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Not all Case Management Systems are Created Equal
Should You Believe Your Client
Contracts and Common Sense
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t’s hard to believe that another year has gone by at PI Magazine. We have proudly continued the tradition of a great magazine while adding some new departments for our readers. To recap the year, along with informative departments and great features, we have returned and added a number of new departments to PI Magazine. PI Perspective focuses on general topics and areas of interest in the world of private investigations written from the perspective of various professional investigators. Our PI Gear Review is a department dedicated to the review of new equipment available to PIs. In each issue we NICOLE CUSANELLI, M.A. highlight, review, and give a straightforward opinion on a piece of equipment useful to the professional investigator. The PI Agency Profile department profiles leading agencies and professional investigators nationwide. This has not only been instrumental in promoting networking between professional investigators, but has allowed these investigators and their agencies to advance their own businesses with clients. Book Spotlight features a different book in each issue that is relevant to professional investigators and the selections are written by members of our readership who are also not only professional investigators themselves, but accomplished authors. In this last issue of 2018, we have added a section titled “Conference Corner”. Here is where we get an opportunity to acknowledge the various professional investigator state association conferences occurring nationwide throughout the year. In the new year, in addition to the PI Agency Profile, we will be adding a Professional Investigator State Association Profile. In each issue, a state association will be highlighted in PI Magazine to share what they have to offer to the existing and potential members of their association as well as to provide information about their annual conference. We have also launched a new website. Please visit us at www.pimagazine.com As we move into the new year, we encourage our readers to provide valuable input and suggestions. If you would like to contribute an article, informative video for the website, or promote your book, please contact Nicole at nicole@pimagazine.com As always, we thank you for your subscribership and look forward to seeing you soon!
Nicole Cusanelli
Nicole Cusanelli, M.A. Publisher, PI Magazine
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professional investigator magazine www.PImagazine.com (ISBN# 1553-3727) November/December 2018 Volume 18, Number 6 • Magazine #160 EDITORIAL Nicole Cusanelli & James Nanos Publishers Stephanie Biddle Managing Editor Sean Ruck Copy Editor Jimmie N. Mesis, LPI, BAI Associate Editor Contributing Writers: Frank G. Anderson, Mark E. Battersby, Daniel J. Demers, Robert A. Epstein, Thomas Fischer, Bruce H. Hulme, Francie Koehler, Jim Nanos, W. B. Nixon, Robert Orozco, Mike Pugh, Michael Sankey, Stephanie Savoy, ServeNow Staff, Kevin Toal, Karhrman Ziegenbein ART Corporate Imagination www,.corporateimagination.com GENERAL MAILING ADDRESS PI Magazine Inc. 542 Cross Keys Rd. Unit #3-228 Sicklerville, NJ 08081 Tel: (856) 566-0400 info@pimagazine.com Editorial Submissions:
Writer’s guidelines, themes and deadlines are at www.pimagazine. com (editor’s page). PI Magazine Inc, will not assume responsibility for unsolicited or unpublished manuscripts, artwork, photographs or material it receives. It reserves the right to use or not use any and all of the materials considered for publication. PI Magazine Inc., shall not be responsible for lost manuscripts or photos.This publication is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any manner without permission of the publisher. Reasonable efforts are made to provide accurate and useful information, but the reader must make his or her own investigations and decisions.The publisher and editorial staff cannot assume any responsibility or liability for the use of information contained herein. PI Magazine Inc., shall not be responsible for any claims, products or services sold or promoted by advertisers. PI Magazine (USPS# 23261) is published bimonthly by PI Magazine, Inc., 3311 New Jersey Avenue, 2nd floor, Wildwood, NJ 08260. Periodicals postage paid at Cape May County Courthouse, NJ 08210 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: PI Magazine, 542 Cross Keys Road Unit #3-228, Sicklerville, NJ 08081. Subscription rates payable in U.S. dollars, checks drawn on U.S. banks, or by credit card. USA,Territories & Possessions - $39/yr., $65/two yrs., Single/back issues $7.95 each. Canada-$55/yr., Foreign - $75/yr., Digital only $24/yr. © 2018 PI Magazine Inc. All Rights Reserved Printed in U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at Cape May Court House, NJ 08210 and at additional mailing offices.
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CONTENTS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
FEATURES
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NOT ALL CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ARE CREATED EQUAL By James Nanos In this article, we provide an overview of several of the more popular Case Management Systems that are available.
PRIVATE INVESTIGATION ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTS BAND TOGETHER TO FORM NATIONAL ASSOCIATION COMBATTING CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING
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10 6 CONTRACTS AND COMMON SENSE
By Frank G. Anderson Some things to consider as you enter into an agreement to provide investigation services.
IN EVERY ISSUE Advertisers Index..........................................................................................68
SHOULD YOU BELIEVE YOUR CLIENT
By Thomas Fischer Clients are not always forthcoming with relevant facts of their case. Here are some things to keep in mind as you move forward.
DEPARTMENTS PI GEAR 14 RD-10 AND RD-30 LAWMATE BUG DETECTORS BUSINESS 16 ATTRACTING WORKERS AFFORDABLY By Mark E. Battersby 20 THE YEAR IN REVIEW: LOOKING BACK TO PLAN AHEAD By Stephanie Savoy
BOOK SPOTLIGHT 22 SKIP TRACING BASICS & BEYOND: A COMPLETE STEP-BY -STEP GUIDE FOR LOCATING HIDDEN ASSETS PROCESS SERVING 24 TIPS AND RESOURCES FOR MASTERING ONLINE RESEARCH By Servenow Staff 26 WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND By Kevin Toal
PI Bookstore................................................................................................... 23 PI Conference Corner................................................................................64 PI Resources.....................................................................................................66 PI Seminars & Conference Calendar..................................................65 Public Records Update...............................................................................54
PI LAW 38 QUALITIES OF AN IDEAL PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR FOR FAMILY LAW MATTERS By Robert A. Epstein INVESTIGATING INNOCENCE 40 RODNEY LINCOLN FREED AFTER SPENDING 36 YEARS IN PRISON By Bill Clutter PI AGENCY PROFILE 44 POWERHOUSE PI – A GLIMMER INTO THE WORLD OF SHEILA WYSOCKI INTERNET FYI 46 THE GRAND TOUR OF THE WORLD OF ONLINE INVESTIGATIONS 2.0 By Karhrman Ziegenbein
BACKGROUNDING 50 THE OPIOID CRISIS’ IMPACT ON HIRING By W.B. Nixon PI 101 53 STRESS MANAGEMENT By Mike Pugh LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 56 NCISS By Francie Koehler 60 I SPLA By Bruce H. Hulme
PI PERSPECTIVE 58 TRADITIONAL INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES IN MODERN TIMES By Robert Orozco PI HISTORY 62 HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR By Daniel Demers
Contracts and Common Sense BY FRANK G. ANDERSON
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n any agreement between contracting parties, three things are paramount – mutual understanding, mutual trust and mutual commitment to contract terms; thus, intent and expectations are in play. When they are unclear, violated for any variety of reasons or not even spelled out in a contract, then trouble is brewing. Thus, client/investigator consultations come first where verbal and written (these are probably more often part of the actual contract) memorandum of understandings are required. A Facebook entry recently came to my attention where a PI’s client had taken it upon himself to share the investigator’s personal information and content of investigation with the surveilled party. This and my own recent watching of “The Founder” where the original McDonald’s founders thought they had an iron-clad agreement with Ray Kroc, led me to sit down and write this article on private investigation contracts, expectations, recourse and guarantees when a contract between client and investigator is made. First, never enter into an agreement with a client to perform investigation without a discussion of all details in writing. Handshakes or verbal agreements in lieu of a written contract are poison. Second, assess your client not only as a client, but as a person and as a potential risk. Being able to judge people when you meet them is important. You and s/he/they are both about to enter into a legal agreement that binds, obligates, limits and defines both of you. It is essential that you and the client are singing off the same sheet and in tune with the music about to play. In the case of the earlier-cited client going off and sharing confidential information without approval from the investigator, the initial blame goes to the client. But again, what did the investigator do or not do or say that led to this development? And – now that such an investigator could face possible litigation from the person investigated, what recourse, protection, or rights are at his disposal? Did the client not have a right to do anything he wanted with the information given him? If you are prepared to enter into an agreement to provide investigation services, here is a short list of essentials to include (actual provisions depend on details of each case). As a non-lawyer, I caution that this is not – nor should be – construed as legal advice. For legal advice you need to consult with an attorney. In fact, if you are a private investigator and are either drafting a contract for the first time or updating an existing one, you should have an attorney take a look when you are done to offer advice that will help safeguard your interests. On to the list with items not necessarily in order of priority! 1. Consultation stage: Before the contract is developed and signed, the private investigator and client will sit down to discuss services requested, dos and don’ts, 2. Identify clear description of services to be rendered and brief description of client request, reason for the investigation, wording that shows the client empowers the investigator to proceed with the investigation as per terms agreed to. Right at the beginning it should be clear whether or not the client has intentions to litigate. It can make a difference in court with information obtained being ruled as privileged or not. 3. Use a non-disclosure provision whereby the client agrees to treat all information in confidence and not to release any to third parties – including the subject – unless otherwise agreed to or because laws say otherwise. A standard clause in this regard might take the form of “Client agrees to safeguard release of information obtained by “agency (investigator)” from release to third parties, in accordance with applicable laws, statutes,” etc. Ability to enforce such a provision is a question. Most practicing PIs I queried have indicated that while a provision like this can be included in the contract, violation by the client may
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“
The be st pos legally sible w bindin ay g cont ract is to ensure yo to con sult w u have a so ith an li attorn d and ey. be something that cannot be penalized. Basically, the claimant investigator would have to show actual damage or resulting threat of violence, etc., sufficient for a court to rule that the client’s release of the information did in fact result in loss or damage to the investigator. A lawyer I know casually indicated that in his view, information that the PI provides to the client belongs to the client, and as a result, the client can do with the information as s/he wishes. That’s one view. 4. Include a statement by the client that s/he is not under any legal prohibitions – such as restraining order, etc. – that would prohibit him/her from entering into the particular investigation agreement with you. Make this a part of an indemnification agreement where you, the investigator, are protected and not liable for things you should not be liable for. 5. Add terms that relate to violation of the contract – who shall be held liable for violations and how resolution of violations will be handled – through binding arbitration, litigation, mutual voiding of contract, etc. Violations should be defined as specifically as needed and as generically as called for. You need to determine whether any possible litigation against you or the client should be held in your geographic location or not. For example, your client may be in Florida, and you are normally domiciled in New York. 6. Scope of work, costs and expected duration of services should be clear – legalities, ethics, viability. As well, a provision should be included that clearly indicates when certain services are extra and will require additional payment and/or contract amendment. Also, the issue of possible contract amendment and how it shall be done might also be covered in the agreement. All rates, provisions for covering costs of mileage, special purchases or expenses, etc., have to be clear. 7. Speaking of contract amendment, investigators might want to consider an addendum to the contract for use with law enforcement agencies. This document is often a single page jointly signed, briefly worded agreement that identifies the client and investigator, shows that the client has made a legal request for investigation services. It should include contact information of both the investigator and the client. Obviously, one item of interest to include will be the private investigator’s license number! One area where such a document would come in handy is if police are told by the subject that you are stalking him or her. The document clearly shows this is not the case, that you are a professional working for a client. 8. Review online sources for sample contracts. There are hundreds of links. Many will not apply to you and have irrelevant information, but many will also provide great insight, helpful hints and good ideas. Most people Google – I don’t. I use Yahoo search, sometimes Dogpile. Type in terms like “in
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”
vestigation contracts” or private investigator contract” and so on. 9. Non-interference clause. Sometimes the PI/client contract will contain a non-interference provision where the client agrees not to interfere in the investigation in any manner and will be held liable if doing so. Examples include contacting field investigators during surveillance, repeated telephone calls, using others to conduct client’s own investigation on the same subject, etc. 10. In considering your client, (second item in this article) address due diligence. Whenever you are engaged to conduct an investigation, you may find it in your interests to conduct some due diligence on your client. What public records are available, what conflict of interests might exist, has the client any criminal history, does the client have any media profile involving suits, financial issues, or other matters that could possibly complicate your relationship and even place your interests at risk? Do other public records bear any scrutiny as far as your client is concerned, such as DMV, tax, vital statistics, court records, etc.? Another important area is social media. What have the client and the subject been doing on Facebook, Twitter, and other web media? Does any of it seem strange and does it warrant further assessment? As indicated above, the best possible way to ensure you have a solid and legally binding contract is to consult with an attorney specialized in the area of private investigation contracts and work out something that befits your own work. You are always free to write your own contract, but from my experience, when people get into trouble with the law or someone else, it’s because they did not get a lawyer at the beginning. Good luck! Frank G. Anderson is a freelance writer and editor, and a former insurance claim investigator based in Thailand. Fluent in Thai, he and his Thai wife for several years conducted “Hart-to-Hart” style investigations in various regions of the country, interviewing, obtaining vital documents, gathering photographic evidence and ascertaining claims validity. He also founded and edited northeast Thailand’s first English language newspaper and worked for a time with a premier law firm in Bangkok as its English language editor. He retired from the Government Affairs Organization of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company where he worked 19 years.
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Should You Believe Your Client BY THOMAS FISCHER
BY THOMAS E. FISCHER
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pon being retained by an attorney to conduct an investigation in a criminal case, I review the police reports as well as other additional discovery. This assists in identifying the problems or loopholes that the police may have had when they conducted their investigation of the matter. I then meet with the client and attorney in person to review the case. I observe the body language of the
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client, as well as what the client is telling me. I attempt to determine if what the client is saying is fact or fiction, or if he/she is holding back information. In my 30 years in law enforcement and seven years as a private investigator specializing in criminal defense cases, I have interviewed thousands of individuals. This includes suspects, witness and now, clients. I have never had a case as unique as the one I am going to describe in this article. On Sunday, July 19, 2015, at approximately 10:35 P.M., a 15-year-old male was walking
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home from a friend’s house. A black male suspect approached him at gunpoint and forced the victim behind some bushes, just feet away from a highly-traveled road in Brown Deer, Wisconsin. The suspect then performed a sexual act on the victim (without the victim’s consent). During the assault, the victim had given the suspect his name and told the suspect that he was a good student and played basketball. After the assault, the suspect handed the victim two $20.00 bills and told the victim he would look for him in the NBA. The suspect then fled
the scene on foot. The victim was able to give the police a physical description of the suspect. However, the police checked the area for the suspect with negative results. DNA was recovered from the victim’s undershorts during the investigation. A search of the DNA records in the National database, as well as the State of Wisconsin database, revealed no hits on the recovered DNA specimen. Approximately one month after the sexual assault occurred, the victim received a friend
request on Facebook from Jermarro Dantzler. Upon reviewing the profile of Dantzler, the victim believed that this was the person who had sexually assaulted him. The victim and his mother then reported this to the Brown Deer Police Department. Upon conducting the investigation into Dantzler, the Detectives from the Brown Deer Police Department learned that Dantzler was the owner/operator of a group home in the City of Milwaukee. Additionally, they discovered that the group home had several unsubstantiated allegations of sexual assaults by individuals employed by Dantzler. It was also noted that Dantzler did not have any felony or misdemeanor convictions on his record. Based on the victim’s statement and identification of Dantzler as the suspect in this offense, Dantzler was arrested at his residence. During the interview of Dantzler by detectives, Dantzler denied being involved in the sexually assault. Subsequently, a search warrant was executed to obtain a DNA sample from Dantzler. Dantzler gave investigators a statement detailing his activities of what he did on the day the incident occurred. Dantzler also told investigators that he had substituted for the Milwaukee Public School System and was recognized by many due to is involvement in the community. Also, that he and his wife fostered troubled teenagers. Dantzler indicated that he also had problems with an adopted child, PD. Dantzler related that in the past that child has made several false allegations to law enforcement officers. Additionally, that PD has coached other children in his foster homes to make false allegations against his employees and him. The DNA found on the victim’s undershorts was identified as that contributed by Dantzler. Based on the evidence and later the DNA found on the victim’s undershorts, Dantzler was charged with First Degree Child Sexual Assault While Armed. Eventually Dantzler was released on bail. After being released on bail and having an attorney represent Dantzler for the initial appearance in court, Dantzler hired attorney Syovata K. Edari for his representation. During Attorney Edari and Dantzler’s first meeting, they reviewed emails and texts that were sent by an anonymous person to Dantzler. The anonymous person wanted to extort money from Dantzler in order to stop further allegations made against him. I was hired to conduct an investigation into this incident in February of 2016. I first met with Dantzler at his residence to have him explain his alibi and how his DNA was recovered from the undershorts of the vic-
tim if he was not involved in the sexual assault. Dantzler stated that he could account for his whereabouts on the day that the offense occurred. I was given a list of alibi witnesses and was asked to interview those witnesses to verify his activities for that day. I asked Dantzler that although he may have friends who could give an account of his whereabouts prior to the assault occurring, how could he explain that his DNA was recovered from the victim’s clothing? Dantzler explained to me that one of his adopted children (PD) had requested money from him for help in supporting his new baby and Dantzler had refused his request. Since then, PD had been telling others that he would get Dantzler. PD was purported to be talking to several different individuals and asking that they file a false claim of sexual assault against Dantzler. Dantzler further related that when he was a child he had been locked in a closet and since that time did not like locking the doors to his residence. Dantzler’s son had access to the house and believed that his son recovered semen from when he and his wife had sex. The son then used the semen to put/plant on the victim’s undershorts. Dantzler believed that his son and the victim knew one another and that they were involved in setting him up. Although I felt that this scenario was unlikely, I did agree to interview several of Dantzler’s alibi witnesses that day, with Attorney Edari. Upon conducting interviews of several individuals that were with Dantzler on that day, I could account for his activity from early morning until 10:14 P.M. that Sunday evening. A witness that is identified as GJ indicated that he went to pick up pizza and Dantzler met him at the restaurant at approximately 10:30 P.M. The incident occurred at approximately 10:35 P.M. The distance between the restaurant and the address of the assault is 18.4 miles. The time frame was developed by interviewing the witnesses and obtaining times of telephone calls made with a witness that Dantzler had gotten a pizza with to eat at Dantzler’s residence. The receipt from the restaurant showed that the pizza was bought at 10:16 P.M. The person that waited on GJ at the restaurant was interviewed, but could not remember if one person or two arrived for the pizza. At 11:17 P.M., I observed a cell phone photo of Dantzler eating a piece of pizza at his house. Based on the alibi witness account, it raised questions as to how Dantzler could be involved, and more puzzling was how Dantzler’s DNA was found on the victim’s clothing. If the witness’ statement about him being with Dantzler was true, then how could the DNA evidence be explained? Further questions arose when I conducted a route investigation
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from where the victim had stated to investigators he was coming from and to the scene of the offense. The victim indicated that he had been walking home from a friend’s house when the assault occurred. Based on several different possible routes that the victim could have taken while walking home, it would have put the assault closer to 11:00 P.M. than 10:35 P.M. During the course of my investigation, I received evidence of an extortion conspiracy after the media broke the news about the case to the public in October of 2015. An unknown actor had texted Dantzler’s cell phone from a cell number (not published in this article) demanding $10,000 and threatening to wage more false allegations of rape if Dantzler didn’t pay. Between October and November of 2015, three text messages demanding money from a known cell phone number were received. When a former attorney that represented Dantzler attempted to have the Assistant District Attorney (ADA) that issued the criminal charges against Dantzler have the Brown Deer Police Department l o o k i n t o the extortion allegations, that ADA was advised by the Brown Deer PD that it would be a conflict of interest, and therefore would not do it at that time. The cell phone number would turn out to be a “burn out” cell phone and all subscribers to that cell phone number were interviewed and ruled out as being involved in the extortion scheme. Further, it was determined that Dantzler’s adopted son, PD, had sent out numerous emails under an alias requesting individuals help him “set up” Dantzler. These emails were copied and maintained and some of the recipients were interviewed by PI William Kohl. The person being interviewed, who is identified as JH, admitted knowing PD. Additionally, JH indicated that PD had told him that he wanted JH’s help to extort money from Dantzler. PD then advised JH that he would pay him to help in the extortion plan. In January of 2016, JH had contacted investigator Kohl and attorney Edari requested another meeting. At that meeting, JH provided several email messages between PD and himself pressuring JH to participate in the scheme to extort money by making false allegations of sexual abuse by Dantzler. This proved that PD had set up the sexual assault of the victim by having consensual sex with the victim and then wiping Dantzler’s semen on his underpants. These types of messages went on until late February of 2016, when PD divulged more and more of how he set up Dantzler. When JH would not help PD in this scheme, PD supposedly threatened his life. JH met with me to show me the threats he received via email from PD. Also, Attorney Edari, through research on her own, discovered that the victim and PD had closed their Facebook accounts and reopened them under different aliases. To make the incident more confusing, in March of 2016, I was advised
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by a witness, GJ, via cell phone, that he had observed a black female that may have been involved in helping set up Dantzler. Attorney Edari and I were in the area where the black female was supposed to be while we were checking other witness’s statements. The two of us located the black female. As I approached to question that person, I realized that the black female was in fact a transvestite who identified herself as “Toya.” After I identified myself, Toya immediately indicated that she knew that people were going to be looking for her regarding helping PD set up “that guy in the news” for the sexual assault of that young boy. Toya went on to tell me that PD had promised her $3,000 to obtain Dantzler’s semen so that she could use it to frame his foster father and extort money from him. Toya agreed to accompany me and attorney Edari to a location where she could be interviewed without interruptions. During the interview of Toya, she indicated that she knows both PD and the victim, EC, through a gay dating site on the internet. Toya indicated that she is a prostitute and it was arranged for her to meet up with Dantzler and witness GJ in order to obtain semen from Dantzler to be used in the fake sexual assault of the victim. Toya indicated that was done in order to get Dantzler in trouble with the police and to extort money from him. Toya claimed that she had been picked up by PD and the victim along with an unknown black female in PD’s car. They all drove around discussing how they would obtain the semen. Toya was advised by PD that Dantzler’s front door would be unlocked and that they could drive to Dantzler’s house on N. 60th Street and to check the house for semen from a condom. Toya claimed that they all drove to the residence and PD went into the house returning 15 minutes later with a used condom. Toya stated that they had been to the house on prior occasions but no one went in it because they were unsure if anyone else was at home. On the day that PD obtained the used condom it was Sunday and PD knew that everyone would be at church that morning. When they obtained the semen, PD put it on the victim’s underpants and later that night the victim reported to police the sexual assault. Toya had attempted to report this to the Brown Deer PD in October of 2015, but they did not believe her. When I attempted to contact the detectives from the Brown Deer PD in order to investigate and confirm the story told to us by Toya, I was advised that they had
no one available to interview the witness. I never did receive a telephone call back from the detectives to conduct the interview. Based on the evidence and interviews of over 15 witnesses during my investigation and the investigation of investigator Kohl, as well as with the permission of Dantzler, we turned over our investigation to investigators from the District Attorney’s office. This was done for several reasons. First, I do not have subpoena authority to obtain Facebook information needed to support the claim that our client and witnesses had told us. Secondly, after an exhausting search I was unable to locate JD for the possibility of interviewing him. Finally, if what had been told to us was true and it could be proven or disproven with additional evidence or supporting documentation, it was the responsibility of law enforcement to obtain the information which I could not because of my limitations as a private investigator. The client was advised previously that if he was not being truthful it could result in additional charges filed against him. The client demanded that we forward our investigation to the DA’s office in order to prove his innocence. With subpoena power that the DA’s investigators have and with picking up and interviewing witnesses over several days in which several different stories were told, it was found that our client had conspired with several other individuals to create the illusion that his foster son PD had set this all up. Based on the investigation, Dantzler was charged with additional charges of conspiracy to commit perjury and bail jumping. Dantzler later plead guilty and was sentenced to 18 years in the Wisconsin Prison System. (At the time of this writing the case is being appealed). What I learned about conducting the investigation into this offense is that your client is not always going to be honest with you about the facts of what occurred. We do have a responsibility to investigate what the cli-
ent told you happened, but remember that he or she may have a reason to leave out facts or simply mislead you. Even with 38 years of conducting criminal investigations and interviewing thousands of people, I put blinders on in this investigation because of the emails, interviews of witnesses and texts that were recovered supporting the client’s story. In summary, investigate the facts as given to you by your client and follow up on all leads that you have gathered through witness statements and evidence obtained, to enable you to present to their attorney giving them the most of what they can do in the best interest of their client. Thomas Fischer has been providing investigative services for over 38 years. He is currently accredited as a Certified Legal Investigator by the National Association of Legal Investigators (NALI), an accomplishment shared with less than 70 active investigators worldwide. Mr. Fischer owns and operates Thomas Fischer Investigations LLC, a highly-regarded private investigative agency with a diverse roster of clients that serves Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin. Prior to establishing his agency in 2010, Mr. Fischer worked for over 30 years at the Milwaukee Police Department as a police officer and detective, where he was honored to serve the citizens of Milwaukee. During his career, Mr. Fischer handled homicide and robbery investigations, and became a specialist in white collar crime. He received many commendations and was awarded numerous merit arrests. Mr. Fischer is a life-long learner and has had extensive training in all aspects of investigation. In his leisure time, he enjoys hunting and fishing at his cabin in the beautiful northwoods of Wisconsin.
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November/December 2018 | www.pimagazine.com
13
GEAR
RD-10 and RD-30 Lawmate Bug Detectors
T
he Lawmate RD-10 and RD-30 “bug detectors”, or more appropriately called RF Detectors are the professional investigators answer to budget TSCM equipment for your toolbox. Let’s not make any mistake, if you have a need for sophisticated TSCM counter surveillance sweep, I would suggest calling the pros at USA BUG SWEEPS (USAbugsweeps. com). There’s no substitution for hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment and years of knowledge. But for those of us who have clients who call and want their cars checked for GPS trackers, or smaller, budget-conscious clients and cases, Lawmate has us covered! The RD-10 and its bigger brother the RD-30 fill those needs for affordable, reliable and easy to use RF detectors. Let’s look at the two units. The RD-10 comes in at a very affordable $149.00 and is truly a pocket-sized RF detector. The unit is geared more towards personal use with the ability to find and detect RF signals within the most commonly used frequency ranges. The units also have a built-in feature capable of detecting pinhole cameras with LED illuminators not visible to the naked eye. It also detects camera lens reflection, so if there’s a camera watching you – you’ll find it! Upon detection, the unit can alert you with an audible signal, or can be silenced for a “passive alert” so as not to alert others in the area. The RD-10 is also equipped with a visual light scale to indicate signal strength and help guide you to the source.
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magazine | November/December 2018
I know of at least one customer who puts the RD-10 in his jacket pocket on silent at business meetings to alert if a RF signal is being transmitted during his meetings. The RD-30 enters in at the slightly higher price point of $199.00 and uses the same technology as the RD-10, but is significantly beefed up! The unit is slightly larger and adds the ability to detect both wireless AND wired RF energy transmissions. The RD-30 has, in my opinion, an advantage over the RD-10 in sensitivity and versatility making this my personal choice for inclusion in my toolbox of portable devices. Both units are rugged and dependably built by Lawmate and can easily be stored in a small plastic case. I personally carry the RD-30 in a small plastic handgun case with a few extra batteries in my surveillance vehicles. Often when meeting with a new client and discussing their case, the topic of GPS tracking comes up and I can offer on the spot a check of their vehicle as either courtesy to a new client or at a small charge added to the case. I have found when most clients learn you have the equipment to do such a GPS sweep, they will ask for additional GPS sweeps to be completed multiple times during your case, increasing your overall fee for the case for a relatively small investment in equipment. Overall, both the RD-10 and RD-30 are great budget detectors professional investigators can use on those cases where budget is a concern. The RD-30 is a great economical choice for GPS sweeps of cars for clients and is a service every professional investigator should offer. Both are available at PIGEAR.COM and don’t forget to use your discount code as a subscriber to PI MAGAZINE for an even lower final invoice price. Jim Nanos
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BUSINESS
Attracting Workers Affordably
W
hether as a result of a booming economy, tighter immigration laws or an educational system gone astray, finding qualified job applicants has become increasingly more difficult for those in the investigation industry. Even more troubling for many smaller investigative agencies is the question of how they can compete for badly-needed, qualified workers. Fortunately, thanks to our unique tax laws, every investigative business can afford to offer fringe benefits to their workers, and may even be able to benefit themselves. That’s right, our tax laws merely prevent employers from discrimi-
16
BY MARK E. BATTERSBY
nating in favor of owners, key employees or other highly-compensated individuals when setting up any benefits plan that is to be tax deductible by the business and tax-free to the recipient. FRINGE BENEFITS Fringe benefits are often defined as property and/or services whose benefit to employees frequently outweighs the cost to the employer. With a number of notable exceptions, fringe benefits are generally included in an employee’s gross, taxable income where they are subject to income tax withholding and employment taxes. However, while some fringe benefits are included in an employee’s taxable wages, other fringe benefits aren’t taxable wages and yet, they remain deductible by the employer. Among these exceptions are nontaxable fringe benefits or so-called “qualified” fringe bene-
magazine | November/December 2018
fits, such as health insurance, medical expense reimbursements, dental insurance, education assistance and day-care assistance. Yes, taxqualified benefits are deductible by employers and totally free of federal and state income taxes as well as the employee’s Social Security and Medicare taxes. These tax savings obviously make fringe benefits an attraction. However, thanks to last December’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the array of tax-free fringe benefits that employers can provide employees is not quite as generous as it used to be. BENEFITS TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN WORKERS Surprisingly, survey after survey shows that it is not money alone that attracts new workers and keeps existing employees on the job. It is the benefits. In fact, currently treasured by job
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seekers – and employees – are flexibility and the opportunity to balance work with other life responsibilities, interests and issues. But obviously, no investigative agency or business can be an employer of choice without a good benefits package. Job training, educational assistance, and employer-provided vehicles used for business are among the popular – and often necessary – working-condition fringe benefits offered by many small businesses. JOB TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE On-the-job training provided by an employer is a tax-free hiring incentive as well as an invaluable “perk” for current employees. Educational assistance and tuition reimbursement are also welcome fringe benefits. An agency with a formal, written educational assistance plan isn’t required to immediately fund the plan, only reimburse an employee’s educational expenses – up to $5,250 per employee, per year and exempt from tax. Educational assistance doesn’t just include tuition assistance, but also payments for books, equipment and other expenses related to continuing educaiton.
PAYING BETTER THAN THE COMPETITION While pay isn’t the primary goal of many job seekers, every investigative agency owner and manager should keep in mind that, in today’s job market, compensation remains an important factor. By surveying the local job market and the compensation offered by others in the field, the investigative business can pay better than average to attract the best candidates. Benefits offered by the agency should also be above industry standards and new fringe benefits added – when they are affordable. Naturally, educating existing employees about benefits availability and costs helps them appreciate that their needs are being addressed. Job seekers and employees are increasingly looking for cafeteria-style benefit plans in which they can balance their choices with those of a working spouse or partner. Profit sharing plans and bonuses that pay employees for measurable achievements and contributions are also invaluable. BONUSES: Bonuses and awards must, as mentioned, be included in an employee’s taxable income. Should the bonus or award be in the form of goods or services, employees must include the fair market value of those goods or
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magazine | November/December 2018
services in their income. The same applies to holiday gifts. However, employees receiving turkeys, hams or similar items of nominal value from their employers at Christmas or other holidays may exclude the value of the gift from their income. PROFIT-SHARING PLANS: A profitsharing plan, often called a “deferred profitsharing plan” (DPSP), is a plan that gives employees a share in the profits of the agency or business (where permitted under local licensing laws). Under this type of plan, an employee receives a percentage of the operation’s profits based on its quarterly or annual earnings. This is a great incentive to attract new workers and give employees a sense of ownership in the business. Not too surprisingly, however, there are restrictions as to when and how a person can withdraw these funds without a penalty. The contribution limit for an investigative agency or business sharing its profits with an employee is the lesser of 25% of the employee’s compensation or $55,000. In order to implement a profit-sharing plan, the agency must file a Form 5500-series return/report and disclose all participants of the plan. Early withdrawals, just as with other retirement plans, are subject to penalties. ESOP: An Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP, is an employee-owner program that provides workers with an actual ownership interest in the agency – tax-free. An ESOP is a qualified defined contribution employee benefit plan designed to invest primarily in the stock of the employer. In general, employees are given ownership with no upfront cost. The shares provided can be held in trust for safety and growth until the employee retires or resigns. At that time, the shares go back to the agency for further redistribution or are completely voided. WHAT DO THEY WANT Among the more common, tax-free employee fringe benefits are the following: • HEALTH BENEFITS. Health benefits are by far the single most important fringe benefit. Health benefits include providing employees with health, dental and vision insurance as well as paying health-related expenses. • LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE. This insurance covers expenses such as the cost of nursing home care. While premiums are not taxable benefits, benefits received under the insurance may be partly taxable if they exceed certain limits. • GROUP TERM-LIFE INSURANCE. An investigative or security business can provide up to $50,000 in group term life insurance to each employee tax-free.
• DEPENDENT CARE. Up to $5,000 in dependent care assistance can be provided to an employee tax-free. Of course, many working parents may qualify for a tax credit for child and dependent care. • WORKING CONDITION FRINGE BENEFITS. Working condition fringe benefits are any items or services provided or paid for by an employer to help someone do their job. Local and long distrance travel for business, business-related meals and entertainment, professional publications and company cars used for business driving are all good examples of tax-free working condition fringe benefits. THE CHEAPEST MAY BE THE MOST VALUEABLE So-called “de minimis” benefits may be worth little or nothing in the eyes of our lawmakers, but go a long way toward making emplolyees – and prospective employees – happy without tacking on an accompanying tax bill. De minimis fringe benefits refer to any property or service that is so small in value that accounting for it is unreasonable or administratively impractical. PARTY TIME A investigative agency or business with a happy workplace is often an attraction for job seekers. Whether it’s a nightclub affair or a buffet in the agency’s break room, parties are a triedand-true benefit. And, in addition to making employees feel valued and keeping them motivated, parties have tangible tax benefits. The tax rules allow a business to throw a holiday party – even a relatively fancy one – with no tax consequences to the employees. Of course, in order to be deductible, the IRS requires the party cost to be “reasonable.” No business can deduct expenses for entertainment that is “lavish or extravagant.”
employer must offer fringe benefits and other perks. Once it has been determined what benefits will best attract badly-needed workers in today’s job environment, which benefits employees would prefer, and figured which benefits the agency can afford, then and only then will it be possible to make an informed choice of which benefits will attract job applicants, benefit your investigations business and your employees the most. Knowledge is essential when deciding which
When the
benefits work in today’s job market – as are the services of a qualified professional. But, wouldn’t it be ironic if those benefits turned out to be the ones which cost your operation the least? Mark E. Battersby is a freelance writer who has specialized in taxes and finances for the past 25 years. He has written articles for PI Magazine for the past 16 years. As with all other articles appearing in PI Magazine this one is not to be considered legal advice.
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19
BUSINESS
The year in review: LOOKING BACK TO PLAN AHEAD
W
BY STEPHANIE SAVOY
ith 2018 quickly coming to a close, now is a great time for private investigation business owners to sit down and take stock of the year so far. Typically, we tend to slow down around the holiday season, so I recommend using this quieter time to take an objective look at your firm’s performance and set yourself up for an even more successful 2019.
Here’s how to evaluate your performance and ensure a solid start to the coming year.
sight into how to direct my business development efforts for the following year.
USE CASE LOGS TO GAUGE SERVICE DEMAND Towards the end of each calendar year, block out a complete day to review your firm’s case logs. It’s not always easy to look at your own firm objectively, but by maintaining a case log you’ll be able to not only see which services are most in demand, but also how that demand varies throughout the year. My firm uses PI Direct Link for its case management system. A handy feature is that it lets me sort by case type to see exactly which services are my best sellers, and which are my least requested. This data gives me valuable in-
ADVERTISE TO INCREASE DEMAND FOR BEST-SELLING SERVICES Once you’ve established which services are your most requested, think about how you can further improve those numbers in 2019. If domestic investigations are your most requested service, look into Google Ads or Facebook advertising. By targeting your message to either attorneys who specialize in family law or individuals who have identified as “separated” or “in a relationship and its complicated” you will get the most value for your advertising dollar. Social media is another valuable outreach channel, and can help you grow your brand and
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magazine | November/December 2018
attract new clients. Post a Facebook or Twitter post reminding people why they need your services – and consider building a post calendar for next year. If you don’t have a Facebook or Twitter page, now’s the time to create one. NETWORK TO EXPAND YOUR FIRM’S REACH Advertising is important, but nothing can replace face-to-face contact with potential clients. Assuming once again that domestic investigations are your best-selling service, think about ways to connect in-person with family law attorneys. Every state has legal associations such as state bar associations, county bar associations and so on. Search online for associations in your area and familiarize yourself with their calendar of events. Luncheons, dinners, and golf outings are all great opportunities to network and introduce yourself to potential clients. Often these associations offer sponsorship or vendor opportunities. Consider setting some funds aside in 2019 to participate in the events most relevant to your most in-demand services.
“
Luncheons, dinners, and golf outings are all great opportunities to network and introduce yourself to potential clients. Often these associations offer sponsorship or vendor opportunities. Consider setting some funds aside in 2019 to participate in the events most relevant to your most in-demand services.
”
the past, and will be able to help you rank well for your highly performing services. My firm uses Investigator Marketing based out of Texas. This company is run by a former private investigator, and they know how to market our services. Our industry is different than most, as we don’t often get public reviews from satisfied clients – our job is to protect our clients and their information, so marketing our service is much different than marketing a cupcake shop who has a hundred positive Yelp reviews. We get very little downtime in our industry. With the holiday period approaching, now is an ideal opportunity to spend some time working on your business rather than in it – and ensure that you and your firm are heading into the coming year with a solid game plan. Stephanie Savoy is the owner and managing partner at Savoy & Associates Private Investigations in Naugatuck, Connecticut. She holds a Certificate in Legal Investigations from Texas A & M University. Her writing has been featured in other investigation publications and she’s been interviewed on PI’s Declassified. When not working tirelessly for her clients you will find her serving as a Police Commissioner with the Naugatuck Police Department, or coaching youth sports. Contact: Facebook @savoyinvestigations or on Twitter: @savoyassoc
DECIDE WHERE YOU’LL FOCUS YOUR EFFORTS – AND FINANCES Speaking of setting funds aside, the end of the year is also the perfect time to make certain financial decisions for your firm based on your most and least requested services. For example, if domestic investigations account for 70 percent of your firm’s case types, with the others all below 10 percent, it may be time to consider expanding into new markets in your state and offering domestic investigations as your main selling point. If you do choose to focus on your best-selling service(s), spend some time researching new technology and equipment that can set you apart. Hidden cameras are becoming smaller and more discreet by the day and the recording capabilities of night and dash cameras are better than ever before. Make a list of which items you think can help you, then reach out to other investigators for feedback on the value that these items deliver for them and their clients. ENSURE THAT YOUR BRANDING IS UP TO DATE You probably print business cards and flyers as you run out. As a result, these are often updated with your firm’s latest details and branding. Websites, however, are often left to languish – chances are that your website looks the same as the day you first launched. While an out-of-date website is better than no website, now is a great time to review what’s on it. Is it as focused on the message and services you want to display? Is it optimized for mobile and compliant with the new GDPR laws? Is it ranking on the first page of search results for a given PI service? If you have the time and expertise, you can make these tweaks yourself. If not, get in touch with a web design agency for their thoughts and recommendations on building (or rebuilding) a website that will drive traffic and conversions. Some agencies have worked with PIs in November/December 2018 | www.pimagazine.com
21
BOOK SPOTLIGHT
Skip Tracing Basics & Beyond:
A Complete Step-by -Step Guide for Locating Hidden Assets Second Edition BY SUSAN NASH
Paperback: 418 pages Publisher: IUniverse ISBN-10: 1475957564 ISBN-13: 9781475957563 Available: www.pibookstore.com
A
s featured on Taking Care of Business on www. wcwp.org 88.1 FM and www.TCBRadio.com out of Brookville, Long Island, NY with Richard A Solomon: “If you are not sure of what to do, or where to turn, or would simply like to learn new or more advanced methods of skip tracing, you will acquire the knowledge of what actions to take and a responsible direction for your efforts with innovative lessons and priceless tips.” Stuart R. Blatt Attorney at Law and DBA Debt Buyers’ Association past president: “I know the private Investigator business and this is an amazingly valuable resource for seasoned investigators, any person considering a career as a private investigator and those who seek advice on how to do it themselves.” Jim Nanos Co-Publisher of PI magazine: “This is one of the most comprehensive books available on skip tracing. I thought I knew a little about skip tracing and I was surprised at what I learned! This is a MUST-HAVE book.”
Every chapter of this book mentions skip tracing secrets that have been put to a practical test by thousands of skip tracers nationwide. Discover the tricks of the trade, from an expert who knows things and is not afraid to share them. Get a sneak peek at skip tracing’s finer points and discover the skip tracer’s magic tricks. Pick up secrets for your bag of tricks. Learn to skip trace like a pro by using techniques like: suggestion and autosuggestion; tradecraft and trickcraft; misdirection and logical thinking; roping and deductive reasoning; the invisible web and operation card shop. For every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction and in a world of duality, where’s there’s pleasure, there’s pain. Creativity is not always organized, so you’ll learn to work smarter and not harder. Your only limits are your acting abilities. Keep might and right on your side because innovation is driving success. If you are ready to put these secrets to use, you will recognize them. I wish I could tell you how you will know if you are ready, but that would deprive you of much of the benefit you will receive when you make the discovery on your own. Bank on it!
More details can be found at: PIBOOKSTORE.COM 22
magazine | November/December 2018
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PROCESS SERVING
Tips and Resources for Mastering Online Research BY SERVENOW STAFF
T
he internet provides access to a wealth of knowledge, but sometimes the sheer amount of information can be overwhelming to investigators who are not used to combing through it all. The time and energy saved by online research, though, is worth looking into for private investigators at any experience level. What was once accomplished by phone calls and hours of surveillance can now be discovered within minutes from behind a computer screen. There are many ways investigators can extract relevant information from the internet; here are a few to help you get started:
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magazine | November/December 2018
SOCIAL MEDIA By now you’ve heard of the biggest names in social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. The question is, how can these platforms be used by private investigators to glean information about an individual or group? Learn more about the capabilities of some of these networks and how private investigators can use them below. FACEBOOK With 2.2 billion monthly active users, Facebook boasts the largest following of any social media. Not only can you use a person’s profile to find out their connections and location, but you can use Facebook’s advanced search tool to conduct more specific research. Depending on what you’re looking for, you can search names, locations, groups, photos, and more all using the tabs and filters that Facebook provides.
“
The internet might seem overwhelming to the untrained eye, but it holds a lot of opportunity for private investigators who are willing to learn all it has to offer.
TWITTER Like Facebook, Twitter also features an advanced search option that allows you to add a date range and find specific conversations between users. Twitter also allows third-party sites, like Followerwonk, to access its data and compare users or archive tweets. LINKEDIN Once you have the correct settings that allow you to look at profiles anonymously and outside of your direct circle, LinkedIn can provide professional information such as where an individual works, their role, and their education. It will even allow you to search for specific people using these fields. SEARCH ENGINES Google, while being the most widely used search engine, is far from the only search engine that could help private investigators find information. Since different engines use different databases and algorithms, they provide different results for the same search. For a thorough search you can use search engines like Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo. You can also use metasearch engines, such as Dogpile, WebCrawler, and Monster Crawler that combine the results of major search engines. The following are tricks that can help make your results more specific to what you’re looking for. SEARCH METHODS A Boolean search is a type of search in which you can use modifiers, like “OR” or “AND,” along with keywords in order to produce more relevant results. In other words, you can search for someone’s name AND their location and only pages with those qualifiers will show up. Alternatively, you could search someone’s name and various cities using the OR modifier to span across cities. This could be helpful when you don’t know the correct spelling of the individual’s name or you want to look them up in relation to different cities since you don’t know their exact location. Another way to specify your search terms is to limit the search to a certain site. By adding the term “site:” followed by the site you’re searching, such as Facebook or Yellowpages, your results are restricted to that site. This same
”
idea can be used with the term “filetype:” followed by the desired data file extension to limit your results to that type of file.
search will bring up the registration details showing that a domain name was purchased and can be done using DomainTools.
THE DEEP WEB The internet has three different aspects commonly labeled the surface web, the deep web, and the dark web. The surface web includes anything that is found by a regular search engine. The deep web mostly consists of pages that are only accessed through paywalls or passwords and is largely academic databases and government archives that aren’t indexed. The dark web is the part of the internet that has been intentionally hidden and can’t be accessed by normal web browsers. For private investigators, the deep web may have useful information which commonlyused search engines can’t access. Some of the browsers that can access these deep web results include Pipl, The Wayback Machine, Core. onion, and Not Evil. Investigators should also be using a virtual private network, or a VPN, whether they’re searching the deep web or not. A VPN is a secure, virtual tunnel that connects two devices and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if they were connected to their private network. Using a VPN also allows for privacy and anonymity while using the internet.
OTHER RESOURCES For more dexterity in the online realm, check out these online research tools. Remember that there is no one source that will provide all the information you need so it’s good to have multiple solid resources that are your go-tos. Picodash, TLOxp, IRBsearch, Tracers Information Specialists, Geofeedia, Echosec, Spokeo, Tumblr, Factiva, ProQuest, Storyful The internet might seem overwhelming to the untrained eye, but it holds a lot of opportunity for private investigators who are willing to learn all it has to offer. These online research tips and tricks can help you familiarize with internet resources and enable you to find a wealth of information with just your computer.
BONUS TIPS Using resources like White Pages, Yellow Pages, Anywho, Spy Dialer, and PeekYou, you can search for an individual’s phone number or look up an individual using only their phone number depending on the information you have. If you have a relevant image, you can run a reverse image search, which will link anonymous pictures to profiles. Common sites used for this include Google Images, TinEye, Excite, and Image Raider. In some cities, you may have access to public court, motor vehicle and jail records without paying for an additional service. Be sure to search local government websites for this information. Make sure you are finding your information on accurate sites by identifying the domain ownership of the site you’re using. A whois November/December 2018
| www.pimagazine.com
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PROCESS SERVING
What Goes Around, Comes Around BY KEVIN TOAL
H
aving and maintaining a network of beneficial connections is essential in being an effective process server. Anybody could perform straight-forward services in which addresses are valid and recipients are willing to accept whatever court document is being delivered to them. However, if things become difficult and they cannot find a solution, then they will be mediocre process servers at best.To improve one’s success rate, it is useful to seek assistance from others and, while it may seem to be counter-intuitive, this includes exchanging information with your competition. Some people may disagree with me, from a business perspective, on sharing intelligence with a rival process server. At first glance, this appears to be a bad idea. After all, you would not expect to see McDonald’s telling Wendy’s how to make better fries. Yet, I would argue, that this is one business in which it is advantageous to help each other. Within reason, of course. Put simply, there is enough business to provide a decent living for anyone willing to work at being a good process server. So why not ensure that the quality of the work is as good as it can be? Remember when Kris Kringle advised Macy’s customers to go to Gimbel’s? If Macy’s could not supply a certain product, they sent their customers to a rival business which could. This altruistic behavior engendered an increase in customer loyalty and a subsequent increase
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in profits. If I can help someone else effect a service, they are more likely to offer assistance to me should I require it. The concept of “what goes around, comes around” is usually expressed in a negative manner. It tends to refer to the perpetrator of a bad deed getting rewarded with a bad deed being done to them. This is not how I view it. I prefer to look at it in a positive way. If I help someone, they may at some point return the favor. Even if there is no obvious reciprocation, I suggest that there is a benefit. This benefit will be discussed later in this article. For the moment, I will concentrate on the obvious reward of helping a rival process server. Most people who have been serving papers for a few years keep records of their services. Details which might not be included in affida-
magazine | November/December 2018
vits are squirrelled away in cellphones, notebooks, or computers. Particulars about a defendant’s family, work, vehicles, or hobbies are sometimes saved for future use. It makes tracing them easier should they move in between services. My own phone, for example, has many repeat defendants on speed-dial and my computer has pictures of them, their homes, and cars in labelled files. Even if a physical record is not kept, the process server may remember elements of a previous service which may help someone else. Many years ago, when I was first starting out, I had not yet established a system for preserving information. I served papers, prepared affidavits, and billed for work completed. I did keep copies of the affidavits, but nothing else. Fortunately, I have a pretty good long-term memory for certain things. This ability to recall information came in handy for a fellow process server who, in turn, was then able to assist me. I received a call from a process server who worked for himself. We knew of each other, having met several times in a variety of law offices and courts, and were on friendly terms. He was calling me because he had hit a dead-end trying to locate a defendant.
“Does the name Pat Smythe mean anything to you?” he asked. “I pulled the court records and see you served him a few years ago.” I conducted a quick search on my computer and found my old affidavit. It showed that I had served the defendant at a Tim Hortons restaurant. There were no additional notes or any pictures. He was not a social media type of person. “The address the lawyer gave me is no good,” the process server said. “The guy works for himself as a contractor, but the address for the business is the same one the lawyer gave me as his home.” He then told me the name of the defendant’s company. “I remember him now,” I said. “He drove a silver pick-up with the company logo on it. He lived in a grey house on Rocky Lake Road but, he wasn’t home when I tried to serve him there. His girlfriend called him and he agreed to meet me at Tim’s.” “Do you remember the number?” “No, but it was across the street from a convenience store. The yard was filled with junk.” That night my competition successfully served his papers and, a week later, it was my turn. One thing about court cases is the fact that they sometimes appear in groups. A defendant, facing a potential lawsuit, may suddenly find themselves dealing with more than one plaintiff. These plaintiffs, instead of joining forces in one case, issue individual claims, often within days of each other. The result is some poor slob gets served multiple times, on multiple days, by multiple process servers. That is what happened in this instance. After my friend served the contractor, I was given papers of my own. Naturally, the lawyers provided the out-of-date address for service. Fortunately, I could call for help. “Can you tell me the civic address of that guy you had last week? The one where I helped you find his house?” I asked the socalled opposition. He told me the address and I headed out. When I arrived, there were a couple of men milling about the yard. One was a blondhaired man who vaguely matched the description provided to me by the other process server. The silver pickup was in the driveway. It looked to be an easy service. Despite the appearance, I slipped my cellphone into my breast pocket and started recording. “Are you Pat Smythe?” I asked of the blond-haired man. He did not look familiar, but it had been several years since we last met. I may be good recalling houses and ve-
hicles, but I am not great with faces. “No, he’s away this week. He’ll be back on the weekend.” There was a ring of truth to his words but, since I lean towards cynicism, I did not believe him. After all, he would not be the first person who ever lied to my face. In spite of my misgivings, I chose not to confront him. Instead, I thanked him, gave him my business card, and left. I parked on a nearby side street and made a screenshot of the video. This was then sent to the other process server asking him to look at the picture. “IS THIS PAT SMYTH?” I texted. The response was quick. It was not the guy I wanted. The blond-haired man had been telling the truth. A potential scene was averted. A few days later, I served the defendant without any trouble. Clearly this was an example of “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” By helping a so-called rival, I was able to help myself at a later date. Sometimes, the benefit is not immediately apparent. Nonetheless, it is there. By enabling smoother, more efficient services, more work is offered to me and my fellow process servers. That is, more is given to those of us who work together. We pick up new clients while other process servers, who do bare-bones type of services, lose clients. These are process servers who go out to an address a few times and then give up without effecting service. If they come across an address which is out-of-date they do not try and locate the defendant. They do not call a competitor for assistance. Instead, they write up an affidavit of attempted service, bill their client and move on to the next file. In the short-term, this may seem to be a costeffective business model, but their clients, who want to get documents served, will look elsewhere. It is my belief that there is more than enough business to go around. At least there is for those who are willing to do it and who do not mind sharing. As Edmund Gwenn shows us every year, generosity begets success. Kevin Toal is a freelance writer, Commissioner of Oaths and Provincial Civil Constable. He works with Stephen Kennedy’s Bailiff Services in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
November/December 2018 | www.pimagazine.com
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BY JAMES NANOS
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magazine | November/December 2018
S
ir Francis Bacon is credited with the saying “Knowledge is Power”, and for the record, Yogi Berra said, “You can observe a lot by watching.” Neither were to my knowledge professional investigators, but both sayings can be relevant to our profession’s storage and accessibility of case information. I can recall as a young police officer, warrants being filed in the “big cabinet” and field integration cards being on small index cards in a metal box. Most of us old timers can recall massive Rolodexes (do they still even exist?) in our dispatch centers. Then came along computer aided dispatch or CAD and case management and records systems – and the data world for law enforcement agencies changed. As with most advances in law enforcement technologies, the changes eventually find their way in some fashion to our profession. Today, we have unbelievable advances in case management systems available to all of us. Turn back the clock 10 years and most of us were storing our files on hard drives or other removable media with back-ups on things like ZIP drives. We would assign our own case numbers and create a subdirectory on our PC for each case file we were working. There is no need, and no excuse, to do this any longer! CMS’ have come a long way with several variations available with price points most of us cannot pass up. The ability to accurately track our cases and related information from our smart phones has made the storage and access to case information available literally at our fingertips. From storing and organizing case information, to maintaining chain of custody for video files and documenting evidence to creating custombranded agency reports, todays CMS’ do it all! We tend to make these types of big changes, and don’t let anyone fool you – making the jump from the old way of doing things to a modern, managed case management system IS a big jump, but one we all should make. Most will implement this change to coincide with a new year. It makes sense – start a new year with a new set of case numbers and a new CMS. There are a few decisions you’ll need to make before you make the leap and need to start researching NOW if you plan on taking the CMS plunge January 1, 2019. Let’s go over just a few of these decisions and choices you’ll need to research and answer to see what system is the best fit for your agency. Remember – all CMS are not created equal! Price and affordability tend to be number one on everyone’s list. We tend to make business decisions solely based on price and not what makes the most practical, useful and productive choices to advance our businesses. Price should be the LAST thing we consider. Most, but not all, CMS’ are now cloud based, subscription services. There are still a few systems you can install on your network or PC and maintain, but these options are rapidly fading away as more people turn to the cloud. The advantages of a cloud-based system far outweigh the negatives and being one who has tried both, I opted for a cloud-based system. Some may still want the ability to solely manage their system and if you’re one of those people, there are some great CMS still available to choose from. Go through your short list of systems and make sure you have all the features and tools you’ll need. Make sure your system’s reports, billing, search capabilities, client updating abilities, and keeping up with cases and assignments meet your needs and the needs of your investigative staff.
Not all Case Management Systems are Created Equal
Does your potential system allow for customization and personalization of reports, templates and associated forms? Can the system cover both civil and insurance work and cases? Many insurance companies need the ability to log into your system and upload case information or download videos, reports etc. Make sure your potential system can accommodate these types of users if needed. Make sure your CMS system developer is continuing to develop and refine the system with upgrades of features such as online tools and integration with data providers as an example. Do they have a mobile app? Can you back-up your data locally on your machine or network and in what format? How much storage do you get and how much is additional storage? Remember how large those video files can get! Finally, can you afford it? Remember, spending say, $150 per month to some may seem like too much, however, if $150 a month frees up even a half hour a day that you can then bill on other cases (no, I didn’t tell you there was going to be math involved in this story but do the math anyway) it’s well worth the investment. To illustrate by way of example – I used to do my case reports in plain old Word. I would spend hours doing a report, many of those hours I could not in good conscience bill a client for. I invested in time with a developer and created a custom PDF report cutting my report time by 75 percent! It doesn’t seem possible, but it is. So an investment of a couple of thousand dollars has given me back my Sundays to watch football and not sit in front of the PC doing reports I can’t bill for. My reports look better, are much more consistent and make a better impression with my clients, and yes, I was able to import it directly into my CMS! Remember – being able to personalize reports is a capability you should look for. We could go on forever with suggestions and advice on the selections process. As with any other investment – and this is an investment – in your business, do your homework, read the reviews, try the free trials and yes, talk to other professional investigators who have already made the leap! On the following pages we have invited a few of the available systems to answer some of the most commonly asked questions posed at conferences to Case Management Systems technicians and sales staff. Use this as a tool to start your search if you haven’t begun already. Make the leap – you will not regret it! November/December 2018 | www.pimagazine.com
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CrossTrax
PI MAGAZINE NOTE: We are happy to announce the acquisition of PI Direct Link by CROSStrax - See side bar next page. Because of this, PI Direct Link does not appear in this case management system review, however we are excited by the two great platforms combining with continued great things to come from the two teams working together! Congrats! THE BASICS: Software name: CROSStrax Software founded: 2014 Website link: www.crosstrax.co Contact number: 844.874.3955 Contact name: Brian DeAntonio, FCLA COMPANY BACKGROUND: Where is company based? Destin, Florida Parent company: CROSStrax Company’s principal’s background: Brian DeAntonio provides investigation businesses and claims departments guidance as it relates SIU and fraud services. Brian is the President and vision behind CROSStrax, the industry’s most robust and versatile web-based investigation case management system. As a sought-after professional speaker, Brian’s goal and business purpose is to bridge the gaps between the claim’s community and the investigation profession through the use and availability of enterprise level case management software. CMS SUPPORT: Support US based? Yes 24/7 support? Yes What method? Primarily email but if it requires a conversation, we make ourselves available. FINANCIAL: Free demo available? Yes, for 30 days Does your CMS require a contract? No Top selling plans: Multiple options for nearly any budget. BACK-UP AND DATA STORAGE: Can I import existing case info? Yes (depending on how original data was stored) Is my data encrypted? Yes What level/standard? 256 bit encryption Off-site back-up? Where? Yes - Amazon 3x’x redundant Can I back-up my data on my machine? Yes FEATURES: Cloud based or stand-alone? Cloud based - PC and Mac Do you have a phone or mobile app? Yes, iPhone and Android Client log-on to your system? Yes Does your system support any book-keeping functions? Full Billing and Expense Module Does your system integrate any data source or third-party providers? Yes If so, which ones? Integrates with QuickBooks Does your system provide and social media checking/search features? Yes List the top five key features of your CMS 1. One step video upload with date and time stamp 2. Completely customizable report and document generator
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3. 1st party GPS tracking through our mobile app 4. Integrated data provider (Delvepoint) 5. Fully integrated task management system What feature(s) make your CMS stand out above the rest? 1. CROSStrax was the first and is the only company to offer an integrated data platform in Delvepoint. 2. CROSStrax was the first and is the only company to offer integrated video upload & merge clips feature, remove audio feature, and auto add data and time stamp from the videos metadata. 3. CROSStrax was the first and is the only company to offer first-party GPS tracking through our mobile app. REPORTS: Does your CMS provide basic report templates? Yes Does your CMS allow for unique customization of reports? Yes What format does your CMS store reports? Word Does your CMS supply me with my own unique url? Yes FINAL THOUGHTS: List the top three reasons to choose your CMS: 1. CROSStrax was designed and developed by an investigator. 2. Financial Stability – We are constantly testing & developing new features to stay up-to-date, secure and relevant! 3. CROSStrax Community – COMING SOON! Changing the way investigators communicate. Please detail other factors you feel relevant about your CMS: CROSStrax is the culmination of a long career in the investigative community. Our CMS wasn’t designed to just store data, we designed CROSStrax to automate processes and add time and fiscal saving value to your organization CROSStrax brings you the best all-in-one investigative tool in the industry. CROSStrax’s Investigative Case Management software has incorporated Delvepoint’s Skip Tracing Search platform and both platforms were designed by investigators for investigators. We are keenly aware of what the industry needs in investigation case management software and we take great pride in solving industry problems relative to technology. We want to help you be successful. It doesn’t stop there, Delvepoint offers the best data, at the best prices, with the most features! With CROSStrax and Delvepoint, you’ll get a more efficient, extra secure, feature-rich skip tracing tool available. Don’t waste time digging through old-fashioned reports with out-dated information, choose CROSStrax to find the right person, business or asset with the first click.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CROSStrax LLC acquires PI DIRECT LINK
Contact:Brian DeAntonio 844.874.3955 • brian@crosstrax.co
DESTIN, FL – October 01, 2018 – CROSStrax LLC, an industry leading investigation case management solution, announced it has acquired PI Direct Link, a full-service investigation case management software platform. The purchase will allow CROSStrax to scale its users and better serve the technology and development needs of both organizations. The asset purchase of PI Direct Link fits into the overall CROSStrax strategy to develop, maintain, and enhance our user experience in the investigative community. By purchasing the company, CROSStrax will continue to provide case management services to investigation related businesses throughout the world. Brian DeAntonio, President of CROSStrax, commented: “Our acquisition of PI Direct Link significantly complements the overall client base of CROSStrax, allowing us to focus on our up-and-coming offering, the CROSStrax Community. This investment represents an important strategic opportunity to grow an already momentous base of investigative customers. Yes, the acquisition significantly adds to our increasing customer base but more importantly, the geographic presence of our customers.” Brad Dalhover, Vice President of Business Development of CROSStrax, commented: “During our initial discussions, it was clear, the vision and goals of the two companies were similar. Bringing both companies together will prove to be a great asset to the investigative industry and I am excited to be a part of CROSStrax,” said Brad Dalhover, CEO and founder of PI Direct Link. Mr. Dalhover will join the CROSStrax Team of industry experts supporting the CROSStrax platform and will serve as Vice President of Business Development. Mr. Dalhover will continue to strengthen his already strong relationships he has built since 2012, work to form new relationships and bring awareness to the intuitive features of the CROSStrax software platform.
About CROSStrax
CROSStrax, a worldwide provider of investigation case management cloud-based software, provides enterprise level solutions to the investigative community. The company offers the most comprehensive arsenal of investigation tools that will help business owners and department heads close cases quicker, with a greater level of security than ever before. More information can be found about CROSStrax at the company’s website www.crosstrax.co. SOURCE: CROSStrax LLC
ORGANIZE. MANAGE. DELIVER. CROSStrax is cloud-based case management and CRM software designed to streamline the process of managing an investigation as well as your clients who assign them. CROSStrax will assist your company in becoming more organized, efficient, and profitable with less effort. - Email and Chat Integrated
- Client Metric Reporting
- Upload Video, Audio, and Photos
- Interactive Calendars
- Defined Workflow Process
- Streamlined Dashboard
- Dynamic Billing
- One Click Reporting
TRY US FREE FOR 7-DAYS WWW.CROSSTRAX.CO November/December 2018 | www.pimagazine.com
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Case Jacket List the top five features of your CMS: 1. Create a new case in seconds. 2. Quickly add notes. 3. Upload files by dragging a single file or an entire folder. 4. Invite ‘contractors’ to work on assigned cases. 5. Schedule reminders based on investigator or case.
THE BASICS: Software name: Case Jacket Software founded: 2012 Website link: https://casejacket.com Contact number: (949) 635-695 Contact name: ravi ram - ravj@dhali com COMPANY BACKGROUND: Where is the company based? Orange County, California Parent company: Jacket Software Company’s principal’s background: Mr. Ravi Ram is the owner and has over 20 years of Law Enforcement experience. He was an active member of the High Technology Crimes Investigators Association (HTCIA). HTCIA is an organization dedicated to the furtherance of forensic computer science and high technology crime investigation. CMS SUPPORT: Support US based? Yes 24/7 support? Yes -email What method? Email and phones during business hours FINANCIAL: Free demo available? Yes Does your CMS require a contract? No contract required, plans are month to month only. Top selling plans: 1 Standard - $40 per month : 3 Users, Unlimited Cases, 1 GB storage 2. Professional- $100 per month: 10 Users, Unlimited Cases, 5 GB storage 3. Enterprise - $250 per month : Unlimited Users, Unlimited Cases, 50 GB storage BACK-UP AND DATA STORAGE: Can I import existing case info? No Is my data encrypted? Yes What level/standard? Sha-256 Off-site back-up? Where? Yes - amazon Can I back-up my data on my machine? Yes FEATURES: Cloud based or stand-alone? Cloud Do you have a phone or mobile app? Yes Client log-on to your system? Yes Does your system support any book-keeping functions? Basic expense tracking & reporting. Does your system integrate any data source or third-party providers? No If so, which ones? N/A Does your system provide and social media checking/search features? No
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What feature(s) make your CMS stand out above the rest? 1. Ability to add contractors and guest users to view cases. 2. Dashboard is clean and user friendly. 3. Immediate notifications when a case has been updated. REPORTS: Does your CMS provide basic report templates? Yes Does your CMS allow for unique or customization of reports with my logo? No What format does your CMS store reports? MS Word Does your CMS supply me with my own unique url? No FINAL THOUGHTS: List the top three reasons to choose your CMS: 1. We offer a free plan. 2. It’s quick and simple to use. 3. Us based telephone tech support. Please detail other factors you feel relevant about your CMS: Case Jacket, is a case management software built by and for Investigators. Case Jacket’s goal is to make it as easy as possible to create and manage cases. All of the features offered by Case Jacket are designed by investigators. Some of the most used features are: Create a new case within 30 seconds; Invite contractors to work with you on a case; Get notified when a case has been updated; Share case notes and files with guest users; Track expenses, and other great tools. Case Jacket’s first client was the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Gang Diversion Team. The software was developed and launched in June 2012 to help track at-risk youths and is still in full use today. It contains thousands of case files and has hundreds of officers and staff utilizing it on a daily basis. We continue to add new features and update technology to keep the software relevant, making it a perfect case management software for private investigators.
CaseWorks
Software name: CaseWorks Software founded: 1997 Website link: www.CaseWorks.net Contact number: Not provided Contact name: Roy Miller
What feature(s) make your CMS stand out above the rest? 1. Allows our users to focus on the case at hand, recording investigative nuggets and the software automatically creates an invoice that user can modify. 2. The software reuses data provided by the user, so that repetitive work can be automated, such as creating contracts on the fly, investigative reports or recording case notes. 3. Timeline generation ...want to see exactly what happened during an incident.
COMPANY BACKGROUND: Where is the company based? Clackamas, OR Parent company: Miller Computer Group Company’s principal’s background: Roy Miller is a veteran Air Force Investigator with OSI and a licensed private investigator. Roy is a well respected software developer and computer / cell phone investigative expert.
REPORTS: Does your CMS provide basic report templates? Yes- multiple styles Does your CMS allow for unique or customization of reports with my logo? Yes full branding. What format does your CMS store reports? PDF and RTF Does your CMS supply me with my own unique url? No
CMS SUPPORT: Support US based? Yes 24/7 support? Yes- via on-line form submission What method? Phone and email
FINAL THOUGHTS: List the top three reasons to choose your CMS: 1. Reduction in Administrative overhead. 2. One Stop shopping for all case management from intake, Reporting to invoicing. 3. User of the product drive changes to the software. We listen.
FINANCIAL: Free demo available? Yes - 30 days Does your CMS require a contract? Yes - 30 day notice Top selling plans: 1. $75/ month 3 users and guest users (your clients) Unlimited cases. 2. $95/month 7 users and guest users unlimited cases. BACK-UP AND DATA STORAGE: Can I import existing case info? Yes -w/ customization Is my data encrypted? Yes What level/standard? 256 bit encryption Off-site back-up? Where? N/A
Please detail other factors you feel relevant about your CMS: CaseWorks has been in business since 1997 in desktop form and now is available in our cloud based system. Users have reported increased revenues after using CaseWorks with additional time available to work cases. CaseWorks new features are based on user input and development participation. We listen to your needs and work to develop features the users want to see.
FEATURES: Cloud based or stand-alone? Cloud based Do you have a phone or mobile app? Internet based access Client log-on to your system? Yes Does your system support any book-keeping functions? Yes Does your system integrate any data source or third-party providers? No If so, which ones? N/A Does your system provide and social media checking/search features? Yes List the top five features of your CMS: 1. Integrated Solution 2. Invoice/ investigative reporting 3. Budget Wise. CaseWorks tells you exactly where you stand financially 4. email reports directly to clients from Case Works 5. Distributed work sharing. Have subcontractors record case notes, leads, timelines etc November/December 2018 | www.pimagazine.com
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L S E RV I C E TE
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Software name: CASE TRAX Software founded: 2018 Website link: www.pitag.com Contact number: 425-239-2315 Contact name: Neil Harrison CAI CPI COMPANY BACKGROUND: Where is the company based? Washington State Parent company: P.S.I. Investigations LLC Company’s principal’s background: Neil Harrison is a former military member and is a licensed PI with over 25 years of experience in Both Canada and the U.S.. Neil is the Former Director of BC P.I. Association (PIABC), Current president Washington State P.I. Association (WALI) and has a wide range of investigative experience. CMS SUPPORT: Support US based? Yes 24/7 support? No What method? Support available-email and phone. FINANCIAL: Free demo available? Yes - on request via Zoom. Does your CMS require a contract? No- single purchase - single user model. Top selling plans: One plan-one- time purchase. BACK-UP AND DATA STORAGE: Can I import existing case info? Yes Is my data encrypted? Only if you encrypt. What level/standard? N/A Off-site back-up? Where? Your responsible for back up. Can I back-up my data on my machine? Yes FEATURES: Cloud based or stand-alone? Stand Alone Do you have a phone or mobile app? No Client log-on to your system? No Does your system support any book-keeping functions? Case billing summaries. Does your system integrate any data source or third-party providers? No If so, which ones? N/A Does your system provide and social media checking/ search features? No
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List the top five features of your CMS: 1. Stand-alone system, no internet connection required. 2. Both PC, MAC, and PDF forms available. 3. Low cost and customizable to fit your companies needs. 4. Multiple types of investigation checklists included. 5. Great for new and experienced investigators who want to step up their game. What feature(s) make your CMS stand out above the rest? Low cost, upgraded case checklists, ease of use, customizable to any business. REPORTS: Does your CMS provide basic report templates? Yes Does your CMS allow for unique or customization of reports with my logo? You use your own report templates. What format does your CMS store reports? PC or MAC Does your CMS supply me with my own unique url? No FINAL THOUGHTS: List the top three reasons to choose your CMS: 1. Ease of use 2. Low cost, only $199.00 USD 3. Wide variety of customizable Investigative templates and checklists to suit all levels of experience levels. Please detail other factors you feel relevant about your CMS: For over 25 years, and across three countries, I have been searching for (and have spent thousands of dollars on) the definitive case management toolbox that can be adapted to any and every type of investigation. No matter if you are an experienced investigator with your own agency, or if you are just starting out, you will find that CASE TRAX©, at only $199.00 USD, pays for itself after the very first file, and includes bonus investigative links and additional investigative training resources.
IMS 4. Clients can log in and access reports, etc. 5. Internal messaging system for private and secure communication.
Software name: IMS - Investigation Management Software Software founded: 2015 Website link: www.investigatorsoftware.co.uk Contact number: 029 2000 3275 (U.K. Number) Contact name: Michael COMPANY BACKGROUND: Where is the company based? Cardiff, UK Parent company: Same Company’s principal’s background: “We’re a bespoke software development company who has been working very closely with many large PI businesses over the past 10 years. During this time we’ve implemented countless software solutions for PI businesses as well as software used by councils, government agencies and law enforcement.” CMS SUPPORT: Support US based? No - United Kingdom. 24/7 support? Yes - via email What method? Email only. FINANCIAL: Free demo available? Yes Does your CMS require a contract? No - month to month. Top selling plans: 1. Individual – 1 user, 5 agents, 500 cases, 1GB file storage. 2. Starter – 3 users, 50 agents, 5,000 cases, 5GB file storage. 3. Business – 10 users, 200 agents, 25,000 cases, 15GB file storage. BACK-UP AND DATA STORAGE: Can I import existing case info? Yes Is my data encrypted? Yes What level/standard? LUKS Disk level Off-site back-up? Where? Yes - Dedicated server. Can I back-up my data on my machine? No FEATURES: Cloud based or stand-alone? Both – it’s deployed in a cloud hosting environment however it’s fully entirely and solely by us. Do you have a phone or mobile app? Coming soon. Client log-on to your system? Yes Does your system support any book-keeping functions? Yes – full invoicing functionality. Does your system integrate any data source or third-party providers? No If so, which ones? N/A Does your system provide and social media checking/search features? No
What feature(s) make your CMS stand out above the rest? Our focus has always been about simplicity. Our users can setup a full case in less than 30 seconds and start using all the tools and features we provide right away. Ease of use is often overlooked by most software of this type which makes it difficult for ex police/military/security personnel to use the product which tends to make up most of the user base within this industry. In addition to simplicity each case provides a powerful and useful way of storing the core case details along with any associated individuals, business or locations. This makes it easy to see the components that make up a case and to effectively manage it. REPORTS: Does your CMS provide basic report templates? Yes Does your CMS allow for unique or customization of reports with my logo? Yescan be fully white labeled. What format does your CMS store reports? CSV and PDF Does your CMS supply me with my own unique url? Yes FINAL THOUGHTS: List the top three reasons to choose your CMS: 1. It’s incredibly easy to use and very intuitive. Most other solutions are old, over complicated and slow. 2. Our software supports users at every level including the primary business, field agents and clients with full and detailed communication throughout. 3. Our software works for organizations of all sizes ranking from single person setups right through to large scale operations with thousands of field agents. Please detail other factors you feel relevant about your CMS: A key difference that sets us apart from anyone else is the possibility of extending the software to meet the needs of just about any business. If a business requires a specific feature, tool or report or would like to use the software in some way that’s not already possible then we take these suggestions on board and look at implementing them. This isn’t the same as just taking ideas and slowly working them into our software. Instead we’ll actively listen to our users’ unique requirements and either build in their exact requirements into our core software or alternatively provide them with their own separate installation with their requested features implemented. We regularly get users who require a specific type of report or would like their data structured in a very specific way. We review the requirements, implement it into our software and make it available.
List the top five features of your CMS: 1. Incredibly simple to use and navigate. 2. Field agents can be setup with restricted access to just the cases they’re working. 3. Notifications system lets you know when somebody has done something to a case. November/December 2018
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Polonious Does your system provide and social media checking/search features? Yes - Social Intel/CarpeData is available through our system.
Software name: Polonious Case Management System Software founded: 2006 Website link: www.Polonious-Systems.com Contact number: 888-650-7656 Contact name: Rick Shepherd COMPANY BACKGROUND: Where is the company based? Boynton Beach Florida. and Sydney Australia. Parent company: Same Company’s principal’s background: Polonious was founded in 2004 by Stuart Guthrie and Alastair Steel. Stuart Guthrie had a previous background in large open-source platforms developed for companies like the BBC and Mercedes Benz. Alastair Steel had previously spent time as a detective in the New South Wales Fraud Squad, in charge of a large special investigation unit and as an owner of a large private investigation company. In 2009 Rick Shepherd came aboard as a partner after 21 years with one of the nation’s largest insurance fraud investigation companies. In 2018 Steve Epstein came aboard as a partner after 12 years as an IT director in the insurance fraud industry. CMS SUPPORT: Support US based? Yes 24/7 support? Yes What method? Email and phone FINANCIAL: Free demo available? No - webinar is available. Does your CMS require a contract? Yes - 3 years. Top selling plans: Same - 3 year plan. BACK-UP AND DATA STORAGE: Can I import existing case info? Yes - from CSV format Is my data encrypted? Yes What level/standard? “Highest level” Off-site back-up? Where? Yes - secure location. Can I back-up my data on my machine? Yes FEATURES: Cloud based or stand-alone? Both Do you have a phone or mobile app? Yes Client log-on to your system? Yes Does your system support any book-keeping functions? Billing directly from the system. Payroll reports for the payroll processing cycle. Interface with Quickbooks. API tool to interface with other systems. Does your system integrate any data source or third-party providers? Yes If so, which ones? CarpeData
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magazine | November/December 2018
List the top five features of your CMS: 1. Updates from the field, (including mobile app) of investigation notes. 2. Scheduling function includes drag and drop scheduling. 3. Integration with clients of yours who are Polonious or Guidewire clients. 4. Visual interactive and configurable dashboards 5. Advanced Management reporting including Client Stewardship Reports. What feature(s) make your CMS stand out above the rest? Configurable through the user interface, including APIs, which reduces IT reliance and costs. REPORTS: Does your CMS provide basic report templates? Yes Does your CMS allow for unique or customization of reports with my logo? Yes What format does your CMS store reports? Word or PDF Does your CMS supply me with my own unique url? Yes FINAL THOUGHTS: List the top three reasons to choose your CMS: 1. Proves your value and enhance client relationships. 2. Reduce reliance and cost associated with IT resources. 3. Substantially improve productivity and efficiency through automation and best practices incorporated in the system. Please detail other factors you feel relevant about your CMS: Polonious focuses on providing case management and best practices to insurance fraud investigation companies and special investigation units. It is the most flexible system on the market and is configurable through the user interface, which reduces IT burden. Investigation firms can integrate with their clients who are Polonious SIU customers and Guidewire customers. Because of this, Polonious customers can create a market differentiator that is unique in the industry. With the added Knox Grade security offering, Polonious has given investigation companies an advantage in the marketplace when pursuing and keeping insurance customers.
The Case File Does your system integrate any data source or third-party providers? No If so, which ones? N/A Does your system provide and social media checking/search features? No List the top five features of your CMS: 1. The Case File is 100% customizable by the user. 2. The detail and organization of our forms enhance your professional image in the field. 3. The content of our system is organizational for the expert and educational for the newer investigator. 4. The Case File covers almost every aspect of virtually any type of investigation. 5. Though detailed and organized, The Case File is incredibly simple to use. What feature(s) make your CMS stand out above the rest? Detail, organization, and professional appearance.
Software name: The Case File Software founded: 1999 Website link: www.TheCaseFile.com Contact number: 770-235-1664 Contact name: Paul Purcell COMPANY BACKGROUND: Where is the company based? Atlanta, GA Parent company: Same Company’s principal’s background: Paul Purcell is the author and CEO of InfoQuest and has a 25 year background in investigations and security consulting. CMS SUPPORT: Support US based? Yes 24/7 support? Yes - during business hours - slight delay in off hours What method? Email and phone.
REPORTS: Does your CMS provide basic report templates? Yes Does your CMS allow for unique or customization of reports with my logo? Yes What format does your CMS store reports? Word Does your CMS supply me with my own unique url? N/A FINAL THOUGHTS: List the top three reasons to choose your CMS: 1. The Case File requires only a small, one-time payment. 2. There is no time or use limit for the number of cases. 3. The organization and detail of the system, as well as the educational materials included in the package, save you time and money each and every time you use it. Please detail other factors you feel relevant about your CMS: The Case File was one of the original CMS packages for the investigative and legal professions and has been a staple for tens of thousands of law offices and investigative agencies for almost 20 years.
FINANCIAL: Free demo available? Ebook available. Does your CMS require a contract? No Top selling plans: Stand alone system - one price fully customizable by user. BACK-UP AND DATA STORAGE: Can I import existing case info? Copy and Paste Is my data encrypted? You’re responsible for encryption since software resides on your system. What level/standard? Same Off-site back-up? Where? Your responsibility. Can I back-up my data on my machine? Yes FEATURES: Cloud based or stand-alone? Stand alone Do you have a phone or mobile app? No Client log-on to your system? No Does your system support any book-keeping functions? System can generate invoices with excel template. November/December 2018 | www.pimagazine.com
37
LAW
Qualities of an Ideal Private Investigator for Family Law Matters BY ROBERT A. EPSTEIN, ESQ.
I
n my family law practice, selecting the right private investigator for a given case can be the deciding factor in whether my client receives a successful outcome. As readers of this publication know however, no two investigators are alike. Investigators are often utilized in family law cases to perform services including, but not limited to, cohabitation-related surveillance, custody-related surveillance, work-related surveillance, hid-
38
den asset searches, and bug sweeps and other counter-surveillance measures. With such a wide range of potential tasks at hand, lawyers often consider the following attributes when hiring an investigator. PERSISTENCE AND CREATIVITY With so many available advanced technological tools, websites and more, a private investigator’s ability to devise unique methods to uncover information while remaining receptive
magazine | November/December 2018
to new ideas often sets him or her apart from others in the field. On many occasions, investigators will quickly conclude that a specific task cannot be done. Whether the reason is, for instance, that the particular location surveilled is too complicated or the asset at issue cannot be found, it is imperative that the investigator possess the same level of persistence and creativity as the attorney who brought the investigator into the case to uncover the information sought. Exhausting all available permissible and legal avenues, remaining covert at all times, and
constantly adapting strategies as events unfold are all characteristics of an experienced and reputable investigator.
often understands how to communicate with attorneys and clients, how to work effectively, confidentially and efficiently, and, potentially, how to testify as a witness at a deposition or at trial. While the investigation is typically only one component of a litigant’s case, understanding where he or she fits within the overall case strategy may aid the investigator in tailoring the work performed. It is also important for investigators to convey a sense of transparency and trustworthiness in how they operate to better develop a high level of credibility with the paying clients.
ATTENTION TO DETAIL As important a quality as persistence and creativity, an investigator’s attention to detail is critical. Whether ensuring the capture of requisite surveillance footage in a clear and concise fashion, utilizing functioning equipment, or performing a thorough sweep that leaves no stone unturned, missing or failing to properly detail a piece of potential of evidence can make or break the utility of a final report. I also find that high quality investigators quickly develop an understanding of what the specific attorney involved looks for in a report including, but not limited to, how photographs should look, how information should be conveyed, and more.
AGENCY SIZE When considering retention of a private investigator, attorneys often examine the ability of the investigator to perform multiple tasks for a given case or, more simply, can the investigator timely handle the case while also simultaneously handling many other cases. Even in one particular case, if multiple sites require in-person surveillance or a location requires roundthe-clock surveillance, does the agency have the requisite workforce to do the job? More importantly, does the investigator have the time
EXPERIENCE AND CREDIBILITY IN FAMILY LAW MATTERS Family law matters are highly sensitive, highly fact-specific disputes commonly involving emotionally charged litigants. An investigator experienced in such matters, as a result,
to conduct the surveillance, review the footage and write up a report on his or her own? How many cases does the investigator take on at one time and, as a result, can he or she handle the workload in the time required? Is everyone involved with the job available in a timely manner to discuss the case? Private investigative agencies should keep these considerations and more in mind when determining the size of the agency and the amount of work it can handle at any one time. Private investigators possessing at least some of the attributes described above will, ideally, better serve themselves and their agencies, as well as attorneys and clients with any one of the many issues that may arise in the course of a given family law matter. Robert Epstein is a partner in Fox Rothschild LLP’s New Jersey family law group. He can be contacted at 973992-4800 or repstein@ foxrothshild.com.
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39
INVESTIGATING INNOCENCE
Rodney Lincoln Freed After Spending 36 Years in Prison Keagan meeting Rodney Sunday, Aug. 19 2018
“I’d rather be living life than doing life,” said Rodney Lee Lincoln, a distant relative of Abraham Lincoln. On the hot August day that I visited him at his daughter’s home in St. Louis, with my son Keagan Clutter, Lincoln was celebrating his 74th birthday. He spent 36 birthdays behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit. My son Keagan, who followed in my footsteps as a criminal defense investigator, conducted a crucial interview that helped demonstrate Mr. Lincoln’s innocence. Our organization, Investigating Innocence, began working on Lincoln’s case in the Fall of 2014, after I was contacted by his daughter, Kay Lincoln. She read an affidavit that I filed with the Illinois Prisoner Review Board that described how serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells killed his other victims. Sells was executed in Texas earlier that year, in April of 2014. In the 10 years that I served as director of investigations for what is now the Illinois Innocence Project, two people we helped free, Julie Rea and Herb Whitlock, served time in prison for crimes that were committed by Sells. My investigation of Sells in the Rea case involved a mother who was charged and convicted of killing her 10-year-old son on Oct. 13, 1997, in Lawrenceville, Illinois. She claimed an intruder broke into her home at 4 a.m., using a knife from her kitchen to kill her only child. My interviews of witnesses, that I videotaped, convinced Texas ranger, John Allen, who investigated Sells in his many other crimes, to sign an affidavit in support of Rea’s petition for a new trial. The case of Herb Whitlock involved the Paris, Illinois murders of a newlywed couple who were found stabbed to death in July 1986. A knife
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magazine | November/December 2018
BY BILL CLUTTER
from the kitchen was used by the killer in that case, and a neighbor heard screams of a dying woman at 4 a.m. Kay Lincoln was struck by the similarity of the murder in her father’s case with the other crimes Sells was known to commit. In the Del Rio case, a brutal murder of a child, Kaylene Harris, at 4 a.m., an intruder broke into the trailer where she was sleeping, took a knife from the kitchen, and left two girls for dead. One survived, which led to Sells’ arrest and death sentence in Texas. There was one other detail that stood out in my affidavit. Sells had sexually assaulted one of his victims who had given birth, who was eightmonths pregnant, with a baseball bat that was found protruding from her birth canal when police discovered the grisly crime scene in Ina, Illinois, in Nov. 1987. Sells’ confession to that crime was corroborated by Texas Rangers based on details he provided that were not publicly known. The murder victim in Lincoln’s case was stabbed to death with a knife from her own kitchen by an intruder. Neighbors living above the ground floor apartment heard a commotion below at 4 a.m. But the detail that stood out the most for Kay Lincoln was that the sexual assault the perpetrator inflicted on the victim involved using a broom handle. When police arrived, the corn bristles of the broom protruded from the victim’s anus. The similarity with the Ina murder victim was shockingly obvious. After getting the call from Kay, I enlisted the help of my son, Keagan, who works for the Madison County Public Defender’s office in Edwardsville, Illinois. I asked Keagan to interview Tim Sells, the brother of Tommy. Keagan’s interview confirmed that Sells, then 17-years-old, had moved from Arkansas with his family to St. Louis right before JoAnne Tate, 35, was murdered in her St. Louis home in April of 1982. My son’s investigation placed the notorious serial killer in St. Louis at the time of the murder. By the time I was contacted, the Midwest Innocence Project, based in Kansas City, had conducted mitochondrial DNA testing of a pubic hair that was said to be microscopically similar to Rodney Lincoln when he was tried three decades earlier. In 2010, the DNA test excluded Lincoln as the source of the pubic hair. This new forensic testing refuted the testimony of a Missouri State Police crime lab analyst who claimed Lincoln’s hair was microscopically similar to a public hair that was found at the crime scene. Many innocent people have been convicted based on the inexact and faulty “science” of microscopic hair comparison testimony, resulting in the FBI to recently review past cases where such testimony led to convictions. More than 70 percent of the DNA exonerations involve mistaken eye-witness testimony. Nevertheless, a judge denied Lincoln’s petition to vacate his conviction, citing the testimony of surviving victim, Melissa DeBoer, whose throat was slit, a seven-year-old child who witnessed the horrific murder of her mother. Her four-year-old sister, who later died of cancer, also survived after being left for dead.
A jury relied on Melissa’s eye-witness testimony that was arguably corroborated by “science” (the pubic hair), in convicting Lincoln in 1983. A first trial ended with a hung jury, unable to reach a guilty verdict. Residual doubt among the jurists in feeling less than certain in Lincoln’s guilt, is the one thing that saved Lincoln from a death sentence. Instead, he was sentenced to life behind bars. When I contacted the Midwest Innocence Project and offered to help, they didn’t seem interested in pursuing Tommy Lynn Sells as a suspect. They had their own alternate suspect they were investigating. In the summer of 2015, a dramatic turn of events occurred after I was contacted by film producer Ron Zimmerman, who came across our website Investigating Innocence. Ron was working for a new TV syndicated series called Crime Watch Daily. A true crime writer told Ron about my investigation on the Lincoln case. Diane Fanning’s first book was Through the Window: The Terrify True Story of Cross-Country Killer Tommy Lynn Sells. Ron immersed himself in the details of the case and began filming the story that would eventually lead to Rodney Lincoln’s release from prison. The first story on Crime Watch Daily aired in Nov. 2015. A defiant Melissa DeBoer was interviewed. She insisted Lincoln was guilty. In contrast, my interview detailed the evidence that pointed to Tommy Lynn Sells as the person who killed her mother. A testament to the power of the media, the program triggered the truth to come out. Melissa had a visceral reaction of seeing the face of the killer, Tommy Lynn Sells. On Nov. 28, 2015, Melissa, who had despised Kay Lincoln for advocating on Twitter and Facebook that her father was innocent, used social media to reach out to Kay Lincoln and the family of Rodney Lincoln. Posting on Facebook, Melissa announced, “Rodney Lincoln did not kill my mom. He did not attempt to kill my sister and I; It was Tommy Lynn Sells . . . I have kept an innocent person in prison for 34 years. I did not know I was wrong, but I was and realizing it is so painful. When I saw a picture of Tommy Lynn Sells, I had a horrible, horrible feeling.” I traveled to Pittsburg where DeBoer now lives and interviewed her for an affidavit that I provided to the Midwest Innocence Project. Zimmerman flew DeBoer to St. Louis, where she met Kay Lincoln and the two became friends. She met with the St. Louis Circuit Attorney, Jennifer Joyce, in early Dec. of 2015 and pleaded for Lincoln’s release. The next day, with cameras filming the dramatic meeting, DeBoer went to the prison in Jefferson City and had an emotional meeting with Rodney Lincoln, asking him to forgive her. Lincoln assured her he didn’t blame her. “You were just a child,” he said. The prosecutor, Jennifer Joyce, however, would not budge, and refused to free Lincoln. The Midwest Innocence Project filed a motion to vacate the conviction based on DeBoer’s recantation. The prosecutor filed a response, claiming Sells was in jail at the time of murder. To support the claim, the prosecutor attached with the pleading a copy of a book that said Sells had been arrested in Arkansas and sentenced to a juvenile facility weeks before the murder in early April of 1982. “Bill Clutter suggested that we at Crime Watch Daily hire a private investigator in Little Rock to find out definitely if Tommy Lynn Sells was in fact in jail in Arkansas,” said Zimmerman. “So, we engaged Michael West of Arkansas Investigations.” West found court documents that showed Sells had been arrested in Little Rock for breaking his girlfriend’s window while drunk, then arrested again a few days later in Paragould, Arkansas, for stealing a GMC Jimmy from behind a fraternity house,” said Zimmerman.
Sells wrecked the stolen truck and ran away from the scene. Sells was barefooted when he was caught by police. He was brought before a judge on April 6, 1982, still without shoes, and was appointed an attorney and was released on bail. “On April 14, 1982, Sells was given a suspended sentence under the condition that he pay $100 restitution and serve two months in a county home for wayward youth. This is where the story gets even more interesting,” said Zimmerman. “No written record says Tommy was there at the juvenile center.” West interviewed six staffers at the youth home. None of them could recall Tommy Lynn Sells ever being there. Based on the interviews West conducted, the usual procedure was for the convicted youth-offender to self-report. Court officials told West, back then the procedure was, a youth upon being sentenced by a judge is free to walk out of the courtroom. Zimmerman stated, “Tommy told the court he was on his way home and reported that his brother and his family all lived in St. Louis.” Less than two weeks later, on April 27, 1982, JoAnne Tate was murdered, and her two girls, ages 7 and 4, had their throats slit, but somehow survived. West’s investigation and affidavit was presented in a petition filed by the Midwest Innocence Project, in response to the prosecutor’s assertion that Sells was in custody. His investigation corroborated the interview that my son Keagan conducted of Sells’ brother. West owns UCMJ Investigations, a company that focuses on providing investigative defense services to military members and veterans. This was not his first case investigating an inmate who claimed to be innocent. The Innocence Project, based in New York, earlier had hired him to locate evidence under a court order. “We found the evidence in that case that
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they said didn’t exist,” said West. “I look at these cases as challenges more than anything,” he said. An evidentiary hearing was held in 2016, but the judge denied the petition, siding with the State. Prosecutor Joyce’s refusal to have an open mind went against the grain of recent trends, whereby conviction integrity units have been established within the offices of prosecutors throughout the country to objectively evaluate wrongful convictions and to take affirmative steps to right injustices that have occurred in the past. It came as no surprise that local courts, even when confronted with convincing evidence of a person’s innocence, so often fail to seek justice in cases like Lincoln’s.
Two more years would pass before Lincoln would come home to his family. Ironically, it was the election of a new prosecutor in St. Louis, Kim Gardner, the first African American elected as St. Louis Circuit Attorney, in November 2016, that paved the way for Lincoln’s release. It was a political sex-scandal that made it possible. After the media reported that Missouri Governor Greitens threatened to blackmail a woman whom he had an extra-marital affair with, the new prosecutor, Kim Gardner, charged Governor Greitens with a felony that ended his political career. He violated the law when he blindfolded the woman, tied her up naked, and took her photo with a cell phone, and threatened to release the photo if she ever told anyone of the affair. On his last day in office, agreeing to resign in exchange for a plea deal that spared him from going to prison, Greitens commuted the life sentence of Rodney Lincoln, setting him free. Regardless of how it happened, Lincoln was happy to be home on the day my son, Keagan, and I visited him. I was in the area visiting my son and gave Rodney a call. Coincidently, it happened to be his birthday. While we were visiting, Rodney’s two daughters, Kay and Janie, were busy preparing for a family cookout. An old friend, Rodney had known as a child, stopped by the house to wish him Happy Birthday. Then came a call from Melissa DeBoer. His face was lit up with joy, talking with the
woman who helped convince a Governor to set him free. “I love you, too,” said Rodney. It was a day that my son and I will remember for the rest of our lives. “It was great to finally meet Rodney Lincoln and to know that my work helped free an innocent man,” said Keagan. It is easy for us, who have never experienced being confined to a prison cell, to take for granted the small pleasures of life, like a party celebrating one’s birth. It was something he hadn’t experienced, blowing out candles on a birthday cake, surrounded by family and friends, for such a long time. When you ask him how long he spent in prison, without hesitation, he will tell you, “Thirty-six years, ten days,” when I recently spoke to him on the phone. At age 74, Rodney Lincoln is making up for lost time, enjoying the outdoors, fishing with his son Rod Lincoln, his namesake, and with old friends he has reconnected with. In September, Rodney went skydiving for the first time in his life, and is planning his next adventure, making the most of the remaining days he has left on Earth. Bill Clutter is a licensed private investigator in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky who specializes in criminal defense and crime scene investigations. He founded the Illinois Innocence Project and now leads a national organization of private investigators called Investigating Innocence. www.investigatinginnocence.com.
Rodney and Melissa on Crime Watch Daily
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magazine | November/December 2018
Private Investigation Association Presidents band together to form National Association combatting Child Sex Trafficking From left to right- NAMEC President and Past President CALI Joseph A. Travers, CPI, CCDI, CMECI NAMEC Chairman of the Board, Vice- President Private Investigation and Past President TALI, Mark Gillespie, TCI, CMECI NAMEC Southwest Regional Director and Past President CALI, Michael Julian, CPI, CSP, CMECI NAMEC Southeast Regional Director and Past President FALI, Tim O’Rourke, CMECI NAMEC Northeast Regional Director and President NCISS, Terry Myer, CMECI NAMEC Treasurer/ Secretary and Past President TALI, Kelly Riddle, TCI, CMECI NAMEC Vice- President SRT and President FALI, Rick Root, CMECI
T
he National Association for Missing & Exploited Children (NAMEC) HelpRescueChildren.org officially became a California non- profit charity in May 2017. As of June 30, 2018, NAMEC has enrolled over 150 members. NAMEC’s Board of Directors consist of the former and/or current Presidents of: The California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI), the Texas Association of Licensed Investigators (TALI), the Florida Association of Licensed Investigators (FALI): the BIG 3, and the National Council of Investigation & Security Services (NCISS). NAMEC’s signature seminar, “Investigation of Missing & Exploited Children: The Gateway to Child Sex Trafficking,” has been taught at private investigator conferences around the country, including FALI, TALI, APIA, SCALI, and NCAPI. This course has also been taught to The Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center (HSTC) Washington, DC and Naval Special Warfare Command (NSW) Coronado, California. NAMEC is a unified, ‘boots on the ground’, national force to assist and support missing & exploited children and their families. NAMEC acts as a hub for as-needed resources by engaging licensed private investigators, other professionals and volunteers, in the fight to recover and rehabilitate missing and exploited children. The inspiration for NAMEC started in 2014, in Oceanside, California with the formation of Saved in America (SavedInAmerica.org), a nonprofit comprised of volunteer former Navy SEALs and retired law enforcement officers who are all licensed and insured private investigators. SIA, to date, has successfully investigated and recovered missing and exploited children in 95 cases since December 2014.
NAMEC’s history began when one of SIA’s many rescues was the recovery of a 15-year-old girl from California who was tracked to Jacksonville, Florida. With the assistance of then FALI President Tim O’Rourke and FALI investigators, the SIA team rescued the girl and the criminal predator was arrested and prosecuted. This was the inspiration for forming a national association, NAMEC, using the PI profession to assist in the recovery of missing and exploited children. In May 2018, NAMEC celebrated their first conference with over 65 attendees. The NAMEC Conference was coordinated with the 2018 FALI Conference in Tampa, Florida. At the conference NAMEC presented its first scholarship award to a survivor of child sex trafficking! Licensed Private Investigators can get involved by joining NAMEC and becoming a “certified missing & exploited child investigator” (CMECI). In only six months since its inception in March 2018, NAMEC has certified 47 CMECIs. Once obtaining the CMECI designation, the licensed private investigator can become part of the NAMEC “special response team.” Child sex trafficking is a national problem. Law enforcement has limited resources to combat this horrendous crime of modern day slavery. Licensed private investigators from around the country can assist our communities and ‘fill the gap’ to rescue our children from violent sex traffickers and predators. Join the team!
November/December 2018 | www.pimagazine.com
43
AGENCY PROFILE
Powerhouse PI – A Glimmer into the world of Sheila Wysocki
I
n this issue of PI Magazine, we are pleased to feature Sheila Wysocki, owner of Without Warning Private Investigation LLC., of Nashville, Tennessee as our PI Agency Profile. Sheila’s companies’ principle is, ‘To provide clients with different investigative solutions and excellent investigative representation with a dedication to quality customer service.’ “My goal is to find a solution that makes the most sense to my clients regardless of the medium,” she explains. Sheila Wysocki is a mother of two and an accomplished private detective. It’s not usual to see those two epithets applied to the same woman, but Sheila herself is hardly what most people would consider usual. After solving her college roommate’s murder, a case that had gone cold for more than 25 years, Sheila devoted herself to investigative work completely, founding the non-profit Without Warning: Fight Back in 2004. She uses this as an outlet for advocating for victims of crime as evidenced in her current podcast, “Without Warning: The Lauren Agee Case.” Overwhelmed by the amount of families reaching out to her with cold cases, Sheila reluctantly took on Lauren’s case after a heart wrenching phone call from a distraught mother. Sheila says her agency is unique because, “my agency is going to go the extra mile and blaze trails to find the truth. I spend years working on these cases with families I represent. I take them through the rollercoaster of the justice system.” Sheila has a unique way of solving her cases, using what she calls her secret weapon of dyslexia. She sees cases in a way that isn’t the norm. Instead of it being a disability, she considers it an ability to see things in a different way. Sheila was nominated as one of the Top 20 Best Nashville Private Investigators. Voted number six most influential women private investigator and has been featured in The Washington Post and has appeared on Anderson Cooper, Dateline, Katie Couric, A&E Biography’s “I Solved a Murder,” ABC’s 20/20, Crime Watch Daily, Criminal and numerous other podcasts, Sheila is known worldwide for what she does. This past year, Sheila had the opportunity to present at CrimeCon, a true crime convention which is open to the public. Attendees became honorary investigators working through active cases that Sheila was currently involved with. From analyzing the 911 call and police statements to walking through the crime scene, attendees became the investigators themselves – asking questions and ultimately determining their own conclusion to the case. Never imagining herself in this line of work, Sheila now prides herself in mentoring female investigators and walking them through the highs and lows of investigations. Her advice to other PIs, “surround yourself with a group of investigators that care about your success, the industry, and have integrity.” When she isn’t solving cold cases or working on her investigative podcast, Sheila stays true to her own advice of surrounding herself with a group of investigators. Trying to keep things light in this dark industry
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magazine | November/December 2018
they work in, Sheila and her close group of seven investigators got together for a new podcast they are working on, called “Broke, Busted, and Disgusted A Day in the life of American PIs.” The podcast makes it feel as though you are sitting around the table with them drinking coffee, as they discuss the passions they share of seeking truth in a wronged situation, but with a humorous spin on things. Be sure to check out Sheila’s current podcast, “Without Warning: The Lauren Agee Case” featured on iTunes and Stitcher radio. Tune in to a new episode every week as you follow true crime in real time! PI: PI Magazine SW: Sheila Wysocki PI: What is unique about your agency? Courtesy SeantoL. find Hall) the SW: My agency is going to go the extra (Photo mile, blaze trails
WITHOUT WARNING PRIVATE INVESTIGATION, LLC
Address: 6688 Nolensville Road #108-227 Brentwood, Tennessee 37027 Phone: 888-599-0008 Email: Sheila@sheilawysocki.com
Years in Business: 14 Licensed In: Tennessee, Texas Investigation Specialties: Working for victims’ families of cold cases Company Motto: Without Warning your life can change. Association memberships: intellenet, NALI, NCISS, TALPI, TALI, INSPI, The International Women’s Leadership Association Website: http://ww.sheilawysocki.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WithoutWarningPI/inbox/ Twitter: @scrappymomPI Instagram: Withoutwarningpi Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/withoutwarning YouTube: http://sheilawysocki.com/withoutwarning Podcasts: http://sheilawysocki.com/withoutwarningpodcast
truth. I work years with the families I represent, I take them through the rollercoaster of the justice system. PI: Who were/are your mentors? SW: JD Skinner head of security in my former neighborhood who initially sponsored me to be a PI, Mike Kenney, one of the greatest PIs I have worked with and Paul Fantuzzi a former Detroit police officer. One thing I want to make clear is every conference I go to I meet fantastic investigators who become mentors to this day. Brandy Lord, Troy Fleming, Jay Marion, Mark Gillespie, Jon Tipton and George Gergis have all become mentors. PI: What changes have you seen in our profession since you started? SW: Women are influential and taking more leadership roles as professional investigators. PI: What has been your most successful marketing tool? SW: Podcasting has been the best marketing tool I could ever imagine. Podcasting is a great investigative tool bringing the case forward. PI: What advice do you give to prospective PIs? SW: I mentor new female investigators coming into the business. My advice is to surround themselves with a group of investigators that care about their success, the industry and have integrity. Of course, subscribe to PI Magazine.
www.voiceamerica.com/show/1748/pis-declassiied November/December 2018
| www.pimagazine.com
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INTERNET FYI
The Grand Tour of the World of Online Investigations 2.0
Tips, tricks, news, and techniques that will help you in the field. BY KARHRMAN ZIEGENBEIN
I
ts nearly Christmas time, my favorite time of the year. There is a good meal around every corner. The leaves, the smells, it’s just amazing. Oh my gosh, and not to forget my most awesome adopted holiday - Thanksgiving. Who can live without Thanksgiving? How did I survive in Germany without it? We have a holiday that sounds similar, it’s called Erntedankfest. It’s a Harvest Fest, and it really sucks.
sidered the most dangerous places on the web. Next, we will cover The Year after the Equifax Breach and the new law enabling people to protect their credit information. After that we will check out OneMillionTweetMap, a social media tool used to visualize tweets and aggregated Twitter data in a world map. And Last, we’ll learn how to use Tweet Mapper, a visual and interactive map of the world signifying locations of tweets from a supplied user.
But enough with my Christmas obsession. Today’s Lesson: Red Rooms, The Year after the Equifax Breach, One Million TweetMap, Tweet Mapper In today’s article, we will talk about the horrors of the Red Rooms and why they are con-
RED ROOMS, THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE ON THE WEB The ease of access to ever-improving live streaming technologies is increasing the production and spread of child pornography
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and other illicit content online. Anonymizing programs such as TOR, peer-to-peer networking technology and the capacity for increased file storage and sharing online has expedited the public exchange of content showing unlawful acts. For example, the dangerous areas of the Dark Web are “Red Room” sites where payper-view audiences spend Bitcoin to see unthinkable acts. The term “Red Room” comes from the Japanese Adobe Flash horror animation about an early 2000s urban legend called “the Red Room.” In this animation, the protagonist searches the Internet for proof of the existence of “the Red Room” only to face a horribly wrong outcome. As the protagonist, a boy starts looking at his researched websites, a pop-up appears with a childlike voice asking,
“Do you like …?” Even if the pop-up is closed, it keeps reappearing until the question changes to “Do you like red?” The boy keeps closing the pop-up and the message eventually changes to “Do you like the red room?” Eventually, the boy clicks on a website in which a list of names appears, with a name of a friend of his at the bottom. The boy then becomes aware of something behind him. In the animation it is rumored at school the next day that two students committed suicide, painting their rooms red with their own blood. The viewer then sees the protagonist’s computer displayed with the protagonist’s name at the bottom of the list. As the video ends, a pop-up appears on the viewer’s screen resembling the ad from the animation. Red Room sites are not a myth. They are unfortunately genuine. Tens of thousands pay to watch and interact live with platforms that show torture, rapes, and murders all from the comfort of their own homes. Paid interactive content includes: Child Pornography • Torture: A child being physically abused for the pleasure of the torturer and viewers • Rape: The sexual abuse of a child. • Non-activity: The child is tied to a bed or a chair, usually naked, and no physical harm is done to a child. Murder • Watching a random person kill another random person • Paying to kill or torture a specific person and then watching the act. • Choosing the type of killing (slit throat, for example) and then watching it play out. Rape • Men and women can be victimized and recorded. • Ability to choose the type of acts during the rape. Torture • Ability to choose and view the type of torture. • Anything and everything goes. Beastiality • Sex with animals. • The killing of animals. Some Red Rooms offer “director privileges.” The voyeur who is willing to pay the most to view a video gets to direct the action and decide what happens next to the victim. For a fee, some Red Rooms allow users to type in com-
mands or suggestions for the protagonist to play out for them. Australian Peter Gerard Scully is dubbed one of the world’s most depraved pedophiles. He operated a Dark Web child pornography site called “No Limits Fun” where he sold videos for up to $10,000 per view. His infamous Dark Web film titled “Daisy’s Destruction” showed footage of a young girl taken from her family at age five who was then filmed as she was tortured and assaulted sexually using hot wax, a lighter, barbed wire, submersion in water, and sex aids. Viewers watched the child as she was beaten, raped, tortured, and defiled by Scully and two masked accomplices. As of June 2018, Scully was sentenced to life imprisonment
Web site is taken down, like whack-a-mole another similar site pops up. Looking for possible online connections to known criminals help identify new network and site owners. THE YEAR AFTER THE EQUIFAX BREACH Stolen personal data, especially identity information, is bought and sold on the Dark Web. Most individuals have dozens of accounts and identifiers that form their identity online and offline. Every aspect of that identity is a commodity that can be sold. Intsights Inc. estimates that the data stolen from the Equifax breach, including credit card numbers, could be worth more than $32 million on the Dark Web.
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Stolen personal data, especially identity information, is bought and sold on the Dark Web. Most individuals have dozens of accounts and identifiers that form their identity online and offline. along with his former girlfriend and accomplice, Carme Ann Alvarez. A man known at the time as “Lux” ran another group of illegal Dark Web sites. His Dark Web empire consisted of many sites that offer censorship-free images and live streaming video. The network is sophisticated enough to provide a wiki and a community support forum. The worst of Lux’s sites is a Red Room that was known as Hurt2theCore. Lux was discovered to be Matthew Graham who began a 15-year prison sentence in 2016 for distributing child exploitation material. The FBI described Graham’s network as one of the most extensive and most extreme illicit and exploitive systems in the world. Graham’s websites and forums shared hundreds of thousands of photos and videos of the torture and rape of a young child in the Philippines. Children under the age of 11 could be ‘rented’ as sex slaves starting at $4,000 and others ‘bought’ for $10,000. Graham was also accused of encouraging the rape and murder of a child in Russia. During their investigations, authorities discovered a connection between Graham and Scully. The challenge is when one illicit Dark
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Top10VPN, a company that reviews Virtual Private Networks, created the Dark Web Market Price Index and calculated the average sale price of each identifier. In doing so, they discovered that a person’s entire identity could be purchased for as little as $1170. The reason such data is sold so cheaply is that there is so much supply. The 2017 Equifax hack, for example, compromised more than 148 million consumers. The Dark Web is now saturated with stolen Equifax personal data. One of the things that contributed to the breach of Equifax data was the failure to install a patch that had been available for two months. There was a vulnerability in the popular open source web software Apache Struts used to develop server-side applications. It is now a year later, and many companies have yet to patch that same bug. It was bad enough that Equifax was hacked. What made matters worse was that it took several months after the attackers first gained entry before Equifax discovered the breach. Hackers were able to move around Equifax data relatively unimpeded during that time siphoning off volumes of consumer personal information. They ran about 9,000 unauthorized que-
November/December 2018 | www.pimagazine.com
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Anyone who has responsibility for security should be aware of how essential credit freezes are to protect privacy.
ries over 76 days as they removed data in small increments using standard encrypted web protocols to make the exchanges look like normal network traffic. Some companies offer Dark Web scans to consumers who want to find out if their personal data has been compromised because of the Equifax hack and sold on the Dark Web. One such company is Experian, one of the world’s largest credit reporting companies. Whether or not companies can really scan the Dark Web as they claim is arguable. I consider the offer no more than a clever marketing ploy. The Dark Web cannot be indexed, can’t be accessed by search engines, and disallows systems like the Google spider to access and crawl sites. Therefore, it is unclear how it is possible to run a thorough scan as one would expect in such a service. Also, think of the Dark Web as a universe with millions of stars. TOR would be just one star in this universe. THE NEW LAW ENABLING PEOPLE TO PROTECT THEIR OWN CREDIT INFORMATION The new law enabling people to protect their credit information will take effect on September 21st of this year. This legislation makes it easy for consumers to freeze their credit information for free. Historically, credit companies charged a fee for this. There are also a host of credit monitoring companies that do this for a price. What this law does is enable consumers, at no charge, to prevent third parties from accessing their credit information. To look at the credit report, the consumer will first need to “thaw” their credit information to give permission to look at the data. Private companies, as well as the credit bureaus, will continue to offer credit “locks” for a monthly fee of $20 to $50. But these services simply do the same thing as a credit freeze. So, consumers will be in a position to save money as well as control their privacy. Many experts advise parents to freeze their children’s credit as soon as they have a social security number. This will prevent online fraudsters from opening fake accounts in the child’s name – a practice that can go undetected for years since children don’t typically use credit cards. Furthermore, anyone who has responsibility for security should be aware of how essential credit freezes are to protect privacy. It is shocking how easy it is to run a credit report on someone and obtain valuable private information. There are many websites out there which will run a credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus for a modest fee. The major credit bureaus aren’t much help in preventing ID theft and ensuring privacy. They will open accounts for anyone purporting to be a “landlord,” and online scammers have no scruples about falsely posing as a landlord. Legislation https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senatebill/2155/text Here is a list of links to the three major credit bureaus as well as a few smaller ones.
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https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html https://www.innovis.com/personal/securityFreeze https://www.exchangeservicecenter.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_ PersonalIDInfo.jsp No holiday is complete without a couple of gifts. Here are two Twitter Location Mapping tools to help you in your investigations. TWITTER LOCATION MAPPERS OneMillionTweetMap OneMillionTweetMap is a social media tool used to visualize tweets and aggregated Twitter data in a world map. With OneMillionTweetMap you can run searches specifying a search term or hashtag. Results are viewed in a heat map, cluster layer, or day/night layer. https://onemilliontweetmap.com To use OneMillionTweetMap: Step 1: Toggle whether you want to conduct a Regular Search or a Hashtag Battle using the toggle button at the top of the search column on the left-hand side of the page. Step 2: Enter in your search term or hashtag(s) Step 3: Select the type of results map you wish to see by toggling on or off any or all of the following options: Heatmap Layer, Cluster Layer, Day/Night Layer Step 4: Select rendering preferences: Cluster View or Sentiment View by sliding back or forth the purple rendering bar. Step 5: Select time range filters (if any). Step 6: View results in the map on the right-hand side of the page Step 7: View Top 5 Countries in the middle of the search column on the left-hand side of the page. Step 8: Click “View More Analytics” to view more search results analytics such as #hashtags, Cities, Countries, Languages Step 9: Click “Save Current Search” in the middle of the search column if you wish to save this search. Step 10: Click on the map to Zoom In or use the + or – buttons located on the upper right-hand corner of the page. Results example using the keyword “n. Korea”, all three map layer choices selected Cluster View and No Time Filter. (Heatmap layer is animated and does not show in a still photo. On the results screen tweet ‘hotspots” flash in red.
Tweet Mapper Tweet Mapper provides a visual and interactive map of the world signifying locations of tweets from a supplied user. The tool displays any Tweets from the previous 3200 posts that contain location data. https://keitharm.me/projects/tweet To see where a Subject tweeted from on a map: Step 1: Enter in the @screen name of the Subject. Ex: @karhrman Step 2: Press “Enter/Return” on your keyboard. Step 3: View Results Step 4: Use the + or – buttons (zoom in, zoom out) to zoom in on locations Step 5: Click “Satellite” in the upper left-hand corner of the map to view the satellite image ARTICLE TO WEBINAR Articles are great, but sometimes it is easier if someone shows you on the screen what to do and how to do it. Join our complimentary live online seminar on November 19, 2018 covering the content of this article. If you want to register for one of our five-day, hands-on courses in Florida, get 10 percent off by using promo code: PIMAGAZINE For all registrations go to: www.tomokodiscovery.com/pimagazine
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MERRY CHRISTMAS, FROHE WEIHNACHTEN AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS As we come to the end of 2018, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Frohe Weihnachten and a glorious Festivus for the rest of us. The holiday isn’t really a date, it’s a state of mind. Keep yours full of magical inspiration and the curiosity of a child. May it be kindled with the fire of life, love, and laughter. In Florida, we toast to a White Christmas every year. If the White runs out, we’ll drink the Red. Cheers! See you in 2019. Karhrman Ziegenbein is the Founder of Tomoko Discovery, an online evidence authentication platform that solves the collection and complex authentication of court admissible evidence from websites, social media, desktops, and the dark web. It is the only platform worldwide that offers a SHA256 cryptographic evidence authentication of desktop and webcam recordings in addition to the legal web captures. As part of his role, Karhrman shares his expertise, serving as an instructor at Tomoko Discovery’s Academy of Technology Investigations, teaching investigators throughout the world. Karhrman was born and raised in the Federal Republic of Germany and later served in the military as a combat medic at the Joint Medical Service in the Armed Forces of Germany. He speaks German and English fluently and currently resides in Florida with his family. For Comments, Questions and Suggestions Follow me on Twitter @ karhrman or email me at karhrman@tomokodiscovery.com
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BACKGROUNDING
The Opioid Crisis’ Impact on Hiring BY W. B NIXON
T
he 2017 year-end report from The Background Buzz, a leading periodical publication for the background screening industry, reported the legalization of marijuana by states and the opioids crisis were rapidly emerging issues. This projection has proven to be very true.
It is now undeniable the toll that the opioid epidemic has taken on the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), on average, 115 Americans die every day from a drug overdose involving an opioid, and even more suffer the debilitating effects of addiction. Despite state and federal efforts to curb the crisis, there is no sign that the epidemic is letting up. The effects of this crisis touch multiple aspects of people’s lives: their families, their communities, and of course, their workplaces. It’s that last aspect that this article is focused on. One impact on the workplace is that addiction leads to job loss and lower labor force participation. In fact, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently stated that the opioid epidemic is responsible for recent declines in labor force participation in the U.S. This claim is supported by a study by Alan Krueger at Princeton University which showed that among prime-age white men who are out of the labor force, over 50% report taking prescription opioids daily. Research of comprehensive prescription data reveals that nearly 85% of opioids were prescribed for working age people meaning that many people taking opioids are actually employed. Similar to the above, The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has reported that according to the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, an estimated 4.5% of re-
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The crisis is also concerning officials at the highest levels of government.
spondents aged 18 years or older reported illicit opioid use in the past year. An estimated 66.2% of these self-reported illicit opioid users were employed full or part-time. An example of an industry that has been hit hard by the opioid crisis is the construction industry. Regarding the opioid crisis, an October 2017 article by Construction Dive stated, “this crisis disproportionately affects the construction industry more than any other sector.” The article said that with an aging workforce in a physically demanding industry, construction workers turn to prescription medications to treat pains from years of physical labor. In fact, in 2016, construction workers in Ohio were 7.2 times more likely than workers in other industries to die from opioid-related overdoses, according to The Plain Dealer, an Ohio news publication. The opioid crisis is turning into a real problem for employers, who are having trouble finding workers in the midst of one of the tightest labor markets in decades. There are nearly 6 million job openings in the U.S. and the unemployment rate, at 4.1%, is at a 17-year low. But the share of people working or looking for work still hasn›t recovered from before the recession. Part of the problem: The rise in abuse of prescription painkillers, partially responsible for the 64,000 drug overdose deaths in 2016, has incapacitated thousands of working-age people whom employers would otherwise be eager to hire. The crisis is also concerning officials at the highest levels of government. “Curbing the opioid crisis is of critical importance for ensuring a stable or growing employment rate among prime-age workers,” wrote President Trump’s Council of Economic Advisors, in its annual economic report. An example of the impact at a state level is Maryland which saw a 70% increase in opioidrelated deaths in 2016, when 1,856 people died as reported by Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the Drug- and AlcoholRelated Intoxication Deaths in Maryland, 2016, released in June 2017. Presuming a significant number of these people were employed or employable, the available labor pool was reduced by these people no longer being available to employers in the state. In addition, according to Central Maryland Chamber of Commerce
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president Raj Kudchadkar, as result of this situation some employers that typically screen drug users out through testing are starting to become less picky. Kudchadkar added that “there’s definitely a direct impact on the business ecosystem,” stating that he has noticed changes primarily in the restaurant and retail sectors. “People have expressed fear about screening, because it might impact their ability to fill positions.” IF A CLIENT ASKS YOU FOR YOUR GUIDANCE REGARDING REDUCING THEIR HIRING STANDARDS ARE YOU PREPARED TO ADVISE THEM? One of the first issues to determine is whether they have a background screening and/or drug testing policy since relaxing their standards may require a revision of these policies. One approach to consider as an alternative
to relaxing their standards is implement an individual assessment process. This would mean examining the key requirements, e.g., experience, education, competencies, job duties, etc. required for the position and then juxtaposing this to the individual applicant’s situation: • Person’s honesty during the hiring process; their acceptance of responsibility for their actions and perspective on changing their lives • How long was the addiction or dependency on opioids • What type of treatment has the person undertaken and how long has the person been clean • Input from counselors or others that have direct knowledge of the recovered persons motivation, work ethic, relationships with others, etc. • Employment record before and after the person’s recovery, if any • Other information relevant to the situation
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In addition to conducting an individual assessment, there are other reasonable steps that employers can take to help mitigate their hiring risk including random drug testing during employment and/or implementing “reasonable suspicion” drug tests.
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A REAL EMPLOYER EXAMPLE: Deena Bradbury, co-owner of neighborhood favorite Grump’s Cafe in Annapolis, Md said it would be hard to fully staff her two locations if she hired based on drug test results. “Once we realized that there was a lot of folks with this set of circumstances, we changed how we dealt with it.” For example, she makes sure that recovering addicts are honest about any past criminal records and doesn’t assign more than one at a time to the same shift, to make sure they don’t negatively influence each other. Bradbury added, “It doesn’t always work out. Some employees relapse and disappear. But those who stay, can be even better workers than those who’ve never popped a pill in their lives. I think they tend to put forth more effort because they don’t feel like a job is owed them. They tend to earn it.” As you are aware, for some heavily regulated industries such tolerance is not an option for employers. However, for many this is a choice they can make. In addition to conducting an individual assessment, there are other reasonable steps that employers can take to help mitigate their hiring risk including random drug testing during employment and/or implementing “reasonable suspicion” drug tests. All of these methods should only be implemented after consulting with legal counsel. Also, regular pre-employment drug testing of applicants should continue in order to avoid hiring individuals with current opioid use problems. This would be a good time for you to recommend that your client review with their medical review officer and legal counsel their guidelines for hiring applicants that are legally using and not abusing opioids to make sure they are in lockstep with your hiring requirements. With the extremely low unemployment numbers and labor shortages in many fields, recovering opioid addicts are another potential pool that many employers can draw from to fill their positions. However, it is important that prudent and reasonable steps be taken to mitigate risk. Shifts in the labor pool require employers to make shifts in their hiring practices. PIs should be proactive in helping their clients tweak their hiring processes to be able to better-meet their hiring goals. W. Barry Nixon is the COO of PreemploymentDirectory.com the leading background screening information portal and online worldwide directory of professional background screening firms and suppliers to the background screening industry. He co-authored the landmark book, Background Screening & Investigations: Managing Hiring Risk from the HR and Security Perspective. He also is the publisher of award-winning newsletters, The Background Buzz and The Global Background Screener, and the author of the Background Checks column in PI Magazine. In addition, Barry is a past recipient of the elite ‘Top 25 Influential People in Security’ by Security Magazine and past Co-Chair, International Committee for the National Association for Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). He currently serves as a Global Ambassador for NAPBS. You can contact Barry at 1-949-770-5264 or online at wbnixon@preemploymentdirectory.com
magazine | November/December 2018
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Stress Management
BY MICHAEL PUGH
T
he duties of a private investigator requires constant vigilance. Individuals need to stay focussed on an ongoing basis, sometimes over the course of long hours. During that time, incidents can occur that leave you frustrated and overwhelmed.The following will help you manage that stress so you can remain effective and healthy Many private investigators go about their job on a day-to-day basis without thinking about the pressure they face. In fact, some don’t realize there is a problem until it becomes intense and affects every facet of their lives, whether at work or at home. Learning to spot the buildup of pressure is important. To do so, consider these tips: • Notice when your moods change. Stop and consider why. A primary sign of stress is when an individual is faced with the feeling of agitation without being able to pinpoint why. • Notice the way you talk to people. Are you willing to stop and listen or do you become annoyed quickly? This can indicate stress is building up. • Do you find yourself dreading the same types of activities that you have been managing before? If all of a sudden you hate your job or dread going to work, that can be an indication of stress.
Once you recognize that stress is there, you should do something about it before it has an adverse impact on you or on your life in general. Everyone’s tolerance level is different but we all face stress, that’s an undeniable fact. What do you do when you find that things are getting intense? Don’t ignore what’s happening, instead, take action to do something about it before it gets out of control. • Communicate the way you are feeling with your supervisor or someone you trust. Your family doctor can also help you. Ask for recommendations or advice on how to reduce or better manage the stress. Remember that in this industry, stress is common therefore, you should always bring it up to those you are working with. They will understand and share their strategies with you. • Take a break. Get away from the scenario that is causing the stress. Granted, in the security industry, you can’t always get away from the cause of stress. However, sometimes it’s as simple as taking a break from the work for a few days to consider why it is happening and to take the time to refocus. Often, we decide to keep moving forward without addressing the issues and it causes bigger issues down the road. • Don’t be hard on yourself or feel ashamed. Everyone deals with stress, job fatigue and even a lack of confidence. Time, support and communication can often help to reduce these risks.
• Consider the possibility of traumatic stress. In some cases, private investigators and security guards have life-threatening experiences when engaging targets or unruly people. These experiences can result in high stress. When stress levels are so high that you can’t seem to focus, and it’s impacting your family and life outside work, you need to do something about it right away. ASK FOR HELP! Everyone faces occasional stress when incidents occur in the security industry. By staying aware of how you are feeling, learning basic stress management techniques and asking for help, you can stay effective in the face of stressful situations. Remember, you can’t help anyone unless you take care of yourself, so start now! Michael Pugh is a Private Investigator and Owner of Focus Investigation and Protection Agency
November/December 2018 | www.pimagazine.com
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PUBLIC RECORDS UPDATE BY MICHAEL SANKEY, BRB PUBLICATIONS
Eight Tips for Searching Courts’ Online Record Databases 1. BE AWARE NOT ALL COURTS ARE ONLINE A surprising number of courts do not have computerized record keeping. Per the latest statistics taken from the Public Record Research System (https://www.brbpublications.com/products/Prrs.aspx): • 75% of primary* criminal courts offer online access to the docket index (76% of primary* civil courts offer online access to the docket index and 61% of county/parish city recorder offices provide online access). • 32 states have a state judicial system that provides online access to the docket index, which accounts for 74% of the online courts. • 26% (over 1,000 courts) of the online courts provide online access via their own proprietary system or via a contracted vendor. * Primary means criminal courts hearing felony and high end misdemeanor cases or courts hearing civil cases higher than small claims. But perhaps the key statistic lies in this statement: A general rule of thumb used by background screening companies and private investigators is that between 1,500 and 1,800 counties of the approx. 3,142 counties and county-equivalents in the U.S. offer online-onsite equivalent court records.
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The bottom line is roughly 1/3 of the court online sites are not onlineonsite equivalent (see Tip 2). 2. DETERMINE THE ONLINE-ONSITE EQUIVALENCY FACTOR A common practice today for firms involved in court record searching is to try to save $$ and/or find an edge over their competition by using online sources instead of an onsite court based search. That makes sense if the online source is equivalent to the public terminal at the courthouse. But how do you know if the online system is equivalent? There are a number of comparative factors to consider when comparing the results of an online search versus an onsite search. • What is the date range of the records online – meaning how far back do the records go online? For example online sources do not necessarily go back the same timeframe as the onsite search from the same jurisdiction. • How reliable is the database in terms of record completeness and accuracy? In other words: Are all incidents recorded? Are all dispositions updated and recorded in a timely manner?
• How reliable is the database in terms of geographic completeness and accuracy? Does the online site include records from all counties? Or are all courts in a county participating in the online access? • What identifiers are provided? Can you match the subject of the search to the record? For example do you get the full DOB (or at least a partial) in order to match the subject to the record? Will you need to ask the clerk to price an identifier to confirm the identity of the subject? • How strong is the disclaimer? Will an online-only search hold up in court as being a primary and thorough search? 3. KNOW THAT ONLINE SEARCHING IS GENERALLY LIMITED TO DOCKET SHEETS Most courts that offer online access limit the search to the docket sheet data as opposed to displaying case file images. But checking a courthouse’s computer online docket index is the quickest way to find if case records exist online. Just be sure to check all name variations and spelling variations. In general, case document images are rarely online, at least for free. The courts offering case images are usually subscription based and often require e-filing of documents. The reality is that to obtain case documents one must go on-site. 4. UNDERSTAND THE SEARCH MECHANICS Look for any help screens that may offer advice, such as the use of wildcards. If the search lets you input a partial name this will help you find records that may have name spelling variances. For civil cases, the usual reasonable requirement is a defendant (or plaintiff) name – full name if it is a common name – and the time frame to search – e.g., 20002-2017. For criminal cases, the court may require more identification, such as date of birth (DOB), to ascertain the correct individual. 5. BE AWARE OF RESTRICTED RECORDS Certain types of case records, such as juvenile and adoptions, are not released without a court order. Records may also be sealed from view or expunged. The presiding judge often makes a determination of whether a particular record type is available to the public. Some criminal court records include the arresting officer’s report. In some locations this information is regarded as public record, while in other locations the police report may be sealed. 6. WATCH FOR MULTIPLE COURTS AS SAME LOCATION Do not assume a search is countywide. When the general jurisdiction and limited jurisdiction courts are in the same building and use the same support staff, yes...chances are the record databases are combined as well. But that does not necessarily mean you will receive a search of both databases. Check it out as you may need to perform multiple searches - such as is the case in Virginia. 7. WATCH FOR OVERLAPPING JURISDICTIONS ON CIVIL LIMITS In many states, the general jurisdiction court and the limited jurisdiction court have overlapping dollar amount limits for civil cases. That means cases filed within a certain dollar (such as between $15,000 and $25,000) can be filed in either court. Check both courts; never assume. 8. LOOK FOR THE LAG TIME Depending on the level of due diligence needed, a good searcher needs to know what the time delay is for posting records. Is it a week or more, or 24 hours, or in real time? This is important if the search is conducted in connection with a high due diligence need such as with litigation or hiring matters. This is also a factor in judging Online-Onsite equivalency. • The Bottom Line • These are Questions Your Firm Must Answer: • How Do You Measure the Worthiness? • Do You Cut Corners? • Do You Monitor or Evaluate Sites • How Well Will your Results Hold Up in Court? November/December 2018 | www.pimagazine.com
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BY FRANCIE KOEHLER
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epending on when you receive this issue of PI Magazine, the 2018 National Investigator’s Conference in New York City may be but a fond memory. If, however, you are receiving the magazine before November 7, 2018, you MAY still have time to register. Steven Rambam and Jimmie Mesis organized this outstanding conference, Focusing on Education, at Manhatten’s Hotel Pennsylvania. For more information about this outstanding venue and training opportunity, go to http://www.2018investigators. com. Conference dates are November 8 -11, 2018. NCISS’ Mid-term board meeting is also being held in conjunction with this outstanding conference on November 8. If you are interested in information concerning NCISS or how to attend the NCISS board meeting, go to https://www.nciss.org. Today, as America is dealing with challenges at home and abroad, the words of President Ronald Regan are even more meaningful. During his second inaugural address, President Reagan reminds us of our history and who we are. “History is a ribbon, always unfurling; history is a journey. And as we continue our journey, we think of those who traveled before us . . . Now we hear again the echoes of our past; a general falls to his knees in the hard snow of Valley Forge, a lonely president paces the darkened Fig. 1 Swearing in ceremony of President halls, and ponders his strug- Ronald Reagan by Chief Justice Warren gle to preserve the Union, Burger with Nancy Reagan, January 21, 1985. the men of the Alamo call out encouragement to each other; a settler pushes west and sings a song, and the song echoes out forever and fills the unknowing air. It is the American sound. It is hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic, daring, decent, and fair. That’s our heritage; that is our song. We sing it still. For all of our problems, our differences, we are together as of old, as we raise our voices to God who is the Author of this most tender music. And may He continue to hold us close as we fill the world with our sound – sound in unity, affection, and love – one people under God, dedicated to the dream of freedom that He has placed in the human heart, called upon now to pass that dream on to a waiting and hopeful world. God bless you and may God bless America.” We cannot forget our song. Yes, we are hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic, and daring. Let’s also remember to strive to be decent and fair in our chosen professions and personal lives, and to set the example accordingly to those with whom we come in contact.
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REFERENCES: Inaugural addresses of the presidents of the United States. (2013). Vol. 2. Carlisle, MA: Applewood Books, Inc. Figure 1. (1985, January 21). Swearing in ceremony by Chief Justice Warren Burger of President Ronald Reagan with Nancy Reagan. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. Retrieved from https://www.reaganlibrary.gov ***** The following legislative issues pending in Washington D.C. are provided by:
S. 395 - (Wyden, D-Or) Geolocational Privacy and Surveillance Act, or GPS Act -- House companion - H.R. 3470 (Farenthold, R-Tx-27) This bill makes it unlawful to intentionally intercept the geolocation information of another person; intentionally disclose or use geolocation information knowing or having reason to know that it was obtained in violation of this bill; or intentionally disclose geolocation information knowing or having reason to know it was obtained as part of a criminal investigation with the intent to improperly obstruct with a duly authorized criminal investigation. There are several exceptions to this prohibition against intercepting geolocation information: (1) information obtained in the normal course of business, (2) information obtained while conducting foreign intelligence surveillance, (3) consent, (4) information readily available to the public, (5) theft or fraud involving the device, (6) issuance of a warrant, and (7) emergency circumstances. Geolocation information shall not be used as evidence in a legal proceeding when disclosure of such information would be in violation of this bill. The bill creates a civil cause of action for any person whose geolocation information is intercepted, disclosed, or intentionally used in violation of this bill. The bill makes it a criminal offense to knowingly and intentionally obtain, or attempt to obtain, global positioning system (GPS) records from a geolocation information service through fraud or by other means. It also makes it unlawful to intentionally and knowingly sell or transfer GPS records without the consent of the customer. H.R. 387 - Email Privacy Act Representative Kevin Yoder (R-KS03) introduced the Email Privacy Act in the House on January 9, 2017. On February 7, 2017, the bill was received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Judiciary. The bill currently has 138 cosponsors.
Legislative
Update
A governmental entity may require the disclosure by a provider of electronic communication service of the contents of a wire or electronic communication that is in electronic storage with or otherwise stored, held, or maintained by that service only if the governmental entity obtains a warrant issued using the procedures described in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (or, in the case of a State court, issued using State warrant procedures) that: (1) is issued by a court of competent jurisdiction; (2) may indicate the date by which the provider must make the disclosure to the governmental entity. (3) the bill is applicable with respect to any wire or electronic communication that is stored, held, or maintained by the provider. H.R. 923 - To Repeal the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 Representative Justin Amash (R-MI-3) introduced the To Repeal the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 on February 7, 2017. On April 25th, 2017, the bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Research and Technology. The bill currently has five cosponsors. The Cybersecurity Act of 2015 (division N of Public Law 114-113) and the amendments made by such Act are repealed, and the provisions of law amended by such Act are hereby restored as if such Act had not been enacted into law. H.R. 957 F.A.I.R. Surveillance Act of 2017 Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY8) introduced the Fourth Amendment Integrity Restoration (F.A.I.R.) Surveillance Act of 2017 on February 7, 2017. On March 9, 2017, the bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. The bill currently has two cosponsors. This bill specifies that an agreement between a federal and state or local law enforcement agency regarding the acquisi-
tion or use of a cell simulator device must require such state or local law enforcement agency to use the device in compliance with the federal agency’s guidance and policies. The term “cell simulator device” means a device that: (1) simulates a cell tower to provide an electronic communication service, or (2) functions as a cell tower to locate cellular devices or identify their unique identifiers S. 631 Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act Senator Edward Markey introduced the Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act in the Senate on March 3, 2017. On March 15, 2017, the bill was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The bill currently has 0 cosponsors. This bill amends the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 to provide guidance and limitations regarding the integration of unmanned aircraft systems into United States airspace and for other purposes. The Secretary of Transportation shall establish procedures to ensure that the integration of unmanned aircraft systems
into the national airspace system is done in compliance with the privacy principles. A governmental entity (as defined in section 2711 of title 18, United States Code) may not use an unmanned aircraft system or request information or data collected by another person using an unmanned aircraft system for protective activities, or for law enforcement or intelligence purposes, except pursuant to a warrant issued using the procedures described in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (or, in the case of a State court, issued using State warrant procedures) by a court of competent jurisdiction, or as permitted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. Working together, we can make a difference! Francie Koehler NCISS Legislative Chair, Investigation Francie Koehler is a two-term past president of both NCISS and the California Association of Licensed Investigators as well as serving as the Legislation Chair for each one. She can be contacted at francie@specialcircumstancespi.com
NCISS
National Council of Investigation & Security Services Your Voice from the Nation’s Capitol
Each day, NCISS monitors legislation that could have an adverse effect on your business.
Show your support and appreciation; become a NCISS member, TODAY! www.NCISS.org
NCISS Administrative Offices 7501 Sparrows Point Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21219-1927 tel: 800.445.8408 fax: 410.388.9746
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PERSPECTIVE
Traditional Investigative Techniques in Modern Times BY ROBERT OROZCO
W
e currently live at a point in time where people use technology to help facilitate every aspect of their lives. Whether it’s for work or for play, there is some level of technology available, and in many cases, readily embraced by society. Professional investigators are no different in our search for the latest and greatest computer program, database, or gadget to help with the work that we do. While it’s true that investigative methods and techniques are constantly evolving, and sometimes rapidly so, investigators need to exercise caution in an over-reliance on technology as a substitute for highly-skilled traditional investigations. Let’s take a look at some examples where investigators may be tempted to use technology to assist in their casework. Physical surveillance is a specialty where investigators can feel they are missing out if they do not purchase and have at their disposal certain devices. When I first came into the profession, GPS trackers were already being used by some surveillance investigators. However, within a few years, the laws started catching up and now the uses for GPS trackers are limited mostly to the consent
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of the owner of the vehicle. Another aspect of GPS tracker usage that investigators don’t often consider is it really only tracks what it is attached to. GPS trackers are most commonly used to attach to a vehicle. With surveillance being one of our company’s specialties, we frequently encounter subjects who ride a bus, light rail, bicycle, take a cab/Uber/Lyft, or simply depart a given area on foot. Another tool that became popular for surveillance investigators several years ago is stationary surveillance platforms. Most commonly, these consist of a motion sensitive recording device placed in a vehicle or an inconspicuous housing to prevent theft or tampering. Again, it didn’t take investigators long to realize the limitations of this equipment. As the equipment is stationary any type of activity where the subject departs the area or simply walks out of the range of view or zoom capabilities of the equipment will likely leave the client asking for more. Anyone who has done surveillance knows targeting specific activity can often be difficult to replicate. Another point to consider is the elements: rain, snow, viewing angles being blocked at the most inopportune time by any number of factors, not to mention the legal and ethical limitations. Discreet placement of the equipment is also a limiting factor. With these challenges in mind, the surveillance investigator quickly realized the equipment may not be used in as many cases and situations as initially hoped.
The latest device many surveillance investigators are quick to embrace is the use of drones. However, similar to GPS trackers, laws are catching up to the technology to drastically limit the legal uses for professional investigators. Also, as was pointed out at a recent PPIAC monthly meeting, drones are not designed for any type of covert use. They tend to be fairly loud and resemble an electric grass trimmer in sound. Drones are also designed for high visibility with a number of flashing lights, exactly the opposite of what a surveillance investigator would want in covert use. Another factor which was raised at the PPIAC meeting was the limited flying time of drones. Again, the very nature of surveillance is unpredictable. Experienced surveillance investigators know that surveillance is scheduled in several hour time blocks, and even then, specific results can’t be guaranteed. Those blocks of time are much longer than the limited air time drones currently offer. Finally, there is very little case law around the country regarding the use of drones to conduct surveillance of a specific individual or even specific groups of people. I’m willing to bet it won’t be much longer before laws come into effect to limit the use of drones for surveillance purposes. With all the limitations of the technologies discussed above, it begs the question of whether these devices are worth the price one might pay to acquire them. I can’t and won’t say that these devices may never be used as an aid or substitute for physical surveillance. Certainly, every case is different and there tends to be an exception to every rule. We, as investigators, should think outside the box and if need be, reimagine the box to legally accomplish what our clients task us with. However, when technology falls short, we should be prepared to use traditional investigative means to provide clients with the highest quality work product possible.
There is simply no substitute for good old-fashioned, well-executed surveillance. Limitations of technology are not exclusive to surveillance. For investigative background cases, a comprehensive report copied and pasted onto an investigative agency’s report is no substitute for the highly skilled and attentive investigator who can locate, sift through, and organize the information in a manner that is most pertinent to the case. For statements and interviews, no audio recording device in the world can make up for a poorly skilled investigator who does not make the interviewee feel comfortable enough to open up with highly sensitive information. While it is unquestionably necessary to embrace a certain level of technology to keep up with the changing times, it is also incumbent upon professional investigators to learn, retain, and continue honing traditional investigative methods to serve as the foundation for which technology, when and where appropriate, may be used. Robert Orozco is the Founder and Co-Owner of Advanced Professional Investigations and has been a professional investigator for over a decade and a half. He is highly experienced in insurance fraud and claims investigations and specializes in surveillance. In early 2010 Robert became involved and testified in an effort to defeat Colorado HB 10-1012, a bill that would have eliminated surveillance in Colorado workers compensation investigations. The bill was ultimately defeated. Robert is past President of the Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado. He was influential in the introduction of Colorado’s PI license bill. The bill would ultimately be passed into law after 36 years of previous attempts by PPIAC, and took effect in July 2015. Robert continues to work toward elevating the standards of professionalism for investigators in Colorado.
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BY BRUCE HULME, CFE, BAI- ISPLA DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
ISPLA Insights
A
s this article is being written, the White House is occupied with attempting to identify the author of a The New York Times anonymous editorial article critical of President Trump; Watergate coauthor Bob Woodward of the 1976 book All The President’s Men, who relied on “Deep Throat” to help bring down President Nixon, is releasing another “tell all” about the current president in his book Fear; Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller III continues to file indictments and gain additional convictions of individuals relating to purported criminal Russian government influence over the 2016 U.S. Presidential election; and little legislative activity has occurred on the part of Congress which is occupied with the upcoming midterm election. However, the recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the president’s nominee, U.S. Court of Appeals D.C. Circuit Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, to the U.S. Supreme Court and his past involvement
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with Federal Election Commission decisions regarding “prosecutorial discretion” may have future bearing on past decisions that were not brought to light in the recent hearings on his appointment to replace retired Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. ISPLA was the only national investigative and security professional association to make a federal political action committee donation to a federal candidate in 2017. At the present time we do not plan to contribute to any candidate in this year’s mid-term federal election. However, as ISPLA-PAC’s treasurer and ISPLA’s government affairs director I continue to keep abreast of the latest decisions and trends regarding federal election law. Two FEC recent decisions below – an Advisory Opinion and a Matters Under Review – are worth noting. FEDERAL ELECTION ADVISORY OPINION ISSUED On September 6, 2018, the Federal Election Commission approved an advisory opinion (AO 2018-11) in response to a request from
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Microsoft Corporation. The Commission concluded that the requestor’s proposal to offer a package of enhanced online account security services to its election-sensitive customers, at no additional charge and on a nonpartisan basis, would not result in the making of a prohibited in-kind contribution because Microsoft would be providing such services based on commercial and not political considerations, in the ordinary course of business, and not merely for promotional consideration or to generate goodwill. Thus, the Commission concluded that the proposal is permissible under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and Commission regulations. The Commission also noted that Microsoft’s services would further the Commission’s implementation of the ban on foreign participation in elections at 52 USC §30121. Matters Under Review Before The Federal Election Commission: In the Matter of Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. and Timothy Jost in his official capacity as treasurer; and Donald J. Trump The complainants were the Campaign Legal Center, J. Gerald Hebert, Democracy 21, Paul S. Ryan, Fred Wertheimer, Michael Glenn Bradley, and the American Democracy Legal Fund. They alleged that Donald J. Trump and his campaign committee and treasurer Timothy Jost knowingly solicited contributions from foreign nationals in connection with his 2016 presidential election by sending emails to members of foreign parliaments in June and July 2016. The FEC closed its file on September 6, 2018 (MURs 7094, 7096, & 7098). While the Commission has publicly committed to prioritizing complaints regarding foreign national contributions, according to the vice-chair Republican members appeared to dismiss any Trump related FEC matters.
STATEMENT OF REASONS OF VICE CHAIR ELLEN L. WEINTRAUB Federal campaign finance law is clear: It is illegal to “solicit, accept, or receive a contribution” from a foreign national. Regardless of whether any foreign money ever makes its way into a campaign’s coffers, any solicitation of a foreign national on its own violates the law. Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. (“Trump Committee”) appears to have solicited contributions from members of foreign parliaments on not one, not two, but at least four separate occasions. Although this is a straight forward violation of law, my Republican colleagues decided that pursuing it was not worth the Commission’s resources. According to the Complaint and multiple press sources, in June 2016 numerous foreign nationals received solicitation emails from the Trump Committee asking recipients to “DONATE NOW.” Members of parliament in Iceland, the United Kingdom, and Australia all reported receiving solicitation emails. Indeed every member of the 54-person Scottish National Party reportedly received emails asking them to please chip in today and “donate right now.” The Trump Committee asserted that it could not have known that a small portion of its e mail list included foreign nationals, but there should have been no question that the addresses belonged not just to foreign domains, but to foreign government officials, at domains including @parliament.uk and @parliament.scot, among others. And, even after the media began covering news that the campaign solicited foreign nationals in June 2016, the campaign continued to solicit foreign nationals as late as July 12, 2016. It defies reality to suggest campaign officials were not on notice of the foreign solicitations when all they had to do was open a newspaper. Yet they appear to have done nothing to correct the problem. Given the evidence in the record, it is no surprise that the Commission’s Office of General Counsel (“OGC”) recommended finding reason to believe that the Trump Committee violated the law by knowingly soliciting contributions from foreign nationals. It’s a pretty open-and-shut case. I agreed with that recommendation, and moved to direct OGC to conduct an investigation. While the evidence was clear that the Trump Committee had illegally solicited foreign nationals, several important questions remained: the number of solicitations the campaign sent to foreign nationals, whether the campaign received any
contributions from foreign nationals as a result of the solicitations, and how exactly the email addresses of members of foreign parliaments came to be on the campaign’s email lists. No political list broker would have had such addresses on its lists. An investigation would have allowed Commission attorneys to answer these important questions. My Republican colleagues, however, rejected counsel’s recommendation. They instead moved to dismiss the allegations. At a time when American elections are under a serious threat of foreign influence, these colleagues believed it was not worth pursuing allegations that the Trump Committee illegally solicited contributions from foreign nationals. And unless the full D.C. Circuit overturns the recent decision by Judges Randolph and Kavanaugh eviscerating complainants’ right to seek judicial recourse, the Republican Commissioners will be able to render their obstruction unreviewable by invoking the new magic words “prosecutorial discretion.” This is not an isolated matter. The Republican Commissioners do not appear inclined to pursue other apparent violations by the Trump Committee. The very same day they blocked the Commission from pursuing this matter, they also voted against counsel’s recommendation to investigate whether Paul Manafort, as an agent of the Trump Committee, illegally solicited contributions for a Super PAC supporting Trump. Both cases were placed on the same agenda by the Republican Chair. While the Commission has publicly committed to prioritizing complaints regarding foreign national contributions, the true priority of my Republican colleagues appears to be to dismiss any Trump-related matters. Earlier this summer, they refused to investigate whether President Trump converted campaign funds to personal use by using the campaign to promote his own financial interests. My colleagues appear to have little interest in pursuing alleged violations of the law by the Trump Committee, under any circumstances.
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***** Should PI Magazine’s professional investigators wish to financially contribute to ISPLA’s lobbying efforts, checks may be mailed to ISPLA at: 235 N. Pine Street, Lansing, Michigan 48933. If contributing to ISPLAPAC, donations must be made by PERSONAL check only. Thank you! November/December 2018 | www.pimagazine.com
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HISTORY
Horse of a Different Color BY DANIEL J. DEMERS Copyright © 2018 by Daniel J. Demers All Rights Reserved
T
his is a story reminiscent of the Academy Award-winning movie “The Sting.” The tale has all the same elements: marks and their money, the “play,” grifters, aliases, pigeons, couriers, phony tips, betrayal, killings and numbers rackets. Unlike The Sting though, this story is real.
In 1911 New Mexico’s Las Vegas Optic newspaper described Ben A. Chilson as “an allaround horseman of the wooly and rascally type — a fair sort of judge of thoroughbreds — an expert in chemistry…[who] had dabbled in veterinary.” He was the brains behind a crime ring that lasted from 1892 till its demise in 1907 at the hands of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Chilson had numerous associates. His second in command was an African American known as “Jimmie” who described himself as a “crap shooting…flat footed hustler,” related
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the Optic. He was a slippery track hound who operated under numerous aliases. Their scam was disguising race horses and betting on them around the country — an enterprise known as “ringing.” Chilson and Jimmie’s scheme was simple. They would take a sluggish race horse which they would race to establish a poor record. Then they would take a superior horse and paint it to look like the lesser one. In 1892 they began their scheme with “Abba” whom they substituted for “Spooks.” With the lesser record Spooks’ odds were set at 100 to 1. Through confederates, Chilson and Jimmie organized bets in “[betting parlors] from Portland to Seattle to Chicago” related the Optic. They and their confederates took in $40,000 in winnings [$1.4 million in current values]. A few years later, the duo ran a bay named “McNamara” which “through a peroxide process” they turned into a chestnut and renamed him “Hiram Johnson.” They ran the horse “in a lackluster manner [in St. Louis],” explained the Optic. Then they shipped him to New Orleans
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and chummed bets in parlors throughout the country. The Optic reported, “there was much lamentation in [the nations betting parlors which lost] $100,000 [$3.3 million in current values].” Authorities sought to verify Hiram Johnson’s pedigree causing Chilson to buy the well-established horse named “Fiddler.” He modified “McNamara” aka “Hiram Johnson” to look like Fiddler by painting and dyeing him. Chilson and Jimmie then euthanized the real Fiddler. As Fiddler, McNamara won numerous races in the western circuit and then the Chilson gang shipped Fiddler east. On October 3, 1903, they entered the horse in the last race of the day at the Bronx’s Morris Park. Bets were placed in [betting] rooms across the country,” related era newspapers. Fiddler won. The New York Evening World reported that “after the race there was a loud and piteous wail from [the nation’s bookmakers].” They lost $500,000 [$15,000,000 in current values]. The race was the beginning of the end for the ringers. New York’s Jockey Club was
“
The tale has all the same elements: marks and their money, the “play,” grifters, aliases, pigeons, couriers, phony tips, betrayal, killings and numbers rackets. Unlike The Sting though, this story is real.
”
tipped off and hired the Pinkerton Detective Agency. A picture was obtained which the Minneapolis [MN] Journal reported “positively identified [Fiddler] as McNamara.” The Pinkertons then “began…shadowing [those involved]…for months.” Bettors, owners and trainers “were followed and their associations…every dollar that was bet on Fiddler was pursued,” related the Las Vegas [NM] Optic. Realizing the gig was up, the trio poisoned Fiddler who was really McNamara and who had been Hiram Johnson. There was no law in New York at the time against ringing. Chilson decided to take another stab at a ringer. This time he chose a horse named “Freckman” stabled in Oakland, California. Freckman’s co-owner didn’t want to participate. So Chilson simply stole the horse. Oakland Police issued a “Reward Postcard” offering $100 reward for the horse’s return. The postcard asserted that Freckman had been “seen being led away by…[a person believed to be Chilson].” Freckman was a four-year-old Bay, “moused [sic] colored with white markings on his fore face and two white hind feet.” He had large eyes and a black mane and tail. Ten months later, newspaper headlines blared that Freckman had been found at the Jamaica [New York] Race Track. The press reported that he had been entered under the name “Cataract.” A special dispatch to the San Francisco Call from New York asserted that Jamaica stewards “bided their time…until… Cataract was brought into the paddock to run in the last race.” Just before the race, officials advised Cataract’s trainer they wouldn’t allow him to run because he was unregistered. Records showed that the real Cataract had actually died at the age of three some years before. The horse was taken into custody by Pinkerton detectives and “inspected for evidence of dye.” Washed with ammonia, the International Horseshoers’ Monthly Magazine reported “a pail of stuff came off
the horse…white markings on his face [and hind legs] were washed out.” The Monthly added: “Had Cataract gone to post yesterday in the race…he would have ruled 100 to 1 in the betting [and easily won].” As the story unfolded, the Washington [DC] Times reported that the scheme was more than your typical “ringer” fraud. The Times related that the ringleaders had “secured large sums of money from men induced to advance funds to back the ringer.” The Times also disclosed that Freckman had been raced under the name “Judge Smythe” at Providence [RI]. A
New York Times article reported Freckman had been run on St. Louis tracks under the name “Buck Wynne” and had netted $50,000 in winnings. Chilson retired to his Oregon farm. Jimmie, the “crap shooting…flat footed hustler,” was still trying to work the system as late as December of 1907. Jimmie tried to run “Madri, a bay mare” at a New Orleans’s Race Track. Track officials refused her entry because of “insufficient identification [and added] an attempt at ringing [was] suspected,” reported the San Francisco Call.
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CONFERENCE CORNER TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF LICENSED INVESTIGATORS CONFERENCE
La Torretta Lake Resort and Conference Center, Montgomery, Texas August 22 through August 26, 2018 TALI held their annual conference this year at the beautiful La Torretta Lake Resort in Montgomery Texas. The conference was well attended as usual with TALI sponsored events, with well over 200 attendees. This years theme was Strategies for Success: Partners in Progress and was well revived by the membership. A large vendor area was present with all of the major hitters of our profession being present and well represented. This years training and networking sessions were well organized and very informative reinforcing TALI’s strong commitment to a well informed and knowledgeable professional investigator. PI MAGAZINE were invited with publishers Nicole Cusanelli and Jim Nanos attending and reporting on the conference.
2018 PPIAC CONFERENCE
September 13-15, 2018 The success of the 2018 Rocky Mountain PI Conference lay in the attendees and amazing speakers. In attendance were Investigators from around the country, and together we learned new ideas, networked, and shared tips and tricks for investigations and navigating the altitude. It was an opportunity to meet friends and colleagues (both new and old,) discover new goods and services from excellent vendors including PI Magazine, and combined the very best parts of a working conference and a working vacation. Having a quality venue and quality speakers means very little if you don’t have quality attendees- we were fortunate enough to get the cream of the crop with all three. Thank you all for helping to make the Rocky Mountain PI Conference great!
ARIZONA ASSOCIATION OF LICENSED PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS Well, we got through another AALPI-APSA conference. A successful conference at that. What made it successful? It cannot be measured in monetary terms or P.I.’s in attendance. It is in the added benefits of continuing education for our chosen profession and the networking that made this conference a success. Thank you to all that attended! If you did not attend this conference, you lost out. Make time to attend next year’s conference. At this time, we are shooting for September 7 – 8, 2019
MINNESOTA ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS AND PROTECTIVE AGENTS
Kelly Riddle providing a training session.
The MAPI Fall Conference at Jackpot Junction Casino in Morton, MN was a huge success, with over 50 attendees who received traing in CPR & First Aid Additional topics included Nursing Home and Caretaker Abuse Investigations, Asset and Background Investigations,and Operating a Successful PI Business with NationallyRecognized PI Kelly Riddle from TX. The conference was rounded out with three hours of Active Shooter Training by local Law Enforcement Trainers. A big thanks to our Premier Sponsor PI Magazine for donating the nice door prizes and magazines and offering our group a subscription discount. Tim Braatz, MAPI President www.mapi.org
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magazine | November/December 2018
SEMINARS CONFERENCES
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NOVEMBER 2018 4-6: NCAPI Fall Conference Doubletree Suites By Hilton Oceanfront Atlantic Beach, NC (conference website link coming soon) 8-11: 2018 Investigators Superconference Hotel Pennsylvania New York, NY http://www.nciss.org/ http://www.2018investigators.com JANUARY 2019 10-11: National Association of Licensed Investigators Mid-Winter Conference San Marcos Resort, Chandler, AZ nali.com
MAY 2019
SEPTEMBER 2019
8-10: South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators The Dave MacDougall Basic PI Seminar Annual Spring Conference and Seminar AC Hotel by Marriott, Spartanburg, SC http://scalinv.com May 30- June 1: California Association of Licensed Investigators 2019 Annual Conference Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino Las Vegas, NV https://www.cali-pi.org/
7-8: Arizona Association of Licensed Investigators/Arizona Process Servers Association 2019 Annual Conference Sheraton Mesa Hotel at Wrigleyville West Mesa, AZ https://aalpi.com/
Submit your conference and seminar dates to Nicole@PIMagazine.com
18: South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators The Dave MacDougall Basic PI Seminar Hilton Garden Inn Harbison, Columbia, SC http://scalinv.com FEBRUARY 2019 21-24: Florida Association of Private Investigators 2019 Annual Litigation and Investigators Conference Hilton Altamonte Springs/Orlando Altamonte Springs, FL http://myfapi.org/event-2949808 MARCH 2019 28-29: Professional Association of Wisconsin Licensed Investigators 2019 PAWLI Annual Training Conference The Hotel Mead, Wisconsin Rapids, WI https://pawli.com/ 715-423-1500 APRIL 2019 2-5: Intellenet International Intelligence Network 36th Annual Intellenet Conference Marriott City Center Hotel, Charlotte, NC http://intellenetwork.org/Annual-Conference.aspx
If your association is planning a conference or training seminar, contact PI Magazine and PI Gear for vendor opportunities. We offer an attractive advertising and sponsorship package designed to actively promote your conference Through free advertising in PI Magazine and our web-page, and inclusion as a sponsor on our email distribution list, we'll get the word out! After the conference, we'll publish a conference report to make readers aware of your conferences success and highlights. Our vendor tables and displays are first class and will add a professional, well organized vendor appeal to your vendor area making breaks and down-time enjoyable, well-received and informative to conference attendees.
Contact Nicole at Nicole@PIMAGAZINE.COM or call the office at 856-566-044 for more information. Having a conference or seminar? Have PI MAGAZINE & PI GEAR as a vendor. November/December 2018
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Resources
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Mara McLaughlin, CFE, CAMS, CCIE President NYS Licensed Private Investigator
Mayberry Investigations 1019 Ft. Salonga Road, Suite 10 Northport, NY 11768
t: 631-731-1164
mayberryinvestigations.com mara.mclaughlin@mayberryinvestigations.com
877.723.2689 www.TRACERSINFO.com (See our display ad on page 5)
We locate people and assets since 1996
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Civil, Criminal & Corporate Investigation Asset, Financial, Background, Due Diligence Investigations Personal Injury & Pre-Trial Support Insurance Investigations - Surveillance Experts Domestic & Family Matters - Locates & Missing Persons Social Media & Internet Investigation & Digital Forensics 1-800-435-8084 & 508-835-2211
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DAVID J. COHEN PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR TOP NOTCH INVESTIGATIONS
LICENSED AND BONDED - NY LICENSED - Maryland Specializing in Civil and Criminal Investigations Cell Phone: 917-301-0430
www.djcinvestigativegroup.com
AMIS
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Uncover More Business on PInow.com
Commercial General Liability Errors and Omissions Assault & Battery
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www.amisinsurance.com
609-846-0400
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DETECTIVE TRAINING INSTITUTE
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Looking for a Private Investigator in Arizona?
www.piservices.mx
Check here First:
Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators
email: info@piservices.mx
Tel and fax: +52 (55)5660 1323 Iguala #12 Bis, Col. Roma Sur, 06760, Mexico City
www. AALPI.com
Since 1974
SHINKOWSKY INVESTIGATIONS Harrisburg, PA
Experienced Professionals (800) 276-0202 www.harrisburgpi.com
Under The Sun Investigations, LLC Connecticut’s Premier, Professional and Experienced PI Firm. Specializing in all areas of investigative needs. Owned and Operated by Michael J. Gugliotti.
civil-criminal-medico legal
www.alaskainvestigations.com Andy Klamser • (907) 299-1989 NALI - NCISS - NACDL - WAD INTELLENET
Austin Brownsville Corpus Christi Dallas El Paso Ft. Worth Houston Lubbock McAllen San Antonio
6401 Bingle Road Ste. 203 Houston, Texas 77092 (713) 807-8811 (Office) (888) 708-2321 (Toll Free) (713) 807-8311 (Fax) Texas State License #C06262901
Bill Pellerin, CEO TCI, PCI, CII
bpellerin@texasinvestigators.com www.texasinvestigators.com
UTSI, “Where Experience Matters Most!”
203-228-3014
www.underthesuninvestigations.com
utsillc@gmail.com
United States Postal Service - Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation (All Periodicals Publications Except Requestor Publications)1. Publication Title; PI Magazine, Inc. 2. Publication Number: 23261 3. Filing Date: 10/8/2018 17 4. Issue Frequency: Bi-monthly 5. Number of Issues Published Annually:6 6. Annual
Subscription Price: $39.00 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: 2300 New Jersey Ave, Unit 101 North Wildwood, NJ 08260, 8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher: 542 Cross Keys Road, Unit 3-228, Sicklerville, NJ 08081, 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Address-
es of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Nicole Cusanelli, 542 Cross Keys Road, Unit 3-228, Sicklerville, NJ 08081, James Nanos, 542 Cross Keys Road, Unit 3-228, Sicklerville, NJ 08081. Nicole Cusanelli and James Nanos, 542 Cross Keys Road, Unit 3-228, Sicklerville, NJ 08081. 10. Owners: PI Magazine, Inc., 542 Cross Keys Road, Unit 3-228, Sicklerville, NJ 08081, Nicole Cusanelli, 542 Cross Keys Road, Unit 3-228, Berlin, NJ 08081, James Nanos, 542 Cross Keys Road, Unit 3-228, Sicklerville, NJ 08081. 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: Jimmie Mesis, PO Box 7198, Freehold, NJ 07728. 12. Tax Status: Not applicable, 13. Publication Title: PI Magazine, 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: September 1, 2018, 15. Extent and Nature of Circulation - a. Total Number of Copies: 3503. No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: 3485. b1. Mailed Outside-County Paid subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541: 106 (Includes paid distribution above normal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies. Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 106. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:96. b2. Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 (Includes paid distribution above normal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies: Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 2160. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:2225. b3. Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid Distribution outside USPS. Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 0. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:0. b4. Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through USPS. Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 386. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:202. c. Total Paid Distribution (Sum of 15b (1), (2), (3), and (4). Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 2652. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:2523. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (By Mail and Out-side the Mail). d1. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution OutsideCounty Copies included on PS Form 3541. Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 0. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:0. d2. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution InCounty Copies included on PS Form 3541. Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 325. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:220, d3. Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS. Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 0. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:0. d4. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail. Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 0. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:0. e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2), (3) and (4). Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 325. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date: 220. f. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c and 15e). Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 2977. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:2743. g. Copies not Distributed Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 526. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:325. h. Total (Sum of 15f and g). Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 3503. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:3068. 16: Electronic Copy Circulation. a. Paid Electronic copies. Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 204. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:235. b. Total Paid Print copies + Paid Electronic Copies. Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 2856. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:2758. c. Total Print Distribution (LINE 15f) + Paid Electronic Copies. Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 3181. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:2978. d. Percent Paid (Both Print & Electronic Copies). Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 89.78%. No. Copies of Single Issue Published to Nearest Filing Date:92.61%. I certify that 50% of all my distributed copies (electronic and print) are paid above a nominal price. 17. Publication of Statement of Ownership Will be printed in the November 1, 2018 issue of this publication, 18. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager, or Owner: Nicole Cusanelli, Publisher, Owner. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties).
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