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 "criminal background" ...
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Trash-to-Energy Proposal Trashed
A company named Green Power "proposed turning Cheyenne's trash to diesel through the process of catalytic depolymerization." The Austrian gentleman who owned the company, Michael Spitzauer, intended to "cure the shortage of diesel and America's dependence on foreign oil within a matter of years." But a background check revealed a criminal record in Austria, and a jail sentence for fraud. In addition, an expert noted that it is not possible for "a low-energy material such as trash to be turned into a high-energy product such as diesel fuel."
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Connecticut Veterans' Home
The State Veterans' Home in Connecticut is allowing in people with criminal backgrounds, posing a possible danger to residents and employees in the home. WFSB investigates, and finds the Commissioner of the state Department of Veterans' Affairs unwilling to admit there is an issue. The Commissioner said the number of people with criminal backgrounds in the home was in single digits, while WFSB-TV found it was three times that many. There are 500 residents on the house, and often only two unarmed guards patrolling the premises. In addition, the Commissioner only consented to a timed, five-minute interview regarding the issue.
Tags: Security; criminal records; Connecticut Veterans' Home; halfway house
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Criminal Child Care
In Texas no background checks are required for people to receive money from a federally funded child care program for providers. This allowed criminals to receive money from the program. Other cases of fraud occur. The program was intended to help needy parents, yet usually they were the ones on the waiting list.
Tags: child care; background check; family; parents; needy parents; fraud; criminals; federal funds; child care providers
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Holes in the System: Ohio's Missing Fingerprints
The State of Ohio's database is missing tens of thousands of criminal records used to perform background checks on job applicants for both public and private employers. Without the information, a convicted felon could potentially be hired for a position their conviction would usually preclude them from obtaining. The investigation found that local courts were not fingerprinting defendants who were summoned to court rather than being arrested. The state's computers do not accept a conviction without fingerprints. After finding many examples of convicted criminals' records not existing in the database, the reporters further discovered that some state officials were aware of the issue, but had been slow to act.
Tags: Criminal records; database; fingerprints; convicted felons; background checks
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Archdiocese Hires Criminal
The personnel director for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati knowingly hired a criminal to run a new program designed to protect children. His job was to conduct the fingerprint and background checks now required of all volunteers who coach or help out in Catholic schools. The investigation uncovered the personnel director was a close personal friend of the criminal for more than 20 years and that the troubled young man claimed the personnel director had sexually abused him as a child. He claimed he continued his sexual relationship with the personnel director in exchange for jobs, money and clothes. The criminal had access to the social security numbers of thousands of Catholic volunteers. It was shown how he continued to commit crimes while employed by the Archdiocese, and how the personnel director continued to cover for him, even bailing him out of jail.
Tags: archdiocese; Cincinnati; criminal; social security; sexual abuse; crime; volunteer; hiring; back ground checks
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Justice at War
After analyzing the Army Court-Martial Management Information system database it was found that soldiers who broke military rules were more likely to face charges than those who violated civilian law. These violations were mainly aimed at Iraqi civilians and included robbing , kidnaping and killing them. Also it was found that the Army's recruitment has enlisted men of questionable background. Some of these men would not be hired by other law enforcement groups such as the police, due to their criminal records.
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Good Gifts Gone Bad PART II
The authors investigated a car donation scam, with over $2 million dollars worth of vehicles that had been donated not going to their intended charities. This was the tip of other fraudulent activities by middlemen, hired by the charities to manage donations. Charities were not carrying out background checks on the middlemen, and some of these people abusing the system were already convicted criminals.
Tags: charities; car donations; fraud; vehicle donations; court records
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State of Denial
Arizona Child Protection Services is the state agency charged with protecting abused and neglected children. Until a new law took affect in 2005, CPS workers were not required to have background checks. A number of CPS caseworkers had criminal backgrounds and couldn't pass the checks. Unsure what to do, CPS didn't fire those workers and the situation remains.
Tags: Child Protection Services; criminal backgrounds; government workers; background checks; child abuse; neglect; Arizona Open Records Law
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Betrayal of Trust
This project focused on sexual abuse by teachers and other school employees against minors. The investigation found that potentially abusive teachers can slip through the cracks due to inadequate tracking of teachers by the state Department of Education, incomplete criminal background checks and poor communication among schools, courts and law enforcement agencies.
Tags: education; harassment; sexual abuse; child abuse; sex offenders; school; abusive teachers; principals; state government; city government; FOIA; background checks; MI Department of Education
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Recruiting Investigation
This investigation reveals that army recruiters are under such intense pressure to fill their quotas that they sometimes instruct enlistees to lie about vital information. Inside Edition documented recruiters telling enlistees to lie about drug use, medical conditions and criminal records.
Tags: Army; Military; armed forces; recruits; drug use; criminal records; background check