John Stamps was one heck of a talented guy with all sorts of unique experiences that were needed by Tennessee taxpayers - that is if you believed the bureaucrats who worked for Stamps' friend, former Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist. The longer I sat at my computer, examining state contracts data, the more incredible the insurance agent's talents - especially for tapping into his political connections to land state contracts - appeared.
Ultimately, we discovered Stamps' involvement in more than $200 million in state contracts handed out by the Sundquist administration. Our 'Friends in High Places' investigation led to a federal-state criminal probe, involving the FBI and at least three other agencies. Investigators raided at least two companies with ties to Stamps, and a federal grand jury subpoenaed hundreds of thousands of email messages based on information unearthed by our reporting.
No charges have resulted so far, but the grand jury is continuing its probe. Unlike a lot of investigations, this one didn't begin with a tip. Instead, it began from mere curiosity during a brainstorming session. With Tennessee having just enacted the largest tax increase in state history, my photojournalist partner Bryan Staples and I wondered who was getting taxpayers' money. It was a question that couldn't be answered easily without a computer.
Using Tennessee's Public Records Law, I requested a database of state contracts. The state's Department of Finance and Administration quickly e-mailed the data in a .dbf file, which was then imported to Access. It contained hundreds of records, which required a targeted approach. Among the fields of information was a description of the bidding process, including one that I immediately found of great interest: 'noncompetitive' contracts.
Those are contracts that are awarded without any sort of bidding process because the vendors are deemed to offer a unique service unavailable anywhere else. Slicing out the no-bid contracts from the data, I then began to background the companies involved in some of the larger contracts. To accomplish that, I began with a basic Web search, then moved on to AutotrackXP's online public record service.
One contract, with a company called Workforce Strategists, set off immediate alarms. The company had been awarded a $1.9 million no-bid contract to provide intensive counseling and coaching to help the unemployed get back to work. 'Obviously, with six days, their experience is rather limited,' Rep. Buck said. The state had awarded millions to companies linked to political donations, but there were few records of actual work completed.
Our investigation prompted legislators to pass a new law that requires more scrutiny of no-bid contracts. Tennessee's new governor, Phil Bredesen, invited us to privately witness his signing of the legislation. And he has imposed his own tighter controls. 'It's primarily an issue,' the new governor said, 'of having the public have some confidence that what we are doing is in their interests.'