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Aaron Schock’s Mileage Meltdown and More in MuckReads Weekly

by Amanda Zamora

Some of the best #MuckReads we read this week. Want to receive these by email? Sign up to get this briefing delivered to your inbox every weekend.

Inside the Fall of Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock (POLITICO)

“The congressman’s vehicle history was pieced together from dozens of pages of Illinois vehicle records….Altogether, Schock sought reimbursement for 172,520 miles on his car, despite the fact that he signed documents that certified the vehicle traveled less than half that distance.”

The Nonprofit Behind Billions in Mortgage Aid Is a Mess (Bloomberg Business)

“Executives at [NeighborWorks America] awarded at least two large jobs to insiders without bidding, later justifying one of the contracts with a backdated memo, according to interviews with former employees, tax filings and previously unreported company audits. In the other case, managers signed off on a multimillion-dollar technology deal to a recently formed contractor, which had board members in common with NeighborWorks and used the same law firm. The contractor overcharged by as much as 20 times, one of the audits said.”

Consumer groups say Anthem's identity protection plan leaves nearly 80 million victims vulnerable(Orange County Register)

“When cyber criminals hacked into Anthem Inc. last December and stole the personal data of 78.8 million Americans, including 13.5 million Californians, the giant healthcare insurer notified victims it would 'protect your identity for two years at no cost to you.' What Anthem neglected to tell them is that the credit monitoring it offers is far from sufficient to counter the theft of Social Security numbers and medical IDs.”

Shark fin scandal in Costa Rica has Solís administration on the defensive (The Tico Times)

“The latest flare-up – and most troubling so far for environmentalists – centers on the administration’s green-lighting of the export to Hong Kong of hammerhead shark fins. … Conservationists are questioning the approval of those exports, which they say is a step backwards from previous progress on shark conservation. … Despite assertions from government officials that critics are blowing the incident out of proportion, The Tico Times has obtained documents that raise questions about Costa Rica’s commitment to enforcing CITES.”

California security firms stay in business after licenses are revoked (Reveal News)

“When Flores got his license to run Management Security Service Inc. in Compton, California, in 2001, he refined his law enforcement look. Wearing a police-like uniform, a badge and a gun, he began delivering eviction notices for property managers at low-income apartment complexes, according to court records… Management Security is among dozens of California security companies that continued operating after regulators discovered abuses of power or evidence of mismanagement or fraud, according to a Reveal analysis of disciplinary orders issued since 2000.”

Bonus Read: More questionable Wikipedia editing, this time from the San Diego PD(San Diego Union-Tribune)

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