Examining public records to investigate government
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PLEASE NOTE:. Rights to images are protected under federal copyright law and are being used under fair-use provisions. This presentation was prepared for non-commercial educational purposes. This presentation was created and is protected under copyrights held by Deadline Reporter LLC. Please respect copyright law if you reuse this presentation and use it only for non-commercial purposes.
Info Gathering 233By Mark Tatge, E.W. Scripps Professor, Ohio University
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Reporters / Press play a valuable role. Function as check and balance to
government. Government is funded by tax dollars. Officials are elected by the people. State employees are paid out of tax
dollars and licensing fees. Long been the job of reporters to expose
and bring to light government corruption.
Washington Post Reporters Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward & the infamous Watergate Office complex (right) where it all started.
I was not lying. I said things that later on seemed to be untrue.” -- Former President Richard Nixon, discussing Watergate in 1978.
Police Officers & Firefighters who are injured are eligible for disability pay.
If they are disabled because of their work, they receive up to 60% of their pay for the rest of their life.
Established a pension fund – that pays retirement and disability benefits.
Taxpayer funded.
At Plain Dealer – exposed how police officers were being convicted of felonies.
Forced to resign.Would then apply and receive a
pension as “disabled” workers.Would go out and get another job –
in private security, as paramedics or even firefighters or police officers.
Received documents from insiders at the pension fund that knew the place was corrupt.
Wanted the story to be told.Rumors about it in state
government.But no one investigated.Problem persisted for years.Until we at PD showed interest.
State investigation. Lawmakers convened hearings. Laws were changed. People were pushed out at the pension
fund. Move to try and pull back some of the
pensions – here and those given to teachers.
Example: The high school teacher who had sex with his students and claimed disability.
Reporters often conduct their own investigations.
State government has its own investigatory apparatus.
Reporters stories often spark government to investigate itself.
Focus on – how and why government investigates itself.
Highway Patrol – investigates criminal wrong doing on the part of state employees.
Office of Inspector General – Investigates allegations of wrongdoing by state agencies and officials in the executive branch of state government.
OIG – may hire or employ the Highway Patrol to do much of the investigatory work.
OIG will seek criminal or administrative actions against the officials involved.
http://watchdog.ohio.gov/Tom Charles is the State Inspector
General.Office was created by the legislature
in 1988 after a series of scandals.Acts as watchdog against waste,
fraud and abuse.Dependent on the legislature for
funding.
The OIG has been involved in: Whether audits at the Bureau of
Workers Compensation had been forged Whether unlicensed people were being
allowed to sell funeral services in Ohio. Whether the Ohio Boxing Commission
was allowing professional fights to be rigged.
Whether the executive director of the Ohio Lottery Commission tried to bribe a state trooper who had stopped him.
Joe the Plumber speaks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ9B-EHLIuY
Launched an investigation that state officials improperly accessed and distributed confidential state records of Samuel Joseph
Wurzelbacher a.k.a Joe the Plumber. Found searches of driving records, tax
liens, welfare records – for political purposes.
Office of legislative Inspector General – governs members of Ohio General Assembly, employees in regard to financial disclosure.
Supervises and oversees registered legislative and executive branch lobbyists.
Lobbyists must register with the state.Must disclose their clients.Must list how much money they spend to
influence legislation.
Lobbyists – pay a fee and you can access who their clients are here:
