ACORN Dumped Sensitive Documents as Probe Began, Private Investigator Says

Derrick Roach, a licensed investigator based in San Diego, told FoxNews.com he paid an impromptu visit to the city's ACORN branch on Oct. 9 and watched from his car as a man tossed bags of files into a Dumpster outside the building.

After ACORN staff left for the day, he says, he searched the trash bin and discovered more than 20,000 documents he believes point to illicit relationships between ACORN and a bank and a labor union — as well as confidential information that could put thousands at risk for identity theft.

"We're talking people's driver's license numbers, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, tax returns, credit reports" — all tossed in public view in the Dumpster, he said.

In one document shared with FoxNews.com, an ACORN employee's name, address, date of birth, Social Security number and driver's license number were revealed, and photocopies of the employee's license and Social Security card were also included. Another document showed bank account information for a woman paying an ACORN membership fee by check.

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Arizona Legislative Memo: Traffic Camera Companies Need PI Licenses

Legislative branch lawyers believe traffic camera companies should have a private investigator license.

Traffic camera companies operating in Arizona may be committing a crime by operating without a private investigator's license, a newly released memorandum to the state legislature explained. The non-partisan Arizona Legislative Council, the legislature's official source for drafting and reviewing legislation, looked at the licensing question on behalf of state Representative Sam Crump (R-Anthem).

Under Arizona law, an individual who is not a police officer or insurance adjuster may not "secure evidence to be used... in the trial of civil or criminal cases and the preparation therefor" without a private investigator's license. Violating this statute is a class 1 misdemeanor, and the legislative branch lawyers believe Arizona's automated ticketing contractors could be guilty of this crime.

"Applying liberal construction of the definition of private investigator under the statute, the activities conducted by a photo enforcement company such as Redflex arguably fit within that definition," the memo stated. "Mainly, Redflex gathers data and processes it for the purpose of identifying violators of the state's traffic regulations.... In addition, ARS 32-2409 provides an extensive list of exceptions to the requirement of obtaining a license. It does not appear that Redflex would fall within any of these exemptions. Arguably, if the legislature wanted to exempt photo enforcement agencies from licensure, it could have done so by adding such agencies to the list of exemptions."

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'Private detective' fleeced missing Madeleine McCann fund of £300,000

A 'Walter Mitty' private investigator who claimed to be an experienced secret agent was allegedly paid £300,000 from the funds raised to try to find Madeleine McCann.

Thousands of members of the public donated money to Gerry and Kate McCann's fund after their three-year-old daughter went missing during a holiday in Portugal in May 2007.

Now it has emerged that a sizeable portion of that money was paid to self-proclaimed security consultant Kevin Halligen, 50, a Briton who boasted that secret service contacts in Washington DC could provide satellite images of Portugal from the night Madeleine disappeared.

In fact, it is claimed, the only satellite picture he produced came from the publicly available Google Earth website - and late last year he disappeared from Washington after the U.S. Department of Justice issued a warrant for his arrest over an alleged £1million fraud.

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FBI experience helps prepare for life as private investigator

Before retiring to Charleston in 1990, Jeff Dossett spent 18 years with the FBI in Newark, N.J., working against organized crime.

He dealt with drugs and cartels and had to use his imagination to be one step ahead of crime. He worked across agencies on a variety of offenses and his experiences were as differing as the criminals he pursued. He says it was the perfect preparation for his job now as a private investigator.

Dossett, 66, now a Summerville resident, is senior partner at Charleston Investigative Associates in North Charleston. His experience throughout his 30-year career at the FBI, his three years in the Army and his Long Island University master's degree in criminal justice mean he's pretty much seen it all.

Now, he handles everything from interviewing people, running surveillance, courthouse searches or just plain old digging up information. Formed in 2001, Charleston Investigative Associates is an umbrella company that handles all types of cases and employs all former federal agents and former local law enforcement.

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Marriages keep city sleuths busy

Her marriage was fixed and everything from the groom, his family to their financial status seemed perfect for 21-year-old Simran (name changed). Even his profile on a matrimony portal was one of the most popular. But a last-minute check by a detective agency opened up a can of worms. Not only was the groom a divorcee but, in fact, had three children. Besides, he was an alcoholic the main reason why his wife walked out.

At a time when marriages are being decided over the internet and couples prefer to wait till they build a flashy career, the Association of Private Detectives Of India (APDI) has come up with startling facts for the city. 

According to Kunwar Vikram Singh, chairman APDI, there has been a phenomenal rise in the number of brides and grooms seeking to "cross-check one another's background'' before tying the knot. "There has been a 36% increase in the number of people going for pre-marital checks. Significantly, a huge 41% rise has been recorded in the post-marital queries. The average number of queries with individual agencies before marriage is around 60 per month, while post-marriage queries number around 45,'' said Singh.

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Private Investigator Finds Drug Abuse, Prostitution and More at Hedonisom Hotel

A private investigator and former FBI agent alleged he had seen open drug abuse, prostitution, distribution of marijuana and "numerous acts of lewd and lascivious behaviour" at John Issa's Hedonism hotel.

"Five independent, unwitting sources were developed by the investigator," said Attorney Reginald Clyne of Clyne and Associates, representing the defendants in a lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, where Issa, the SuperClubs chairman, is claiming that he was defamed by e-mails traced to computers originating in that US state.

"These sources reported their observations of these activities to the investigator, corroborating, in detail, acts of prostitution, drug use and distribution and lewd behaviour," said Clyne.

The attorney presented the private eye's report as Issa gave a follow-up deposition in the ongoing lawsuit that began in January this year. He named the investigator as Larry Holifield who spent three
days watching activities at Hedonism, part of the SuperClubs hotel chain.

"The resort was staffed with uniformed security guards who were able to witness the wide open drug abuse and prostitution. The guards, however, took no action to prevent these illegal activities?" Clyne quoted the former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent as reporting.

"You wanted proof, you wanted a person, I will give it to you," said Clyne, responding to Issa's insistence throughout the deposition that he provided evidence to support his allegations.

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Ex Phone Worker Guilty in Hollywood Wiretap Case

A federal jury has convicted a former telephone company employee of three
counts of lying to the FBI and committing perjury before a grand jury and district court in connection with the wiretapping investigation of former private investigator Anthony Pellicano.

Joann Wiggan, 56, of Burbank, was found guilty yesterday afternoon of
committing perjury before a federal grand jury, lying to special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and committing perjury during a previous criminal trial. The jury deliberated less than one hour before reaching its guilty verdicts.

During a week-long trial in United States District Court in Los Angeles, the jury heard that Wiggan repeatedly denied under oath having any contact with, or having retrieved any voicemail messages from, former SBC employee and Pellicano associate Ray Turner. Telephone records introduced into evidence, however, showed more than 125 calls from Turner to Wiggan's work voicemail account, 18 calls from Pellicano's office to that voicemail account, and more than 1,000 calls from Wiggan to that account during the time of the wiretapping conspiracy. In closing arguments, prosecutors said the evidence showed that Wiggan, a facilities technician with access to the mainframes
at all SBC offices in Los Angeles, had been the person physically connecting the illegal wiretaps at Turner's and Pellicano's direction.

Wiggan previously stood trial in 2006 on five counts of committing perjury before the grand jury. The jury in that 2006 case acquitted Wiggan of four counts, and a mistrial was declared on the fifth count. In yesterday’s verdicts, the jury convictedWiggan of the unresolved count from the first trial, as well as new charges of lying to the FBI in 2004 and committing perjury during her 2006 trial. Wiggan is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer on February 22. At sentencing, Wiggan faces a statutory maximum penalty of15 years in federal prison.

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Teacher Hires Private Investigator to Catch Lying Parents

A HARPENDEN headteacher revealed he hired a private investigator to catch parents cheating the school admissions system and admitted he continues to spy on the families of prospective pupils.
Norman Hoare, headteacher at St George's School in Sun Lane, admitted using the extreme measure to prevent parents lying to get their children into his school.

It was first brought to the Review's attention that Mr Hoare had been spying on prospective parents, who he suspected of by-passing the entry criteria by renting property in the town, in 2007.
But Mr Hoare admitted to the Review today that he continues to snoop on doubtful parents by visiting the addresses supplied to confirm whether an application is genuine.

On occasions, Mr Hoare said he and his deputy have sat in a car inconspicuously waiting outside the suspected addresses at key times of the day to check for activity.

He said: "When I have done it on the rare occasion we are looking for the nature or kind of accommodation that the applicant is living in. Is it a one-bedroom flat? Are the lights on? Is it occupied in the morning? You have to give yourself confirmation that people are actually there.

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