Private Investigator News and Information

The Cape Cod Times online edition produced an excellent article on our little world. There is in interview with David Nadolski of Orleans who discussed the growing area of PI work for governmental agencies, with a quick mention of Jimmie Mesis from PI Magazine, and interviews with Andrew Sandelin, a Boston PI and Robert Simmons of Simmons Agency also in Boston. Good to see more positive, intelligent stories about PIs.

Illinois PI Keith McRae of KAM Data Services wrote a nice piece on the “how to”s of hiring a PI. He makes a great point when suggesting that clients strongly consider utilizing two or more investigators when performing surveillance if financially possible. Its a quick but good read. Click here for the full article.

I am confident that this news will be very interesting to those in the computer forensic investigation business. The US District Court for the District of Vermont has held that you can invoke the Fifth Amendment privledge against self-incrimination and refuse to give up the password you have used to encrypt data files.

I recommend reviewing  US v. Boucher, 2007 WL 4246473 (Nov 29, 2007)

Brad Bacom, a texas PI and former peace officer will teach an introductory class on private investigation at Lamar Institute of Technology as reported by the Beaumont Journal. In the article, Mr. Bacom makes some excellent observations about the PI industry and what many PIs actually do each day. I recommend it as a read, good work Brad. http://www.beaumontjournal.com/news/2008/0213/Front_Page/005.html

16-year-old accused of threatening 2 others via MySpace page

By Denes Husty III
dhusty@news-press.com
Originally posted on January 09, 2008

A 16-year-old Lehigh boy has been charged with cyber stalking, a crime that is still relatively rare in Southwest Florida but gaining notoriety nationwide.

Joseph D. Carrozza, 16, of 4109 S.W. 20th St., is accused of making threats against two other teen-age boys — who allegedly belong to a rival gang — via MySpace, an international Web site that offers e-mail, a forum, communities, videos and blog space.

The charge is rare, said John Sheehan, sheriff’s spokesman.

“It’s not everyday that you see something like this,” Sheehan said.

Sheriff’s Detective Chris Shoap, who investigated the case, said he’s only investigated one other cyber stalking case in his 11 years with the agency.

Although cases may still be few in Southwest Florida, the crime is getting more attention from law enforcement, said Assistant State Attorney Mike Provost.

“We may be becoming more aware of the problem,” he said.

A recent case in point focused national attention to the problem of cyber bullying.

Megan Meier, 13, of Missouri, committed suicide last year by hanging herself after being dumped by “Josh” on MySpace.

Josh, in this case, was fictitious.

He was created by the mother of one of Megan’s former friends who wanted to know what Megan might be saying about her daughter online.

Although Megan’s parents maintained their daughter’s suicide was the result of the cyber harassment, Missouri prosecutors determined last month there wasn’t enough evidence to press criminal charges.

In a local case in June 2005, Jeffrey Johnston, 15, of Cape Coral, committed suicide after being bullied online.

His mother created the nonprofit Students for Safer Schools to help stop bullying and cyber harassment.

A bill to empower schools to hold bullies accountable for harassing students away from school, such as the Internet, passed the state House last year but not the Senate. There is expected to be a renewed effort to get the bill passed this year.

In Carrozza’s case, a private detective from California — who is investigating the unrelated case of a missing Sarasota girl — alerted deputies about threats she found on MySpace, Detective Shoap said.

The threats apparently involved members of rival gangs, he said.

The recipients of the threats were challenged to come to the public library in Lehigh Acres for a fight, the detective said.

However, only Carrozza showed up, Shoap said.

The detective said the threatening e-mails were traced to Carrozza’s address on MySpace.

Carrozza was arrested Monday and charged with a count of cyber stalking a person younger than 16, a third-degree felony carrying a maximum five-year prison sentence.

Carrozza also is charged with cyber stalking a person older than 16, which is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by as much as a year in jail.

He was booked into the Lee County Jail and later released.

The investigation is continuing and more charges are possible, Shoap said.

The lesson to be learned, the detective said, is parents need to pay attention to their children.

“Parents need to be involved in their kids’ lives, their lifestyle and what they’re doing on MySpace,” Shoap said.

By John Leyden
www.channelregister.co.uk

More US states are moving towards laws that limit computer forensics work to those with Private Investigator licences, or people contracted to work for licensed investigative agencies.

Pending legislation in South Carolina would limit the specialist work of capturing and making sense of evidence on computer discs and server logs to businesses whose main line of work is serving legal process or matrimonial investigations. The bill covers computers forensic evidence presented in court.

Computer evidence compiled by unlicensed practitioners would be excluded from admission in either civil or criminal cases under the regulation. Those caught practicing without a licence to collect evidence for court (though not on a private basis) could face criminal prosecution.

Enterprises or private individuals would still be free to hire anyone they choose for private investigations. Computer forensics is often used as an internal investigatory tool following computer intrusions, or in response to suspicion of staff misuse of internet resources.

Georgia, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington already have similar legislation, Baseline Magazine reports. The idea is that by restricting the preparation of computer forensics work for presentation in court promotes higher standards and keeps out the cowboys.

However, expecting computer forensics experts to have a PI licence makes about as much sense as requiring PIs to have computer science degrees. Most private investigators come from a police or forces background. The regulations smack of protectionism.

Commonly, specialist agencies handle IT-related work such as counter-surveillance and forensic examination. Data recovery firms and others with computer forensics expertise may be equally capable in preserving and processing computer evidence, but are locked out of the business in the US, unlike other countries such as the UK where such firms are typically swamped with work.

Ernesto Rojas, CEO of Forensic & Security Services, Inc., has received the results of a request for various legal opinions from the Texas Private Security Board, regarding licensing regulations effecting computer security consultants and computer forensic examiners. It is important that these practitioners, as well as the entities hiring their services, are familiar with the licensing regulations, as violations carry steep financial and legal penalties.

These regulations were implemented to protect Texas consumers using these services. As Texas moves forward with the formalized licensing of computer forensic examiners and security consultants, Texas consumers will experience greater protection from unscrupulous individuals who may have ulterior motives for gaining access to computer based confidential and private information.

In a nutshell, any individual gaining access to another individual’s or an organization’s private and personal information, in Texas, must be licensed by The Texas Department of Public Safety - Private Security Board. Some of Topics addressed by the Private Security board include differentiation between computer forensics and e-discovery services, the licensing requirements for network intrusion consultants and penetration testers, and clarification of computer repair establishments work scope limits.

The following is a brief explanation of the PSB’s recent rulings. Official documentation of the board’s rulings can be found on the PSB website.

Analysis of computer-based data for the purposes of discovering information related to the causes of an event or an individual’s conduct requires licensing. Mere scanning, retrieval, and reproduction of data associated with electronic discovery or litigation support services do not. Since network intrusion consultants and penetration testers have potential access to their clients’ confidential information, these professionals must be licensed.

Additionally, companies which offer computer repair or support services should be aware that they must be licensed investigators if they offer to perform investigative services, such as assisting a customer with solving a computer related crime. The review of computer data for investigating potential criminal or civil matters and offering to perform such services are activities regulated under Chapter 1702 of the Texas Occupations Code.

For more information regarding the Texas Private Security Board, please visit their website http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/psb. The complete text of the administrative rulings can be found at http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/psb/docs/psb_opin_sum.pdf.

Forensic and Security Services, Inc. is a Houston based firm offering computer forensics, data collection, and expert testimony to attorneys and corporate clients. The firm’s investigators and/or private security consultants are fully licensed by the State of Texas.

By NEIL SEARS & SAM GREENHILL
http://www.dailymail.co.uk

The private detectives seeking Madeleine McCann say they are hunting a Briton who fled Praia da Luz after being accused of grooming an under-age girl for sex.

Part-time barman and disc jockey Christian Ridout, 32, allegedly sent the British girl obscene text messages when he worked in an expats’ pub 200 yards from where Madeleine disappeared.

Missing: Private detectives are searching for Christian Ridout in connection with Madeleine McCann’s disappearance after being accused of grooming an under-age girl for sex in Praia da Luz

When the 12-year-old’s mother discovered the explicit messages, Ridout - also known as DJ Shifty - left Portugal in a hurry.

This was some time before Madeleine disappeared on May 3 - but the missing man’s parents still run the same pub and concerned locals immediately gave his name to police.

Portuguese officers, widely criticised for a series of blunders in the Madeleine case, have never succeeded in tracing Ridout.

The spokesman for Madeleine’s parents Gerry and Kate confirmed that the Spanish detective agency working for them, Metodo 3, was seeking more information on the missing man.

The mother of the 12-year-old told the Daily Mail: “He was sending my daughter messages offering to pick her up from school, and suggesting the most disgusting sex acts. It went on for two months before I found out.”

By coincidence, the Ridout family were next-door neighbours of the family of Robert Murat, the chief suspect in the Madeleine hunt, when the Murats lived in the nearby village of Almadena.

The night after Madeleine went missing, a British expat walked into the Plough and Harrow pub in Praia da Luz, still owned by his parents Tony, 57, and Jill, 58, and asked: “Where’s Christian then?”.

Locals have disparagingly nicknamed the pub ‘The Plough and Paedophile’ and the missing man is widely disliked in the tight-knit community.

The Daily Mail has been shown an image of Mr Ridout acting indecently while wearing a Santa hat, which was taken at a Christmas party several years ago and which he stored on his computer.

And numerous people in Praia da Luz have reported that he regularly talked about his interest in ‘pre-teen’ girls.

The mother of the 12-year-old, who lives near Praia da Luz in Burgau, said: “I came to the Algarve five-and-a-half years ago and started working in the Plough and Harrow.

“I did the day shift in the bar, while Christian Ridout took over for the night shift. He was always coming out with rude innuendos, and he’d tell people who didn’t know him that he was 21, even though he was 30.

“My two daughters, then 12 and 14 used to come in to see me, and Christian used to talk to them, and eventually it turned out he’d got my youngest girl’s mobile number.”

Some weeks later, in 2005, the 42-year-old woman heard a rumour that Mr Ridout had been sending the girl disgusting texts.

“I asked her if she’d been getting any messages from Christian - and she had, about 25 of them. They got progressively more obscene. They were talking about her being a virgin, telling her he’d done ‘it’ before and that he’d be gentle and it wouldn’t hurt.

“He was suggesting he should pick her up from school. The messages were absolutely vile.

“My youngest girl is quiet - and police said that it was a clear case of grooming. It was very sick. I couldn’t even read the final ones, but just phoned Christian. I said, ‘If you come anywhere near my daughters again I’ll kill you.’

“He took all the money from the till at the Plough and Harrow and went to Spain that night.

“They later found his VW Golf at Seville airport, with his keys left hidden in the wheel arch and he was believed to have gone back to England.

“The next day I went to see the Ridouts and resigned.

“I went to the police station in the large regional town of Portimao, and they took all the explicit messages. I went in to see them just before Madeleine disappeared and they confirmed they’re still looking for him. ‘No one knows where he is, but he could have been back to this area.”

Jill Ridout said: “I haven’t seen Christian for two years. I have no comment on this subject.”

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Detroit man was arraigned at the 41-B
District Court on multiple charges, including manslaughter with a
vehicle after police said he hit a pedestrian with his car and dragged
his body nearly four miles.

Arthur Bishop Haynes Jr., 24, faces multiple charges including causing
an accident with a revoked or suspended license, manslaughter with a
vehicle and failure to stop at the scene of the accident that caused death.

Police said Haynes struck Joseph Candela, 53, of Harper Woods with his
car at Gratiot Avenue, near Metropolitan Parkway, in Clinton Township
Saturday morning and dragged him to a Fraser neighborhood near 13 Mile
and Kelly Roads.
Click Here

Police said Haynes was driving a Chevrolet Lumina, and fled the scene
of the accident.

Candela was dead when police arrived.

A tipster, who is also a private investigator, led police to arrest Haynes.
The unidentified tipster told Local 4 News that he followed a
suspicious-looking vehicle with a hole in the windshield to a Detroit
location and called the Michigan State Police.

The arraignment was an emotional scene on Monday as both the victim’s
and defendant’s families there.

“The family didn’t do anything. The young man made a mistake, but he
compounded it by leaving the scene of an accident. Somebody died­this
is serious,” said the victim’s brother Frank Candela.

Haynes entered a mute plea. When you stand mute, it means you concede
nothing, and it’s as if you entered a not guilty plea.

Haynes bond was set for $10,000 cash.

“He murdered somebody and carelessly drove away, and for
$10,000­that’s ridiculous,” said the victim’s brother Tony Candela.

Haynes could face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.

The judge will set a preliminary examination date within the next two weeks.
####

SAY “PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR” and most people think of gumshoes gathering evidence in messy divorce cases or celluloid snoops (Sam Spade, Thomas Magnum, Veronica Mars) solving murder cases.

But there’s more to the undercover world than snapping pics of unfaithful spouses and figuring out who did it Agatha Christie-style. Private investigators are trained, skilled, licensed professionals, and in an age in which information is crucial for both personal and professional needs, their expertise and diverse services are hot commodities.

“Voyeurism is a big phenomenon now. P.I.s are getting involved in investigating and conducting searches in homes, schools and businesses for hidden cameras,” says Jimmie Mesis, editor in chief of the trade publication PI Magazine.

A sleuth for the past three decades, the 49-year-old says, “The number of perverts is increasing. They buy covert hidden cameras and no one knows they are being watched. The openings of these cameras are the size of a period at the end of a sentence.”

There are approximately 60,000 private investigators in the U.S. Mesis says, “Women are the fastest-growing group in the business,” thanks to increasing and wide-ranging opportunities for work and the ability to earn a substantial salary. With more law enforcement resources being allocated to areas like terrorism and homeland security, there’s a growing need for P.I.s to do background checks and other jobs as contractors.

Detectives conduct criminal and civil investigations involving fraud, insurance, homicide, domestic family matters, and child custody and identity theft. They also do surveillance operations, locate witnesses and missing persons, and serve official court documents. Between the federal government, private sector and self-employment, P.I.s find many potential employers in the D.C. region.

Many people who enter the profession have previous military experience, and approximately half of them have law enforcement backgrounds, according to those who work in the field. Some are former police officers, homicide detectives or FBI agents. The field also draws attorneys and other people who have worked legal jobs.

What does it take to get started? Certification requirements, including training and education, vary by locality. For example, there is no education requirement in the District, but Virginia requires a mandatory 60 hours of training before a P.I. can register. (Individual P.I.s are registered, and businesses are licensed.)

Classes are held in various locations throughout the commonwealth. Topics covered include ethics, law and general investigative skills. Course work also details investigative techniques, documentation, photography, report preparation and courtroom testimony. After completing the course and passing a test, students become registered private investigators.

Salaries vary by geographic region, employer and specialty. Mesis says, “Most licensed private investigators earn an [annual] salary of $45,000 to $75,000. However, there are many who earn $150,000 per year or more and, obviously, those with less motivation that might break $28,000.” Mesis says it’s realistic to expect to earn about $35,000 to $45,000 annually.

Warren Sonne, 58, a retired New York City police detective and founder and past president of the United States Association of Professional Investigators based in Washington, D.C, is a private investigator. He says good snoops have several traits in common.

“Investigators require an organized mind and need to keep things in perspective and be able to adjust theories. A competent investigator needs to have an inquiring mind and follow the facts,” he says.

Newbies may struggle at first.

“The problem with new investigators is they try to make facts fit theories,” says Sonne, who hires investigators for his two New York- and Florida-based investigative businesses. He adds, “Investigators must be discreet, have some modicum of integrity and guard against letting their own emotions about people influence where the case goes.”

Howard Miller, 60, teaches the Private Security Services Training Course — approved by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services — at the Northern Virginia Security Academy in Falls Church, Va. An investigator for 35 years, Miller says it is important to develop expertise in an industry. Then, he says, “One can learn investigative techniques.”

The president of Miller Consulting Group in Falls Church, he describes the personality necessary to do undercover work: “A strong constitution, willing to work and do a job [that’s] not so glamorous, good health, education, self-discipline, a willingness to do unusual and risky things, and self confidence.”

Above all, Sherlock Holmes wannabes have to be willing to wait around for things to happen.

“The road to success may be long,” says Miller. “It tests your patience, and there is a sacrifice made on one’s personal life. One may not get immediate gratification of glory and excitement.”

And don’t apply in a big metropolitan area if you’re directionally challenged. Because an investigator has to travel to various locations and often get there quickly, Miller stresses, “Be a good land navigator and be able to read maps.” A good investigator will not just rely on MapQuest.

You’re also not cut out for this career if you’re a nine-to-fiver. Shirley Moore, 52, owns Potomac Investigations in Chantilly. She teaches wannabe sleuths at Central Academy there. She explains detectives must be ready to do things “at the drop of a hat.” Moore, at top, works 60 to 80 hours per week and acknowledges that, for some people, that sort of schedule can take a toll.

“The hours can be long and unpredictable,” she says. “You have to work when the work needs to be done. Holidays, evenings and weekends tend to disappear. It is a difficult profession to juggle with other commitments.”

Moore joined the field after spending 21 years in the banking industry.

“I had always been interested in true crime stories and have a naturally curious, nosey nature,” she says. “I met a customer at the bank who was a private investigator and ran a training school and, after talking with him for several months, decided to give it a try.”

Moore now employs three investigators at her agency, which conducts investigations in both civil and criminal cases.

“It is fun and exciting,” she says. “Criminal [cases are] my favorite. Every day is different.”

“In all cases, your goal, typically, is to get people to talk to you,” says Brad Garrett, 58, a retired FBI special agent who’s worked several high-profile cases. “The real bottom line is communication.”

Garrett was the lead FBI agent in the disappearance and homicide investigation of Capitol Hill intern Chandra Levy. Though Rock Creek Park has been combed by police innumerable times since her remains were found, Garrett continues to revisit the area, sifting for any clues or new leads that might solve her case.

He also played a key role in the 2002 D.C. sniper case, at one point interviewing Lee Boyd Malvo and obtaining a confession regarding Malvo’s and John Lee Mohammad’s participation in the sniper shootings.

“P.I. work has many similarities to law enforcement investigative work,” he says. “You are identifying people, locating them and, hopefully, interviewing them.”

Garrett claims the most rewarding aspect of his work is figuring out and corroborating what really happened, despite a lack of clues or other crucial evidence. “My job is to find the truth. I’m always looking for the bottom line.”

Kevin Hooks, director of Investigations for INTERPROBE in Fairfax, Va., has worked in the field since 1986. He currently deals with everything from insurance fraud cases and corporate surveillance to tracking down people who have disappeared. He says if you like Rubik’s Cube, consider this career.

“One must have an above-average degree of common sense, must be a good observer, have street smarts, have good academic skills, be a bit nosey and have an interest in solving puzzles,” says Hooks.

Both Garrett and Hooks acknowledge the boundaries between law enforcement officers and private investigators. They recognize that law enforcement officers have easier access to information because they possess a badge and have subpoena powers.

“I have to obtain records through public sources and interviews,” says Garrett.

Hooks adds, “Police have a badge. A P.I. has to find other ways to get information.”

Hooks says those who are cut out to be a sleuth will find it rewarding, despite the sacrifices.

“The job can be very lucrative if you are diligent about it and good at it,” he says. “If your heart is in it, you’ll know it after three months. It’s a job you would never get bored with — ever.”

» INVESTIGATIONS — GIVE IT A WHORL:
So, you think you want to be a snoop? Here’s the scoop on what it takes in the D.C. metro area.

» D.C.: There’s no education requirement, but you have to be at least 18 years old. You’ll have to be licensed, though, and that means you can’t have any arrest record. You’ll also need to provide your addresses for the past 10 years and fork over a $5,000 surety bond. Be prepared to be fingerprinted. D.C. Metropolitan Police Department: 202- 671-0500.

» Virginia: Private investigators must be at least 18 years old, be U. S. citizens or legal alien residents and successfully complete a 60-hour entry-level private investigator course at a facility approved by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. Individuals are registered (not licensed) for two years, and eight hours of in-service training must be completed within a year preceding the expiration date to maintain registration status. Department of Criminal Justice Services: 804-786-4000.

» Maryland: P.I.s must be licensed through the Maryland State Police and undergo background checks. Those without prior law enforcement experience must apprentice under a licensed private investigator for five years. Contact the Maryland State Police: 410-799-0191.

By Karen L. Bune for Express
Posted by Express at 12:32 AM on July 11, 2007
Tagged in Getting Ahead , Top Stories

SHAH ALAM: A private investigator hired by Altantuya Shaariibuu told the High Court here Wednesday that the part-time model married political analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda in Hong Kong almost two years before her murder.

Ang Chong Beng, 56, the prosecution’s fifth witness, said the marriage was told to him by Altantuya.

However, when questioned further by Abdul Razak’s counsel Wong Kian Kheong, Ang said he did not ask to see any document from Altantuya to prove that she was married to Abdul Razak and neither did she show it to him.

Ang said: “I did not and could not be bothered to ask about her marriage.”

When asked whether Ang, as a private investigator with 22 years of experience fully accepted what Altantuya told him, he said yes.

Ang said he did not know whether they married in September 2006 and did not investigate to confirm it.

He said the first time he knew that Abdul Razak was married was on Oct 13, 2006 but did not know who his wife was and he also had no knowledge of Altantuya’s religion. But he knew Abdul Razak was a Muslim.

He said he was also aware that under Malaysia’s Islamic law, Muslims could only marry Muslims.

While Ang was answering the question, Abdul Razak was seen mimicking him as though he was amused and then smiled at the journalists in court.

Wong: On Oct 13, 2006 after you knew that Abdul Razak was a Muslim and that his wife was not Altantuya, were you suspicious that Altantuya had lied that Abdul Razak was her husband?

Ang: No.

Wong: As a private investigator for Altantuya, did you advise her that she could not marry a Muslim under Malaysia’ Islamic law?

Ang: No.

Ang said he also did not ask his client to seek legal opinion from a lawyer on the marriage.

During re-examination by Deputy Public Prosecutor Manoj Kurup whether it was required of a private investigator, in looking for someone’s address, to also look for certain facts like the person’s marital status, Ang replied: “We don’t have the power to ask (such questions).”

Manoj: Do you care or not?

Ang: I only believe it.

Manoj: So, it’s none of your business?.

Ang: None of my business. Normally, I don’t care. If someone tells me that he or she is married, that’s enough. If there’s divorce, we need to see the certificate.”

Ang said in September 2006, Altantuya paid him US$600 for the task of finding out and reporting to her whether Abdul Razak was home in Malaysia or abroad.

He confirmed receiving the payment on Oct 2, 2006.

Ang admitted that Altantuya had promised to pay him for his services after getting money from Abdul Razak.

He said Altantuya and two other Mongolian women had gone to Abdul Razak’s office in Bangunan Lembaga Getah Asli Malaysia more than three times.

Ang said during each visit, Abdul Razak refused to meet Altantuya.

Wong: When the accused refused to meet Altantuya, did you suspect that she was not his wife?

Ang: No.

Wong: Were you also not suspicious that the three Mongolian women were disturbing the accused?

Ang: Yes.

Wong: Do you know that disturbance can be categorised as intimidation, which is an offence under Malaysian law?

Ang: I know.

Ang was then queried by Wong on his and Altantuya’s appearance at his client’s house on Oct 17, 2006 which counsel regarded as uninvited.

Ang agreed with Wong’s suggestion that Abdul Razak’s house was private property and that an unsolicited visit could tantamount to trespassing.

Wong: From your experience as a private investigator, when one enters a private property at 11 at night without permission, what offence could have been committed?

Ang: I don’t know.

Wong: You have testified that Altantuya was taken by police to the station and wanted to make a police report. Did you advise that there was no basis for making a report?

Ang: There was.

More questions were posed to Ang about Altantuya wanting to get the US$600 from Abdul Razak to pay him for his services, including what would happen if the accused refused to give the money.

“Altantuya said she would tell about everything to Abdul Razak’s wife, his daughter, TV3 and reporters,” said Ang.

Wong: Wasn’t that extortion?

Ang: No.

Wong: Did you know that by Oct 17, 2006, the accused’s wife and their daughter knew about his affair with Altantuya?

Ang: I did not.

Ang also disagreed with counsel that if a sum of US$500,000 was paid by Abdul Razak, part of it would be used to pay him (Ang) for his services.

He also denied issuing a threat to Abdul Razak through SMS and leaving a voice mail in order to extort money from him.

In Tuesday’s hearing, Ang told the court that Altantuya had asked for money from Abdul Razak in the presence of private investigator P. Balasubramaniam and his assistant K. Suras Kumar outside the police station late at night on Oct 17, 2006.

Ang said for as long as he knew Altantuya, he was never told about the threat from Balasubramaniam and Suras Kumar that she would be killed.

At the end of cross-examination by Wong, Ang stressed that he did not abet Altantuya and the other two Mongolian women in threatening Abdul Razak and also denied making a false police report on their marriage.

Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 30, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 35, both from the federal police Special Action Squad, are charged with the murder of Altantuya, 28, at a location between Lot 12843 and Lot 16735, Mukim Bukit Raja, here, between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20, 2006.

Abdul Razak is charged with abetting the murder and the offence is alleged to have been committed in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur between 9.54am on Oct 18 and 9.45pm on Oct 19, 2006. - Bernama

Relatives Ask to Appoint Their Own Private Investigator

By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 13, 2007; Page B03

The relatives of more than a dozen victims of the Virginia Tech massacre may want to hire their own private investigator to sit on the panel reviewing the shooting to guarantee its work is focused and objective, their attorney said yesterday.

Thomas J. Fadoul Jr., a Vienna lawyer for the families, said relatives have asked that state officials appoint the investigator to the panel “but be responsible to us and take direction from us.”

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Some members of the panel, shown June 11 at GMU, say they have reservations about adding a member.
Some members of the panel, shown June 11 at GMU, say they have reservations about adding a member. (By Susan Biddle — The Washington Post)
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Fadoul made his request late Monday night during a contentious meeting between family members and W. Gerald Massengill, the chairman of the panel, and Larry Roberts, chief counsel to Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D).

The meeting occurred after the relatives of 13 of the 32 victims released a statement Monday saying they felt “ostracized” by the panel and Kaine.

Instead of focusing on Virginia Tech’s response to the shooting and questions such as why the campus was not closed after the initial reports of gunfire, the family members said they fear the panel is bogged down by what they consider to be extraneous issues.

“It is going completely away from the issue of accountability. . . . We want someone right there with them, every time they meet, to steer the investigation,” Fadoul said. “Investigations are all about where they are steered.”

Fadoul would not identify who they would like to place on the panel, but he said he knows several investigators, including one who served as an expert witness on the commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Late last night, Fadoul said he is hopeful that he and Roberts will come to an agreement soon. He said the relatives may drop their demands for the investigator if “they can get the same thing accomplished by some other means.”

Kevin Hall, a spokesman for Kaine, said last night, “We continue to explore with these families what may be an appropriate way for them to continue to participate in the work of the independent review panel.”

Kaine has requested a meeting with all the family members in the next two weeks.

Massengill maintained yesterday that he has reservations about adding more people to the panel.

He said he “adamantly opposes” placing one of the relatives on the panel because he wants to make sure its “recommendations are made free of perceptions that they are being driven by the wrong reasons.”

By ALEX HEBERT, SUN MEDIA

Counterfeiters beware: The NHL’s version of big brother is watching you.

The NHL has a private investigator at games and around town, sniffing out counterfeiters trying to sell you that “authentic” jersey for $20.

“Any time the level of excitement goes up, people are out there looking to capitalize on that and we focus on trying to limit the amount of counterfeit products being sold in our Stanley Cup markets,” said Michael Gold, an attorney for NHL Enterprises.

He says an NHL private investigator is working alongside the RCMP in an attempt to curb the spike in counterfeit merchandise that accompanies the Stanley Cup final.

The investigator follows the teams along their Stanley Cup run, keeping an eye on stadium parking lots during games and flea markets and other commercial outlets on off days.

“(Counterfeit merchandise) can be anywhere,” Gold said. “But, generally, they’re being sold out of knapsacks or the back of vans.”

SUBSTANDARD QUALITY

Apart from hurting legitimate businesses, buying knock-off merchandise bites the consumer because the quality is usually substandard.

Gold says the most popular counterfeit items are T-shirts and ball caps and to always buy them from legitimate retailers.

Consumers should look for an NHL hologram sticker on their merchandise and be wary of ripped tags and too-good-to-be-true prices.

Gold remembers one Buffalo fan who bought a T-shirt that had Sabres spelled incorrectly on it. “That would be telltale sign,” he said.

SAN DIEGO — The accused kidnapper of a San Diego private investigator appeared in federal court Monday, 10News reported.

Humberto Iribe allegedly lured private eye Richard Post to Mexico in August 1998, according to authorities.

Post was brutally beaten and tortured. The Mexican government said Iribe was paid $50,000 to kidnap Post.

Authorities said they believe Iribe worked for Kimberly Bailey, who is now serving life in prison for her involvement in Post’s kidnapping and slaying.

Bailey was first profiled on 10News for selling “Bio Frequency” machines that could vibrate away diseases.

The scam was profitable and might have been one of the motives for the killing, authorities said.

In a follow-up to this week’s story “A Dick Move”, private investigators won a battle—but not the war—to ensure all their travel expenses are paid by the state when they do public defense work.

Washington County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Kohl ruled in a hearing May 10 that the state Office of Public Defense Services should pay all travel expenses for Tillamook P-I Dave Panter while he investigates an aggravated murder case for a public defender in Hillsboro.

The OPDS, which pays public defenders and the investigators they hire, had refused to pay Panter $34 an hour plus gas to travel to Hillsboro. They told the public defender, Ray Cassel, to save money by hiring a local investigator instead. Cassel challenged the decision in court and won, saying Panter was the best investigator for the job.

Private eyes from around the state were watching the case. They say in capital murder cases like this one, it’s important for public defenders to hire the best investigators available, regardless of where they live. The difference could be life or death for impoverished suspects who rely on public defense.

Investigators hoped the challenge would set a legal precedent, but Judge Kohl said his decision applies to the current case only. Cassel is defending Ricardo Serrano, a 31-year-old Aloha man accused of killing Melody Dang and her two sons in suburban Washington County last year. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Panter told WW he’s pleased he can help defend the case, but he had hoped to accomplish more by challenging OPDS. Instead they could try to deny travel expenses for investigators again in the future.

“I was kind of hoping it would be a cause célèbre for the entire investigative community,” Panter said. “But it didn’t go there. It kind of left the door open.”

05/02/07
Walker County Messanger
Tim Carlfeldt

Lamar Weaver has seen a lot in his work as a private investigator, enough that he feels law enforcement authorities should charge ex-LaFayette police sergeant Sam Parker with murder in the case of his missing wife Theresa.

“You don’t need a body to convict,” Weaver said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “There are many other details on which a prosecutor can build a case with circumstantial evidence. There are prevailing facts that would convince a jury that a crime has been committed.”

Weaver, 79, compared the Parker investigation to the 1994 Georgia murder case of Shannon Melendi, a student at Emory University. Despite the lack of a body, in 2005 prosecutors obtained the conviction of Colvin Hinton.

Although he had been a suspect for years, Hinton, who had previously served prison time for abducting women, wasn’t charged until 2004. He confessed to kidnapping, raping and killing Melendi the year after his conviction.

“With the background in (the Parker) case and the evidence that apparently has been gathered, I feel that authorities are doing nothing but dragging their feet by not charging (Sam) with killing his wife,” said Weaver.

Who is Lamar Weaver? In his nearly 80 years Lamar Weaver, who resides in Marietta, has led a varied life which includes being an ordained minister working for civil rights in Birmingham, a newspaper reporter, and working on presidential political campaigns. As an investigator he has worked on cases for the U.S. Department of Justice. He has authored two books, “Bury My Heart in Birmingham” and “Tombstones I Have Known.”

He cited as a potential linchpin in the case the arrest of Sam Parker’s fellow officer Harbin “Ben” Chaffin for lying to investigators.

“If he was an accessory in any way, then his career in law enforcement is over, and he should come clean and let everyone get on with it.” Weaver said.

Adding to the list of circumstantial evidence, Weaver pointed to Sam Parker’s alleged history of domestic violence and his bragging that he knows how to dispose of a body where it can never be found.

District attorney Herbert “Buzz” Franklin of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit has disqualified his office from possible prosecution of the Parker case.

In a letter to the state attorney general Franklin revealed that people in his office had close working and personal relationships with Sam Parker.

Franklin also wrote that “evidence gathered so far … suggests Theresa Parker may have been killed by Sam Parker.”

Weaver said he feels that friends should try to convince Sam Parker to turn himself in. “With a plea bargain he could avoid the death penalty, and we could get this woman back, give her a Christian burial and let her family and the community move on.”

Weaver said that until a suspect is in custody, it is important to increase the reward money as much as possible, and said the business community should be prevailed upon to help more.

The World Today - Tuesday, 1 May , 2007 12:50:00
Reporter: Jane Cowan

ELEANOR HALL: An alleged conman accused of defrauding Victorian investors of millions of dollars will be extradited back to Australia after being arrested in Canada.

Gabrial Pennicott was nabbed in British Columbia after disgruntled investors hired a private investigator to track him halfway around the world.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is continuing to investigate but one consumer advocate has criticised the authority for being too slow to act.

And it’s unclear whether the latest development makes it any more likely that investors will get their money back.

In Melbourne, Jane Cowan reports.

JANE COWAN: Retired Melbourne school teacher Frances McMenomy lost her mother’s inheritance when she parted with $300,000 after attending a seminar run by a very convincing businessman called Gabrial Pennicott.

FRANCES MCMENOMY: I thought I was investing in a project to develop a block of units on Phillip Island, but that project was a blind, it was never meant to be. I’ve had to sell my home and pay back the various loan companies and things.

I’ve settled everything. I owe nothing now, but I don’t own my own home anymore.

JANE COWAN: In desperation, Frances McMenomy and a small group of other out-of-pocket investors eventually hired a private investigator to track down the man who sold them the scheme.

Gabrial Pennicot has now been arrested in British Columbia, wanted by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on 47 corporate related charges.

The Attorney-General Philip Ruddock promises the Australian Government will extradite him.

But the West Australian Consumer Advocate Denise Brailey says it shouldn’t have taken so long to act against a man who’s thought to have taken a total of almost $20 million from innocent investors.

DENISE BRAILEY: I have no idea why it’s taken this amount of time. It’s disappointing that these cases aren’t dealt with when the first complaints start to arrive.

JANE COWAN: Over the last 15 years Denise Brailey helped expose financial scandals in three states before she discovered the work of Gabrial Pennicott.

She says the first complaints were made about the one-time associate of discredited property promoter Henry Kaye in 2001 and his seminars were held inside the ASIC building in Melbourne.

DENISE BRAILEY: Delays of this sort can mean that the person of interest is actually wandering over to other parts of the world.

There’s people overseas at risk then. What other activities these people may be up to, we don’t know.

JANE COWAN: What’s your advice to people who’ve lost money about hiring their own investigators as opposed to leaving it to ASIC?

DENISE BRAILEY: Well I think gathering groups of this nature around Australia and putting them together for the past 10 years, and I’ve actually been encouraging them to do that because ASIC had lack of will, a distinct lack of will to look into anymore than 17 cases of criminal interest.

There was only 17 prosecutions. They say there was 95 per cent success rate. That mean they only prosecuted 18. So there was a deplorable lack of investigations.

JANE COWAN: ASIC turned down an invitation to respond to Denise Brailey’s criticisms.

Graeme Samuel chairs the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

GRAEME SAMUEL: Look they proliferate all around the world and particularly with the ubiquitous nature of the Internet; they’re becoming a bit more common and popping up through the Internet.

JANE COWAN: How can people avoid these sort of things? Because investors in this case say that they believe they did their due diligence, that they were given guarantees in writing, 100 per cent guarantees.

GRAEME SAMUEL: Look, I think the first thing is to be very careful about parting with your money. There is no such thing as a get rich quick scheme that is really genuine.

So if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is.

ELEANOR HALL: That’s ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel ending that report by Jane Cowan.

Volunteers needed to search for Nicole Hoar’s remains

By CARY CASTAGNA, Sun Media

It could prove to be a massive break in the mysterious disappearance of a Red Deer woman on B.C.’s infamous Highway of Tears.

Ray Michalko, a Vancouver-based private investigator probing the baffling missing-persons case of Nicole Hoar, is turning his attention to an area of mostly bush just south of Highway 16 and west of Prince George.

“I’ve got three independent sources of information that are pointing to that direction,” Michalko, 59, told Sun Media Sunday.

Among the clues he will be looking for, Michalko hopes to find “clothing and human remains.”

The former Manitoba and North Vancouver RCMP officer said he will be focusing on a roughly two-square-kilometre area along Norman Lake Road, about 43 km west of Prince George.

But he can’t do it all himself.

Michalko is asking for volunteers interested in helping him search the out-of-the-way location.

“It’s far too big for me to consider doing it myself,” he said, adding he has already secured about half a dozen volunteers since scouting the area two weeks ago.

Michalko has also contacted the RCMP and Prince George Search and Rescue, but he isn’t expecting any help from those agencies.

While there are some residents living in cottages in the general area he plans to search, Michalko said there is next to no pedestrian traffic.

The search is slated to start at 9 a.m. local time on May 12.

Michalko is asking volunteers to meet him at the junction of Highway 16 and Norman Lake Road.

“Each volunteer should come equipped with drinking water, lunch, an object that can be used to prod the ground and greenery – such as a ski pole – and rain gear if necessary, as there is no shelter or other facilities available and the search will occur rain or shine,” he said.

Hoar’s parents couldn’t be reached for comment Sunday on the surprise development.

“This is a tough thing for the family involved,” Michalko said, admitting the search could come up empty.

“It’s a needle in a haystack. But just because of the information I’ve got, I’m compelled to look.”

Hoar was 25 years old when she vanished June 21, 2002, while hitchhiking on Highway 16 from Prince George to Smithers to visit her sister. She had been working in B.C. as a tree planter.

The highway, now known as the Highway of Tears, has been a Bermuda Triangle for hitchhikers.

Nine women have been murdered or have disappeared since 1990 from communities that dot the largely remote corridor that stretches almost 750 km from Prince George to Prince Rupert.

Hoar is the only non-native woman of the nine.

cary.castagna@sunmedia.ca

Published 04/29/2007 By JAMES BROOKS

It’s night in the city and a female shape is silhouetted through the glass of a second floor office door.

“My husband’s cheating on me,” she said as she came through the door.

“Why would he do that?” A guy would have to be crazy to cheat on a dame like this. Her slinky red dress showed she had all the right equipment to keep anybody at home.

It’s the classic opening for a thousand private eye stories, novels and movies. People haven’t changed, but techniques today are different.

PIs, or private investigators, are mostly retired police officers, just like the movies. However many of them are working out of a home office that is run by their wives while they are working.

A half dozen PIs are listed in the yellow pages. Others can only be found on the Internet, and some aren’t listed anywhere.

“How did you find my number?” asked Jerry Wheeler, a retired FBI agent who works primarily through contacts with attorneys or other personal contacts.

Surveillance is the major tool, and today it is most likely done with a stabilized video camera with an 800x lens taken through a privacy glass from a nondescript van.

Wheeler says retirement didn’t work for him. “I don’t golf, and I love investigation work. Being a PI is little different from working for the FBI. You’re still a fact finder who is getting to the truth. I leave it to the client and the attorney to draw conclusions. I am not an expert witness.”

“It is very similar to being an FBI agent,” Wheeler said. “You have to know the law, and whether you are gathering preponderance of evidence for a civil suit, or proof beyond a reasonable doubt for criminal activity.”

PIs have to be licensed by the state and that requires passing an exam, but there are no education requirements.

John Edwards, a retired police officer from Ohio, worked for Wheeler before branching out on his own. His bread and butter between surveillance jobs is process serving in Washington and Sullivan counties. “I do the more difficult cases,” he said.

The bulk of the work is workers’ compensation and insurance fraud. “I’m getting more and more domestic cases, however,” he said.

Like the fictional PI, the real-life investigator sometimes has to question the motives of the client, especially with domestic cases.

“I ask, ‘What do you want to do with the information?’ ” Wheeler said. “If they say they want to get a divorce I tell them you don’t need an investigator for that. The courts don’t seem to care, so why waste the money proving something you don’t need? Most just need to know for their own reasons.”

Edwards recalls a client from Johnson City who was apparently seeing another man’s wife on out-of-state business trips. “He had the guy’s name and said he just wanted a picture so he’d know what he looks like. That sent up red flags and I turned him down.”

A PI has to have a client and has to be part of a company. State licensing standards don’t recognize licensed PIs who free-lance. However, Wheeler said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation does an annual seminar for PIs on workers’ comp fraud. “They want those cases passed on for prosecution,” he said.

Sometimes the PI turns down a case because he’s not needed. “I had a factory with an internal theft problem. They already had security cameras in place and their policy required workers to take a polygraph test if something improper comes up,” Edwards said.

Background checks on professional athletes and business executives keep some agencies busy, but they involve the sort of ongoing relationships that take time to build up.

“I usually get approached by individuals before they go to an attorney,” Edwards said of domestic cases. “They think something is going on but they’re not sure.”

It’s a shadowy world, and most investigators like it that way. Neither would consent to have his photo taken, for instance.

“It’s not a television show, it’s real,” Wheeler said. “I became an FBI agent when I was 23 and retired when I was 50. What a great career it was, and today I still look forward to going to work.”

The rise in multi-million pound settlements means it’s boom time for those who are paid to dig the dirt. Patrick Collinson reports

Saturday April 28, 2007
The Guardian

Meet the men who can find out pretty much anything about anybody. Paul Hawkes and Martin Tomlins-Young run one of Britain’s leading private investigation agencies - and business is booming.

A report by accountants Grant Thornton this week found that private investigators were hired during half the divorce proceedings in Britain last year, with wives (and it’s predominantly women) willing to pay upwards of £200 an hour to prove their husband is a love rat. And as multi-million pound divorce settlements become more common, it is private eyes who take on the job of uncovering where the cash has been stashed.

The duo work out of a suitably anonymous building in Notting Hill, west London, directing teams of surveillance agents who, for a fee starting at £55 per agent per hour, will trail cheating husbands and wives to bars and restaurants, video secret liaisons and make covert recordings using the latest devices hidden anywhere from tie-pins and handbags to personal organisers and CD players.

The bad news for suspicious wives is that if you think your partner is playing away, you’re almost certainly right.

“In my 30 years of private investigation, there has been only one case where the client was wrong and there wasn’t any evidence of infidelity by the man. And I’ve done hundreds and hundreds of investigations,” says Hawkes, founder of Research Associates, also known as AAPM Investigations.

But people only call when they are “at the end of their tether”, says Hawkes, so the pair often play more agony aunt than Magnum PI.

“We’re not counsellors, but we do approach everything with a high degree of sensitivity. Some investigators are a lot more naive. They find the evidence, then get on the phone to the client and say ‘hooray, we’ve got ‘em’. But it’s not a hooray. It means their marriage is in deep trouble,” says Tomlins-Young.

The initial meeting with a client can be emotional. “Typically, people come from a relationship where everything was once fine and dandy. But then odd things start happening, discrepancies here and there, and new patterns of behaviour start to emerge. Your partner is suddenly not available at certain times, or they go to places where they can’t be contacted or leave their phone turned off. Each thing is not that important, but it all starts to add up.

“The biggest giveaway is when they change the way they use their mobile phone. Suddenly it never leaves their sight - because they don’t want you to see messages and the numbers called. They even take it into the bathroom with them. That’s a dead giveaway,” said Tomlins-Young.

Each surveillance operation is different. Some can take weeks and involve as many as 12 agents, and cost £20,000 or more. A minimum of two agents are assigned to each case.

“They are mostly ex-army or ex Customs & Excise. They know how to stick like glue to someone just 50 yards away.” The suspect adulterer is tailed from their office, usually on a motorbike, but the company also has a covert black cab.

“We take footage of couples at dinner. Often we’ll be sitting right next to them in a restaurant, videoing and recording. We’re on the lookout for certain types of body language. A kiss isn’t enough. That could be explained away as platonic. But it’s much more difficult to explain away holding hands under the table.”

But the agents will only go so far. “We never go into people’s bedrooms. It just doesn’t happen that we catch people ‘on the job’, so to speak.”

Breaking into personal property, hacking into personal computers and obtaining bank details is, of course, illegal. Research Associates is keen to stress that it has good relationships with police and adheres strictly to the Data Protection Act.

“We work in conjunction with accountants. If the computer is shared marital property, we can take a copy of the hard drive and search for evidence.

“We find that husbands (and wives) will try to hide their assets in the most convoluted ways. Sometimes it’s as simple as following someone to a branch of Western Union to see if they’re transferring money abroad. But more often it’s about finding property they don’t own up to.

Surprisingly, not all relationships fall apart when the evidence is presented. “When people sit down and talk about the dynamics of their relationship, they are horrified about what they are about to lose. It’s alluring to have an affair with someone which never involves the washing up or the mortgage. But the reality is very different, and when faced with the loss of all that ‘mundane’ stuff in their life, it all starts to look beautiful again.”

But Tomlins-Young adds: “It’s not uncommon to have women come to us after their husband has admitted to an affair, to check that it’s not still going on.”

Around 65% of Research Associates’ clients are female and 35% male. One thing that marks out male clients is that they are often interested only in obtaining the contact details of their wife’s lover. A quick call to his wife then follows, clobbering the relationship before it goes further.

Hawkes says some of his male clients are members of Families Need Fathers, and his job involves tracing children and addresses. But he always asks if there is a restraining order and will go ahead only when the instructions come via a solicitor.

Most clients are wealthy rather than famous. But one day Quentin Tarantino called. Their first reaction was that it was a bogus call, but it wasn’t. “He wanted us to trace a woman he’d met at the Cannes film festival. It didn’t take us long.”

· Research Associates are on 020 7854 9000 or go to investigationservices.co.uk. For the Association of British Investigators go to theabi.org.uk.

Honey, I stung your husband

An attractive woman passes you in a bar, accidentally spilling her drink on your suit. She apologises profusely, offering to buy you a beer. You strike up a conversation, and find yourself getting on rather well. But it’s not an innocent encounter - you’ve been snared in the “honeytrap”.

Arabella Mazzuki runs minx007.com, a detective agency that specialises in entrapment. Suspicious wives and girlfriends pay her team (prices start at £50) to ambush their partners and check out their fidelity. While her burly minder sits nearby (taking covert photos and recordings) the honeytrapper slips in a series of questions. Are you married? Can I have your mobile phone number? Do you want to come back to my place?

Clients include a woman living in Australia who wants to check up on her partner in Britain.

“The men never admit they’re married. A stroke of the leg here, batting eyelids there, is all it takes,” says Ms Mazzuki. There are limits, however. “We’re regularly asked to go on stag nights, but we refuse. I tell the client that if you can’t trust him, why are you marrying him?”

The “damsel in distress” trick is another ploy used by minx007. You have a flat tyre outside the target’s home, and seek his help. Your hands get all greasy - so you have to nip into his bathroom. Cue search for any evidence of another woman.

“I know a lot of people look down their noses at us, saying we’re lower than escorts. But our clients are always relieved to find the evidence,” says Ms Mazzuki.

p.collinson@guardian.co.uk