Witness Scared Off, Defense Under Investigation

A San Francisco defense attorney - already under fire for orchestrating an incident in which alleged gang members stood in court as a witness testified against their friend - is at the center of what a judge called a "reprehensible" attempt to keep a victim of an attempted murder from testifying.

San Francisco police say a private investigator working with defense attorney Eric Safire repeatedly called Ladarius Greer, 21, the victim in the attempted murder case against Safire's client Phil Pitney, 19. Greer has now vanished, and the trial started Tuesday without him.

Safire denied knowing about any effort to prevent Greer from taking the stand.

Pitney, who prosecutors say is a member of the Eddy Rock gang in the Western Addition, is accused of shooting Greer in the head at Fillmore and McAllister streets on April 12. He is charged with attempted murder with a gang enhancement.

In one cell phone message that Greer provided to police before he vanished this month, private investigator Steve Vender told Greer that he was being sought in a warrant out of Solano County and would be arrested if he showed up in court in the Pitney case.

Vender then suggested that if Greer didn't testify, prosecutors would be forced to drop and refile the charges. He indicated that a critical date for the case was Oct. 13.

"OK, so it's October and it's a good time to visit the Fresno Riviera ... and stay well," Vender said in the message, a transcript of which was introduced in court.

Police said in reports given to the prosecution that the call had been made from Safire's law office.

Read more here.

Dictionary of DNA and Genome Technology Now Available

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c91722) has announced the addition of "Dictionary of DNA and Genome Technology" to their offering.

DNA technology has a vital role in diverse fields such as criminal investigation and gene therapy - dynamic areas involving many specialized terms and techniques. This unique dictionary offers current, detailed, accessible information to lecturers, researchers, students and technicians throughout the biomedical sciences. This title features more up-to-date than existing textbooks in many aspects of DNA technology - with over 1,000 references from mainstream journals. It provides clear explanations of terms, techniques, and tests, including commercial systems, with detailed coverage of many important procedures and methods. It explains not only well-established methodology but includes new technology and data from the latest research journals, going well beyond the remit of most science dictionaries. It contains essay-style entries on many major topics to assist newcomers to the field. It covers topics relevant to medicine (diagnosis and gene therapy); veterinary science; biotechnology; biochemistry; pharmaceutical science/drug development; molecular biology...


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A Day in the Life of a Private Investigator

 He's the guy in the background you never notice, always the "man standing behind the man."
Well, not anymore. With the news that private investigators located the body of Kate Waring, private investigators are right up front.

"You can't solve crimes if you can't get the information," said James Randolph of Randolph and Habersham Investigations. It appears Randolph and Tommy Blackwood can get the information.

Randolph's company helped lead police to Waring's body. So, what is a typical day like for these guys? "It's exciting, it's exciting - it really is," said investigator Blackwood.

That said, don't think they have stake-outs in disguised vans full of hi-tech equipment. "Those type of scenarios are pretty nil, most often you won't see a white van," said Blackwood.

Read more here.

Bellevue private investigator accused of ripoffs

The family of a Lynnwood woman who was killed three years ago says they have been preyed upon by a private investigator.

Read more here.

New Products for DNA Analysis, Digital Imaging and More

New Products for DNA Analysis, Digital Imaging, Fighting Contamination, and More

PCR Buffer
The EzWay Direct PCR Buffer contains key additives that overcome the inhibitory effects in whole blood and commonly used blood anticoagulants. Compatible with most thermostable DNA polymerases, there is no pretreatment step or modification of your current PCR protocol necessary. EzWay Direct PCR Buffer eliminates risks of sample loss and is a cost effective alternative to DNA purification.
Komabiotech, www.komabiotech.com


Analysis of DNA Mixtures
A DNA Mixture analysis module has recently been added to the GeneMarkerHID Human Identity software. The software automatically identifies potential mixtures based upon specific parameters including number of alleles per marker and peak area or height ratios. The mixture analysis function is all combined in one user-friendly interface, eliminating the mistake-prone tedium of data transfer.
SoftGenetics, www.softgenetics.com


Digital Imaging for Forensic Investigations
The MacroVIEW D — composed of a touch screen computer, a fixed camera, and a mobile camera — is designed to capture and store digital images of bodies examined at autopsy or during forensic investigations. Users select from shape drawing tools, editable text tags, voice comments, and video files to annotate case images. Files are automatically collected and organized into case folders.
Milestone, www.milestonemed.com


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Lawyer Sues Sheriff's Office, Private Investigation Continues

More than 48 hours after a missing woman's body is found a new development in the case. A spokesperson for her family, local attorney Andy Savage is suing the Charleston County Sheriff's Office.

Savage announced late on Monday that he is suing Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon and his department. Savage says one of his private investigators found the body of Katherine Waring on Wadamalaw Island this weekend.

We spoke with Savage this weekend, before the lawsuit and he was already critical of the police department.

"It's hard to swallow arrogance, as a citizen of this community. I don't think my investigators who solved the case were handled decently by the Charleston Police Department," Savage said.

He is suing for unspecified damages, the return of notes and other items taken from the private investigator  including his car.  The case goes to court on Tuesday. Meanwhile there are still more questions than answers in the case of Katherine Waring.

The Charleston Police Department are calling the case a death investigation and not a homicide investigation. Four months of agony ended Saturday for Laura Waring, her cousin. Kate Waring's skeleton was located in the Polly Pointe Subdivision on Wadmalaw Island She had been missing from Downtown Charleston since June 12.

Read more here.

Newspapers Allowed to Hire Private Investigators

Philadelphia Newspapers L.L.C. can use a private investigator to look into security breaches, including the leak of an internal planning document to the committee representing the firm's unsecured creditors, a federal bankruptcy judge ruled yesterday.

Chief Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Raslavich agreed that the company could spend up to $25,000 to use SafirRosetti, a security firm, to investigate the leak and review the overall integrity of the company's protection of internal documents.

Anne Aaronson, the company's attorney, told Raslavich that SafirRosetti had already launched its investigation and had identified the employee responsible for the leak. She told reporters later that the company was still weighing what disciplinary action might be taken. She did not identify the employee.

The company sought permission to hire SafirRosetti after the Committee of Unsecured Creditors asked Raslavich to order the company to end its "Keep It Local!" campaign.

In its motion opposing the campaign, the unsecured creditors included a copy of an internal company planning document that outlined how the campaign would unfold.

The Committee of Unsecured Creditors opposed the company's request, arguing it represented an unneeded expense. If asked, committee attorney Ben Logan said, the committee would have said how it had gotten the planning document.

Read more here.

Team of 40 Private Investigators Bust Illegal Weapon Sales at Gun Shows

An undercover investigation funded by the City of New York found weapons were sold illegally at seven gun shows in three states — including at Bill Goodman’s Gun and Knife Show at Hara Arena — Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Wednesday, Oct. 7.

“The gun show loophole is a deadly serious problem — and this undercover operation exposes just how pervasive and serious it is,” Bloomberg said. “This is an issue that has nothing to do with the Second Amendment; it’s about keeping guns from criminals, plain and simple.”

The investigation was done by a team of 40 private investigators, who went to gun shows in Ohio, Tennessee and Nevada from May through August. Three of those shows were Bill Goodman’s: at Hara, in Sharonville and in Nashville.

Karen Wampler, spokeswoman for Hara Arena, suggested the Dayton Daily News call Dave Goodman, who runs the gun show. Goodman could not be reached for comment Wednesday morning.
“We rent to Dave Goodman’s Gun and Knife Show and have for many years,” Wampler said. “He has been very good about following the rules of the state of Ohio, from our perspective.”
The report generated by the investigation, Gun Show Undercover, is available on the city’s website, at http://www.nyc.gov/gunshow. Bloomberg said the city would be sending it to every member of Congress, and urged Congress to pass legislation closing the “gun-show loophole,” which gun control proponents say allows people to buy guns without a background check at the shows.

The National Rifle Association has long said there is no such thing as a “gun-show loophole” and that new legislation would be pointless, as most people who sell guns at the shows are licensed dealers, who are already required to do background checks.

The investigators went to the shows to see whether sellers would engage in two types of illegal transactions. The first involvesprivate sellers selling guns to people who they thought could not pass a federal background check. The investigators would offer to purchase a weapon, then tell the seller that they probably couldn’t pass a background check.

The second involves licensed dealers conducting illegal straw sales, which are sales made to accomplices posing as buyers in order to help the real buyer avoid a criminal background check. In those cases, a maleinvestigator played the role of a person who wanted to buy a gun but couldn’t, and a female investigator played the role of the “straw” buyer who would purchase it for him.

Read more here.

L.A. investigator pleads no contest to conspiracy in payoff of alleged rape victim

A private investigator who has worked for such high-profile criminal defendants as Michael Jackson and Winona Ryder pleaded no contest today to conspiracy to obstruct justice and bribery in connection with the payoff of an alleged rape victim, a spokeswoman for the L.A. County district attorney's office said.

Bradley G. Miller entered the open plea to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and three counts of bribing a witness in the courtroom of L.A. County Superior Court Judge Lance A. Ito, court spokeswoman
Jane Robison said. The plea came during a pretrial hearing.

The charges stem from Miller's work for Alex Izquierdo, who was charged in 2006 with multiple counts of rape, torture, false imprisonment and other crimes for allegedly abusing his live-in girlfriend. She told police he had burned her with an iron, sodomized her and threatened to kill her.


Miller and two other men are accused of conspiring to take the woman to Las Vegas on the day in 2005 that she was to testify against Izquierdo, who faces life in prison if convicted.

"Mr. Miller wants to put this behind him," said Miller's attorney, Mark Wersksman. "This will allow him to get on with his life."

Attorney Mark Geragos, who represented Izquierdo, is not accused of involvement in the alleged conspiracy. Izquierdo's father, George Izquierdo, and Camilo Valentin were charged along with Miller in the bribery case, prosecutors said.

Read more here.

School Mistakes Private Detectives as Police

JEFFERSON COUNTY - Sheriff's deputies say private investigators wearing discount store hats reading "CSI" had school staff convinced they were dealing with actual law enforcement officers.

The investigators-for-hire were looking for a missing child involved in a civil custody case. They say Shaffer Elementary School principal Gina Rivas was eager to help and never asked for identification.
"We told them right up front we were private investigators," said private eye John Sampson. "We never said we were police."

A custom-made badge on his belt and his CSI hat seemed to satisfy the principal, said Sampson, who owns CSI Consulting and Investigations.

Over the next few hours, Rivas would volunteer the name of a student she felt resembled the one on Sampson's missing child flyer, provide information about the girl and her family, and interview the girl about the custody case, said Sampson.

The student, 8-year-old Lilly Findley, had no connection to the missing child case. Sampson said the school did not call sheriff's deputies or the girl's parents until he insisted law enforcement get involved in the discussion.

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Canadian Reality TV Star's Family Hires Private Investigator to Clear Name

The family of a Canadian reality-TV performer accused of the sensational murder of his ex-wife has hired a private investigator in California in an attempt to dig up information that might clear the late Ryan Jenkins of the crime.
Jenkins' family is holding a private, invitation-only ceremony in Calgary on Thursday to commemorate the man who was the subject of an international manhunt -- and international media coverage -- after he was named the sole suspect in the strangling and mutilation of Jasmine Fiore before he fled to British Columbia.

Read more here.

20 Year Old Case of Murdered Private Detective Starts Monday

THE murder trial of a private detective killed in one of Britain's most controversial unsolved cases is due to start this Monday.

Five people are due to stand trial at the Old Bailey in connection with killing of 37-year-old Daniel Morgan who was found dead with a hatchet buried in his head in the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham in March 1987.

Ex-Scotland Yard detective Sid Fillery, 61, is charged with perverting the course of justice.

James Cook, 53, of The Glade, Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, Garry Vian, 47, of no fixed abode, his brother Glenn Vian, 49, of 94 Orchard Road, South Croydon and Jonathon Rees, 53, of Village Close, Weybridge, Surrey are all charged with murder.

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Background Check Leads to Arrest in a 1976 Killing

It's the unexpected break investigators were hoping for. After 33-years on the run, a suspect in the disappearance of a Kirkwood woman is finally in custody in Georgia.

Authorities said the suspect, 65-year-old Johnny Wright, accidentally alerted them to his outstanding murder warrant when he asked for a background check for a new job. Police in Lawrenceville, Georgia do not think Wright realized what he was doing when he asked for that background check. They said he paid $15 to get arrested for the murder of Becky Doisy.

Doisy disappeared back in August of 1976. She was a Kirkwood native, granddaughter of a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist, and a waitress at Ernie's Steak House in Columbia. Years of searching turned up no sign of her.

"We do feel that she's been murdered," said Harriett Doisy, on the anniversary of her daughter's disappearance in 1977.

Read more here. 

Mafia Engages in Cyber Crime

As if CSOs don't have enough on their plates, they now need to beat back made men, capos and the other elements of the Mafia. Yes, the Mafia is formally involved in cybercrime, or so alleges the U.S. attorney for Florida, who filed charges against associates of the Bonanno crime family that included pilfering data from Lexis-Nexis.

The Mafia engaging in cybercrime might sound like your grandmother joining Facebook. In fact, "the majority of data breaches are the result of organized crime," says Nick Holland, an analyst at Aite Group in Boston. That doesn't mean it's the conventional Mafia pulling the strings--though it can be. In fact, it's hard to tell just who is in control sometimes. For the most part, cybergroups that become notorious, like the Rockfish or the old Russian Business Network, do so because very few cybercrime groups publicize themselves, says Steve Santorelli of Team Cymru. (Cymru, pronounced cumri, is the Welsh word for Wales.)
In fact, observers sometimes disagree on just who's behind a crime. Take last year's RBS Worldpay scam, which saw hackers not only make off with 1.5 million records from the electronic payments processor, but make fake ATM cards used to withdraw more than $9 million in 49 cities around the world in a one-hour period. Frank Heidt, CEO of Leviathan Security in Seattle, thinks this was a case of an extremely well-organized group with roots in Russian organized crime. Peter Cassidy, director of research at Triarche Consulting Group in Cambridge, Mass., says it looks like a franchise-style operation in which the data and details on how and when to use it was sold to groups operating in different regions.

Read more here.

Reasons why Internet Private Investigation is Taking Over the Online World

Why are internet private investigation services important now? It is because more and more people are putting all their information on the Internet.

People do not want to be left out of the modernization that is happening in the world today. So to become in tune with technology, they eagerly embraced the online world.

To be one with the online world, your information is needed so that it would be easy for other people to find you. Oftentimes, when conducting business online, you give out details that should have been kept private. When this happens, you are very much prone to those that can easily intercept all the information even before they reach the intended destination.

Before you know it, another person has gotten hold of your credit card and is using them for their own personal purpose. The worst thing that could happen is when your identity is stolen just because that person knows everything about you.

In answer to all these online crimes, Internet private investigation services opened their doors to counter wrong doers. These investigators have comprehensive knowledge about what people are capable of doing using the internet. Using every means of internet software and tools, they can track down illegal procedures immediately.

You can tell how effective these investigators are by the number of crimes and criminals that they have cornered on the internet. You may think that programs or other tools are the ones capturing these persons. What you may not know is that there are real people behind who is doing the job for you.

Most online businesses enlist the services of private investigators online to filter out the good from the bad. These businesses know that they are vulnerable to persons that want to take advantage of what they have. Since they cannot prevent people from accessing them online, the only way they can prevent unwanted things from happening is to have investigators check every detail about the online visitors.

One of the useful things that private investigators use in their internet service is computer forensics and public records available in online databases for general public. This is not like the forensics that is being done physically.

Expert technicians are the persons capable of looking out at computers. They look at the sources of documents and data storage systems. They make sure that the systems remain clean of hackers or unwanted and suspicious entries.

It is also their duty to track down where unwanted entries are coming from. When they have carefully investigated all the details, they report their findings directly to their clients. It is during this time that the business is able to figure out ways on how to solve these problems, change their system and bring the intruder to justice.

Internet private investigators are not only limited to crimes that are going around the internet. They do simple things like recovering of files. They are trained well in this field also. Part of their job is to maintain the smooth sailing operation of the online business.

Read more here.

Security System Brings Big Brother to Life

Researchers are looking to develop an intelligent image system that can monitor large areas, perhaps miles wide,  identify potential threats based on the correlation of events and anomalies it detects, and issue timely alerts with few false alarms. 
Such a surveillance system is at the heart of what researchers at the  Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency calls a Persistent Stare Exploitation and Analysis System (PerSEAS) that can automatically and interactively discover intelligence from optical or infra-red devices in the air on drones, for example, or spread over urban, suburban, and rural environments.
DARPA said it envisions two major applications for such a system.  Perhaps most important,  the first would use the system in a near real-time mode to receive alerts and warnings to react to and avert disasters. For example, if it notices a number of activities that were out of the usual, such as the gathering of lots of soldiers and trucks it could alert local authorities.
The second would be to use the data gathered from the system to use archived data from the system to analyze events, such as an attack to determine the movements and origins of the entities involved in the event, DARPA said.   For both types of applications DARPA said the PerSEAS system ideally could receive or generate cues from/to other sensor systems to identify places or people of interest for additional details.
Overall the challenge is to identify potential threats based on the accumulation and correlation of multiple events and anomalies, and issue alerts so military folks in the field can take quick action or other officials can alert the public of problems, DARPA said.
Specifically the PerSEAS system will gather data from sensors and feed the data into an intelligent software engine supporting algorithms that discover relationships and anomalies that are indicative of suspicious behavior, match previously learned threat activity, or match user defined threat activity should also be incorporated, DARPA stated.

Read more here.

Obama Stands Behind ‘State Secrets’ in Spy Case

SAN FRANCISCO – Hours after the Justice Department announced it would limit its use of the state secrets privilege in new cases, the administration appeared before a federal judge here Wednesday and continued to invoke that defense in a closely watched spy case.

The litigation at issue, now five years old, tests whether a sitting president may bypass Congress and adopt a warrantless surveillance program, as President Bush did in the wake of the 2001 terror attacks.

“We need to protect information concerning the manner and methods by which we seek to detect and prevent a terrorist attack,” Justice Department special counsel Anthony Coppolino said Wednesday while arguing to a federal judge to dismiss the case on the basis of state secrets.

The 5-year-old case, having a tortured procedural history, is the furthest along in challenging the Bush administration’s warrantless Terror Surveillance Program.

Read more here.

Iphone App Acts as Personal Private Investigator

In less time than it takes to share a drink, a new iPhone application can tell you whether your date is a dream boat or a dirt bag.

On Tuesday Intelius, a Bellevue-based company, launched Date Check, a mobile application that acts like the user's own private eye.

All you need to enter is your date's name, e-mail or phone number, and the application, which cross-references public records, lets you know if your date is really who you think he or she is.

"You can find out all kinds of things, from drug possession to DUI, to sexual assault and battery, to sexual offenders," said Sue Koehler Intelius' chief marketing officer. "Some things aren't serious, but some things are very serious things you should be aware of."

Read more here.

Missing Persons Group Celebrates 15 Years of Service

Wilmington, N.C. – While it’s the CUE Center’s birthday, the all-volunteer missing person’s organization is giving a gift at a celebration this Saturday to mark the group’s 15th year of service working on the behalf of missing persons nationwide.

Monica Caison became a tireless advocate for the missing after being exposed to the families of missing persons at least three times before she was 25 years old. In 1994, she singlehandedly started the non-profit Community United Effort (CUE) Center for Missing Persons from a tiny back yard shed and a mere $76.00 dollars in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Now, the non-profit group, which is entirely funded by donations, has hundred’s of volunteers aiding the centers mission and receives calls for help from across the nation. CUE Center is proud of their all-volunteer network made up of more than 8,000 people and professional search groups — all of whom share the same goals: to find the missing, to advocate for their causes, and to support their families through what is often the most confusing and desperate times of their lives.

Read more here. 

Learn to Make a Home Surveillance System

Make a Surveillance Video Camera at Home
A video surveillance camera is something which you should have in your home, if you want to beef up your home security. Video surveillance camera’s are great if you want to keep an eye on your home, car, children, other belongings etc. No matter what you need the camera for, its always going to prove itself useful. However getting a video surveillance camera in today’s world is going to put a big dent in your pocket. Even if you purchased it from a web store, you would still have to pay for installation anyway. So keep reading if you want to know how to make your very own surveillance system to check on your belongings and may be neighbors as well !

Buying a surveillance system that is very basic in nature will cost you around $300 or more. Frankly speaking, that’s too much for a home security system, but this is what most electronic stores will charge you. However, you might not be aware that you can still make a home surveillance system by the help of a webcam or webcam capable digicam or camcorder.


There are number of benefits of doing this. First of all, you might already possess a webcam that is not in use and lying around your house. If not then you can easily purchase it, since they are cheap to purchase. Say around 50$ or more, but its still less in comparison to the $300 that you would spend on the home video surveillance camera. Secondly, webcams are not very noticeable, so not many people would look at them. This would allow us to watch all the action happening outside, without the knowledge of the person standing in front of the door.

Read more here.

Canadian Private Schools Hire Private Investigators to Check Parents

Several Vancouver private schools are screening applicants to determine if their families are linked to gangs and pose a risk to students and staff.

``We have recently been engaged by private schools in the Vancouver area to conduct due diligence on the families of prospective students,'' Kim Marsh, managing director of private investigation firm IPSA International, confirmed to the Vancouver Province.

Marsh, a former RCMP inspector who headed a police organized-crime unit, won't identify the schools, for privacy reasons, but he acknowledged ``it's fair to say'' his business has increased following the shooting of West Point Grey Academy parent Betty Yan, in April.

Read more here.

Casey Anthony Case Turns to Private Investigator

Attorneys for a Central Florida woman suing murder suspect Casey Anthony for defamation continued to fight Wednesday to question a private investigator involved in the case.

Dominic Casey said the information he may have is confidential since he was working for Casey Anthony, her parents, Cindy and George Anthony, and her defense attorney. He testified Wednesday he entered into contracts with the family and the defense team in July 27, 2008, 12 days after Casey Anthony's daughter, Caylee, was reported missing.

Read more here.

NY Times Leaks Kennedy's Book, Publisher Hires Private Investigator

All hell broke loose at the Hachette Book Group building last week when The New York Times published a story detailing some of the most newsworthy bits contained in the late Ted Kennedy’s forthcoming memoir, True Compass. A spokeswoman for the paper said Times reporters had purchased multiple copies of the book at a bookstore the day before, and, much to the chagrin of Twelve publisher Jonathan Karp and his publicity director, Cary Goldstein, quickly broke the strict embargo that the imprint had tried to impose on it. The trouble was, of course, that the $8 million memoir wouldn’t be hitting stores for another 11 days, and all the publicity generated by the Times piece—not to mention the glowing review by Michiko Kakutani that ran the following day—was likely to confuse and frustrate customers who went looking for it in the meantime.

Read more here.

Lindsay Lohan Hires Private Investigator

Lindsay Lohan's house has been burgled.

The 'Mean Girls' star returned to her home in Los Angeles' Hollywood Hills to find it ransacked.

The 23-year-old star's mother Dina said: “The safe was ripped out of the wall, and the door was off the hinges and door handles removed. Bags, Lindsay's father Michael is convinced the burglary was an "inside job" and has hired a private investigator

to look into the case.

He said: "I’m sick of people bugging my daughter and using her. This is not the first time she’s been robbed. I’m working with the police but at the same time, I have my own people.

"I’ve hired private investigators

and I’m going to work my own investigation and find out who did this. Lindsay is not OK. She’s very upset and feels extremely violated.shoes and jewellery were taken too.


Read more here. 

Westside Private Investigators Flourish

THEY say cheaters never prosper but the industry set up to catch out those who stray is doing just that.
Sales of spy equipment are reportedly up and one private investigator has found the field so successful - and so colourful - she has written a book about it.

Next month, the westside-based Tiffany Bond, founder of Detection Group. will launch Confessions of a Female Private Investigator, a fictionalised account of her work exposing infidelity and betrayal.
The 35-year-old former police officer, who once caught her now ex-husband cheating, said she found it to be common practice in the western suburbs.

``We’ve got everyone from housewives, business men, cleaners to chief executive officers,’’ she said.

``If this book makes someone think twice about betrayal, or supports them in leaving a relationship, or encourages them to seek help then I have achieved what I set out to do.
Read more here.