NPR reporter Daniel Zwerdling (featured in this week's EXPOSÉ: "An Inside Job") also delved into a different type of institutional abuse, this time within the United States Army. In a moving report last December, Zwerdling told the story of soldiers who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan to Colorado’s Fort Carson with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental health problems, including suicidal thoughts and drug abuse. But despite the Army’s professed commitment to taking care of veterans’ mental health, the soldiers said that they received harassment and hazing, not sympathy, when they confided in their commanders for help, even sometimes receiving dishonorable discharges from the military.
Prisoners attacked by dogs, denied medical attention, and threatened with solitary confinement. No, these allegations weren't from Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo. The alleged abuses happened right here in the U.S. -- at immigrant detention centers.
Immigration reform in the 1990s created a new class of prisoner. Non-citizens, living in the United States either legally or illegally, who committed any crime at any time, are subject to deportation. Pending a decision from the Department of Homeland Security, the immigrants are held at one of hundreds of detention centers around the country.
NPR reporter Daniel Zwerdling first heard of such facilities, and rumors of abuse inside them, from a New York immigrants' advocate. One particularly heinous case stood out: the 2004 death of a 34-year-old Jamaican immigrant held in Louisiana for a decade-old conviction. But confronted with a stone wall from authorities, and little access to the other inmates who witnessed the death, Zwerdling struggled to gain any traction.
This week on EXPOSÉ, how Zwerdling used sources inside the prison to uncover harrowing tales of prisoner abuse on American soil.
>> Watch "An Inside Job" online.
>> Listen to Zwerdling's original NPR series investigating the alleged abuse of two men detained by the Department of Homeland Security in two separate New Jersey prisons: "Jailed Immigrants Allege Abuse" and his moving piece using eyewitness testimony from several inmates to take listeners' step-by-step through the events leading up to "The Death of Richard Rust" at Louisiana's Oakdale Federal Detention Center.
Since 1971, the government has supported a program to channel federal funds to non-profits that train and employ workers who are blind or severely disabled. Known as JWOD (named after the law that created it, the Javits-Wagner-O'Day act), the program eventually came to have an over $2 billion dollar budget. But no one, it appears, was keeping track of where that money was going.
Enter Bob Jones, an opportunistic businessman in El Paso, Texas. When journalists from THE OREGONIAN took a closer look at his non-profit -- JWOD's number one contractor, the National Center for the Employment of the Disabled -- they found he was using the system, and federal tax dollars, to his advantage. In 2005 alone, NCED had been awarded federal contracts worth $276 million.
JWOD requires that two-thirds of an employer's workforce be blind or severely disabled before it can qualify for federal funds. Jones slipped through the cracks by claiming his Spanish-speaking workers from over the border were "disadvantaged."
>> Watch "Charity Begins at Home" online.
>> Read a selection of articles from THE OREGONIAN’s original reporting and the most recent articles on disabilities and the workplace.
A year after publishing revelations of widespread corruption at the Miami-Dade Housing Agency, the MIAMI HERALD reported similar problems at the city of Miami’s own agency last month in House of Lies 2: Miami’s Crisis. Reporters Debbie Cenziper, Oscar Corral, and Larry Lebowitz pored through city records to uncover more than $10 million in outstanding loans to developers for public housing projects that were never completed—or in some cases, even started. The city also failed to learn from its mistakes, continuing to grant lucrative loans and contracts to local developers with track records of delays and incomplete work. Some of the allegations struck close to Miami’s political power elite: one of the largest outstanding loans was $700,000 granted to Alberto Lorenzo, Mayor Manny A. Diaz’s campaign manager.
But the most egregious cases of corruption were within Miami housing director Barbara Gomez’s own family. Gomez—already reeling from the scandals entangling ex-husband Rene Rodriguez , longtime director of the county housing agency—approved loans to local non-profits employing both another ex-husband, Ruben A. Santana, and their son, Ruben A. Santana, Jr. The agency went forward with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of loans, even though the federal department of Housing and Urban Development ruled that the blood connection represented a conflict of interest.
Soon after the articles were published last month, the HERALD reported that Gomez was being forced out of the head position. On July 12, Gomez, director of the Community Development Department since 2003, was fired after she failed to accept a demotion.
A housing agency with a nationally lauded leader. A property tax passed by voters to fund new affordable housing. A city pockmarked with empty lots. Debbie Cenziper could tell that something was not right in Miami-Dade County as she drove past empty lots on her way to work. The MIAMI HERALD investigative reporter was determined to figure out what was preventing construction of new affordable homes, which should have been funded by Miami’s innovative surtax.
What she found went far beyond the normal bureaucratic gridlock that residents of one of America’s most expensive cities had grown used to. When Cenziper began to examine the financial records of the Miami-Dade Housing Agency she found widespread abuses that drained the agency’s hard-earned tax revenue without delivering the promised housing. Mounting construction delays, mismanagement, and poor oversight of projects led to a waiting list that reached 40,000 people -- including Miamians like Ozie Porter, whose anger at the housing agency was matched only by her desire for a home of her own.
This week on EXPOSÉ, how Cenziper exposed the corruption at the heart of the system, writing a Pulitzer Prize-winning series that led to criminal indictments and Miami-Dade housing reforms.
>> Read THE MIAMI HERALD's original reporting, "House of Lies", and check out the additional multimedia features. Visit the MIAMI HERALD site for continuing coverage in this series.
In a city built on oil and industry money, Houstonians have a name for the odor that emanates from its numerous industrial facilities: “the smell of money.” But for some residents, it also marks a dangerous public health threat: high levels of toxic air pollutants that have been linked to cancer, kidney and liver damage, as well as respiratory illnesses. In one neighborhood, levels of the carcinogen benzene were so high that one scientist said living there would be like "sitting in traffic 24-7."
Following her nose, HOUSTON CHRONICLE reporter Dina Cappiello sought to prove definitively that, despite industry denials, the neighborhoods around refineries and petrochemical plants suffer from the smokestacks that release these chemicals in their midst. With help from neighborhood residents, she planted air pollution sensors around some of Houston’s worst polluters, documenting the public health menace of air toxins as well as the ineptitude of the state regulators charged with protecting the public from these very threats.
This week, EXPOSÉ premieres "The Scientific Method" online with the shocking results of the CHRONICLE’s investigation.
>> Read Dina Cappiello's original reports in the HOUSTON CHRONICLE.
>> What are the nation's most polluted cities? Which cities have the cleanest air? Check back tomorrow on the Blog to find out.
The EXPOSÉ: America's Investigative Reports series is produced by Thirteen/WNET New York in association with CIR.
Tomorrow on the EXPOSÉ site: Multiple industrial plants release dangerous air pollutants into nearby Houston neighborhoods. The state’s air quality control board knows. So why doesn’t anyone do something about it? That’s the question HOUSTON CHRONICLE environment reporter Dina Cappiello set out to answer.
>> Watch the full episode of "The Scientific Method" on the EXPOSÉ site tomorrow.
The EXPOSÉ: America's Investigative Reports series is produced by Thirteen/WNET New York in association with CIR.
It's possible that you've never heard of Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele. As reporters, they keep a low public profile. They are, some might say, "old school" investigative reporters – relishing the opportunity to plow through documents and databases to produce comprehensive investigations. Last week's EXPOSÉ spotlighted the duo's recent inquiry into one of the defense department's highest-paid “body shops." But Barlett and Steele have been exposing government and corporate malfeasance since 1971, when they started working together at the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER -- a tenure that lasted 26 years until they moved to TIME magazine. Then, last year, TIME laid off more than 600 people in a budget crunch. The veteran reporters were among those let go -- a move that many decried as evidence of the downfall of investigative journalism in a rapidly shrinking industry.
Now contributing editors at VANITY FAIR, Barlett and Steele are digging back in and doing what they do best: hard-hitting investigative reporting. After careers that produced prize-winning investigations -- merited two Pulitzers and two National Magazine Awards, among other awards – they have set journalistic benchmarks for more than 30 years. A few of the highlights:
• In 1972, they analyzed more than 1,000 cases of violent crime in Philadelphia for “Crime and Injustice." It was the largest computer-assisted project of its time.
• Their PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER newspaper series "America: What Went Wrong" dissected the nation's ongoing recession and was so popular the paper received more than 400,000 requests for reprints. The nine-part series was published as a book in 1992.
• A TIME magazine series in 1998 exposed government economic incentives to businesses as a form of "corporate welfare" that turned "politicians into bribery specialists, and smart business people into con artists."
• In 2004, the two set out to diagnose how porous the U.S.-Mexico border actually was. Their investigation for TIME revealed that the border had grown less, not more, secure since 9/11.
Check back later this week for web-exclusive video of the pair discussing their work together over the past 30 years.
The EXPOSÉ: America's Investigative Reports series is produced by Thirteen/WNET New York in association with CIR.
Halliburton. Lockheed Martin. Raytheon. Meet the top ten federal contractors hired to do heavy lifting for the Department of Defense on the EXPOSÉ site -- and find out what they've been up to lately.
1. Lockheed Martin Corp.
Total awards: $26,312,273,206
Awards from the Department of Defense: $20,016,273,528
What they do: An aeronautics manufacturer, Lockheed Martin’s motto is “We never forget who we’re working for.” That "who" would be the federal government -- the vast majority of Lockheed Martin’s contracts are with government agencies, particularly the Department of Defense. Last year, Lockheed Martin won a $3.9 billion contract to design the crew vehicle for the next NASA spacecraft, known as the “Orion.” The company’s Hellfire missile was widely used in Iraq.
2. Boeing Co.
Total awards: $21,347,810,866
Awards from the Department of Defense: $18,890,249,207
What they do: The leading international supplier of commercial aircraft, Boeing found itself in hot water two years ago for allegedly engaging in industrial espionage against its rivals to earn government contracts, but the company remains a major recipient of federal aerospace contracts. The company has codenamed future designs after Muppet characters, so someday you may find yourself flying on the “Kermit Cruiser.”
3. Northrop Grumman Corp.
Total awards: $15,632,683,034
Awards from the Department of Defense: $13,742,026,915
What they do: The second leading contractor for the U.S. Navy behind Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman mainly designs and manufactures aircrafts and parts. The company is also a major supplier of IT services. After the 2001 acquisition of Newport News Shipbuilders, Northrop now holds the contract to construct all nuclear aircraft carriers and is one of only two manufacturers of nuclear submarines.
4. General Dynamics Corp.
Total awards: $11,527,395,499
Awards from the Department of Defense: $11,182,583,664
What they do: A major player in the private jet industry with its Gulfstream line, General Dynamics also is a major supplier of combat vehicles, guns and ammunition, and nuclear submarines. This July, General Dynamics was awarded a lucrative contract to create the Army’s "Command Post of the Future," a state-of-the-art communications systems that will allow commanders on the ground in Iraq to share information with each other in real time. In addition to its military contracts, General Dynamics has also diversified to accommodate other pressing government priorities—in April, the company landed a $24 million dollar contract with a potential value of $227 million to provide information systems to Citizen and Immigration Services.
5. Raytheon Co.
Total awards: $9,953,128,166
Awards from the Department of Defense: $9,444,816,263
What they do: A leading producer or radar and sensor equipment, Raytheon recently won the contract to produce the next wave of Rolling Airframe Missiles for the Navy. In 2006, Raytheon CEO William Swanson admitted under media scrutiny that he had lifted much of the text of his book,“Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management,” from a 1944 book by a UCLA professor.
6. Halliburton Co.
Total awards: $ 6,099,064,859
Awards from the Department of Defense: $5,956,162,998
What they do: The most well-known of the “body shops,” corporations which provide manpower to complete projects that are beyond the capability of government agencies, Halliburton has been a major recipient of contracts involved in the reconstruction of Iraq. “The eastern hemisphere” has been so central to the company’s business that it announced plans earlier this year to relocate its headquarters from Houston to Dubai. Vice president Dick Cheney was at the helm during the late-1990s, eliciting allegations of a conflict of interest every time the federal government grants Halliburton a contract.
7. L-3 Communications Holdings
Total awards: $ 5,341,120,624
Awards from the Department of Defense: $4,849,615,503
What they do: L-3 emerged from six units discarded during the 1997 merger of Lockheed and Martin Marrieta and has quickly grown to become a major producer of surveillance and reconnaissance machinery as well as intelligence help, including linguists and technology training for government agencies. L-3 recently teamed up with Boeing and Alenia North America to edge out Raytheon’s bid for a $2 billion military cargo plane contract. The name refers to the company’s trio of founders, Frank Lanza, Robert LaPenta, and Lehman Brothers.
8. United Technologies Corp.
Total awards: $ 5,106,722,268
Awards from the Department of Defense: $4,958,962,192
What they do: In addition to aerospace technology, United also produces commercial heating and air conditioning systems. Its Sikorsky division manufactures the famed Black Hawk military helicopters.
9. SAIC
Total awards: $ 4,779,067,074
Awards from the Department of Defense: $2,788,583,917
What they do: Science Applications International Corp., as the company is formally known, is another “body shop,” lending intelligence to government agencies. In their article for Vanity Fair, the subject of this week’s EXPOSÉ episode, investigative reporters Donald Barlett and James Steele delve into the intricate connections between SAIC and government agencies.
10. Bechtel Inc.
Total awards: $ 4,639,268,807
Awards from the Department of Defense: $1,556,699,544
What they do: Another major contractor involved in the reconstruction of Iraq, Bechtel has been a big player in engineering circles since the construction of the Hoover Dam. But Boston residents rue the fact that even Bechtel’s expertise hasn’t sped the Big Dig boondoggle -- a construction project that involved rerouting Interstate 93 underneath downtown Boston. The project skyrocketed to a total cost of $14.6 billion (up from a $2.6 billion initial estimate) and took 20 years to complete.
[Source: Amounts and rankings from “Top 200 Contractors.” Government Executive August 15, 2006.]
Public school teaching may not be the most lucrative profession in the United States, but at one suburban Missouri school district, it comes with some attractive perks. Teachers, principals, and school board members in the Riverview Gardens school district have racked up nearly $2 million in travel expenses on junkets to exotic locales such as San Francisco and Cape Town, South Africa over the last four years, an investigative report by David Hunn and Jaimi Dowdell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch revealed this month.
Expenses billed to the school district included room service meals, pedicures, and trips to art galleries, as well as travel and hotel costs for hundreds of trips—all in a school district with shrinking finances and allegations of corruption on the part of a former superintendent. But state auditors failed to spot the exorbitant travel expenses because many were mislabeled in the district’s bookkeeping. When Hunn and Dowdell went through the records line by line, they found that Riverview’s expenses totaled twice what one education expert would have expected from a district of its size.
Since the former superintendent was sacked in March, leaving the district’s finances in shambles, such spending has been put on hold. But when confronted by Hunn and Dowdell, many Riverview leaders offered no apologies for their past profligacy.
"The president of the United States travels all over and nobody says anything of it," school board member Marlene Terry told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Terry was linked to 23 trips since January 2003.