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Brian Maass
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CBS4's Brian Maass has spearheaded the CBS station's investigative unit for nearly two decades. In that time, his investigations have; held the powerful accountable, given voice to the voiceless and made a difference in the lives of Coloradans.
His 2002 investigation exposing loafing cops at Denver International Airport led to retirements, dozens of reassignments and a heightened awareness of airport security. The report showed that in the months after 9/11, police officers who were supposed to be patrolling the airport looking for terrorists were instead holed up in a private airport lounge for hours on end, watching TV, eating and relaxing.
An investigation of houseboat safety helped lead to Congressional hearings on the issue and sweeping changes in houseboat design and construction.
The top managers of Denver's Parks and Recreation Department found themselves on the wrong end of a Maass investigation. The probe revealed the Deputy Manager was stealing from the city. The investigative reporter's findings led to criminal charges, conviction of the Parks and Rec manager and the termination of numerous other Parks and Rec administrators.
More misbehaving Denver cops were spotlighted in an Emmy award winning Maass investigation. He found top Denver police administrators working secondary jobs as school crossing guards when they were supposed to be overseeing murder, rape and kidnapping investigations. The reports led to a criminal investigation, a sudden retirement of a veteran Lieutenant and lengthy suspensions for the cops who kept their jobs.
In 1999, Maass broke the story of how a Denver SWAT team broke into the wrong house and killed Ismael Mena, who never should have been in the line of fire. The investigation led to criminal charges against one Denver officer and broad reforms in the way 'no knock' search warrants are processed.
His exclusive 2004 interview with Army Private Lynndie England made worldwide headlines as the woman at the center of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal told her story for the first time.
Maass has won multiple Emmys, multiple Best of The West Awards, the regional Murrow Award for investigative reporting three years in a row, numerous Colorado Broadcast Association Awards and a slew of other regional, state and local honors. In 2004, he was nominated for a National Emmy. Brian Maass is married and the father two sons, Luke and Colton.