Investigative-reporting prize goes to 3 from People Paper

THREE Daily News reporters have won the 2013 Larry Weiss Award for Investigative Journalism for a series of articles exposing misconduct by several high-ranking Philadelphia police officials.

Barbara Laker, David Gambacorta and Dana DiFilippo will share a $10,000 prize for the series, dubbed "Bad Brass." The award, open to investigative journalism of any medium produced in the Philly metropolitan area, South Jersey and Delaware, will be presented April 18 at a luncheon at the offices of WHYY, on Independence Mall.

Two of four stories that ran last summer concerned sexual-harassment accusations against Staff Inspector Jerrold Bates, of Internal Affairs.

A third story looked at Capt. Anthony Washington, the subject of 14 civilian complaints and federal lawsuits by fellow cops charging sexual harassment and retaliation.

The fourth story dealt with Inspector Carl Holmes, the subject of several lawsuits and a complaint of sexual misbehavior by a fellow cop.

The Weiss Award was created in 2012 by businessman Larry Weiss, and is administered by the Temple University Center for Public Interest Journalism.

"Our communities benefit greatly from the work of our investigative journalists," Weiss, a venture capitalist, said.