Aussie Police Hire PIs to Snoop Online

The internet communications and websites of anti-war campaigners, environmentalists, animal rights activists and other protest groups are being secretly monitored by state and federal agencies.

A Melbourne private intelligence firm specialising in "open-source intelligence" has been engaged by Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police and the federal Attorney-General's Department to monitor and report on the protest movements' use of the internet.

Life Can Look "Funny" Through a Private Eye's Eye

WRAL News spent time recently with a Raleigh private eye, who says her job is dangerous, emotional and sometimes humorous.

Jet skiing can be a risky activity no matter what condition you are in. But imagine how surprised an insurance company was to see a man they insure out on the open water when he is supposed to have a back problem so severe he cannot make it up a flight of stairs.

PI Worked to Discover Voter Fraud

Audio recordings between a private investigator hired by former Jeffersonville Mayor Rob Waiz and several voters who used absentee ballots during the 2007 Democratic Party primary detail allegations of voter fraud that would have benefited Mayor Tom Galligan.

Galligan defeated Waiz during the race and then won the office that November.

Shoe Print Evidence Gets the Google Treatment

A shoeprint etched in blood or dust can make a crucial difference in a criminal case, but it all depends on the ability of human examiners to identify a matching shoeprint pattern from thousands in their databases.

It's a laborious, inefficient task.

That's why University at Buffalo computer scientists are developing tools to make the search-and-match process more like a Google search and less like hunting for a needle in a haystack.

PI Uses Metro Card as Witness

When Jason Jones was arrested in a fatal shooting in the Bronx in May, he told the police that he had been nowhere near the scene. He said he had left work, ridden the bus with some co-workers and cashed his paycheck, and later had taken a subway to see his girlfriend.

Federal prosecutors charged Mr. Jones and his older brother, Corey, in the shooting, saying they had killed the victim because he had been a government witness in drug and gun cases. Both men could face the death penalty if the government decides to seek it.

But in recent weeks, the case has taken an extraordinary turn — because of Jason Jones’s MetroCard.

PIs Keep It in the Family

“Five years ago, it was mostly women hiring us to investigate their husbands for infidelity. Now it’s reversed...I don’t know what’s happened,” said Josh Livermon with a smirk.

Bob Livermon, Josh’s father, bought Central Virginia Investigations from Cecil Glunt in 2002. At the time, Josh, a Powhatan High School graduate, was working in Florida as a licensed private investigator, having completed that state’s mandatory two year internship program that Josh only half jokingly describes as a “legal slave trade.”

Casey Anthony's PI Speaks

Over the weekend, Equusearch spearheaded a massive effort in the Orlando, Florida area to locate the remains of missing toddler Caylee Marie Anthony. Over a thousand volunteers combed the terrain for two days -- but found no signs of the child.

There is one man who is not in the least surprised by the outcome.

Dominic Casey, head of D & A Investigations, Inc., the agency working with the Anthony family to find Casey Anthony's missing daughter, spoke exclusively with momlogic. And he vehemently believes the three-year-old is alive

Puppy Mill Owner Faces Charges Thanks to Investigator

Team 5 Investigates exposed a Minnesota puppy mill that has sent thousands of dogs to pet shops all over the country, including Massachusetts.

NewsCenter 5's Sean Kelly reported Sunday that because of the undercover video shot by an investigator for the Companion Animal Protection Society, the owner of the puppy mill is now facing charges.

 

Fifteen hundred miles northwest of Massachusetts the relentless sound of barking can be heard from Pick of the Litter. There's no mistaking who's in charge. Kathy Bauck handles the leash for roughly 800 dogs at her Minnesota farm.

The undercover video which has been turned over to police, shows Bauck is cautious about people determined to shut down her family operation that has shipped hundreds of dogs to Massachusetts pet shops for years.

"I've never met so many liars, cheats and thieves in my life as I have in the dog business," said Bauck.

Private Eye Outlines Work for Indicted PA Senator

A private investigator says he did personal investigative work while under contract with the Pennsylvania Senate for veteran Democratic Sen. Vincent Fumo.

Frank Wallace testified Monday in Fumo's trial on charges of defrauding the state Senate, now nearing the two-week mark in federal court in Philadelphia.

Wallace says he was hired for personal, political, and senate work. He says most assignments from Fumo were personal or political.

PI Turned Novelist has Great Stories from Being on the Job

Born in California, Castle came to Massachusetts in the summer of 1983 to visit her grandmother while her parents were going through a divorce. She decided to stay and finish high school in New England. At the age of 15, Castle joined an after-school police explorer group for teens and was hooked.

"I learned a lot about what police officers do," said Castle. "I wanted to be a cop."

After high school she earned her associate's degree in criminal justice at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, juggling numerous jobs during the two years.

Castle worked for a retired police officer as a private investigator, primarily following married men to confirm their infidelity, while she held down an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift at Worcester City Hospital as a security guard, where she did everything from moving bodies in the morgue to restraining belligerent patients.

"When I finished at 7 a.m. I would go home, change my clothes, and go to class," said Castle. "On a good day, I'd get four hours of sleep."

After college, in the late 1980s, Castle joined another private investigation firm, where one of her assignments took her to a local manufacturer, where she was asked to investigate complaints about the human resources director and suspicions that assembly line employees were involved with drugs.

"When I would go into these companies, I would have to get a [legitimate] job," said Castle. She spent six months working a wave solder machine, making circuit boards, and socializing with employees after work at a local pub. Castle said one employee would smuggle a flask of liquor to work and another sold cocaine.

"Understand that I have never done drugs, so not only did I have to befriend [the dealers] and buy drugs, I had to act like I knew what I was talking about," said Castle.