The 'Email Trail,' for which they were recognized, was the compilation of investigative stories done chronicling the 13 Undercover unit's effort to stop the mass deletion of 700,000 emails from the Harris County Sheriffs Office.
Wayne Dolcefino filed suit to make the emails the department was planning to destroy public. It exposed racist emails, evidence of secret surveillance and law enforcement work done for major campaign contributors of now former Sheriff Tommy Thomas.
Members of the Eyewitness News staff spent weeks reviewing the e mails. The award honors Wayne, producer Steve Bivens and photographer/editor David DeFranchi.
This is the second time Wayne has been honored with an IRE medal. He's the only reporter in the country who can claim the honor of having two IRE medals. In 1994, he was honored for a series exposing phony bilingual teachers at the Houston Independent School District.
The organization includes all the major newspapers in the world, networks , and television programs from 60 Minutes to the New York Times.
Here are some of the stories for which 13 Undercover was honored
Wayne's bio | 13 Undercover RSS | 13 Undercover video
