Robert Faturechi

Reporter

Photo of Robert Faturechi

Robert Faturechi is a reporter at ProPublica. He has written about how the rich avoid taxes, industry lobbying campaigns to block safety standards, conflicts of interest within government, self-dealing by political consultants and corporate donors targeting state elections officials. He broke stories on Sen. Richard Burr selling stock before the coronavirus market crash.

In 2020, he and two colleagues won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for a series of stories about avoidable deaths in the Navy and Marine Corps, and the failure of top commanders to heed warnings that could have saved lives.

His reporting has resulted in congressional hearings, new legislation, federal indictments and widespread reforms.

Before joining ProPublica, he was a reporter at The Los Angeles Times, where his work exposed inmate abuse, cronyism, secret cop cliques and wrongful jailings at the LA County Sheriff’s Department. He obtained an unprecedented cache of confidential personnel records that showed the agency knowingly hired dozens of cops with histories of serious misconduct. His stories helped lead to sweeping reforms at the nation’s largest jail system, criminal convictions of sheriff’s deputies and the resignation of the sheriff.

You can send him story tips and documents through email at [email protected] or on Signal/WhatsApp at (213) 271-7217.

Sen. Burr Faces DOJ Investigation for Selling a Fortune in Stocks Right Before the Market Crashed

The investigation comes after ProPublica reported that the North Carolina lawmaker unloaded a significant portion of his total stock holdings before the coronavirus sell-off in the stock market.

The Senator Who Dumped His Stocks Before the Coronavirus Crash Has Asked Ethics Officials for a “Complete Review”

After ProPublica’s report that Richard Burr dumped stocks after reassuring the public about coronavirus readiness, he said he welcomed an ethics investigation.

Senator Dumped Up to $1.7 Million of Stock After Reassuring Public About Coronavirus Preparedness

Intelligence Chair Richard Burr’s selloff came around the time he was receiving daily briefings on the health threat.

After Discovering a Sailor With Coronavirus, the U.S. Navy Crowded Dozens Into One Room

On the USS Boxer, where the Navy discovered its first case of coronavirus on a ship, a sailor says his superiors called a meeting that crammed more than 80 senior enlisted sailors and officers together.

Members of Congress Have a New Strategy for Ethics Investigations: Stonewalling

The Office of Congressional Ethics does not have subpoena power, so lawmakers have increasingly decided that not cooperating is the better approach.

17 Sailors and Six Marines Died in Avoidable Accidents. Congress Questions Whether the Problems Have Been Fixed.

After ProPublica found that inadequate training and faulty equipment helped kill 23 servicemen, House Armed Services Committee members grilled Navy and Marine leaders about the deadly accidents and whether America is ready for war.

A Preventable Disaster Killed Six Marines. After Our Story, Congress Has Questions for Military Leaders.

A ProPublica investigation showed senior military leaders were worried about how prepared American sailors and Marines were for combat.

Trump Says U.S. Is Ready for War. Not All His Troops Are So Sure.

A series of accidents calls the military’s preparedness into question.

Faulty Equipment, Lapsed Training, Repeated Warnings: How a Preventable Disaster Killed Six Marines

Marine commanders did not act on dozens of pleas for additional manpower, machinery and time. When a training exercise ended in death, leadership blamed the very men they had neglected.

The Navy Installed Touch-Screen Steering Systems to Save Money. 10 Sailors Paid With Their Lives.

When the USS John S. McCain crashed in the Pacific, the Navy blamed the destroyer’s crew for the loss of 10 sailors. The truth is the Navy’s flawed technology set the McCain up for disaster.

Iran Has Hundreds of Naval Mines. U.S. Navy Minesweepers Find Old Dishwashers and Car Parts.

As tensions heat up in the Persian Gulf, the Navy’s minesweeping fleet may once again be called into action, but its sailors say the ships are too old and broken to do the job. “We are essentially the ships that the Navy forgot.”

Trump Keeps Talking About the Last Military Standoff With Iran — Here’s What Really Happened

In 2016, 10 sailors were captured by Iran. Trump is making it a political issue. Our investigation shows that it was a Navy failure, and the problems run deep.

How the Navy’s Top Commander Botched the Highest-Profile Investigation in Years

On Wednesday, the Navy said it was abandoning all remaining criminal charges against sailors involved in fatal accidents in the Pacific. Here’s how the actions of the chief of naval operations helped doom the cases.

Federal Authorities Raided Trump Fundraiser’s Office in Money Laundering Probe

A sealed search warrant obtained by ProPublica shows federal agents scoured Elliott Broidy’s office for documents related to China, Saudi Arabia and a Miami Beach club promoter.

An Admiral Told a Senator Most Navy Reforms Were “Complete.” Navy’s No. 2 Says Otherwise.

Adm. Bill Moran told ProPublica this week that none of the promised reforms had been completed, but that work had started on the pledges.

Navy Leaders Taken to Task by Lawmakers, Including One Who Was Grilling a Former Boss

Rep. Elaine Luria, an ex-Navy commander, showed her insider knowledge of naval operations in questions to the admirals appearing before a House Armed Services Committee panel.

Help Us Find Out Whether Navy Reforms Are Actually Making a Difference

The Navy promised to implement reforms in the wake of two deadly 2017 crashes. We’re trying to find out how it’s doing — and we need to hear from sailors in all six of the numbered fleets that patrol the world’s oceans.

Navy Promised Changes After Deadly Accidents, but Many Within Doubt It’s Delivering on Them

Interviews and an examination of the Navy’s publicly announced reforms raise uncertainty over whether senior leaders have fully followed through on them after the 7th Fleet disasters in 2017.

Investigation of Disasters Sparks Debate Over Navy’s Readiness and Responsibilities

ProPublica’s examination of the causes behind two fatal collisions in the Pacific has set off an intense conversation among current and former Navy sailors and commanders as well as everyday citizens about the state of the U.S. Navy.

Senate Committee Grills Navy Official Over 2017 Collisions, Seeking Data to Prove Conditions Have Changed

During an Armed Services Committee hearing that referenced ProPublica’s investigation into the deadly mishaps, a senator pressed the top commander in the Pacific to give “real numbers,” “not promises and not good feelings.”

Follow ProPublica

Latest Stories from ProPublica