California Sen. Leland Yee leaves the federal courthouse in San Francisco after posting bail. He is accused of political corruption and gun trafficking.Ben Margot/AP The sun was shining on a brisk January day when Leland Yee took a seat at an undisclosed San Francisco coffee shop. Across from him sat a Cosa Nostra crime boss. […]

Veteran Justin Minyard said he became addicted to opiates prescribed by the VA.ABC News U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs senior officials told a panel of skeptical House lawmakers today that the VA has reduced the number of veterans receiving opiates by more than 20,000 since October in response to congressional pressure and media scrutiny. “The […]

In Guatemala, 20 percent of the population lives on less than a day. CNN GUATEMALA CITY – In 2010, one of Central America’s poorest countries received huge shipments of humanitarian aid from an unlikely source. That year, Guatemala, where 20 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day, got $40 million worth […]

The city of Richmond issued a million pension obligation bond in 1999. Today, it owes more than million on the bond, plus about million in interest, and its pension fund remains roughly .5 million short.Ramin Rahimian/For The Center for Investigative Reporting Desperate to cover a $40 million shortfall in its pension fund for retired police […]

The collapse of a St. Louis funeral business called National Prearranged Services might represent the worst financial scandal to hit the U.S. funeral industry, with claimed losses of $600 million. From start to finish, it was a family affair, federal prosecutors and plaintiffs’ lawyers have said in court. The enterprise’s driving force was James “Doug” […]

Under the direction of Tyler Cassity, the Hollywood Forever cemetery in Los Angeles – the burial place of film stars like Rudolph Valentino and Douglas Fairbanks – has become a popular venue for dance parties, concerts and fundraisers as well as funerals. Ric Francis/Associated Press For more than a year, John A. Pérez, speaker of […]

Financial company executives testify before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee in 2007. At the time, Andy Pollock (far right) was president of First Franklin, a subprime mortgage lender whose risky loans hastened the downfall of Merrill Lynch. Today, he’s co-CEO of Rushmore Loan Management Services, a company that traditionally collected payments on loans and now […]

Ricardo Rodriguez (holding bullhorn) participates in a protest against Bank of America in early March, recounting his story of fighting foreclosure on the steps of a branch in the San Francisco’s Mission District.Amy Julia Harris/Center for Investigative Reporting Ricardo Rodriguez, a San Francisco resident who has been fighting to save his home from foreclosure, has […]

When a thief rang up $2,000 in charges at Victoria’s Secret, Gymboree and Gap on Rosa Franco’s credit card, she quickly surmised the reason – the state of California had mistakenly left her credit card and Social Security numbers exposed. Twice. The state Department of Developmental Services, which serves Franco’s 5-year-old daughter and thousands of […]