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 "properties" ...
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Taxing Baltimore
Baltimore City' s high property tax rate is often cited as a major drag on its ability to keep and and attract both residents and businesses. Our reporting showed, for the first time, how a decades-old tax credit for homeowners has made it nearly impossible for the city to cut its rate, while also causing massive disparities in tax bills even when houses have the same value.
Tags: homeowners; property taxes; tax credit
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Troubled Landlords
For at least a decade, Twin Cities landlords Hyder Jaweed and Asgher Ali ran a rental property empire that left hundreds of tenants -- most often low income and/or immigrants -- living in squalid conditions and left city inspectors wishing there were laws to stop the landlords.
Tags: landlords; housing; inspectors; renters
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What Happened to Edie?
Edwina King's death was ruled a suicide by the very law enforcement agents she was investigating, regarding allegations that women in the Delaware County Jail were being raped and sexually abused. Edwina went missing the very day she was supposed to meet a Tulsa attorney to discuss a possible civil rights lawsuit on behalf of female inmates. Two weeks later, her body was found hanged in a horse tack barn on her own property, not more than 200 miles from her trailer home.
Tags: Suicide; Edwina King; Tulsa World; Trailer Home; Rape; Sexual Abuse
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St. Bernard Voting Fraud
In an effort to preserve the sense of community in St. Bernard, and other similar parishes affected by Hurricane Katrina, the state passed legislation allowing residents to continue to vote at their previous residences, even if they were living outside of the parish during the rebuilding process. Fast forward six years. 2011. The rebuilding of St. Bernard continues, but with a post-Katrina population of 35,000, the parish has a fraction of its former residents. While some property owners have returned, many have moved to St. Tammany Parish. This is where WVUE's investigation begins. The investigative team received a tip that a St. Bernard Sheriff's Department employee lived in St. Tammany Parish, but was still voting in St. Bernard. This tip came right after the primary in St. Bernard's critical fall elections. The WVUE-TV team requested all voting records for the election, and found out that the deputy was the tip of the iceberg; illegal voting was widespread.
Tags: broadcast; voter fraud; Hurricane Katrina
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Pay Day Lenders Skirt Law
The story revealed how a high end race car driver who is also a convicted felon is partnering with an Indian tribe to run a multi-million dollar payday loan business. By partnering with the tribe the lenders do not have to follow any state laws. The lender is currently under multiple investigations by attorneys general.
Tags: payday loan; Better Business Bureau; property tax records
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Burning Questions: Arson or Accident?
Investigation which found that insurance companies with significant financial interests in the outcome of criminal arson investigations are in fact taking the lead in such probes- with the result that property owners are accused of setting fires that are almost certainly accidents.
Tags: Arson; Insurance Fraud
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Out At First
The Chicago Housing Authority has one of the most punitive criminal activity eviction policies in the nation. The agency moves to evict tenants based on a single arrest -- even when the crime is committed by their children, anyone else living in the unit or even a guest. Tenants are also subject to eviction if they are arrested for a crime that occurred off CHA property, even if it's in another state.
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Behind the Closing Curtains
An analysis of media reports, court records, company filings and interviews linked a theater creator to 88 theaters in 26 states. Fifty-eight of the theaters either never opened or were less than three years.
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The Mysterious Case of Kevin Ku
The story reports on Kevin Xu -- a Chinese national who was cuaght trying to sell fake drugs to undercover immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and FDA agents in 2007.
Tags: Intellgectual Property Rights Coordination Center; IPRCC; Kevin Xu; FDA; ICE; Immigration and Customs Enforcement
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Jack Young Investigation
Prompted by questions raised about a city councilman's residence, WBAL-TV found that the councilman was listing two different residences as his principal address. This led to a further examination of his shady property transactions and more revelations.
Tags: residence; property transactions; city council; council