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.
Featured Stories

Unenforced Labor: An investigation into unsafe working conditions in Colorado agriculture
In this three-part special report, The Denver Post uncovers chronic abuses in Colorado’s agricultural supply chain – and the lack of action from state and federal regulators.

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

Looted: Stolen relics, laundered art and a Colorado scholar’s role in the illicit antiquities trade
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.
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The U.S. was a leader in cultural heritage investigations. Now those agents are working immigration enforcement.
Homeland Security Investigations, the department's investigative arm, once had as many as eight agents in its New York office investigating cultural property cases.

Mountain Village voters pass lift-ticket tax to fund Telluride gondola in rebuke of ski resort owner
More than 77% of the town's 376 voters backed the measure, which is estimated to generate $2.5 million per year through the new excise tax.

Is Telluride ready to ‘chuck Chuck?’ Why the opulent ski town turned on the resort’s longtime owner
Critics in Telluride point to Chuck Horning's unpredictable nature, his my-way-or-the-highway leadership style and his refusal to let executives help him run the business.

Denver wants to increase fines against landlords who don’t comply with city’s new residential rental license program
There are still a small number of landlords who have yet to comply with the program -- and the city feels its current fine structure is inadequate to incentivize good...

Denver revamps elevator inspection process to address ‘growing public safety crisis’
A Denver Post investigation found the city’s fire department was routinely rescuing people from malfunctioning lifts operating without valid permits.

Feds allege Chauncey Billups was ‘face card’ in high-stakes, Mafia-backed poker scam
Chauncey Billups, investigators allege, was known as a “face card.” He and other former professional athletes were used to attract victims to the poker games.

Eastbound I-70 reopens near the Kansas border
The road closure began at milepost 432, just west of Burlington, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Denver International Airport hit with flight delays due to shortage of air traffic controllers
In Denver, arriving flights were delayed an average of 39 minutes Monday, with the longest delay at 95 minutes, according to air traffic controller alerts.

How conditions inside Golden’s now-emptied juvenile detention facility reached a breaking point
Emails, police reports and interviews with current and former staff members show leadership grew increasingly worried as safety conditions deteriorated inside the Golden campus.

Colorado immigrants are desperately seeking legal help. They often run into fake lawyers and other scams.
Kathia Blanco unwittingly joined a growing number of Colorado immigrants who have been scammed by people impersonating lawyers.