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 "property rights" ...
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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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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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"The New Tax Man"
This series of stories by the Huffington Post Investigative Fund examines how tough financial times have affected "ordinary" citizens. Reporters revealed how local property tax collectors were "selling the right to collect unpaid taxes to private investors," which could leave homeowners with large extra fees, and the possibility of losing "their home if they are unable to pay."
Tags: taxes; mortgage; interest; unemployment; property tax; Baltimore; Wells Fargo; Bank of America; hedge fund; Fortress Investment Group
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Nevada Bounty Hunters
KLAS-TV investigates the rights that bounty hunters have while in search of a fugitive. It includes "the legal authority to enter private property while in search of wanted fugitives," which is only regulated by "the state division that regulates insurance."
Tags: bounty hunter; fugitive; search; injuries; law enforcement;
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Takings Initiatives Accountability Project: The Center for Public Integrity investigates ballot initiatives that would radically change land-use and environmental regulation in five Western states
The [non-partisan]Center for Public Integrity investigated 2006 "ballot initiatives that were designed to radically change land-use and environmental regulation in five Western states. They discovered that a trio of "secret donors" accounted for 99% of the propostions' bankrolls, and some of the initiatives did not comply with campaign-finance and other regulations. Then the Center revealed that 85 percent of the funding was coming from a single wealthy real estate investor and Libertarian activist, Howard RIch All but the Arizona inititative failed at the ballot. The Center for Public Integrity set up a stand-alone website-- www.takings initiatives.org-- and filed more than 50 articles on it. "Our general practice-- and a novel one as far as we can tell-- was to mount verbatim transcripts of the interviews on our website, including audio recordings where available. We sought to allow proponents, opponents funders and experts to have a chance to present their side of the story in their own words." The Center also checked with state and federal regulators for compliance of relevant laws and regulations.
Tags: Takings Initiatives; takings clause; ballot initiatives; land-use regulation; environmental regulation; tax-exempt organizations; Howard Rich; Andrea Millen Rich; Council for Responsible Government; William A. Wilson; state campaign-finance filings; public records requests; state freedom of information requests; America At Its Best; Americans for Limited Government; John Tillman; Howard Ahmanson; Fieldstead & Company; property rights; prefessional signature-gatherers; Colorado At Its Best; term limits; nonprofit advocacy organizations; Sam Adams Alliance; Sam Adams Foundation; Legislative Education Action Drive; Parents in Charge Foundation; Social Security Choice.org; Illinois Charitable Trust Bureau; educational vouchers; tuition tax credits; National Taxpayers Union; First Class Education; Susquehanna International Group; Jeffrey YAss; Cato Institute; Alliance for School Choice; Decision Education Foundation; Eric Brooks; Susan Mitchell; Pete Sepp; Kern Family Foundation; Generac Power Systems, Inc.; Milton Friedman; Taxpayer Bill of Rights; TABOR; Laird Maxwell; This House is MY Home; John Whitehead; Lower Manhattan Development Corporation; Exoxemis, Inc.; Family Farm Preservation Pact; Citizens for Community Protection; Kelo v. City of New London; eminent domain; New York Millionaires Assistance Act; Wallace Global Fund; Nicholas C. Dranias; PRNewswire; Eric O'Keefe; getliberty.com; George Soros
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Clean and Green
Taking advantage of a state program designed to limit suburban sprawl and preserve open space, Pennsylvania's Allegheny County has been providing tax breaks for country clubs, developers, and owners of million-dollar estates. Under the law, which allows for property assessment breaks, county assessment officials have approved hundreds of new applications since 2003, increasing the number of properties in the program by 50 percent. In return for the tax break, owners had agreed to open their properties to the public. But land owners interviewed for the story asserted their right to declare their homes private property. In addition, the investigation discovered that 60 properties - 5 percent of those in the program - have unpaid taxes totaling more than $100,000. In the wake of the initial story, a followup reported that the government declared the properties open to the public, since they received a tax break like public parks.
Tags: Property taxes; tax breaks; country clubs; government; Allegheny County
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Promise of a View
The authors investigated the sale of apartments with a guaranteed view that the house buyer paid for, but that the builder had no right to sell and that would in fact be obstructed by future buildings.
Tags: housing; fraud; Arizona Department of Real Estate; property deeds; land parcels
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Losing Ground
The Express-News found that an obscure Texas law involving "vested rights" was allowing developers to do clear-cuts on forested lands and watersheds in defiance of city codes. These practices endanger the sometimes fragile environment of the scenic Texas hill country.
Tags: environmental impact; real estate; developers; land use; property rights
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"Home Theft"
CBS reveals how easy it is to fraudulently transfer ownership of property. Thieves then use the fraudulent titles as collateral for loans or mortgages. Once the theft has been detected, which might not happen for months or years, the rightful owner has to pay the court costs of regaining his or her rightful ownership.
Tags: Real estate; land titles