Lee Zurik
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As the city of New Orleans's most honored investigative reporter, Lee has been uncovering and reporting impactful stories on WVUE since 2009. Following up his tenacious inquiries with detailed analysis and powerful storytelling, Lee delivers unprecedented accountability of government officials, private citizens and corporations. Lee has been honored with journalism’s top honors including two George Foster Peabody Awards, three Alfred I. duPont Silver Batons, nine National Edward R. Murrow Awards, and the Investigative Reporters and Editors Medal. Lee is a New Orleans native and a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications.
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FOX 8 finds thousands of pieces of vital DNA evidence is sitting in storage at the State Crime Lab, waiting to be tested, preventing families from getting closure.
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Sometimes a surgeon is the salesman. Across the country, there are physician-owned distributorships where doctors own part of a medical device company and then buy (or have their hospital buy) that hardware to use in their own surgeries.
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One New Orleans City Council member says the Sewerage and Water Board has a “moral obligation” to start paying the millions of dollars it owes to citizens. Those bills have gone unpaid for years, or even decades in some cases.
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Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams is just months away from a federal tax fraud trial, but now faces new tax issues. THe new allegation falls outside the parameters of the original indictment, and involves a period of time when Williams was running for D.A.
The Sewerage and Water Board hasn't paid millions of dollars it owes to residents
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Questions have been raised over NOPD captain Sabrina Richardson's position on a state board that oversees punishments for state police troopers, as she is currently under investigation by the Orleans District Attorney's office.
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FOX 8 combs through license plate-reader cameras showing NOPD officers' vehicles miles away at times from the details they were getting paid for.
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A series of emails uncovered by FOX 8 reveal what two local professors believe is a rigged public bid in Kenner.
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A new federal law takes effect in July that aims to clean up thoroughbred horseracing, which for years has been plagued by scandals, drugs and equine fatalities. Racing insiders have pushed for decades for such a measure and they welcome the new oversight.
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NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson confirms to FOX 8 that 11 NOPD officers are under federal investigation by the FBI. It comes as FOX 8 learns there could be more discrepancies involving at least one officer and paid detail work.
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Timesheet data raises questions about the conduct of some of the NOPD's Public Integrity Bureau officers.
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Diabetes patients say they're being priced out of being able to afford live-saving insulin. Who's to blame is a matter of who you ask.
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Kenner's lack of oversight and record-keeping could jeopardize reimbursement for millions of dollars in post-Ida debris cleanup.
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A subpoena has been issued requesting racing records for two brothers, Todd and Nicholas Morrell.
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So far, there has been no determination of any potential violations, however, the investigation is ongoing.
The cost of tree removal in Kenner following Hurricane Ida raises questions about who was overseeing the invoices.
Sources tell FOX 8 the FBI is looking into a Kenner powerbroker highlighted in a series of investigations.
Invoices for post-Ida trash pickup show Kenner likely overpaid for services, and that there was little questioning before approving those payments.
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Una auditoría interna realizada por la ciudad de Kenner respalda los hallazgos de una investigación de FOX 8 sobre el exdirector administrativo adjunto de la ciudad, Chad Pitfield.
An audit performed by the city of Kenner backs up findings from FOX 8. The audit accuses former Deputy CAO Chad Pitfield of double-dipping, then falsifying documents in an attempted cover-up.
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An NOPD Sergeant claimed to work 360 days in 2020, only taking 5 days off.
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A highly-paid Kenner employee, who was recently fired, said a clerical error made it look like he was double-dipping while working for the city and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. But FOX 8 uncovered documents that appear to show changes to his timesheets were an attempt to cover up double-dipping.
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality issues citations to Kenner over operation of drop-off site at dump.
Documents raise questions about thousands of dollars in payments that were approved, despite appearing to be in violation of the city's contract with IV Waste.
New emails, videos, and payments of over $100,000 raise questions about what happened behind the scenes in Kenner, before a new trash contract was awarded.
A FOX 8 investigation raises questions about connections between a now-fired Kenner employee and a contract worth Millions. Kenner paid its trash collector $5.5 million last year, but we found close to $1 million in payments were made without proper backup documentation.
Four Kenner City Councilmembers say they plan to call for the immediate resignation of Mayor Ben Zahn at the next city council meeting.
FOX 8 News has learned Deputy CAO for the City of Kenner has been terminated.
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Sources tell FOX 8 News the City of Kenner and Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office have received federal grand jury subpoenas regarding Chad Pitfield.
Five NOPD officers got target letters from the FBI as part of an investigation into detail work, sources say.
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It takes years for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to remove dangerous products from the market because of its cumbersome rule-making process and ineffective recalls that don’t incentivize consumers to return or destroy dangerous items.
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The federal agency created to watchdog consumer products - from crock pots to xylophones - is muzzled by its governing law, which gives all the power to manufacturers, including those with dangerous toys, appliances and other items on the market. The Fisher-Price Rock N Play – an inclined sleep product that defied the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for safe infant sleeping – exposed all that is wrong with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
A review of timesheets shows a highly-paid Kenner official claimed to be in two places at once.
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A new Metropolitan Crime Commission report shows the numbers are much higher than previously thought.
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FOX 8 looks into a spike in the number of people who are released from their bond obligations or let out of jail when the District Attorney's office doesn't bring charges in the allotted time.
After refusing FOX 8's request for an interview for a month, Kenner Mayor Ben Zahn sits down with Lee Zurik to discuss months of disaster pay for select Kenner employees following Hurricane Ida.
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Programs bridging public schools and homeschooling are growing fast, but critics worry about what that means for the future of education.
Kenner councilmembers want more oversight of the Disaster Pay Policy, after a Lee Zurik investigation revealed some received double pay for months after the storm.
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Foreign entities have bought 13 million more U.S. farm acres in 10 years, but agriculture policy scholars say the total could be far more.
After a lawsuit filed by FOX 8 against the City of Kenner to get payroll records, they show the city may be breaking a policy when paying one official.
The records Kenner did not want to hand over raise serious questions.
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FOX 8 News presentó una demanda contra el alcalde de Kenner, Ben Zahn, por las demoras de la ciudad en varias solicitudes de registros públicos presentadas a la ciudad.
FOX 8 News has filed suit against Kenner Mayor Ben Zahn over the city’s delays in several public records requests submitted to the city dating back to October.
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Residents of the fairgrounds neighborhood of New Orleans are calling for accountability after FOX 8′s Attention to the Details Investigation found possible neglect in patrols.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched an investigation into the New Orleans Police Department, sources say.
A senior special agent for the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board has been suspended without pay after separate investigations by the Office of Inspector General and FOX 8 News questioned the employee’s use of the police detail program.
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A Lee Zurik investigation revealed NOPD Sgt. Todd Morrell was being paid to work while he was racing cars.
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Nine months after an explosion of a tank battery in Southwest Louisiana that claimed the life of a fourteen-year-old girl, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources announced a new rule is now in effect that could prevent another tragedy.
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A New Orleans Police Department sergeant has been observed on surveillance camera at home while he was supposed to be on a detail assignment.
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New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson indicated in an interview with FOX 8 that the investigation into the department’s detail program and the suspension of detail work for 26 police officers could take some time.