Millions in debt for fraud, Oregon businessman still generous to GOP

Nigel Jaquiss of Willamette Week reported that Craig Berkman, a former Oregon Republican Party chairman, was found in a civil lawsuit to have defrauded some of Portland’s wealthiest investors out of millions of dollars and was ordered to repay $28 million. Despite the lawsuit and ailing personal finances, Berkman continued to give generous political contributions to Sen. John McCain and others. He maxed out his donations to McCain and gave $23,990 to the Republican National Committee on May 29 — three weeks after his fraud trial began, and two weeks before the jury’s verdict.

Jason Felch and Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times reported on findings that raised questions about the reliability of DNA testing to identify suspects. An Arizona state lab analyst found several instances where people shared several of the 13 markers used to distinguish individuals, findings that defied the odds estimated by the FBI. "As word spread, these findings by a little-known lab worker raised questions about the accuracy of the FBI's DNA statistics and ignited a legal fight over whether the nation's genetic databases ought to be opened to wider scrutiny." The Times found that the FBI tried to suppress the results of the Arizona lab's findings, as well as avoid similar searches at other labs.

An eight-month investigation by Miami Herald reporters Jack Dolan, Matt Haggman and Rob Barry found the Florida agency in charge of regulating mortgage professionals broke down at every level, allowing thousands of people with criminal records to get licenses -- many who went on to steal millions from borrowers and banks. The newspaper also found the agency failed to discipline crooked brokers and monitor scam operations, leaving consumers to fend for themselves.

An investigation by The (Toronto) Star explores the state of crime and punishment in Canada. A new law increasing mandatory minimum sentencing was passed even though Canada's crime rate has dropped over 25 percent in the last 15 years. The series looks at the monetary and social costs of the a tougher approach to crime, including how U.S. mandatory minimums have failed to have the desired impact on curbing crime. Three never-before released data sets formed the foundation for this investigation.

An examination of records from Oklahoma's Medical Examiner’s Office and Health Department by the Tulsa World showed that over 500 people have been murdered in Tulsa over the past 10 years. The stories looks at the impact of the homicides on victims' families, and maps hot spots in the city where deaths have been concentrated. The report found the murder rate to be sporadic, making it harder for police to predict and prevent crimes. An online database allows readers to search and map all 507 homicides from the last 10 years.

A year-long investigative project by The Washington Post explores the murder investigation of Chandra Levy. The in-depth investigation shows critical leads were ignored in the investigation into her disappearance and murder.  Seven years later, the murder remains unsolved.

"A yearlong examination by The Sacramento Bee of more than 250 applicants for military service found that the Army, Navy and Marines accepted ex-felons, people with serious drug and alcohol or mental health problems and dozens of others with significant criminal backgrounds or otherwise troubling histories." In the series, Russ Carollo reports on how trouble followed these individuals into service, and often upon their return to civilian life. The investigation revealed that some crimes originally attributed to post-traumatic stress disorder where perpetrated by individuals who had criminal histories prior to their service in Iraq.

A five-part investigative series by the East Valley Tribune (Phoenix, Ariz.) looks at the efforts of Joe Arpaio, sheriff of Maricopa County, to crack down on illegal immigration. Noted as one of the most aggressive enforcement efforts in the U.S, it has come at a cost to other law enforcement efforts including "slower response times on emergency calls, a dropping arrest rate and, for a time, excessive overtime costs.

The Daily News-Miner (Fairbanks, Alaska) published a six-year independent investigation into the 1997 murder of 15-year-old John Hartman. The investigation was a project of University of Alaska-Fairbanks journalism professor Brian O'Donoghue and his students. The project points to problems within the legal system and raises questions about the convictions of the four men charged with the crime.

The U.S. attorney in Kansas City, Mo., has asked the Justice Department to appoint a special attorney to review convictions in the firefighters explosion case. The move was prompted by an investigation published in The Kansas City Star on Sunday in which witnesses said a federal investigator pressured them to lie and a new witness said a security guard implicated herself in the explosions that killed six Kansas City firefighters in 1988.