Port of Seattle Says it Will Hire Fraud Investigator

The Port of Seattle says it will hire an independent investigator to look into possible fraud and contracting problems identified in a state audit.

The port is asking state Auditor Brian Sonntag to recommend an investigator.

Commissioner Bill Bryant says the investigation is needed to restore public trust in the port, which operates Sea-Tac Airport and shipping on the Seattle waterfront.

The state audit found the port wasted $97 million in spending, including some overruns on the third runway project at the airport.

Pretexting Indictment Names Belfair Private Investigator

The U.S. attorney's office in Seattle says ten people across the country have been indicted for illegally obtaining confidential information by "pretexting."

That's the practice of pretending to be someone else to obtain confidential information.

Officials say the hub of the pretexting activity was at a private investigation firm owned by Emilio and Brandy Torrello in Belfair. The couple and their office manager are scheduled to make their first court appearance Thursday (at 2:30) in federal court in Tacoma.

Boeing Investigates Employees

Within its bowels, The Boeing Co. holds volumes of proprietary information deemed so valuable that the company has entire teams dedicated to making sure that private information stays private.

One such team, dubbed "enterprise" investigators, has permission to read the private e-mails of employees, follow them and collect video footage or photos of them. Investigators can also secretly watch employee computer screens in real time and reproduce every keystroke a worker makes, the Seattle P-I has learned.