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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE ARTICLES

THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE:THE DISAPPEARANCE OF CLAUDIA KIRSCHHOCH
Claudia was a beautiful, professional and well-loved young travel writer from New York who vanished whilst staying in Jamaica. Her wonderful and deeply courageous parents Fred and Mary-Ann, allowed me to interview them about what fate may have befallen her when she was supposedly being cared for by press staff whilst staying in a 'Couples' resort in Negril.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GAUL?
At the height of the Cold War an English fishing boat vanished off the coast of Russia. What happened to it? I spent a month speaking to relatives of the missing; lawyers; politcians; and on one occasion, a man who'd claimed to have met a supposedly drowned man - albeit on the wrong side of the world - in an effort to get to the bottom fo this mystery. Talk about truth being stranger than fiction.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: HAIRMYERS HOSPITAL INVESTIGATION  
I was asked by sources to examine the inner-workings of this brand new British hospital - supposedly a 'flagship' for the Blair goverment's complex and controversial Private Finance Initiative scheme: I found negligence; fraud; over-worked staff; and dangerous conditions which could threaten lives. Thankfully, shortly after publication, the 'powers that be' made some changes.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: THE IRA MOLE: AN INVESTIGATION
The so-called 'Real' IRA (RIRA) were behind the dreadful 1998 bombing of Omagh in Northern Ireland. Whilst the larger Provisional IRA had called a ceasefire and through its political wing, Sinn Feiin, had entered into talks with Blair's government, the violent fringe faction RIRA refused. But they didn't realise that a 250lb American trucker of German-Mohawk descent, called David Rupert, had infiltrated them.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: TONY GECAS - NAZI WAR CRIMINAL
Gecas was one of dozens of men who moved from Eastern Europe to the UK post-WW2. He lived in Edinburgh, Scotland until he was unmasked as a Nazi war criminal. despite a subsequent change in the law he was never arrested nor imprisoned. Yet, during this investigation, I discovered he played a hand in the deaths of 50,000+ Jews, however no-one could tell me why he'd never been prosecuted.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: ETA BASQUE TERRORISTS
The Basque country in Spain faces the constant threat of terrorist attacks from ETA, the group which wants complete independence from Spain and France for their 'Homeland'. In recent years anyone who challenges them - even journalists and academics - have become targets for assassination. This means that per-capita Spain is the most heavily bodyguard-protected nation in the world.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: RC CHURCH INVESTIGATION
One of the bravest men I ever met is a brillliant New Orleans lawyer named Ray Mouton. In the 1980s he was hired to defend the first RC priest accused of child abuse in the USA. He raised holy hell with the authorities when his investigations indicated this was a massive problem.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: CHINOOK CRASH INVESTIGATION
In 1994 a Chinook helicopter crashed in the remote Mull of Kintyre area of Scotland. Intelligence operatives from Northern Ireland and the pilots and crew all died. The authorities immediately blamed it on pilot error but the families, friends and colleagues of the men said something very different. This two-month investigation is the result of examining their claims. After its publication I was asked to pass on my findings to a special group established in the House of Lords.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: THE LEGEND OF THE FIRST (AND LAST) GREAT EIFFEL TOWER JUMP
In 1999 I indulged in my annual bout of inexcusable insanity by running with the bulls in Pamplona. Whilst there I met a young man from Finland who was also running... with his leg in plaster. Bizarrely, he was actually an extreme-sports star and a Las Vegas-based magician.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: THE (WEDDING) DAY OF THE JACKAL
This in-depth article about the man known as Carlos the Jackal and the fact that he was planning to marry his French lawyer, took an age to set up. Eventually I was invited to interview the lady in question in Paris...
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: ANIMAL RIGHTS
This investigation examined a British animal rights movement which is attacking (literally) an animal experimentation facility in Cambridge . Meeting the activists and the people who're being targeted made me realise what a dangerous world they all inhabit.
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SCOTSMAN SUNDAY BUSINESS : BLOOMBERG
An exclusive story of how the current mayor of New York , billionaire Michael Bloomberg, played a little known part in a sting operation to catch two hackers and blackmailers from the Soviet Union . I discovered the tale and managed to get the FBI and a few other law enforcement sources to literally hand me the script of what happened. It's like something from a James Bond film…
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: DATE RAPE
I investigated this story a year before the world learned about the awful, sinister crimes of the man at the centre of it all. The realities of what women have suffered in situations like this because of the use of these appalling drugs should be more widely known.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: HEROIN IN SCOTLAND
This investigation took me inside a small Scottish fishing town blighted by drugs. A range of factors collided to produce the astonishing fact that it's got a spiralling heroin problem. I felt bad for the locals trying to move forward and deal with this at the same time.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE:ORGAN THEFT
The trade in human organs is not an urban myth. It happens. And, of course, it's the poorest people in the poorest countries who are exploited most. Legal and medical loopholes are exploited left, right and centre. This is what I found out.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: ID THEFT
What happens when someone steals your ID? I thought it could only happen to ‘other people' until I mentioned it to a friend and discovered his wife had been a victim. As long as we carry plastic cards – this will happen to the unlucky few.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: KILLING FIELDS
Dr Orlando Trujillo , a Columbian, and his colleagues organise the identification of victims found in mass graves in the former Yugoslavia . It's grim, sad work, but someone has to do it. This is his story and it investigates why he does it and explains why it matters.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: LANARKSHIRE MURDER
This article delves into a nasty murder case which happened in a part of Scotland I know well. It reveals how local gangsters are running the area like warlords and issuing their own form of justice at the end of a gun barrel.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: MERCENARY ARTICLE
This article focused on a well known UK military ‘contractor'. By explaining his story we learn exactly how thing controversial but evolving business works in the 21 st century.
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THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE: POLICE FRAUD
This investigation examined an appalling murder which occurred in England . A young man was murdered, evidence against the suspects gathered illegally… then the whole case disintegrated. The victim's mother was left hanging in limbo. I decided to name names and highlight the police's shortcomings. What a mess.
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