The Spy Who Shopped Me

We check in this week with one of the CIA’s top local spies, a woman who keeps her identity so well cloaked that we’re surprised she even talked to us. No names, please, and certainly no photos. This is vital work and secrecy is the name of the game. Business lives depend on it.

The CIA, in this instance, is Creative Image Associates, a Lunenburg, Mass.-based intelligence firm that specializes in what’s known as secret or mystery shopping. Our operative uses fake accounts at local banks, infiltrates hotels and car dealerships and has even served behind enemy lines, hired by one company to spy on a rival.

The Right To Snoop

The situation in Austin shows that every parent's worst fear can become a reality. But there are some things you can do to become more aware of who's taking care of your kids.

Some might call it spying or snooping, others call it protection and due diligence, but hiring a private investigator to get background checks can be a small price for peace of mind.

Oprah School Probe Under Wraps

Talkshow queen Oprah Winfrey jetted into South Africa on Friday to meet investigators probing a case of "misconduct" at her exclusive girls' school south of Johannesburg.

It came after the school this week announced that it had launched an investigation into a single "serious claim" of misconduct against a dormitory parent who was, as a result, removed from the premises.

PI Board to Rule on Speed Van Questions

It won't be easy to determine whether employees of the company watching for speeders in Lafayette should be private investigators, says the director of the Louisiana State Board of Private Investigator Examiners, so he is leaving it up to the board to decide.

Pat Englade, a former Baton Rouge police chief who advises the board, said several factors have to be settled before a decision can be made.

Hiring A Bodyguard Isn't Just For The Rich And Famous

It's because of this risk that many people who are involved in a legal situation find themselves in need of a bodyguard. He or she may be scheduled to testify against a gang member, may be a whistle blower within an organization, or may even be an expert witness for the prosecution. In order to avert the risk, a bodyguard is brought on as an intermediary – someone who will stay with the witness and identify an increasing threat before it gets out of control.

Therefore, when hiring a bodyguard, prosecutors often look to someone who they know that they can trust such as a private investigator to provide the service.

Private Investigator Told to 'Dig Deep' by Anonymous Caller

A private investigator employed by Legal Aid before Andrew Mallard's murder trial was urged by an anonymous caller to dig deep into the case, the CCC has heard.

Former policeman and PI Les Robertson told the inquiry he received a mysterious phone call from someone he believed was working on the Mallard investigation in 1995.

Utah Jurors Feel Harassed by Jeffs' Defense Team

Utah jurors who recently convicted a polygamous-sect leader on sex charges say a private investigator has been harassing them with phone calls.

The foreman of the Washington County, Utah, jury says he and others have gotten unwanted calls from an investigator hired by Warren Jeffs' attorneys. The calls caused Utah state District Judge James Shumate to issue an order barring contact with jurors who don't want to be called.

Mental Care Bully Probe

A private investigator is probing an allegation of bullying and harassment against a Tasmanian Mental Health Services employee.

One other formal investigation into the staff member about a complaint of similar behavior was not upheld.

Anna Nicole Nannies Deny Gay Lovers Claim

Two nannies cited by Rita Cosby’s book on Anna Nicole Smith deny that they ever told a private investigator that Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead were gay lovers.

The New York Daily News posted an item Monday, Oct. 8, in its gossip section, in which it reported that Quethlie Alexis and Nadine Alexie, according to their lawyer, Elizabeth Thompson.

Louisiana Photo Enforcement Program Hits Legal Snag

Although Louisiana state lawmakers have consistently rejected legislation authorizing the use of red light and speed cameras, a handful of local governments, including the city-parish of Lafayette, decided to move forward on automated ticketing programs without clear legal authority. Within days of Lafayette's new cameras hitting the streets, however, a unique legal challenge surfaced.

Local activist Denice C. Skinner filed an official complaint with Lafayette police late Monday claiming that Redflex, the Australian company that operates the ticketing program, is violating a state law requiring a license for any non-governmental entity in the business of gathering evidence for use in court proceedings.

So You Want to be a Private Eye

Anyone who's grown up in the United States in the past 50 years can tell you what it's like to be a private investigator: You've either got a fast car or an old beater, a big gun, a dismal romantic record and a trademark phrase or item of clothing. You're usually an ex-cop or military officer, your cases are dangerous and someone generally attempts to hurt, if not kill, you.

Yeah, right.

"I did love "Magnum, P.I.," I cannot lie," said Patrick Troy of Bethel, who opened Bluevision Investigations in July. However, he was also the person his friends turned to if they needed to find something out. "I always was interested in private investigating."

Private Investigators, Once All Males, Now Changing in US

Recent surveys show 15 percent of all private investigators in the U.S. are women. VOA's Ernest Leong has more on the increasing number of women in this male-dominated occupation.

A mysterious woman, the "femme fatale," tells the detective a story that may or may not be true. Men in trench coats and fedoras [brimmed hats] follow each other on dark, crowded streets. A typical Hollywood private eye movie, but Hollywood's depiction of men and women in the detective films is very different from real life.

Powell Family Seeks Outside Help

The family of Kevin Powell has hired a private investigator to help uncover the reason why Santa Ana police officers shot and killed the Aliso Viejo resident on Oct. 2 following a 20-minute vehicle pursuit, according to family attorney Marion Wheeler.

Wheeler said that the family's uncertainty over Powell's death and the lack of information disclosed by officials led to their seeking outside assistance.

Speed of Crash Vehicle Disputed

A police crash investigator told this week's inquest that the car was travelling at an estimated 95kmh to 121kmh - but private investigator and specialist crash analyst Paul Bass disagrees.

He told the inquest yesterday that skid testing was not done and some factors were not taken into account. Mr Bass' analysis gave a speed range for the car of between 123kmh and 139kmh.

Father Hires Private Investigator to Help Find Son Missing in Chicago

Don Ross, father of the University of Missouri-Kansas City student who went missing in Chicago last November, has hired a private investigator to continue the search for his son.

He said that while his son, Jesse Ross, remains among the list of active missing person cases in Chicago, police there have suspended the search. “But they would still respond to any new leads they get” concerning the 20-year-old’s whereabouts, the father said.

PI Runs for City Council

Public safety and traffic management are shaping up to be hot topics in the race for Houston City Council At-Large Position 2 between incumbent Sue Lovell and challenger Michael "Griff" Griffin, a private investigator.

"People are scared out there," Griffin said. "I want to change that."

It is Better to Play Safe Than Be Sorry

A common pen or even a hand phone lying on the table could mean more than meets the eye these days.

The technology used in these simple devices has become so sophisticated that they possess the capability of recording an entire board meeting without anyone even realizing.

With the dawn of such hi-tech devices, and the consequences that could follow if certain recordings are made public, some private companies are considering a ban on hand phones at meetings altogether.

Clothing Store Caught Faking It

The clothing sold at Get Fitted Phase III, 1232 Lathrop Ave. in Racine, is not apparently what it seemed.

Racine police, with the aid of a private investigator, raided the business in June after a two-month investigation revealed the store trafficked in counterfeit apparel and accessories.

If convicted on one count of trafficking in counterfeit marks (goods), owner Carey Collins, Racine, faces $10,000 in fines and up to six years in prison.

It's 10 P.M. Do You Know Where Your Child Is?

Giora Katzir, acting chairman of the Association of Private Investigators and chair of the association's disciplinary committee, says that although most cases handled by private investigators involve matrimonial, insurance- and business-related matters - in recent years, he's heard about dozens of parents turning to PIs, and asking them to investigate their children's activities. Investigators who work in the field say that most of these requests involve children who are 11 and older, from well-off, educated and secular families, and that in a majority of cases, it is boys and not girls whom the parents wish to have followed. In most cases, the investigation is launched after the parents begin to suspect that their child is involved in some kind of criminal or shady dealings; but there are also parents who just want to check into whether their high school-age daughter is seeing a married man, or what their son's sexual orientation is.

Program Pays for Private Eye to Locate Kids

As any Child Protective Services caseworker can tell you, the first step in helping endangered children is to find them.

Many low-income families with CPS files move nomadically from relatives' homes to apartments to rent houses. Locating them can require the skills of a private investigator.

And often that's whom caseworkers turn to for help.

Under a program funded by United Way of Tarrant County, a licensed private investigator has tracked down more than 300 families that seemed to have vanished from the Earth.

Dan Rather’s Conspiracy Theory

Dan Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against his old employers, and it is based on a set of astonishing allegations that are sure to bring what became known as “Rathergate” back into the news.

In the suit, Rather alleges that he was forced to apologize for the Bush story as part of a conspiracy by top CBS management to ensure that no further damaging revelations about the president’s time in the Texas Air National Guard would become public. Rather also alleges that CBS hired a private investigator to re-report the original story — after Rather threatened to hire his own private eye to do the same thing — and that the investigator found the story to be accurate, only to have his findings suppressed by CBS as part of an effort to curry favor with the Bush White House. Finally, Rather alleges that CBS fired him over the story the day after Bush was reelected, despite his later claims that his departure was separate from the Bush story.

Eye Spy

Listen to Andrew Faller describe his life as a private eye and you'll realize it's not exactly Miami Vice. Yes, private eyes round up bail jumpers, repossess cars and provide security to VIPs, but a lot of the time they are watching or reading.

Watching the store clerk suspected of pocketing proceeds. Reading the criminal record of a job applicant. Watching the employee chop wood while "nursing" a worker's comp injury.

"It's not like on TV," said Faller, who lives in Meredith and became a private investigator about four years ago after retiring as the police chief in Center Harbor. "There is lots of downtime."

Death's Puzzle Unsolved

The last time Lucy Carman saw her daughter, the 21-year-old was sitting on the concrete steps in front of her Church Street home, talking to a bicyclist.

Next thing she knew, the daughter named after her was gone.

Two weeks later, on Sept. 15, 1987, family members found young Lucy Carman's body face down in a channel of the nearby Hockanum River. Police treated the case as a homicide, canvassing dozens of neighbors and doing more than 70 interviews. They gathered weather data, subpoenaed medical records and took aerial photographs, chronicling all the information in a case file more than 300 pages long.

Bruce Nease became interested in the case after he joined the detective bureau. In 2002, he did a flurry of interviews, some with people police had never spoken to but, again, nothing panned out. Nease has since retired, but is working on the case as a private investigator for Tritec Investigations Inc. of Portland.

Schools Enforcing Boundaries 'Illegal' Students Told to Leave

With the new school year under way, superintendent Michael Silsby hopes all 3,984 students of the Wallenpaupack Area School District are legally enrolled.

He and the district take some extra effort to be sure.

For the past two years, the district has employed a private investigator to verify complaints of illegally enrolled students. Such students do not attend school in the district they reside in.

Tories Urged to Fix Spy Scandal

Pressure is piling on Premier Ed Stelmach to overhaul the province's powerful energy regulator after a report found the agency breached privacy rules when it hired detectives to spy on power-line opponents in central Alberta.

A privacy commissioner probe released Thursday found investigators working for the Energy and Utilities Board improperly collected the personal information of Rimbey-area protesters. The findings ignited calls for radical changes at the energy watchdog.

The Liberals demanded a public inquiry into government use of private investigators, and called for Energy Minister Mel Knight to be fired -- after pointing to a new case where the EUB hired a P.I. for a hearing in Redwater on an oil upgrader last spring.