PI’s Declassified!

P.I.s Declassified

Encore: Jack Devine: Master Spy

For over thirty years, Jack Devine served under six successive presidents from Nixon to Clinton during his time with the CIA. He ultimately became Acting Deputy Director of Operations and was responsible for all of the CIA’s spying operations in seven countries. Now Jack is an author chronicling his life as a master spy with his recently released book entitled Good Hunting. His story of intrigue is just too good to miss. Tune in to hear Jack discuss a sample of his fascinating experiences.

Encore: Policing: A Daunting Responsibility

Law enforcement policies and tactics have landed directly under the nation’s microscope of late. Many wonder what happened? Most individuals who sign on as sworn officers do so because they want to make a difference. What happens then? Is it their training or is something else afoot? A 34-year veteran law enforcement officer, retired police chief, and multiple award recipient, Dr. Norm Stamper, has much to say on the subject. He is the author of Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Exposé of the Dark S...

P.I.'s Declassified-05/11/2017

P.I.'s Declassified

PI's Declassified

PI's Declassified

P.I.'s Declassified

P.I.'s Declassified-03/23/2017

P.I.'s Decalssified

Lessons Learned from Starting A Small Business

Small business start-ups have common challenges, whether it is retail, manufacturing or offering a service. Private investigation agencies have an additional challenge. Most PI’s starting an investigation agency have no prior business experience or knowledge of how a business needs to function. This is mainly due to most people foraging into the private sector investigation arena are former law enforcement officers. Cameron Jackson, a former police officer, has navigated those choppy waters a...

Mitigating Circumstances

When a criminal trial attorney is defending an individual on a capital murder, he is required to pursue any area of possible mitigation. A Capital Criminal Defense Attorney has the duty to hire a mitigation specialist to gather all possible mitigating evidence concerning the defendant to present at trial. It could be organic brain damage, an abusive home, learning disabilities, or any fact, event, or condition, that makes the death penalty less appropriate as a punishment and is set forth by ...

Screening Employees

What do employers need to know about a potential employee? Typically, it is work history, education, criminal record, financial history, medical history, or the use of social media. However, any time an applicant's or employee's background information is used to making an employment decision, regardless of where the information came from, federal laws must be complied with to protect people from discrimination. Discrimination includes discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex,...

Bugs Anyone? Defeating the Snooper

The more sophisticated technology gets, the easier it is to spy on another. The use of electronic bugging equipment crosses many boundaries. From board rooms to politicians to cheating spouses, no one is safe from prying eyes and ears. Enter Charles Patterson, an expert in Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) and advanced technology threats. TSCM refers to a process of protecting private communications against electronic eavesdropping and other technical reconnaissance. Charles Patte...

Forensic Scientist Extraordinaire

Working with experts can be challenging, frustrating, and sometimes puzzling. Working with a great expert is often insightful as well as rewarding, whether or not it helps your case. Celia Harnett is a court-qualified expert in many areas of forensic science including crime scene reconstruction, firearms & tool marks, gunshot residue, impression evidence, serology, trace evidence, blood alcohol analysis & interpretation, & controlled substances. She is an expert where an investigator or an at...

Mining Social Media

Today, social media investigation has become a requirement in almost every case. How do you locate and use social media evidence? What can be collected and how can it be processed as viable evidence? Should you hire a social media expert or try to navigate these every changing uncharted waters yourself? Tune in to hear Social Media Expert and Private Investigator, Joseph Jones will answer all of these questions and more.

All You Ever Wanted to Know About Process Serving

Do you have questions about serving summons and complaints, small claims, garnishments, writ of attachments or subpoenas for a personal appearance? What about collecting a judgment? Do you want tips on serving process in gated communities, commercial mailing addresses, corporations, and due diligence? The owner of You've Been Served, Gretchen Lichtenberger is an expert in these areas. Tune in to hear Gretchen Lichtenberger discuss the sticky areas of delivering legal documents no one wants ev...

Runaway Teen: First Person Account

It is hard to imagine the panic mother experiences when a child disappears. This is what Diane Basset faced when her teenage daughter, Samantha, jumped out of their second story window and ran away. A tip from another parent disclosed that Samantha had a secret night life. Tune in to hear Diane’s first-person account of her family’s journey to rescue their daughter from the shadowy underworld of sex-traffickers and the time-saving tips she developed to search for a missing teen.

David v. Goliath: One Man Makes a Difference

After a 2 ½ year battle with the Pima County, Arizona County Attorney, Private Investigator Richard Robertson prevailed. New case law was created in Arizona in support of public access to government records, an incredible win for the news media as well as for the citizens of Arizona. As a result, the Arizona Newspapers Foundation honored Rich with their Freedom of Information Award. Tune in to hear Rich Robertson tell his remarkable story of how he fought the county Goliath and won.

Is Your Cell Phone Bugging You?

Do you want to know how to protect your cell phone privacy or detect spyware on your smartphone? Are there warning signs that your phone is infected with spyware? Are there applications available to prevent your phone from being tapped or to catch the spy red-handed? Kevin D. Murray is an expert on mobile phone electronic surveillance and eavesdropping detection, known as technical surveillance countermeasures. He is also the author of Is My Cell Phone Bugged? Tune in to hear Kevin Murray dis...

What? Hidden Cameras in Schools?

We have always believed schools were a safe-haven for our children. It is hard to imagine that people who work in our schools as teachers, administers, or maintenance workers may not be there to protect and teach our students but may have an intent to harm them. Jimmie Mesis, a New Jersey private investigator and editor and publisher of internationally recognized PI Magazine, works with schools and has shocking information to report. Turn in to listen to Jimmie Mesis discuss what schools can ...

The Disappearance of Jacob Wetterling

October marks the 27th anniversary of the disappearance of eleven-year-old Jacob Wetterling, Jacob was abducted at gunpoint in 1989, 27 years ago. Jacob’s remains were found just one month ago. Danny Heinrich, long a person of interest and who has been pending trial on charges of child pornography, led authorities to an undisclosed location in Central Minnesota. In a bizarre twist to the case, Jodi Huisentruit, a news anchor and one who reported on Jacob’s case also disappeared. Emmy award-wi...

Encore: Race In America

Private investigators deal with issues of race and culture daily. Racial and cultural conflicts are found throughout the American landscape from border to border and in every state. It is present in the smallest community and in the largest metropolis, in the schools and in the workplace, in the neighborhoods and in the places where we shop. Sometimes, within our own homogeneous environments, we might even forget it exists. But it is there! Although often subtle, never is it so obvious than ...

Spotlight on Immigration Law

Who better to address immigration law than an attorney who was an immigrant herself? That is the case with Sharron SK Williams who immigrated to the United States from Belize. She is a practicing attorney who is right in the middle of addressing visa petitions, naturalization, permits for re-entry, asylum, religious worker petitions, unaccompanied immigrant children and other immigrant-related matters. Join PI’s Declassified! to hear Sharon SK Williams discuss both the challenges she faces as...

Policing: A Daunting Responsibility

Law enforcement policies and tactics have landed directly under the nation’s microscope of late. Many wonder what happened? Most individuals who sign on as sworn officers do so because they want to make a difference. What happens then? Is it their training or is something else afoot? A 34-year veteran law enforcement officer, retired police chief, and multiple award recipient, Dr. Norm Stamper, has much to say on the subject. He is the author of Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Exposé of the Dark S...

Investigation: An Attorney's Vicarious Liability

Private investigators must be aware of how their actions may impact others. The American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Conduct sets forth directives for behavior not only for attorneys but for non-lawyers as well and are enforceable in all but eight states. Violations can result in sanctions or worse. Therefore. If a lawyer retains an investigator, that attorney is liable for the investigator’s actions. Certainly, there are gray areas in investigation tactics, but some, particularly when i...

Why Do Innocent People Confess?

As astonishing as it may sound, false confessions do exist. It is a mystery to most of us. Why would anyone confess to a crime they didn’t commit, particularly a murder? The reasons are varied and often complex. Nevertheless, the facts demonstrate one in four individuals exonerated by DNA made either an incriminating statement or a false confession. That couldn’t happen to me, you say, however, psychologists say that anyone is susceptible, and some are more vulnerable than others. April Hi...

Legal Professionals Media Relations 101

Have you ever participated in a news conference? Does interfacing with the media help or hurt your case? Is your standard answer 'No comment!' What is the media looking for? What about your client’s privacy? Is it time for a professional media or public relations consultant? Join former law enforcement public relations officer and TV News veteran, Don Shook, who will provide media relations tips.

Encore: The Role of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner

The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner or SANE, plays a significant role when a report of a sexual assault has been made. The sexual assault nurse examiner conducts forensic examinations on reported victims and suspects of sexual assault events and has special skills to assess patients, identify injury, and collect evidence. A SANE nurse must be objective and a good listener. The forensic nurse will memorialize the examination both through documentation and photography, all which will be incorpora...

Private Investigators and Educations

Licensed Private Investigator Hal Humphreys, CFE, has a passion for learning. So much so that he became the executive editor of an on-line PI rag called Pursuit Magazine. He is the Director of Education for PI Education, an on-line education platform for private investigators. Why do private investigators need education, you ask? Didn’t the majority of them become private investigators after working in law enforcement? Haven’t they already been trained? What’s the big deal? The answer is th...

Private Investigations and the Changing Landscape

Is the private investigation profession shrinking due to governmental regulations or local laws, or do private investigators have to start looking at their work with a different perspective? To be successful, a private investigator has to run their agency like a business, a skill that is often underdeveloped before entering the field. Having some expertise or getting advise in the areas of business administration, personnel, public relations, and marketing are key. No longer can a PI continue...

The Pretext Controversy

What is pretexting anyway? Much maligned and extensively misunderstood, pretexting has a negative connotation to those outside the borders of both private investigation and law enforcement. Nevertheless, pretexting is a useful, practical, and valued investigative tool. Imagine a private investigator telling their true identity to a fraudster or a non-custodial parental abductor. Visualize a private investigator wearing their identity on either their jacket or their vehicle when investigati...

Conducting Investigations in Nairobi

Where do you turn when information is needed in Africa, whether it is conducting research or a background check? How do you go about vetting an individual from an African country? This could include something so basic as determining someone’s full name, details of their identity card, validation of academic certificates, professional qualifications, or property ownership. As the world becomes smaller, it becomes more and more necessary to know who to contact to obtain critical details. Tune i...

PI's Declassified!

Video Evidence Unplugged

What is the process of extracting images from a video? With the advancement of technology, there is video evidence everywhere you look. It is on street corners, inside and outside stores and other buildings, parking lots, on highways and at toll stations buildings. It is unusual not to be video recorded, particularly in an urban environment. There are Smartphones and police officer body cameras. Cameras are watching us, and they become a critical component of a criminal, and even a civil inve...

Not All Private Investigators Are Created Equal

What should you look for when hiring a private investigator? Where do you find one who is competent and professional? How do you determine if he or she has the skills and knowledge required for your particular case? Does the case involve fraud? Is it personal injury or criminal? Is it the type of case requiring a specific expertise? Join PI’s Declassified! to hear Board Certified Legal Investigator and Certified Criminal Defense Investigator Dean Beers discuss what to look for when hiring a p...

Encore: Inside the Mind of an Investigative Journalist

Award winning correspondent, Diane Diamond, always has a story in the wind. And she loves to work with private investigators who often have the inside scoop both on the front lines as well as behind the scenes. What is it like to cover the headline making crime stories of the day, every day? How does a lifetime of covering crime impact the journalists who cover it? How does an intense news-breaking story as big and as shocking as the Michael Jackson or Jerry Sandusky cases impact the life of ...

Encore: The Holocaust: Searching for Survivors

It is impossible to imagine the horror of the Holocaust. It is unbearable to see children torn from their parents, never to be seen again. Even though those who survived were liberated almost seventy years ago, the pain is deeply entrenched. While some sit on the sidelines and morn, Private Investigator Fred Blum takes action. Tune in to hear Private Investigator Fred Blum discuss the path he traveled to locate not only his own family members, but to locate scores of others from families frac...

Building Your Business Discreetly

How do you go about building a business if you want to maintain anonymity for both you and your clients? What do you do if you want to attract high-profile clients who value their privacy and are extremely cautious about who they hire to perform the work they need. It is a mission that requires innovative thinking outside the generally accepted methods of promoting a business. Private Investigator Shannon Tulloss does just that. She is an expert at developing her business model behind an obsc...

Second Amendment: A Dialogue

Who is not familiar with the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution…”A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed?” Gun expert and Second Amendment Advocate, Sam Paredes, has been in the business of protecting this right for over 35 years. Much to the concern of many gun owners, some of whom are private investigators, bills to legislate the control of guns and ammunition are rampant...

Depositions: Tips for Testimony

Whether you are in a court of law, an administrative hearing or a civil deposition, testifying is not an easy matter. It requires knowledge of your topic at the very least, but it also requires confidence as well as authenticity. Depositions are an integral part of the legal discovery process and are not to be taken lightly. It is the “other side’s” opportunity to gather information and do as much damage to the opponent’s case as possible. Often the success of the case for the prevailing par...

Panama Papers: Investigating Corporate Leaks

The release of the Panama Papers by an unidentified whistle-blower has many companies circling their virtual wagons. This leak of 11.5 million confidential documents (2.6 terabytes) detailing off-shore tax havens including names of shareholders and directors have many scrambling for cover. The message, however it clear. No company is safe from cyber-attack hackers. Join New Zealand security expert, Daniel “Danny” Toreson, to hear him discuss investigating corporate leaks and managing defamat...

Criminal Defense: A Constitutional Right

Often criticized are those who are involved in the defense side of the criminal process, the investigators, the experts, and indeed the attorneys. At the same time, that action of defending an individual of a crime is the heart of the US Constitution. Most of us learned about the 6th Amendment in high school Civics…the right to have the assistance of counsel, the right to be informed of the charges against us, the right to a speedy & public trial by an impartial jury, and the right to be co...

Encore: The New Face of Heroin Addiction

Do you know an individual who uses Heroin? Do you have reason to believe a family member or a friend is traveling down the path of being addicted? What are the signs? And, what are the devastating results? Tune in to hear addiction specialist Dr. David G. Greenberg who works extensively in the fields of chronic pain and addiction medicine, occupational and international medicine discuss how those addictions are contributing to criminal activity & civil torts.

An Accidental Lawyer

Criminal Defense Attorney Gerald Schwartzbach has represented such clients as civil rights activist Stephen Bingham and Robert Blake, probably the most widely known for his role in the TV series, Baretta, an eccentric, street-smart undercover cop with the NYPD. A burning commitment to justice propels him to pull out all stops on behalf of his varied clients. He believes true justice is executed only when we refuse to objectify the defendant, regardless of the crime. Tune to hear Gerald Schwar...

Investigating Fraudsters and Scam Artists

Are you interested in any of the following? brbr - Finding bank and investment account relationships br - Locating hidden shell corporations (US based and off-shore) br - Finding transferred and hidden assets (boats, planes, real estate, etc.) br - Documenting fraudulent transfers brbr Tune in to hear fraud expert, Colorado Private Investigator Rod Gagnon, address methods he uses to follow the money trail.

Encore: DuPont's Contaminated Mountain Reclaimed

For decades DuPont’s Zinc Smeltering Plant produced layers of contaminated waste that created a 100-foot tall noxious dust mountain in the tiny town of Spelter, West VA, permeating the neighborhoods and infiltrating the West Fork River that surrounded the facility. The toxic air emissions and dust from the operation of one of the largest zinc smelter facilities in the United States became a medical nightmare for scores of local residents exposed to potentially harmful by-products of arsenic, ...

Outrageous Gumshoe Stories

Whenever a group of private investigators get together, there are war stories. Sometimes, no matter how much planning has taken place ahead of time, the law of Murphy does its work. This particularly true for those private investigators who specialize in surveillance and worker’s compensation fraud. If a situation is going to go south, it has a high probability of happening during a surveillance, whether it is moving or stationary. Join Scott Fulmer, a private investigator who has many outrag...

Why Should Private Investigators Be Licensed?

Private Investigators often delve into the most secret corners of a person’s life. They become custodians of information that is used in protecting an individual’s constitutional rights in a criminal defense case, recovering children abducted by a non-custodial parent, developing proof of fraud and deceit, and gathering evidence of personal injury. He or she is a professional business person and an integral part of the United States legal system, Without the investigative results of competent...

Locating Banks and Other Assets

Often there are questions around searching for assets, particularly assets that are retained in financial institutions. Asset searches may be performed during pre-litigation activities, post-judgement or both. It is not infrequent for a defendant to attempt to conceal their assets in a myriad of creative ways. When that happens, it is then time for an experienced judgement debt researcher to take the reins. Private Investigator Nic Smith is such a person. His skills and techniques were challe...