Thread by @damianpaletta

On Tuesday, I sat with my wife, my kids, and my mom (!) at the Hollywood premiere of “The Big Conn,” which comes out today. I wore a dark suit and white sneakers because I had no idea what to wear to a film that I am in. A film about the craziest story I have ever written. (1/15)

It started with a simple spreadsheet I built in 2011 when I covered the White House for the @WSJ . I had no idea what this spreadsheet would unleash. (2/15)

@WSJ I was investigating Social Security disability fraud, and I created a database of all 1,500 administrative law judges. I found one - David “DB” Daugherty - who had approved 99.7% of the cases that came before him in W. Va. and Eastern Kentucky. That seemed impossible. (3/15)

I made some calls, and I was told “you need to get down here.” Turns out, there was a local attorney, Eric C. Conn, who had been married more than a dozen times. He was involved in some kickback scheme with DB. (4/15)

I rented a car and drove to Kentucky. (5/15)

What I found was a completely wild tale of government corruption and greed. Corrupt Judges. Corrupt Lawyers. Corrupt Doctors. Two brave whistleblowers were subjected to relentless abuse. Government officials were warned about Conn and Daugherty but did little to stop them. (6/15)

I called DB. He said he was too busy to meet with me because he was in a local production of the Titanic (7/15)

That seemed odd. But everything in this story was odd. (8/15)

My story ran in May 2011, kicking off a stunning and heartbreaking chain of events that included five arrests, multiple suicides, an FBI manhunt, and a Halloween-themed brothel. (9/15)

It also led to a humanitarian crisis. The story has followed me ever since. (10/15)

Two years ago, @iamjlh and Brian Lazarte (of McMillion$ fame) asked me to participate in a documentary about it all. I met with them multiple times over two years. (11/15)

@iamjlh It was almost like therapy for me, telling them stories I had never told anyone before. I told them stories about my own childhood. My own disability. (12/15)

@iamjlh Many others participated and told their stories about Eric C. Conn. The whistleblowers talked. The FBI talked. Other investigators talked. Each story, on its own, is hard to believe. Nearly everything involving Eric Conn is hard to believe. But it’s all true. (13/15)

@iamjlh Victims who lost everything recounted how their lives were destroyed. Conn’s brave daughter Jordyn, who sat a few feet from me at the premiere, told her story too. (14/15)

@iamjlh “The Big Conn,” a four-part series, is shocking, riveting, and devastating. I have kept this box with me for more than a decade, unable to part with my notes. My memories. Now you can see why. (15/15)