how to hire a good private investigation agency

August 11th, 2008 by onlinepi | Posted in Private Detective News | No Comments »

When you are thinking of hiring a private investigation agency, you are either checking up the background of a person or on a group of people, location of missing persons, location or recovery of missing property or causes of fires, libels, or losses. There are plenty of private investigation agencies on the market but you have to find a good one that you can trust especially when you need help with more personal matters like a cheating spouse. You need to know what are the things that you should look out for and what questions to ask in order to find the best agency.

5 Ways To Locate A Good Private Investigation Agency

1. To locate a good private investigation agency, the best way is by word of mouth. Referrals from your family, friends or business associates are definitely more trusted and further more you can take the opportunity to ask specific questions to your needs. They will be able to give you a more real insider scoop on the agency and their level of service.

2. The next best place to look for a good private investigation agency is through investigator associations. These investigator associations probably have web sites and they post their membership directory.

3. You can also try the national private investigation organizations that refer investigators. The National Association of Investigative Specialists is one of the national associations you can try. How about your state’s legal organizations such as American Trial Lawyer’s Association affiliates or the state defense bar? They have a directory of recommended investigators which you can use too.

4. Do you know that insurance companies use private investigation agencies too? They need them to help do background checks, surveillance and investigation into insurance claims. Thus they do have a list of good private investigators they constantly used and reply on. Just locate your claim representative to talk to and find out which agencies they use.

5. Last but not least, is just to check Yellow Pages and Internet for private investigator listings. This is not the best way but with a little bit of homework done on your side, you can still get a good private investigator. First, you need to ask them for a reference and check if they are a licensed firm. Then check out if they have handled cases similar to yours and ask them for sample reports.

Questions You Should Ask

First of all, you need to decide what is your budget and what is the outcome you require for your job. Set those things up before you speak to the private investigator.

1. Ask for sample reports that they have done of similar jobs to your job that they have handled.

2. Ask them if you are required to pay a retainer.

3. Ask yourself whether you are comfortable talking to the private investigator. Good communication between you and the private investigator is important. Being open with one another can lead to better ideas that can help with your job.

4. Ask them what other additional costs that you may be asked to pay during the course of investigation. Sometimes they may not tell you about those costs in the beginning.

Once you find a really good and trustworthy private investigation agency, you can be sure that you have a excellent resource ready for you to call upon when you need them.by Lesley Chew

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Skills For Private Detective Jobs

August 11th, 2008 by onlinepi | Posted in Private Detective News | No Comments »

Internet private investigators or Private detective people carry out investigation on the Internet. They are expected to have good knowledge of computer and the online world. Any investigator that is not good with the online world will find it difficult to access information or track down fraudsters.

The job of private investigation is a demanding one. Detectives and Private Investigators go through lots of risk of get to the root of the case they are being paid for. Some go as far as climbing trees, walking through tunnels, crawling through the forest and racing on foot.

One activity that takes up most private investigator’s time is surveillance. They keep watch on situations for as long as they can make sense out of the situation and come up with a solution. Some people might see consistent vigilance as waste of time but it is not waste of time. It is real business.

Private investigation job could be risky. Sometimes as a private investigator, you might be faced with life threatening situations. This is because some informants could be aggressive and they could go violent. In such cases, it is expedient to know some skills about self-defense.

In spite of the fact that private investigation is lucrative, it is risky. Many private investigators have been faced with terrible situations that they’ll be forced to run, quit the job or avoid certain intimate investigation. Some even lose their lives in the process.

The importance of private investigators cannot be over emphasized. This is because they are asked to work where even security agencies fail. Sometimes private investigators are asked to continue from where the police stopped.

Private investigation is a career that cuts across gender. It doesn’t matter what sex an investigator is. The most important thing is the ability to solve cases no matter how challenging. An investigator that is physically and psychologically fit and has an analytical mind is capable of the job.

Criminology is one field a private investigator must be conversant with. It is simply the study of crime and it teaches an investigator about the nature of crime and how to verify criminal acts. The person is expected to know the psychology of criminals.

If you want to develop your skills in private detective works, reading articles and resources related to this can be a great help to fulfill your dream. If private investigation courses are not available in your locality, worry not, there is an effective alternative to that. Why not try to enroll in online private investigation courses? by bercle George

Private Investigation Agency Private Investigator

August 11th, 2008 by onlinepi | Posted in Private Detective News | No Comments »

Private Investigator – Private Investigation Agency

When Jesse James and his Wild Bunch had finally robbed one bank too many, Allan Pinkerton and his son William stepped up to exert a very terrifying pressure upon the outlaws. Intelligent, incredibly tenacious, physically powerful, fearless, and with an almost fanatical devotion for the laws of their land, they were without a doubt two of America’s greatest detectives.

Allan Pinkerton founded his private investigation agency in 1850 and can be described as the nation’s first civilian FBI-like agency. The Pinkertons were pioneers in the field of criminology and pursued Jesse James and his fellow outlaws under the most primitive of conditions.

There was no central fingerprint filing system in Washington, no rogues gallery, no most wanted descriptions being sent to each of the police stations in the fifty states at the touch of a button, no ballistics or modern techniques from which a criminal could be made by his patterns, his left-over fingerprints, or his DNA. Nothing that like existed for the Pinkertons. All they had was a deep desire to uphold the law and an even deeper desire to catch those running loose breaking it.

They also had a great desire to keep pristine records of every account, and as a result, the Pinkerton private investigation agency files are legendary themselves. They started the first rogues gallery that included pictures and physical descriptions, as well as laying the foundations for tracking a criminal’s habits.

And the job of a private investigator was not an easy one. For months they were riding horseback, following dead leads (literally), and endlessly questioning bystanders, before finally picking up the trail that led them into hostile territories infested with murderous outlaws and their henchmen.

When the first four bank robberies led by Jesse James and his gang rocked the nation, Allan Pinkerton and his private investigation agency were called in to hunt down the bandits once and for all. Pinkerton’s prestige was well-known by this time, but more than that, it was understood that he and his agency were incorruptible to the core. No bribes, liquor, or prostitutes could sway them, and men had tried.

And, in a humorous twist, while the bandits feared and hated the Pinkertons, they grew to respect them for their fair dealings. The Pinkertons private investigators would pursue any bandit until captured, but once the criminal was given a chance to repay his debt to society, he was a free man in their eyes. by audry grant

Impersonation to obtain personal information snares private investigators & researchers

May 27th, 2008 by onlinepi | Posted in Private Detective News | No Comments »

Impersonating someone to a government agency or hiring another to carry out this ruse could result in a criminal prosecution.

The operators of BNT Investigations, which was not licensed in Washington state, where they were based, plead guilty to crimes that carry a minimum 2-year sentence. They “assumed the individuals’ identities and persuaded government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration and state labor departments to hand over tax, wage and other confidential records.” Private investigators from various states who submitted personally identifying information to the firm were also indicted and are still awaiting trial.

Private investigators, insurance companies and attorneys who hire others obtain personal information should confirm that they do not get unauthorized personal information from a government agency. Other laws invoke penalties for using subterfuge (not necessarily impersonating the subject) to secure telephone records from the provider or financial information from banks and account holders. Our clients don’t necessarily know this. It’s our job to educate them.

Contact our Private Detective Agency for detective services and information. OnlinePI.com

Private Investigator Convicted In Racketeering Case

May 27th, 2008 by onlinepi | Posted in Private Detective News | No Comments »

LOS ANGELES — One-time “private eye to the stars” Anthony Pellicano was convicted Thursday of 76 federal charges, including racketeering and conspiracy, for wiretapping and unlawfully obtaining information about his high-powered clients’ legal foes.

Pellicano, 64, was convicted of all but one of the charges he was facing. He was acquitted on a single count of unauthorized computer access.

In addition to the single counts of racketeering and conspiracy, Pellicano was convicted of 18 counts of wire fraud, 19 counts of unauthorized computer access, 13 counts of identity theft, 13 counts of computer fraud, nine counts of wiretapping and single counts of wiretapping conspiracy and possession of a wiretapping device.

Pellicano, who represented himself during the lengthy trial in U.S. District Court, sat quietly as the guilty verdicts were read.

His four co-defendants were also convicted of various charges. Former LAPD Sgt. Mark Arneson, 54, was convicted of all 46 charges he was facing, including racketeering and racketeering conspiracy. Prosecutors said Arneson ran unauthorized background checks on various people at Pellicano’s behest.

Retired SBC field technician Rayford Earl Turner, 51, was convicted of 17 of 21 counts, also including racketeering and conspiracy to place wiretaps. Turner provided proprietary phone company information to Pellicano and assisted in the wiretapping.

Computer wiz Kevin Kachikian, 43, who designed the Telesleuth wiretapping software, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wiretapping and possession or manufacture of a wiretapping device. He was acquitted of nine other charges.

Abner Nicherie, 44, who hired Private Investigator Pellicano to wiretap a business adversary, was convicted on a single count of aiding and abetting a wiretap.

“The jury is always entitled to come up with a bad decision,” a disappointed Nicherie told reporters after the verdicts were read.

Sentencing was set for Sept. 24. The racketeering charges alone carry possible prison terms of up to 20 years.

“We greatly appreciate the time and attention that the jurors dedicated to this lengthy trial,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Saunders said on behalf of himself and his co-prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Lally. “The defendants have received the full benefits of the justice system that they sought to deny to others.”

The seven-man, five-woman jury began deliberating May 1 and reached verdicts late Thursday morning.

It took U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer about one hour to read the verdicts against the five men.

Seated in the front row of the packed courtroom audience was Arneson’s wife, who — like her husband — was stoic as the verdicts were read.

Behind her sat Private Investigator Pellicano’s wife, Kat, and behind her was Anita Busch, a former journalist and victim of Pellicano’s hardball tactics. It was a June 2002 threat against Busch that started the FBI’s investigation into the private eye.

Busch, 46, gave reporters a printed statement thanking Fischer, the jury and “the honest people in law enforcement who stopped others from being relentlessly attacked and terrorized.”

Later, Busch hugged retired FBI Special Agent Stanley Ornellas, who led the Pellicano investigation.

After the verdicts were read, the jury’s forewoman, Terri Winbush, told reporters that the FBI and prosecution did an excellent job presenting its case.

When asked if it was shocking to hear about the sleazy things that some of Pellicano’s rich and powerful clients did in their private lives, Winbush responded, “Yeah, it was.”

But she said she never personally wondered why many of Pellicano’s ex- clients — who included powerful attorneys — escaped prosecution.

As to Pellicano’s decision to represent himself, she said: “He should have had someone representing him.”

Chad Hummel, Arneson’s attorney, said both he and his client were “very disappointed” with the verdict.

“We have grave concerns whether he received a fair trial,” Hummel added, noting that Arneson will appeal the jury’s decision.

Hummel also said Arneson apologized to the city of Los Angeles and its citizens for his wrongful acts, but noted that the ex-cop had a 29-year career of public service.

“This is not the last chapter,” Hummel said.

Adam Braun, Kachikian’s attorney, said his client was “prevented from offering crucial testimony, crucial exhibits.”

Braun also said Kachikian’s appeal will focus on what he called problems with the jury instructions.

During the nearly two-month trial, prosecutors portrayed Private Investigator Pellicano as a pit bull to the powerful, ruining lives and sabotaging lawsuits in the process.

They also said the trial wasn’t about fame or celebrity.

“This case is not about Hollywood,” Saunders told jurors during his closing argument. “This is a case about corruption, cheating, greed and arrogance and perversion of the justice system, and it just happened to take place in Hollywood.”

The prosecution’s case was a sex-drenched tale of paranoia, deceit and deception, all funneled through Pellicano’s Sunset Strip office.

The jury heard tales from billionaires, hedge fund managers, an ex-prostitute, music industry moguls and others telling of how Pellicano victimized them or investigated others for them.

Defense attorneys — and Pellicano himself — said the ex-private investigator was a secretive “lone ranger” who rarely, if ever, allowed anyone to get close enough to him to figure out his operation.

They accused prosecutors of being overzealous and overcharging the case.

Thursday’s verdicts are not the end of the Pellicano case. A trial date is expected to be set soon for Pellicano’s upcoming trial alongside entertainment lawyer Terry Christensen.

Both men are charged with illegally wiretapping the ex-wife of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, who was involved in a bitter child support dispute in 2002.

Christensen hired Pellicano to investigate her and recordings subsequently emerged of the men apparently discussing alleged wiretaps.

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