Thieves and gamblers given control of disabled vets' assets

"A Houston Chronicle/Hearst series on disabled veterans ripoffs nationwide found convicted thieves, inveterate gamblers, the bankrupt and the mentally ill were repeatedly handed control of disabled veterans’ assets and estates by the VA – and then stole from them."

"The findings of this investigation of more than 100 prosecutions and decades of audits of this program already has generated strong reaction from Congress, including calls for legislative action and reforms from U.S. Senators and key House committee members."

"19-year-old Hailu Brook was shot and killed by Fairfax County police after he allegedly robbed a bank and crossed the county line. Officers fired 25 shots into his body, and the Arlington County Police Department conducted an official investigation into the actions of the Fairfax officers."

"The case is closed, but the Arlington police chief is refusing to release the document to the public or even the father of the slain teenager.”Transparency wouldn't kill anybody," the father told investigative reporter Michael Lee Pope, who reported the story as part of a partnership between WAMU 88.5 News and the State Integrity Investigation."

"Echoing the findings of a Journal Sentinel investigation last month, Ben Poston reports that more than 5,300 violent assaults have been misreported since 2006, according to Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn whom told a Common Council committee Thursday."

"An internal department audit shows that 20% of aggravated assaults were underreported as lesser offenses that didn't get counted in the city's violent crime rate during that time."

"In light of the Trayvon Martin case, the Tampa Bay Times spent two months identifying and analyzing self-defense cases in which defendants invoked Florida’s controversial “stand your ground” law."

The paper collected photos of victims and defendants and built  nearly 200 case studies into an interactive database. The Times used public records to identify victim and defendant race in each case and analyze its impact. The upcoming Sunday story, already published online, found that the law “is being invoked with unexpected frequency, in ways no one imagined, to free killers and violent attackers whose self-defense claims seem questionable at best.”

"Earlier this month, the U.S. Justice Department announced a first-of-its kind investigation into how rape cases are handled by the University of Montana and its campus police, along with the Missoula Police Department and the Missoula County Attorney's Office because of a series of investigations by the Missoulian."

"Since December, the paper has been reporting about UM's handling of alleged rapes involving students - including allegations of gang rapes by members of its football team. The Missoulian and the Wall Street Journal have since filed a joint FOIA request on the topic."

"An Asbury Park Press investigation has exposed how Lakewood, New Jersey school officials slashed the high school’s graduation rate to win a $6 million federal grant, lied to parents of special education students to save money, spend millions of dollars busing school children to religious and otherwise private schools, and showed how a lawyer made millions from one of the poorest districts in New Jersey. Federal and state officials are now investigating."

"In partnership with the Investigative Fund of the Nation Institute, Need to Know investigates whether U.S. border agents have been using excessive force in an effort to curb illegal immigration."

"The report raises questions about accountability because border agents are part of the Department of Homeland Security and therefore are not subjected to the same public scrutiny as police officers who use excessive force. It also questions whether, in the rush to secure the border, agents are being adequately trained. And it raises the question: why aren’t these cases being prosecuted?"

"An investigation by The Washington Post has found that Justice Department officials have known for years that flawed forensic work might have led to the convictions of potentially innocent people, but prosecutors failed to notify defendants or their attorneys even in many cases they knew were troubled."

A yearlong Chicago Sun-Times investigation by reporters Tim Novak and Chris Fusco, with Carol Marin, led a judge to agree Friday, April 8 to appoint a special prosecutor to re-examine an 8-year-old homicide case involving a nephew of then-Mayor Richard M. Daley. The special prosecutor will also investigate whether police and prosecutors gave the nephew a pass because of his uncle.

Through a public information request The Monitor has found that a municipal judge, in Hidalgo, Texas, doesn't mind handing out favors. From January 2010 to April 2011 839 citations were submitted by local politicians and city employees, mostly traffic tickets, to the judge for special consideration. The list obtained, kept by the court administration, revealed all but a handful were dismissed.