Investigations

Plans for the 2020 Census were upended by the pandemic, and with the deadline now just weeks away, advocates fear some communities will be disadvantaged for years if they’re under-counted. From Boston to Lawrence, Springfield and the Cape, wide-ranging efforts are underway to drive up participation, from outreach at food pantries and COVID-19 testi...

Tens of thousands of veterans and service members stationed at military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan say exposure to trash fires or “burn pits” has left them with breathing problems and other chronic illnesses, including cancer. They are fighting for health benefits, but say the United States Department of Veterans Affairs is turning its back on t...

Demand for bicycles shifted into high gear during the pandemic, but that surge in enthusiasm for cycling could be creating opportunities for thieves. Bike thefts spiked this summer in Boston, Cambridge, Brookline and some other cities, prompting warnings from police and cyclists alike to beware. “It’s devastating,” said Cherry Au, whose bike disapp...

The increase in bicycle thefts around Boston this summer hasn’t been uniform, though some communities saw significant spikes, according to crime data reviewed by the NBC10 Boston Investigators.

The Winthrop Retirement Board was correct to strip the Massachusetts town’s former police chief of his pension, a panel of Appeals Court judges ruled Wednesday, putting more than $1 million of retirement benefits he received in legal jeopardy. Former Winthrop Police Chief Angelo LaMonica’s lawyer blocked a move by the retirement board f...

The trend of people relying on online photos and videos to hunt for apartments during the pandemic is creating some attractive real estate for digital thieves. That’s according to the Massachusetts Attorney General and the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, who tell the NBC10 Investigators they are warning the public about how to avoid falling victi...

They’re accused of stealing from taxpayers. But several Boston police officers charged with overtime abuse are collecting public pensions while under indictment. Records obtained by the NBC10 Boston Investigators show five of the officers, who were arrested Wednesday, are collecting pension checks from the Boston Retirement System. A sixth wi...

There are thousands of utility poles scattered across our communities. You probably don’t give them much thought — unless there is one that looks like it’s about to crash into your house. That’s exactly what happened after a June storm, when a utility pole teetered at a 45-degree angle in a backyard in Boston’s Mattapan neig...

The credibility of nine current and former Boston police officers who worked in the BPD evidence warehouse is now in question, Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said, calling their indictment on federal charges “a blow to the credibility of our noble profession.” The officers were accused Wednesday of embezzling taxpayer money t...

At Leah Higginbotham’s home in Newton, Massachusetts, something was missing during her daily check of the mailbox earlier this month. “Our mail carrier, who’s awesome, went on vacation,” she recalled. Mail service to her neighborhood was interrupted for a week, Higginbotham said. And with neighbors and family members relying...

Spend a few minutes on the roof of Quinn Middle School in Hudson, Massachusetts, with Sarah Maston, and it’s clear she knows plenty about how schools are heated and cooled. Maston, a mechanical engineer, is also a former school committee member and mom. And as schools across the state prepare to resume classes amid the pandemic, she says air....

Mike Gyra excitedly showed us around the classroom he occupied for decades, describing how he brought astronomy lectures to life. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think the Massachusetts educator was ready to welcome students back in a few weeks, albeit in a much different environment. Instead of the typical class size of at least 2...

More than five dozen cases of COVID-19 have been reported among staff or children attending child care centers in Massachusetts or those children’s parents, according to new information released by the state Monday. A spokeswoman for the Department of Early Education and Care said facilities have notified the state of 64 such cases to date. I...