its web pages
The Oklahoman/NewsOK.com started this project in 2008 with the Right to Know page, a collection of databases developed internally to go along with stories and links to relevant public information. That site became part of the Watchdog page in 2009. In 2010, the staff continued to evolve the Watchdog page with "mini-sites" of investigative topics, such as a political corruption case at the Oklahoma Legislature; the staff's FOI fight over the birth dates of public employees; and allegations of bid-rigging with a married lawmaker and lobbyist for a private company seeking a state juvenile justice contract. Other "mini-sites" under Watchdog include ongoing coverage of the state Department of Human Services and the federal stimulus package.
Tags: continuous coverage; online; watchdog; bid-rigging; Department of Human Services; federal stimulus; FOI; Right to Know
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Ready Money: The Baltimore City Foundation
The investigation of a private nonprofit group, which was formed to benefit city programs for the underprivileged, revealed a number of shocking facts. Some of them being, that a number of city officials used the group to pay for a few items for the mayor’s inauguration and to avoid competitive bidding for the design of the visitors center. Also, some of the donations went to support political initiatives, not those needing help. The foundation was unaware of the happenings because they were asking few questions from the city government.
Tags: city officials; needy; Finance Department; city clerk; Lenwood M. Ivey; funds; support; philanthropy; agency; tax-exempt; Mayor Sheila Dixon
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"Union Township Investigation"
A Cincinnati township has found itself in the midst of an "ethical swamp." Government officials made high dollar deals with contractors to make way for new developments in the city. The officials then took "high-level" positions "with the developer." In addition, bids were skewed so that they would only go to one contracting company, the same company that was owned by "the son of a township official."
Tags: Chuck Kubicki; Ken Geis; Clermont County; Cincinnati United Contractors; Cliff Johnson; Ohio Ethics Laws;
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Cowboys of Kabul
US Protection and Investigations, a company owned by a Texas couple named Del and Barbara Spier, was, until recently, one of the largest security operations in Afghanistan. The company oversaw security of reconstruction projects but secured no-bid contracts, submitted false invoices, hired men from a notorious Afghan warlord, paid off militants and demonstrated many other corrupt actions. "The Cowboys of Kabul" details the actions of these and other corrupt contractors in America's war on terror.
Tags: USPI; Afghanistan; Spier; contractors; militants; fraud; security; contracts; military; private security;
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Inside National Grid's Secretive $25 Million
The reporters exposed a secret fund controlled by local power company National Grid. An add-on charge to each customer's monthly bill built a $25 million slush fund for two utility officials to spend on favored economic development projects.
Tags: electric company; utility fee; energy; rates; no-bid contract; favoritism
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Smoke and Mirrors
"This four-part series documents the slow but complete transformation of the EPA from an agency legally bound to protect and improve the environment to an agency that used an array of political tricks to avoid its Congressional mandate. The series major findings are that the Bush administration appointed an administrator who would do its bidding on behalf of the corporate community; allowed important decisions to languish in the courts, thereby delaying the implementation of various regulations for years; developed a 'voluntary' anti-pollution program that actually rewards polluters; and ignored the science that underpins sound environmental policy."
Tags: EPA; pollution; Bush administration; environment; regulations; corporate control;