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 "paperwork" ...
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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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Sovereign Citizens Stealing Houses
The story investigated the criminal actions of anti-government extremists calling themselves sovereign citizens. Homes in foreclosure were being "stolen" by these suspects filing fake real estate paperwork at local courthouses.
Tags: sovereign citizens; anti-government; foreclosure; real estate; political movement
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A Renter's Nightmare
"Banks are illegally evicting Chicago tenants when their landlords foreclose, with the unwitting assistance of the Cook County Sheriff's Office."
Tags: paperwork; fraud; eviction; realty; Realtor; mortgage service;
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Army Blocks Disbility Paperwork
After the series the Army revised policies on how it works with the Department of Veteran' Affairs because of the previous management problems that harmed disabled veterans.
Tags: wounded soldier; disable; surgeon general; Fort Drum; Eric Schoomaker
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Overseas Donors
The Associated Press investigated whether any donors to presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain with foreign addresses were illegal foreign donors; whether the two campaigns were guarding against illegal foreign money by asking overseas donors for copies of their current U.S. passports as the Federal Election Commission instructs; and to what extent the two campaigns were failing to disclose basic information about donors such as their employers and occupations. The AP reviewed hundreds of thousands of donations from around the globe and found evidence that both campaigns took money first and asked questions later. The reporters found a smattering of illegal foreign donations to Obama as well as missing details in federal paperwork the law requires from Obama and McCain. During interviews with 123 donors in 11 countries, The AP found that Obama accepted illegal contributions from at least three foreigners. In one case, a Canadian noted with is donation that he was not an American; the Obama campaign accepted his money anyway, and the Canadian's note about his foreign citizenship actually appeared in Obama's campaign finance report. A donor in Australia admitted to the AP that he entered a phony passport number when making an Internet contribution to Obama. Just five donors, three for Obama and two for McCain, told the AP that the campaigns asked to see copies of their current U.S. passports.
Tags: Barack Obama; John McCain; campaign finance; illegal donations; foreign donations; campaign regulation; 2008 presidential election
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Asbestos Woes
Since 2001 the average of asbestos violations against Maryland schools has risen. "Schools across Maryland have not been following the rules regarding paperwork keeping track of asbestos in their buildings."
Tags: asbestos; EPA; environment; regulations; schools; education system
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Special Treatment: Disciplining Doctors
Hospitals and state medical boards across the United States have given physicians repeated chances to keep practicing, despite well-documented alcohol and drug problems. Even doctors that have criminal records do not have their doctor's licenses revoked. This is due partially to the practice that allows doctors to move to another state and start a new job before the paperwork being slowly processed caught up with them. It is also due to loopholes in the National Practitioner Data Bank.
Tags: doctors; doctor's license; alcohol; drug problems; criminal records; National Practitioner Data Bank
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Program Disorder
The New York Times exposed massive fraud, waste and poor oversight in New York State's Medicaid program. Individual doctors bilked the program millions of dollars, and the state allowed costs to explode to a point that forced cuts in services and shifting of costs to county governments. One doctor was prosecuted as a result of the story. The program was also so byzantine that eligible recipients were kicked off for minor paperwork errors.
Tags: FOI; Medicaid; New York; health care; fraud; waste; state government; medicine; doctors
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G.I. Jerk
This investigation explores the way one man, Phil Haberman, scammed the U.S. Army. Though in reality he was only an assistant cook, he forged paperwork and lied pathologically to convince many people that he was a sniper with the Army Special Forces. This investigation de-constructs his lies and talks to the people he took advantage of.
Tags: war; military; army; soldiers; fraud; federal government; Iraq
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The Price of Becoming American
This article focuses on immigrants who have fallen victim to the scam of hiring unqualified and corrupt "consultants" to help them with all of the paperwork to attain U.S. citizenship.
Tags: immigration; naturalization; INS; residency; fraud