Former General Electric employee claims he was fired for whistleblowing in Iraq

A former executive for General Electric in Iraq claims he was fired for warning about a possible violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act while the company was striving for a huge contract with the Iraqi government. GE denies that the former employee was fired for his whistleblowing. -db From the Courthouse News Service, February [...]

Federal judge rejects San Diego election campaign donation cap

A federal judge ruled that San Diego could not enforce its $1000 cap on donations by political parties to local election campaigns. The city wanted to stem the San Diego’s corrupt political scene, but the judge said she doubted that the anti-corruption interest was credible given the natural connection between parties and candidates. -db From [...]

Parts of report on Afghanistan bank corruption classified and withdrawn from web

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) took a report on corruption by officials of the Afghan Central Bank off line after deciding to classify some of its content. The report, released in March, centered on fraudulent loans which led to the diversion of $850 million and the near collapse of the bank, a [...]

Schwarzenegger vetoes law to open donation records of public university auxiliaries

Putting privacy and fundraising over transparency, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed transparency for the donation records of auxiliaries of the University of California and California State University. -db Central California Business Times September 30, 2010 SACRAMENTO –– A bill that would require the various foundations and other types of auxiliaries that are closely associated with [...]

Public records requests laid bare corruption in small, poor Southern California city

Two Los Angeles Times reporters knew they were on to something when the Bell, California city clerk told them they would have to wait ten days to receive records that should be produced immediately. They threatened to invoke the California Public Records Act to obtain the records that showed city officials were giving themselves outlandish [...]

Berkeley symposium on investigative reporting explores problems and promise

The 4th Annual Investigative Reporting Symposium at UC Berkeley hosted panels of journalists and media executives who discussed the perils of  investigative reporting, their struggles with financing  and new ways of collaborating with rivals in diverse types of media that  are already producing results. -db MediaShift April 17, 2010 By Chris O’Brien BERKELEY — I’m [...]

Federal judge scraps provisions of San Diego’s campaign-finance laws

In accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Citizens United case, a federal judge struck down several provisions of San Diego’s campaign-finance law and particularly a ban on contributions from political parties and a $500 cap on donations to independent expenditure committees. -db Courthouse News Service February 23, 2010 By Annie Youderian (CN) [...]

Ad charging bank crime refused by Nigerian press in alleged payoff

A Brooklyn lawyer says when he tried to run an ad in Nigeria’s “The Nation” charging a bank made its female employees offer sex to attract investors, the publication refused his ad saying it had accepted a payoff from the bank. -DB Courthouse News Service December 17, 2009 By Adam Klasfeld BROOKLYN (NY) – A [...]