Times-Dispatch wins NAREE award for solid reporting on Ponzi scheme
Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter Carol Hazard won first place in the National Association of Real Estate Editors’ national competition for best reporting in a daily newspaper with circulation under 250,000. The award came for a story she wrote last year about a real estate Ponzi scheme involving Donald C. Lacey, a former police officer who defrauded as many as 200 investors out of millions of dollars. He pleaded guilty to two charges in federal court in March and faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each charge when he is sentenced June 18. Carol writes:
“[Richmond businessman Allan] Mullian, 77, said he and his family had $2 million invested in as many as 100 [of Lacey's] properties in the Richmond area. ‘Losing that kind of money at my age is rough.’
Mullian and at least a dozen investors have sued, claiming they were duped in an elaborate plan some have called a Ponzi scheme involving Richmond-area properties leveraged to the hilt.
Many properties were not renovated. Millions of dollars were supposed to be used to fix them up. One investor said only two of 47 properties he put money into were renovated.”
The contest’s judges noted the story’s solid reporting: “It brought together sources from public records, a multitude of interviews, and photographs to bring home to the reader the devastation to the victims of a purported Ponzi scheme.”
Today’s Tip: Go beyond the court record.
Carol’s story could have worked with just allegations from court documents. But she went the extra mile to track down people. Then she went a step further and recorded a video tour of one of Mullian’s properties that Lacey was supposed to fix up, showing its decrepit state.
If you don’t have an abundance of possible sources identified in court papers, check out Florida International University’s tip sheet called “Finding (almost) anybody.” It offers useful tips on public records, including pet licenses, to track down people.
Also, check out Northwestern University journalism professor Alec Klein’s piece about sourcing, as well as IRE training director Jaimi Dowdell’s tips on backgrounding people and businesses on BusinessJournalism.org.
And, once you find those sources, along with the very useful “Is there anything I didn’t ask about” question, add: “Do you have any additional information or photographs that could be useful?” For instance, when I covered manufacturing at The Philadelphia Inquirer, I collected a handful of colorful plastic pieces a company made during my interview at the company. The graphics department transformed the Lego-like items into a colorful graphic that made great centerpiece art.
