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 "city funds" ...
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The Deadliest Place in Mexico
The Juarez Valley, a narrow corridor of green farmland carved from the Chihuahuan desert along the Rio Grande, was once known for its cotton, which rivaled Egypt’s. But that was before the Juarez cartel moved in to set up a lucrative drug smuggling trade. “The Deadliest Place in Mexico” explores untold aspects of Mexico’s drug war as it has played out in the small farming communities of this valley. The violence began in 2008, when the Sinaloa cartel moved in to take over the Juarez cartel’s turf. The Mexican government sent in the military to quell the violence — but instead the murder rate exploded. While the bloodshed in the nearby City of Juarez attracted widespread media attention, the violence spilling into the rural Juarez Valley received far less, eve as the killings began to escalate in brutal ways. Community advocates, elected officials, even police officers were shot down in the streets. Several residents were stabbed in the face with ice picks. By 2009, the valley, with a population of 20,000, had a murder rate six times higher than Juarez itself. Newspapers began to call the rural farming region the “Valley of Death.” This investigation uses extensive Freedom of Information Act requests, court documents, and difficult-to-obtain interviews in Spanish and English with current and former Juarez Valley residents, Mexican officials, narcotraffickers and U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials, to reveal that many of these shocking deaths were perpetrated with the participation of Mexican authorities. It shows scenes of devastation — households where six members of a single family were killed, without a single police investigation. It uncovers targeted killings by masked gunmen of community activists and innocent residents for speaking out against violence and repression facilitated by corrupt military and government officials. And it gathers multiple witnesses who describe soldiers themselves, working in league with the Sinaloa cartel, perpetrating violence against civilians. "The cemeteries are all full. There isn't anywhere left to bury the bodies," one former resident said. "You'll find nothing there but ghost towns and soldiers."
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Playing with Fire
“Playing with Fire” focuses on a public board well out of the public eye, but one that could cost New Orleans taxpayers millions of dollars every year. After a month of digging through thousands of pages of records at the New Orleans Firefighters Pension Fund, WVUE-TV and Lee Zurik revealed questionable salaries, spending, and management. Among the notable discoveries: a $70,000 raise and $90,000 lump sum payout for the board Secretary-Treasurer/CEO; tens of thousands of dollars in questionable credit card charges by the board; and tens of millions of dollars in questionable investments. This last element is perhaps the most egregious for the citizens of New Orleans who are left to foot the bill for any pension fund shortfalls. This multi part series launched an investigation by the city’s inspector general, forced the board to change polices and led to charges filed by the state ethics board against two of the principals in our series.
Tags: New Orleans; taxes; taxpayers; credit cards
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Councilmen on Tourism
With the help of a hidden camera, this RBS-TV/Globo TV investigation of city council members in seven Brazilian states shows how many politicians were skipping taxpayer-funded seminars and classes to vacation instead.
Tags: Brazil; politician; taxpayer; tourism; council
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Breach of Faith
The investigation revealed extensive corruption in the city of Bell, California. The city's chief administrative officer was receiving a total compensation of $1.5 million -- probably the highest pay for that job anywhere in the country. The assistant city manager, police chief, and part-time council members had exorbitant salaries as well. The city was also illegally raising taxes and giving police daily impound quotas to boost revenue.
Tags: corruption; city government; salary; city funds; revenue
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Is the City's Affordable Housing Lottery Rigged?
A detailed investigation of the Boston Redevelopment Authority questions how it funds its operations.
Tags: BRA; Boston Redevelopment Authority; funding
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Gambling on Growth
For years, St. Cloud-area cities have used public financing to pay upfront for improving roads and extending water and sewer utilities to new housing developments. Developers were supposed to pay off the debt through assessments, but many are falling behind on payments, leaving cities to bear the cost.
Tags: Developers; Finance; City Budget; Utilities; Housing; Roads; Funding; Loans; Debt
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Missing Oversight
These six stories cover financial problems surrounding one of of Glendale's most notable nonprofit organizations, New Horizons. The series started as an article on the long-delayed construction of a planned $4-million childcare center, but quickly grew into a much larger investigation of financial misrepresentations made by the nonprofit's founder and lax city oversight of federal funding. In addition to finding significant budget problems at the nonprofit, the stories revealed that city officials had repeatedly doled out limited federal funds at a time the nonprofit's own records showed they had little funding for the project.
Tags: nonprofit; NGO; federal funding; budget; New Horizons; Glendale; corruption; misrepresentation; finance; construction; childcare center
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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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Gang Strike Force
The series reveals that police officers, those among the anti-gang unit, were mismanaging funds and other property confiscated from suspected criminals. Also, it revealed they were abusing laws, which were used to fight crime, and sometimes taking illegal actions to protect themselves from scrutiny. Additionally, once this story was released the police officers came straight to their offices and began shredding internal documents.
Tags: law enforcement; Metro Gang Strike Force; agencies; evidence; unit; corruption; Twin Cities; lawsuit; arrest
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"Buffalo economic development agency scandal"
The News exposed numerous economic blunders by members of Buffalo's economic development agency. The use of anti-poverty funds for employee health insurance perks and BlackBerry devices are just some of the misuses of city finances. The city also financed a failed restaurant that was owned by a "former pro basketball player" with the anti-poverty funds.
Tags: Leonard Stokes; Michelle Barron; Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp.; Byron W. Brown; Brian C. Davis; Brian Reilly