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Investigative reporter

Sam Tabachnik

Sam Tabachnik is an investigative reporter for The Denver Post. His projects have included deep-dives into the world of illicit antiquities, abuses of migrant workers and unconstitutional practices of Colorado municipal courts. Before joining The Post, Sam helped produce shows for NBC News, launched digital projects for The Washington Post and covered sports and arts for the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

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An agricultural worker from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, who came to work in Colorado through the Temporary Agricultural Employment of Foreign Workers Act, uses a ladder to pick peaches high in the trees of an orchard on July 21, 2023 in Palisade, Colorado. According to Bruce Talbot, the manager of Talbot Farms, roughly 90% of the workers at the Palisade-based farm come from the H-2A program, and are widely seen as critical to the survival of Colorado growers. Talbott Farms has not had a violation of federal labor laws since 2011, which Talbott attributed to then-recent rule changes that he was not aware of at the time. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

Unenforced Labor: An investigation into unsafe working conditions in Colorado agriculture

September 3, 2024 at 9:37 a.m.

In this three-part special report, The Denver Post uncovers chronic abuses in Colorado鈥檚 agricultural supply chain 鈥� and the lack of action from state and federal regulators.

Gilbert Thomas sits outside his girlfriend鈥檚 apartment, where he is staying after recently being released from jail in Pueblo, Colorado, on June 3, 2024. Thomas is working to turn his life around after receiving a 660-day jail sentence for petty crimes he committed. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

How Pueblo weaponizes contempt of court to inflate jail time for minor crimes

January 21, 2025 at 4:05 p.m.

Pueblo city judges have sent people to jail for months on charges that in other Colorado courts are punished by one or two days in jail. Experts call it "draconian"...

The seven鈥憈iered pyramid of Prasat Thom, Koh Ker, Cambodia, is pictured on Aug. 10, 2022. The complex was one of the most targeted by looters. (Photo by Thomas Cristofoletti/Special to The Denver Post)

Looted: Stolen relics, laundered art and a Colorado scholar’s role in the illicit antiquities trade

March 17, 2023 at 10:01 a.m.

In this three-part report, The Denver Post investigates the role of Emma Bunker, as "The Scholar," in an illicit antiquities smuggling operation that left Cambodian temples plundered for big money.

Latrisse Johnson at her apartment in Denver on May 27, 2025. Johnson's mother Shirlyne, on the right of the family photo, died after overheating in 2023 inside her apartment in the Thomas Bean Towers. Johnson is now suing the Denver Housing Authority over her mother鈥檚 death. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

A woman died after temperature soared inside her Denver Housing Authority apartment. Four years later, it happened again.

May 29, 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

The Denver medical examiner estimated Shirlyne Johnson's apartment in Thomas Bean Towers was as hot as 127 degrees at the time of her death.

Uber and Lyft stickers in a vehicle at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado on Thursday, May, 4, 2023. (Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post)

Gov. Jared Polis vetoes bill to tighten security, vetting of ride-share drivers in Colorado

May 23, 2025 at 5:12 p.m.

The measure would have required ride-share companies to conduct background checks on their drivers every six months and to allow drivers or riders to request that every trip be recorded.

Gov. Jared Polis listens as Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera speaks during a news conference at the Colorado State Capitol building in Denver on Thursday, April 24, 2025. Polis signed both SB25-129 and SB25-183, both abortion-related bills, into law. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

Gov. Jared Polis vetoes bill addressing sentencing disparities between Colorado鈥檚 state and municipal courts

May 16, 2025 at 3:43 p.m.

Gov. Jared Polis on Friday vetoed a bill that would have mandated Colorado鈥檚 municipal courts conform to state sentencing guidelines.

The exterior of Diamond Cabaret at 1222 Glenarm Place in Denver on March 11, 2025. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

Denver moves to shut down Diamond Cabaret over wage theft allegations

May 15, 2025 at 11:15 a.m.

This is the first time Denver has taken disciplinary action to revoke a business license as a result of a wage theft investigation, city officials said.

Isaiah Stark's family lives in this Hot Sulphur Springs neighborhood, photographed on April 22, 2025. In 2020, the 7-year-old boy died unexpectedly, raising concerns among child welfare workers in Colorado. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

A Colorado boy likely died from drinking too much olive brine. Grand County tried to make the suspicious case disappear.

May 21, 2025 at 12:43 p.m.

Isaiah Stark died from ingesting too much sodium, the coroner found, likely due to drinking olive brine.

A tenant of Cedar Run protests conditions in the southwest Denver complex on Feb. 17, 2023. (Photo by Kevin Mohatt/Special to The Denver Post)

These landlords accrued years of complaints and serious health violations. Denver handed them rental licenses anyway.

May 4, 2025 at 8:51 p.m.

A Denver Post investigation found the city has handed out licenses to building owners with years of documented violations, who then continue to neglect their tenants.

Cr猫me de la Cr猫me, a day care center in Lone Tree., on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. (Photo by Grace Smith/The Denver Post)

Lone Tree day care center with history of child abuse allegations will close

April 29, 2025 at 3:02 p.m.

Cr猫me de la Cr猫me, which boasts dozens of childcare centers across more than a dozen states, will shutter its Lone Tree location at 7550 Park Meadows Drive on May 23,...

Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors in Montrose, ...

Colorado funeral home owners resentenced to federal prison for selling body parts without families鈥� permission

April 21, 2025 at 3:24 p.m.

The same judge, Christine M. Arguello, on Monday stuck with her original sentences, giving Megan Hess 20 years and Shirley Koch 15 years, following a lengthy resentencing hearing.

Federal judge in Colorado expresses skepticism at Trump deportation procedures under Alien Enemies Act

April 21, 2025 at 5:29 p.m.

U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney questioned government lawyers about why she shouldn鈥檛 continue a temporary restraining order in the case of two Venezuelan men being held in Aurora.

Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center in Golden, Colorado, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Colorado lawmakers want to add body cameras to youth detention staff

April 10, 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

Colorado鈥檚 child protection ombudsman, tasked with investigating child safety concerns, has been calling since last year for the state to add body-worn cameras to staff in juvenile detention.

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