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 "payouts" ...
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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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Wall Street Money Machine
This series of stories reveals that several Wall Street bankers saw indications of the housing market meltdown "long before the public and policy makers." The three-part series offers a different look at the all too familiar results of bigger payouts for the bankers and huge job and savings losses for the public. The series covers the hedge fund Magnetar and the "mechanics" behind the failure of Merrill Lynch.
Tags: Merrill Lynch; Magnetar; CDOs; Wall Street; bankers; gains; payouts; economic crisis; BankAmerica; hedge fund; housing market; bribery
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"Big payout, little oversight at NEIU"
After receiving a tip from a member of the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit (NEIU) board, reporter Sarah Hofius Hall began investigating the retirement of Fred Rosetti, former executive director of the NEIU. She revealed that the board "blindly and quietly" removed caps on accrued vacation and sick days, which meant Rosetti would have received slightly more than half a million dollars in payouts upon retirement.
Tags: NEIU; payouts; right-to-know request; Abington Heights; Alvin Hollister; vacation days; sick leave; Italy
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"Charity Starts at Top"
Certain charities have been paying their executives "excessive salaries" despite federal laws designed to prohibit such an act, the Observer reports. Loosely enforced rules and a lack of staffing in the IRS office that audits nonprofits allows many of the large payouts to go unnoticed.
Tags: David Cerullo; Franklin Graham; Inspiration Networks; Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse; City of Light
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"Unique Approaches to Uncover the Size and Growth of Executive Pay and Pensions"
While employees throughout the U.S. experienced pay cuts or were laid off, top executives were receiving millions of dollars in bonuses. Reporters Ellen Schultz and Tom McGinty dig deep to find out exactly how extreme those payouts have become.
Tags: payouts; bonuses; Bank of America; Wells Fargo; Citigroup; executive benefits
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The Cost of Liability
"We set out to find how much money cities and schools are paying for accidents. We were looking for two things: 1. Large payouts for accidents that we weren't previously aware of. 2. Trend of accidents caused by city/school negligence."
Tags: schools; lawsuits; Virginia; Chesapeake; city; school bus; lawn mowers; sewers
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The Price of Access
Examining "the large proliferation of disability access lawsuits in California," the Sacramento Bee found that "offering the most generous payouts in the nation has made (California) a magnet for lawsuits filed under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act." The stories exposed the "most prolific attorneys and their most common targets." They also spoke with "individual business owners and disabled people for comment and context."
Tags: Americans with Disabilities Act; frivolous lawsuits; California law; attorneys
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Wanna Bet?
In North Carolina, video poker machines are legal but under strict regulation. These machines must be registered and pay-outs must be in the form of merchandise. In reality, the regulations are laxly enforced,leading to an unknown number of machines and un-taxed cash pay-outs.
Tags: poker; pay-out; registration; poker machines; regulation enforcement
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Padding the payout
The Star-Ledger series found that a review of state retirement records showed that New Jersey "legislators have been adept at manipulating the pension system to generate retirement packages that far exceed the $48,000 a year they earn as part-time lawmakers."
Tags: New Jersey legislators; pension; retirement packages; state retirement records; New Jersey