The Sentencing

Federal prosecutors now say the vandalism scheme was Eric Spofford’s idea all along. Spofford appears in federal court, and Lauren explains what this remarkable moment means for her and her sources.

Today, we’re sharing the first episode of the brand new podcast Spotlight: Snitch City, produced by The Boston Globe's award-winning Spotlight team. Praised by The Guardian and The Financial Times as a “must-listen” podcast, Snitch City brings you inside the secret world of police informants through one small city – at the forefront of America’s drug war – New Bedford, Massachusetts.In this specific episode, you’ll find yourself on the docks of New Bedford, hearing whispers about a rogue police officer harassing fishermen and stealing drugs, all of which come to a head one late night aboard a scalloping boat. The officer forces his way on board, saying an informant told him there would be drugs on board, and demands some. But when another officer, Mark Raposo, shows up, he thinks his colleague is in the middle of a “drug rip.” Now Raposo is ready to blow the whistle on what he’s seen. And it turns out that this officer’s abuse of the informant system is just the tip of the iceberg in this historic port city.To listen to the rest of the series, follow Spotlight: Snitch City on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts.

NHPR's journalism is made possible by listeners like you. Please consider donating to support our work right here. 

NHPR's journalism is made possible by listeners like you. Please consider donating to support our work right here. 

NHPR's journalism is made possible by listeners like you. Please consider donating to support our work right here. 

NHPR's journalism is made possible by listeners like you. Please consider donating to support our work right here. 

Three years after his sentencing, Josh Cook and his mom have lived through even more consequences of America’s drug crisis and the ways we respond to it – each in their own dramatic and completely separate ways.

A federal judge sentences Eric Labarge, the man who pled guilty to orchestrating the vandalism in retaliation for our reporting on Labarge’s friend, Eric Spofford. Lauren explains what went down in the courtroom – and how she navigated the experience as both a journalist and a victim of this crime.

A young police officer unexpectedly finds herself back in New Hampshire, and she’s not the same person she was when she left. Something happened to her – to all of us. But for Officer Emelia Campbell, this thing still lives in her brain and her body. This is her story of survival.

This flood of roughly 1,300 people who’ve come forward all started with one man. How the widespread abuse at YDC finally came to light and how people are grappling with what justice and accountability even mean in a scandal so large.Click here to read the companion digital story made in collaboration with The Pudding.If you have suffered abuse and need someone to talk to, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. If you’re in a mental health crisis, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8. To support investigative journalism like The Youth Development Center at NHPR, click here.