My Previous Work – KEITH BROWN

The Battle for Fort Monmouth

This is an investigation a colleague and I undertook after the U.S. Army announced it would close Fort Monmouth, a 100-year-old post in our coverage area. The closure promised widespread economic and cultural upheaval in the entire reagion, with reverberations throughout the state. In public, the Army said it would cost $780 million to shutter the post. We found their private accounting said something far different, more in the neighborhood of $1.6 billion. Double.

We had kicked over a hornet’s nest. The Army circled the wagons, even installed a new commander. Congressmen began grumbling. A senator introduced legislation. Union members inside the post leaked documents. Angry protesters rallied. The Government Accountability Office backed up the figures we uncovered, casting doubt on the Army’s premise of cost savings. Congress held a hearing on Capitol Hill.

Below are all the stories on Fort Monmouth. Linked above are some key stories. All open .pdf files.

On the Crime Beat
For two years, I worked the crime beat in Trenton, N.J., the capitol city. As with most state capitols, unemployment was high. Naturally, so was crime. When not bogged down in the daily grind of kicking out mountains of cop briefs, I tried to get out and tell the stories of victims. Below are a couple.