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 "venture" ...
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Seattle Police:Vanishing Videos
This story began as a relatively simple venture; how to get copies of police dashboard camera videos to provide watchdog oversight of a police department facing growing criticism. It grew into a major expose of questionable police tactics and a battle for public access to critical public records that is currently before the state Supreme Court. Over the course of a year and a half, KOMO TV’s fight for videos and the video database became a game of strategy and attrition as the Seattle Police Department denied us access to public records at every opportunity. We tried every means at our disposal to get these records including direct appeals to elected officials. Finally, with no other recourse, KOMO TV sued the SPD and the city of Seattle. Only then did we make our fight for these records public. What followed in 2012 was a cascade of stories; people coming forward alleging police misconduct and an attempt to hide the videos that would tell the truth. In addition to KOMO TV’s public records lawsuit, our investigation has prompted state legislators and other open records advocates to pursue changes in state law to ensure these records can no longer stay hidden.
Tags: police; camera videos; SPD; Seattle Police Department; public records
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When Patents Attack
Patents are supposed to encourage innovation, but patent holders see them as doing the opposite. The reporters address this by tracing the history of one patent on an epic and all-too typical journey.
Tags: patents; patent holder; Intellectual Ventures; radio
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The David Rose Oil and Gas Fraud Investigation
For years, David Rose ran a complex boiler room scam operation that collected millions of dollars from victim investors under the veneer of a fossil fuel extraction enterprise. No such drilling operations were underway, and the scam defrauded millions from victims only to fund Rose's personal ventures such as "Future Happiness, LLC," Rose's private collection of luxury vehicles. Perhaps the most shocking of all is the short 52 month sentence Rose will receive. WHAS-TV outlines the governments failure to adequately find and prosecute investor fraud schemes, especially while his sons appear to be reengaging parts of the business while sending their father $500,000 a year in "consulting fees." Official have yet to act on this news, but WHAS-TV hopes to educate future investors on criminal companies.
Tags: investors; fraud; David Rose; boiler room scam; scheme; oil; natural gas; drilling; investigation;
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You Want a Piece of Me
“Homeless teen Corey Black thinks his fortunes have changed when a prominent local businessman offers to buy his kidney. The venture ultimately falls through, leaving Corey right back where he started. The story tracks Corey as the events are unfolding”.
Tags: poor; street; money; payment; homeless; medical; illegal practices; helping
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Secrets of the Knight: Sir Allen Stanford and the Missing Billions
In the wake of the 2008 financial crises, a variety of Ponzi schemes surfaced but few as elaborate as Allen Stanford's. "Secrets of the Knight" details Stanford's in-depth network of offshore accounts, business ventures and lavish spending. It explores how his empire was built and how it fell.
Tags: Allen Stanford; Ponzi; scheme; Antigua; Barduba; Texas; billionaire; knight; scandal; finance; business;
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Vote early, vote often
Joint venture between WSB-TV in Atlanta and WCPO-TV in Cincinnati. The investigation uncovered voter fraud on the eve of the 2008 presidential election and and proved there to be no federal oversight to prevent voters from casting ballots in multiple states. The reporters took advantage of newly enacted voting laws in their states to track and compare the master voter rolls and early voting records of registered voters in Florida, Georgia and Ohio. They found more than 100,000 people who appeared to be registered in more than one states, with the potential to vote in both. They also found three individuals who already had used new early voting laws to cast ballots in both Florida and Georgia, a felony crime. They found an additional 12 people who had already voted in one state and also received an absentee ballot from another.
Tags: voter fraud; 2008 presidential election; Ohio; Florida; Georgia; absentee ballots; duplicate votes
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A million LIttle Pixels
Kansas City's Pitch Weekly reporter David Martin pokes holes in claims made by entrepreneur John FLowers, who got $500,000 in venture capital support from Kansas state's Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation.
Tags: Kozoru; background checks; venture capital; skunk works; computer hacker; DefCon; network security; Hiverworld; nCircle; natural language; Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation; KTEC; OPen Prairie Equity Partners; David Warthen; Ridgely Evers; Ask Jeeves; open records; instant messaging; mobile devices; cell phone; Wikipedia; Industry Ventures; reality-challenged statements
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UNC Ventures
This group of UNC students call attention to a venture of hundreds of millions of dollars that the university invested into scientific research and following business developments. The group found that perhaps the time and money spent on these projects was not worth the investment.
Tags: UNC; University of North Carolina; technology; research; higher education; investment
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New ethics or no ethics?
This multi-piece report analyzes the ethical transgressions that some Internet entrepeneurs have performed as Internet-based companies have become more valuable in the stock market during the last part of the 1990's and the beginning of the 2000 decade. The reporters tell the story of several CEO's who made millions of dollars by selling stock of companies they were running and which seemed robust, but were extremely volatile.
Tags: Internet; Internet entrepeneurs; venture capitalists; Wall Street; Silicon Valley; Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP); Financial Accounting Standards Board; Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Investor Responsibility Research Center
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Easy Pass: Why Bechtel Never Paid for its Big Dig Mistakes"
The Boston Globe investigates "who, if anyone, was to blame for more than $1.6 billion in construction cost overruns on the nation's largest, most expensive public works project, "the Big Dig," and why those responsible had never been held accountable. What we found was that Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the mega-corporate joint venture running the project, committed a series of poor decisions, design mistakes, and imprecise research findings that led to about two-thirds of the overruns. The company's political connections, lobbyists, and cross pollination with state and federal officials go a long way toward explaining why the company was never held accountable."
Tags: Bechtel; Big Dig; Boston; fee overruns; construction cost overruns; public works projects; Parsons Brinckerhoff; politics; lobbyists; political connections; design mistakes; construction