Boston Globe Spotlight Team

Introductions to women. Free flights. Business deals. Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Harvard run deeper than previously known. - The Boston Globe Some of Epstein’s ties to the school were hiding in plain sight, yet Harvard officials missed or looked past them during their 2019 probe.

Introductions to women. Free flights. Business deals.

Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Harvard run deeper than previously known.

Introductions to women. Free flights. Business deals. Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Harvard run deeper than previously known. - The Boston Globe Some of Epstein’s ties to the school were hiding in plain sight, yet Harvard officials missed or looked past them during their 2019 probe.

The Epstein files mention Harvard University more than 12,000 times.

A new Boston Globe Spotlight Team report found that Jeffrey Epstein's ties to the country’s most revered academic institution ran deeper than previously known.

‘They’re virtually immune’: Century-old Mass. law shields hospitals and nonprofits from major payouts - The Boston Globe The "charitable immunity" law has long faced criticism from lawyers and abuse victims, who argue that it allows powerful institutions to shield themselves from atoning financially for their misdeeds.

A @globespotlight.bsky.social follow-up: Century-old Mass. law shields hospitals and nonprofits from major payouts

Governor Healey taps health care industry insider for state medical board - The Boston Globe The state’s medical board has come under scrutiny for its lax approach to disciplining problem doctors.

A @globespotlight.bsky.social follow-up: Governor Healey taps health care industry insider to fill seat on state medical board.

A ‘black box’: Mass. prosecutors rarely prevent police informant abuse. They often enable it. - The Boston Globe Other gatekeepers also consistently fail to hold police accountable.

Our earlier investigation revealed widespread police misconduct around confidential informants in New Bedford.

Now we're looking across Massachusetts. What we found: Instead of safeguarding against informant abuse, prosecutors enable it.

A ‘black box’: Mass. prosecutors rarely prevent police informant abuse. They often enable it. - The Boston Globe Other gatekeepers also consistently fail to hold police accountable.

A ‘black box’: Mass. prosecutors rarely prevent police informant abuse. They often enable it. From @globespotlight.bsky.social www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/29/m... @bostonglobe.com

An illustration of a judge yelling at prosecution inside a courtroom. White text on the card reads: “Mass. prosecutors rarely prevent police informant abuse. They often enable it.”

Across Massachusetts, nearly 9 of 10 drug raids are carried out on the word of confidential informants whose identities are known only to police.

If suspicions arise about their reliability, prosecutors can be counted on to protect police, @globespotlight.bsky.social found. trib.al/h4OdHuk

Massachusetts board of medicine slow to discipline doctors accused of medical malpractice The Massachusetts medical board should be the ultimate protector of patients. But a Boston Globe Spotlight Team investigation found it is slow to act on physician lapses and regularly fails to protect...

What happens when a patient — who alleges harm by a doctor — files a complaint with the Mass. board of medicine?

It's not always clear. Their handling of complaints is a secretive process. More and more, they're protective of doctors.

Massachusetts board of medicine slow to discipline doctors accused of medical malpractice The Massachusetts medical board should be the ultimate protector of patients. But a Boston Globe Spotlight Team investigation found it is slow to act on physician lapses and regularly fails to protect...

A doctor's negligence led to a woman's amputation. When discipline came, it was light — and a decade late.

@globespotlight.bsky.social found this is often how the state's medical board runs. Its process is secretive. And its actions increasingly protect doctors.

The DEA said they arrested 171 ‘high ranking’ Sinaloa Cartel members. A Spotlight investigation found that’s not true. - The Boston Globe A Globe investigation found that the federal agency misrepresented the stature of its targets, claiming cartel ties at a time when the Trump administration is taking lethal military action against such groups.

A US Drug Enforcement Administration agent said the DEA made “high-level arrests” of 171 Sinaloa Cartel members across New England in August.

A Globe investigation found that many of the DEA’s targets were addicts, low-level dealers, shoplifters, and homeless people.

Globe reporters pieced together the tragic fate of a runaway kid in Mass. Here’s how they did it. - The Boston Globe 600 kids in the state’s child welfare system go missing each year. Many are high-risk teenagers who sometimes don’t come back.

Each year, 600 kids in the state’s child welfare system go missing. Many are high-risk teenagers who sometimes don’t come back. Today's Starting Point examines how the system works (or doesn’t).

Dr. Derrick Todd has been accused of abusing patients. He could have been stopped sooner. Hundreds of women allege Dr. Derrick Todd sexually abused them over a decade. A Globe Spotlight investigation found the state’s medical establishment missed key warning signs.

🧵 Nearly 250 patients have filed civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by Dr. Derrick Todd, a renowned doctor at top Boston hospitals. He also faces two criminal charges of rape.

A @globespotlight.bsky.social report found he could have been stopped earlier.

Sign up to get the Spotlight newsletter in your inbox for a window into how the investigative team reports. globe.com/spotlightnewsletter

Dr. Derrick Todd has been accused of abusing patients. He could have been stopped sooner. Hundreds of women allege Dr. Derrick Todd sexually abused them over a decade. A Globe Spotlight investigation found the state’s medical establishment missed key warning signs.

"My body went into freeze mode.”

Allegations of sexual abuse piled up against a top Boston doctor. A Spotlight investigation found he could have been stopped much earlier, if not for a series of failures across the medical system.

Inside Steward Health Care: A Boston Globe Spotlight Team report A Boston Globe Spotlight Team review found the Steward Health Care hospital system plagued by staggering neglect at the hands of executives.

Read the Spotlight Team's past reporting on Steward Health Care here.

Steward alleges former CEO Ralph de la Torre and execs plundered the hospital chain of hundreds of millions of dollars - The Boston Globe The filing this week in Steward's bankruptcy court accuses it's founder and top executives of defrauding the company of some $262 million.

New: Steward Health Care accused its founder and other former top officials of plundering the hospital chain of hundreds of millions of dollars in a scheme that directly led to the collapse of the once-high flying, Boston-born company.

To hear more about the secretive world of confidential informants, listen to our investigative podcast, "Snitch City." link.chtbl.com/tTLbVzKf?sid...

Snitch City: Explore the data Dozens of agencies, including the police department in Brockton, one of the state’s largest cities, currently have no policy governing the use of informants.

We also included steps for how to submit your own records request.

If you have a question about this data or want to provide a response from your agency, email spotlight@globe.com.

We believe the public has a right to this information.

White text on a red background. Text at the top reads: “Here’s how police in your community use confidential informants. The Spotlight Team requested data from each of the state’s more than 400 law enforcement agencies about confidential informants. Our tool shows how each responded.” Underneath the text, a dropdown menu reads “Search for an agency.” Following it is the beginning of a list of law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts.

After the Spotlight Team requested data from each of the state’s more than 400 law enforcement agencies, we built a searchable tool with all the data.

Now you can see how your police department uses confidential informants. trib.al/muBNAez

Globe sues 5 Mass. police departments in effort to shine light on shadowy world of confidential informants - The Boston Globe The newspaper sought information from each of Massachusetts' 400-plus police departments about how they handle confidential informants.

These are the police departments the lawsuits were lodged against:

• Boston
• Worcester
• Springfield
• New Bedford
• Massachusetts State Police

The Globe’s suit against the Boston Police Department is the broadest.

🧵 In our recent investigation, we found that all too often the secrecy shrouding the use of confidential informants can serve as a cover for misconduct.

So we made public records requests. Some of the state's police agencies failed to comply. Now the Globe has filed lawsuits.

From the massachusetts community on Reddit Explore this post and more from the massachusetts community

We are live! Join the discussion here: www.reddit.com/r/massachuse...

What do you want to know about the financial collapse of Steward Health Care?

Reporters from the Globe Spotlight Team will be talking about our investigative series tomorrow in a Reddit AMA. Join us: trib.al/83ICnxq

Spare a Thought for the Snitch In “Spotlight: Snitch City,” the Boston Globe skillfully reveals how police abused confidential informants in a Massachusetts port town.

The @newyorker.com: "In 'Spotlight: Snitch City,' the Boston Globe skillfully reveals how police abused confidential informants in a Massachusetts port town," from @asarahlarson.bsky.social www.newyorker.com/culture/podc... @bostonglobe.com @globespotlight.bsky.social

Listen to the Snitch City podcast Spotlight: Snitch City brings listeners inside the clandestine world of police informants through the story of one police department.

"Like other outstanding podcasts that home in on local injustices, it raises our awareness of a wider systemic problem," the @newyorker.com critic wrote.

If you have haven't downloaded our podcast series, you're missing out: apps.bostonglobe.com/metro/invest...

Spare a Thought for the Snitch In “Spotlight: Snitch City,” the Boston Globe skillfully reveals how police abused confidential informants in a Massachusetts port town.

The latest rave review for the 'Snitch City' podcast is in. @newyorker.com says memorable interviewees put a human face on @globespotlight.bsky.social’s "stunning findings." www.newyorker.com/culture/podc...

Spotlight | Snitch City: Investigation into police misuse of confidential informants In a nation addicted to drugs, police are addicted to informants.

This episode is part of a larger podcast and series detailing the secretive world of confidential informants within one city.

Dive into all of our reporting here.

A police officer looks at a person inside a jail cell. Text on the card reads: “Spotlight: Snitch City”

Listen to our bonus episode of "Snitch City."

This eight-year case first brought a Globe reporter to New Bedford, laying the groundwork for this very podcast on confidential informants.

Finally, it's time to hear the outcome. link.chtbl.com/tTLbVzKf?sid...

Inside Steward Health Care: A Boston Globe Spotlight Team report A Boston Globe Spotlight Team review found the Steward Health Care hospital system plagued by staggering neglect at the hands of executives.

Read through all of our reporting on the Steward Health Care crisis in Massachusetts and beyond.

Steward Health News: Practice of neglect led to indignity, death On the whole, Steward’s more than 30 hospitals have been among the worst, the most troubled in the country over the last five years, according to several measures.

That story led to dozens more.

Our reporting on Steward Health Care's explosive growth — and ultimate collapse — spanned months.

These stories exposed the deadly consequences of the hospital chain's financial neglect and mismanagement.