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 "slumlord" ...
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War Zone: The Destruction of an All-American City
The hour-long documentary War Zone: The Destruction of an All-American City takes an unprecedented look at the impact of corruption on the East St. Louis, Illinois area, one of the poorest and most violent communities in America. The program was broadcast twice during prime time; Tuesday night at 8 pm on August 28, and the following Saturday night at 7 pm. This project was the result of an ongoing decade-long probe of government waste, corruption, police misconduct, and violence in East St. Louis and the surrounding villages by investigative reporter Craig Cheatham. Our documentary begins with a detailed look at police misconduct and corruption, how it has contributed to the breakdown of public safety in the East St. Louis area, and why local politicians tolerated such outrageous behavior by their officers. The second part of our documentary focuses on the impact of derelict and vacant housing, the slumlords who own the property and the people who live in some of the worst housing in the metro area. Our investigation also uncovered new connections between politicians and legendary slumlord Ed Sieron, who was business partners with a longtime mayor. In addition, KMOV revealed that of the 500 mostly rundown properties that Sieron owns in East St. Louis, only 13 were cited for code violations. That lack of accountability for the notorious slumlord, empowered him and made the people living in his homes feel powerless. War Zone also exposes the way East St. Louis communities have sold their economy to vice-driven businesses like strip clubs, liquor stores, a casino, and convenience marts that had a long history of selling illegal synthetic drugs. Our investigation found that nearly all of these businesses failed to employ a significant number of East St. Louis residents, even though they received millions of dollars in tax incentives that are paid by East St. Louis residents. At the same time East St. Louis is handing out tax breaks to wealthy out-of-town businessmen, it repeatedly refused to provide the same tax incentives for local residents who wanted to create family friendly businesses that would employ people living in the East St. Louis area.
Tags: government corruption; police misconduct; violence; politicians; community; local business
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Lost Among the Ruins
With at least 100,000 apartment units and more than 500,000 people, "the D.C. Attorney general's office "has prosecuted only four landlords for housing-code violations since 2001, or less than one case per year." In addition, the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs "had no agency-wide process for collecting fines and is owed more than $8.8 million in outstanding fines and penalties in more than 22,000 housing-violation cases." The Legal Times touches on these issues, as well as the story of convicted slumlord David Nuyen, "who is still renting apartment units in D.C. despite a court order for him to get out of the rental business."
Tags: Slumlords; Washington, D.C. Attorney general; D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs; David Nuyen
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Welfare Slum Lord
This investigation revealed the misdeeds of one of Canada's worst slumlords. The landlord rented tiny, substandard rooms at exorbitant rates to poor tenants. Many of his renters were on welfare, so the state was paying the landlord thousands of dollars per month. He was later charged with the murder of one of his tenants and was caught trying to flee the country.
Tags: housing; welfare; Vancouver; slums; slumlords; murder; rental housing
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The Specialist
This investigative piece exposes how Scott Wizig takes advantage of low-income, bad-credited house buyers and is punished for it in Buffalo, NY, but his unethical practices are looked over in Houston, TX.
Tags: house; lease; home owner; housing; credit; Buffalo; slum; slumlord; blight; Houston; contract; deed; NTI
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Vendetta: Who's a Bigger Nuisance - Douglas Bruce or Denver's Property Police?
Douglas Bruce is a Denver resident who tried to make his living through buying and restoring abandoned property. However, he has run into frequent problems with the Denver police and court systems -- Westword chronicles his disputes with the courts.
Tags: real estate; absentee - landlords; slumlords; justice system
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Stephen Green's Deal of a Century
An investigation by WFTS-TV revealed that "Tampa's elected city officials (gave) a notorious New York City slumlord, Stephen Green, an unprecedented mortgage deal that allows him 100 years to pay off a $725,000 loan. The loan is part of a rental rehabilitation program to providehousnig for Tampa's poor. Tampa's housing department has made more than 100 of these loans but none of them have had the terms given to Stephen Green. The cronyism created a huge public outcry which in turn made city officials declare the loan was a gift to Green and never meant to be paid back; however, (WFTS-TV found) proof to the contrary."
Tags: Tampa Bay; Florida; New York City; Stephen Green; housing; loan; mortgage; gift; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT
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This Cold House
Collins investigates the business of Ernest Karr, "Detroit's largest and most brazen slumlord." The story reveals that Karr evades city taxes, ignores city laws and overturns city policies in court, meanwhile renting houses without heat and running water. According to the entry questionnaire: "The story sheds light on an antiquated and convoluted city bureaucracy that neither enforces its own codes and laws, not tracks and punishes scofflaws."
Tags: housing; landlords; building codes; city's demolition list; tenants; FOIA; developers; city government
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Wayne County Coverage
A collection of three series where FOI was used extensively. The first series delves into the executive officer of Wayne County, Edward McNamara, and his misuse of county funds for his friends. McNamara more than tripled the number of political appointees while serving his office. 112 of his appointees took in more than $100,000. At least 50 of these appointees received cars, while 117 others were paid a monthly allowance of $400 to $500 for vehicles. The second series revealed how Wayne County and Detroit went from trying to stop slumlords to becoming slumlords themselves. After seizing around 2,000 homes to keep them out of slumlord hands, the county and city spent $17.3 million fixing up 32 houses. Many of the promises that were made prior to taking the houses never came to be. The third series showed that the new runway at Detroit Metropolitan Airport had serious problems with the concrete. Forty five percent of tests on the concrete failed to meet FAA and Wayne County standards. There was no immediate safety concerns for the $225 million runway but it would have shortened life span due to the lack of quality. See 2001 contest entry #18626 for more information on the airport series.
Tags: FOI; FOIA; freedom of information; city government; landlords; slumlords; urban reform; FAA; runways; airports; corruption
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Slumlord Investigation
A KMOV-TV investigation reveals "five investors, including a convicted double murderer, rented slum properties without permits and allegedly threatened to kill at least one tenant if she complained about living conditions."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; slumlords; St. Louis; Missouri; living conditions
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Anatomy Of A Smear
The Dallas Observer reports on City Attorney Robin Page who was investigated by the police department for allegedly taking bribes from slumlords. No evidence of wrong-doing was ever found against her and Page says the department used media leaks to pin her as the scapegoat for the department's own failures. Despite her innocence, Page was demoted back to an entry-level job and plans to file a lawsuit against the city.
Tags: smear campaign; police corruption; slumlords