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 "meth" ...
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Big Money 2012
Big Money 2012 is an unprecedented multi-platform project to investigate campaign finance in the post-Citizens United era. Spanning television documentary, radio and online news outlets, this initiative draws on the award-winning talents of some of the best in the industry to dig deep into a story that goes to the foundations of our democracy. FRONTLINE’s pre-election TV broadcast of Big Sky, Big Money in partnership with American Public Media’s Marketplace formed the center of this multiplatform investigation, Big Money 2012, which continued on the radio and on the web. Further coverage of this timely story also continued online as part of ProPublica’s Dark Money series featuring reporting by ProPublica investigative reporter Kim Barker with Rick Young and Emma Schwartz reporting for FRONTLINE. Big Money 2012 tells a tale of money, politics, and intrigue in the remote epicenter of campaign finance, Montana. The investigation led the teams from big sky country—to a meth house in Colorado and to a UPS store in D.C. as they followed a trail of documents. What they find exposes the inner-workings of a dark money group. In all, it’s a unique collaboration a year in the making, which has led to robust journalism with real impact. And, the story is still unfolding.
Tags: campaign finance; politics; politicians
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Meth Home Cover-Up
The story reveals that former meth houses, already cleaned up and declared safe to live in by the Salt Lake City Health Department are still contaminated. KSL hired a certified lab to conduct its own meth tests on two of the so-called clean homes. Both sites tested positive for meth residue, with levels reaching 14 times what the state considers safe in a child's room
Tags: meth; meth lab; methanphetamine; drugs; DEA; health department; health hazard; contamination; toxicity;
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Home Sweet Meth Home
"In Mississippi, former meth homes can be bought and sold without the new owners ever knowing about their home's drug manufacturing history."
Tags: home; house; ownership; meth; crystal meth; narcotics; cleanup laws; public health; family;
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The Terrorism Trade-Off
"The Seattle P-I chronicled how the Bush Administration is paying for its domestic War on Terror by gutting the FBI's traditional crime-fighting capabilities."
Tags: FBI; terrorism; Bush; methamphetamine; meth; Native Americans; tribes; criminals; rogue cops; civil rights;
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Problems in Paradise
"A murder near the famed waterfalls of Havasu Canyon, Ariz., reveals the social ills of a tribe that needs help."
Tags: murder; Havasupai tribe; tribal hostility; Bureau of Indian Affairs; meth trade;
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Cashing Out
Some local citizens have been using their food stamps to purchase large quantities of powdered baby formula at the super market, then selling it to local convenience stores for cash to get money to further their drug use. In addition, some convenience store owners were acting as middlemen for drug dealers, who use the powdered baby formula to stretch their supplies of cocaine and crystal meth. There is no provision in federal law governing such "second-hand" use of food stamps, and federal and state agencies interviewed for the story said they had never heard of anything like the story the reporters exposed.
Tags: Food stamps; drugs; cocaine; crystal meth; drug dealers; powdered baby formula
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Question of Justice
A senior probation and parole officer obtained for her son a sentence of five and a half months of drug rehabilitation instead of the 20-years-to-life sentence standard for the Class A Felony he committed.
Tags: Probation; parole; meth; methamphetamine; stolen weapons; Class A Felony; parole officers
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Cybercrime, Inc.; Meth addicts' other habit: Online theft; Cyber safecrackers break into online accounts with ease; This little fob could foil a cyber bank robber; Net crooks con Americans into web of crime; Unprotected PCs can be hijacked in minutes; The rise of zombie computers -- Are hackers using your PC to spew spam and steal?; Tech industry has no unified defense system
These USA Today reporters set out to delineate the underlying economic drivers of cyber crime. On Sept. 8, 2004, Achohido and Swartz were the first to comprehensively describe how cyber crooks systematically took control of millions of home computers, turning them into zombies to carry out various fraud schemes. An accompanying cover story took big tech suppliers to task for placing an unfair burden on consumers for keeping the Internet safe. A November 30 story reported the results of a honey pot test -- designed and overseen by the reporters -- showing how simply connecting a new PC to the Internet triggers nonstop break-in attempts by intruders. They also outlined what readers can and should do to protect themselves. These findings were only the beginning of their investigation.
Tags: cyber fraud; Internet; online
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Cybercrime Inc.
With increased on-line banking and money transactions comes an increase in cyber-crime. This comes from putting more emphasis on user convenience instead of security. Part of the increase in cyber-crime is also due to meth traffickers, adept at operating localized theft rings, joining forces with global cyber-crime rings. Also some groups, such as those in Russia, are making ordinary citizens unknowing mules to carry out reshipment and money laundering schemes. Law enforcement has been spotty due to cross-jurisdictional hurdles.
Tags: cyber crime; money laundering; meth; on-line banking; computer security; cyber crime rings; law enforcement
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Meth Alert
This investigation examined the enforcement and effectiveness of a new Indiana law meant to restrict the purchase of materials used to make methamphetamine. It tested stores' compliance with the law and communication between stores to track abusers, as well as maintenance of ephedrine logs.
Tags: meth; methamphetamines; ephedrine; pseudoephedrine; drugs; meth labs; law enforcement; Indiana