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 "secretary" ...
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Wired for Waste
A Charleston Gazette investigation found the state of West Virginia used $24 million in federal stimulus funds to buy oversized routers that weren't needed. The high-end routers were designed to serve research universities, corporations and major medical centers, but the state installed the pricey devices primarily in small schools and libraries. The routers cost $22,600 each. The newspaper discovered that a high-ranking state technology office administrator warned that the routers were "grossly oversized," but the state's homeland security director and commerce secretary ignored the warning and authorized the purchase.
Tags: Federal funds; routers
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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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The Oil Kings
The Oil Kings is a new investigative history of U.S. relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia during the 1970s, with a special focus on former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's complex and secretive dealings with Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran.
Tags: oil kings; iran; saudi arabia; henry kissinger; oil
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How We Train Our Cops to Fear Islam
Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, regularly declares that the police must be our "eyes and ears" in the effort the secure the United States against terrorism. Over the last ten years, this conviction has fed billions of federal and state dollars to a flourishing market in counterterrorism courses for state and local law enforcement. No one, however, has been paying attention to what cops are actually taught.
Tags: police; Department of Homeland Security; terrorism; counterterrorism
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"Political misuse of a public database, a collection of stories by Harford Courant staff writer Jon Lender"
Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz exploited an extensive yet recondite database of "36,000 Connecticut citizens" by submitting a FOI request within her office. By using her own staff and a "taxpayer-funded budget," she tracked and documented citizen's "political and personal information" and created the database to boost her aspiration of reaching higher office.
Tags: Susan Bysiewicz; FOI; Richard Blumenthal; campaign; taxpayers; Democrat; state attorney general; governor
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Trip to Nowhere
On the eve of a vote to raise taxes nearly 10 percent and cut spending, the stories laid out in detail how auto allowances routinely granted to dozens of county officials were not justified by their documented needs. Commissioners, department heads, and 15 of their secretaries and staff were receiving what amounted to bonuses that often exceeded more than 10 times what they could document in obscure but required forms. In a followup story, the county administrator reversed course and said he would study discontinuing auto allowances that exceeded the documented needs for two recently hired county watchdogs who were supposed to guard against waste and abuse. Finally, in a third story, the county acknowledged it had failed to meet states and local requirements to document "typical" mileage before all employees began receiving allowances, and said it would change its policy.
Tags: Tax; budget cut; finance; documents; fraud; corruption; auto allowances; bonuses; county
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"The War Next Door"
Violence has increased in Mexico as the government cracks down on the drug cartels. Murders and kidnappings have increased, and Mexican citizens are afraid to leave their homes. Interviews with the Mexican Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security reveal the role of the U.S. in combating the problem. A jailhouse interview with a prominent female drug smuggler gives insight to the workings of the drug trafficking world.
Tags: Sandra Avila Beltran; drug smuggling; drug cartel; Mexico; Janet Napolitano; Medina Mora; cocaine; Columbia
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"Minority Contractors in Illinois Get Few Stimulus Dollars"
WBEZ Radio "analyzed contract documents" from the Illinois Department of Transportation to investigate where the money awarded from the Recovery Act is actually going. The analysis revealed that minority- and female-owned businesses are not getting their fair share of the funds.
Tags: Recovery Act; Illinois Department of Transportation; Federal Transportation Secretary; Ray LaHood; American Reinvestment and Recovery Act; stimulus act
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The Surreal Man Ray Legacy
The story follows an earlier ARTnews story, which looked at the "photographic legacy of Many Ray, regarded as one of the 20th century's seminal artists." Fakes and posthumous prints made by Man Ray's secretary and other were appearing around the world, making it difficult to tell which were authentic. In this story, fakes are still showing up around the world, and how the prints are distorting Man Ray's legacy.
Tags: artist; Man Ray; fakes; authentic; photographers;
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Mine Dangers/Mine Safety
This series on mine safety by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette uncovered several problems: with training, mine seals, ventilation, airpacks and fire suppression systems. Reporters Roddy and Twedt found out that the Mine Safety and Health Administration "narrowed its definition of work-related deaths, making its annual death tally artificially low and allowing them to declare that mining was safer than ever."
Tags: mine safety; mining tragedies; Mine Safety and Health Administration; MSHA; coal miners; mine ventilation; Department of Labor's Inspector General's Office; FOI; Assistant Secretary of Labor David Dye; Assistant Secretary of Labor Richard Stickler