Here are our editors’ picks from today’s roundup of investigative stories around the Web. Was there a story we missed? Please keep sending us your picks or include them in the comments section below.
Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) has channeled earmarks to a Pennsylvania-based defense firm to dole out $10 million in Justice Department grants to local police departments, circumventing normal procedures, the Washington Post reports. The funds often arrived shortly before Election Day and were attributed to Murtha’s largesse, the Post reports. Sound suspicious? The Justice Department thought so too and opened an investigation last fall.
Also, the Los Angeles Times digs into filings from the Federal Trade Commission’s case against Transcontinental Warranty Inc. and offers a glimpse into the secretive (not to mention annoying) business of illegal telemarketing robocalls. Former employees describe a company policy of obtaining credit card information at any cost and doing anything to avoid giving out the company’s name. The company’s chairman said it adheres to the “best practices of telemarketing.”
