Articles for Investigative Post staff

Mar 18

2023

Help wanted: criminal justice reporter

Investigative Post is seeking an experienced, aggressive reporter to produce deeply reported, high-impact investigative and enterprise stories on the criminal justice system in Western New York for our website and television partner. Investigative Post will build off its extensive coverage of the Buffalo Police Department and extend its reporting to the Erie County Sheriff’s Office and other local police agencies. The beat will also focus on criminal courts, including Buffalo City Court and the U.S. Western District Court. Also of interest are jails and prisons; parole and probation; and the policies and practices of the district attorneys in Erie and[...]

Posted 3 days ago

Feb 2

2023

A step forward for Investigative Post

Stephanie Lawson has joined Investigative Post as chief development officer. In this role, she will increase community engagement and grow our base of supporters.  Lawson previously spent six years with Habitat for Humanity Buffalo, where she oversaw fundraising, communications, advocacy, outreach, and the ReStore, a retail outlet. She helped develop signature campaigns, including Women Build Week, Leaders Build, and The House Beer Built. Lawson led state- and nationwide trainings and mentored other development and communications professionals. In 2021, she was recognized as Habitat for Humanity Employee of the Year. Lawson previously worked for seven years with the Food Bank of[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Dec 31

2022

iPost readers vote evictions report top story of ’22

Readers have selected I’Jaz Ja’ciel’s report on evictions as Investigative Post’s top story of 2022.  Her Nov. 9 story, which also aired on WGRZ, not only reported on the large number of eviction warrants issued in Erie County, primarily Buffalo, but explained why. The reasons include Buffalo’s high poverty rate and meager government assistance for low-income renters. Buffalo landlords are acting to evict tenants in greater numbers than any portion of the state aside from Brooklyn, according to data from the New York State Unified Court System.  Judges have issued more than 3,700 eviction warrants this year in Erie County,[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Dec 20

2022

Donate to iPost and double your money

As Western New York’s only nonprofit newsroom, Investigative Post depends on the financial support of the community to fund our work. Our annual drive is an important source of revenue for us. We’re down to the final week-and-a-half of our campaign. Consider donating today to support Western New York’s only news organization dedicated exclusively to producing watchdog journalism. At a time when our democracy is under threat, and our leaders are less transparent than ever, supporting local journalism has never been more important.  “Love your publication and your attention to the facts,” one donor wrote in a note that accompanied[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Dec 5

2022

Vote for iPost’s top story of 2022

Update: Voting is closed. With apologies to David Letterman, here’s our list – in no particular order – of the Top 10 stories we produced in 2022. Geoff Kelly, our senior reporter, produced three of them: Roswell Park’s connection to a Russian oligarch.  Retired supervisors testify in a federal lawsuit that Buffalo police often use the N word. Link Black officers in another lawsuit contend a police captain went on a racist rant. Link J. Dale Shoemaker, who joined the staff this summer, reported on the huge subsidies Amazon received to locate a warehouse in Niagara County and Erie County’s[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Oct 24

2022

Investigative Post is hiring a fundraiser

Investigative Post, Buffalo’s nonprofit investigative reporting center, is seeking a Director of Development. We’re in a growth mode and intend to aggressively increase our revenue. Responsibilities include prospecting, soliciting and stewarding major donors, including foundations, corporations and individuals, and growing our membership base of smaller donors. Must be adept at working with data and marketing strategies that include direct mail, social media and digital advertising. Event planning and management is a plus. Our CRM is Little Green Light. Minimum qualifications include five years of fundraising or comparable revenue-generation experience and proven success in goal achievement; strong communication, planning and organizational[...]

Posted 5 months ago

Sep 6

2022

Podcast: Reporting the Amazon story

On Tuesday, Investigative Post reported on the huge subsidy package Amazon is receiving to build a warehouse in Niagara County. Amazon will receive $124 million in tax breaks from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency, plus state tax credits of at least $2 million. In exchange, Amazon will employ 1,000 people, most earning $15 an hour. Reporter Dale Shoemaker sat down with Garrett Looker, host of our podcast series, to discuss the reporting. You can watch the interview via our YouTube channel or listen to it as a podcast. Our intent is to publish a podcast a week. Coming up[...]

Posted 7 months ago

Aug 15

2022

Judge tosses libel lawsuit against iPost

A state Supreme Court judge has dismissed a libel lawsuit brought by a Buffalo developer against Investigative Post and reporter Dan Telvock.  State Supreme Court Judge Mark Montour also ruled developer James Sweizy and his company Greenleaf Development & Construction failed to prove Telvock’s story, published in 2017, contained any false information and dismissed a related “injurious falsehood” claim.  The 2017 report documented how officials at SUNY Buffalo State failed to follow usual procurement rules in dealing with Greenleaf regarding construction of student housing adjacent to the Elmwood Avenue campus. The story also reported that Swiezy gave a college official[...]

Posted 7 months ago