Website will aid the investigator in researching toxic chemicals

What is TOXMAP?
TOXMAP (http://toxmap.nlm.nih.gov) is a Geographic Information System (GIS) from the Division of Specialized Information Services (http://sis.nlm.nih.gov) of the US National Library of Medicine (NLM) (http://www.nlm.nih.gov) that uses maps of the United States to help users visually explore data from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and Superfund Program.
For more information, see the NLM TOXMAP Fact Sheet.
Use Quick Search or click on a mapto explore on-site toxic releases and hazardous waste sites from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).

Link: http://toxmap.nlm.nih.gov/toxmap/main/index.jsp

Helpful website when investigating companies and their environmental impact

The Right-to-Know Network (RTK NET), a service provided by OMB Watch, provides free access to numerous environmental databases. With the information available on RTK NET, you can identify specific factories and their environmental effects, and assess the people and communities affected.

Link: http://www.rtknet.org/

Private Investigators needed in MA and NY for the Bernie Madoff investigation

By Martha Graybow and Svea Herbst-Bayliss

NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) - There has been no rush to the courthouse yet by Bernard Madoff's angry investors, but a wave of legal action could be on the way as their lawyers spearhead private investigations into the suspected fraud.
A little more than a week after authorities say the veteran money manager confessed to a $50 billion swindle, only a handful of lawsuits had been filed in U.S. courthouses by investors seeking to recoup losses.
Lawyers are working overtime, though, to investigate the case and say they are sure that the scandal will ultimately spur plenty of court action -- perhaps for years to come. When the big cases are filed, they are likely to seek huge damages, and many of the lawsuits will likely be consolidated.
While federal prosecutors, the FBI, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and others are examining Madoff's business and looking for any potential investor recoveries, plaintiffs' lawyers are launching their own probes. These law firms often have their own staffs of forensic accountants, fraud examiners and private investigators.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4BI5KC20081219

Who needs to hire private investigators in Chicago to find stupid criminals?

You could already be a winner -- if you weren't going to jail.
That's the bad news 61 fugitives got after being lured to a suburban hotel with news they had won a $1,000 gift card and the chance to take home a big-screen TV. Earlier this month, people wanted on outstanding warrants got a letter in the mail from "Shoptastic Solutions" -- Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart's fictitious marketing outfit -- promising prizes and no gimmicks.
All they had to do was check the enclosed scratch-off ticket to see if they had won -- which, of course, they all did. The "winners" were told to call in their shopper number -- which actually was their warrant number -- to schedule an appointment to complete a shopping survey and pick up their prize.

Link: http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1342941,CST-NWS-dart22.article

Email tracking links for the private investigator

Paste an email with full headers (we need the 'Received' lines -- we don't need your email addresses, digg). The app will (we hope) trace the path your email message took as it passed through various servers, on Google maps.
It only takes the last 4 or so servers and is limited by hostip's ability to provide a lat/long coordinate for the given IP.

Links...http://map.butterfat.net/emailroutemap/
http://www.ip-adress.com/trace_email/

Private Investigators hired by the town of Winthrop MA investigate harbormaster

White said Famolare is facing internal charges of “conduct unbecoming a harbormaster” for a series of incidents allegedly documented by private investigators hired by the town. White said an “extensive” report of the investigators’ findings has been given to Famolare and that there are “a whole series of issues that may potentially be referred to law enforcement agencies.”

Link: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1140185

Budget cuts hurt coroners' offices and demonstrate the need for Private Investigators

Budget cuts in coroners' offices are hampering police investigations and delaying release of death certificates, leaving families in limbo as they await results of a loved one's autopsy.
Coroners and medical examiners in states such as California, Florida and Utah report the delays mean longer waits for DNA results in rape and child molestation cases and for ballistic results in homicide cases. For families, death certificates are classified as pending, delaying insurance claims and executing the will.

Link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-12-18-coroners_N.htm

Report Reveals Unwarranted Detention Of Massachusetts Youth

The need for Private Investigators in Mass. is demonstrated by this report.

Massachusetts police and probation officers are unnecessarily incarcerating youth who are arrested when juvenile court is typically closed, according to a report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Massachusetts and the Children's Law Center of Massachusetts. Many have been arrested for minor infractions and pose no obvious risk of flight or danger to the community.

Link: http://www.aclu.org/crimjustice/juv/38128prs20081218.html

High Speed Police Pursuit, watchdog site

PursuitWatch.org is the internet's #1 resource for police pursuit related content. Current events are discussed in the PhillipsWatch Blog, the Latest Headlines, or in a featured article that will be linked below.

The Media Kit offers quotes, statistics, and the contact information of experts for those researching, writing a story, or for those who truly want to know the issue.

The Archives contains a wealth of PursuitWatch.org articles concerning all aspects of pursuits. Articles date as far back as 2003.

The Resource tab contains our Police Pursuit Policy and Supreme Court Decision collection, as well as interviews and pursuit fatality statistics. The Reader Article section offers writings of supporters of PursuitWatch.org.

Link: http://www.pursuitwatch.org/home.shtml

Police Abuse Forum

This site provides a forum and podcasts concerning supposed police abuse.
Some of the reports are videos or eyewitness reports, you can subscribe to their newsletter or peruse their archives.


Link: http://www.policeabuse.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=26

White Collar Fraud is another useful blog for the private investigator

Who knows fraud better than a fraudster? Sam E. Antar, former Crazy Eddie Inc. CFO and convicted felon, shares his views and advice on white collar crime, securities fraud, internal controls, Sarbanes-Oxley and more on his blog. The introduction states, “The well-educated, skilled, and experienced accountant is the first line of defense for the capitalist system.” And, toward that end, Antar points out inconsistencies in companies, organizations and governments, offers how-tos on detecting fraud, and muses on wrongdoings. You can browse by the most popular posts, learn more about the Crazy Eddie fraud scheme, check out fraud facts, and find related blogs in his list of links

Do not trust, just verify. White collar criminals build a wall of false integrity around them.White collar criminals measure their effectiveness by the comfort level of their victims. White collar criminals consider your humanity as a weakness to be exploited in the execution of their crimes. White collar crime can be more brutal than violent crime, since white collar crime imposes a collective harm on society. No criminal finds morality and stops committing crime simply because another criminal went to jail.

Link: http://whitecollarfraud.blogspot.com/

Watch what you write about in your blogs, craigslist, facebook etc.

Locked in a visitation dispute with his former girlfriend over their young daughter, J.P. Weichel wanted to vent, court records say. Weichel, 40, allegedly posted comments about the woman on the Craigslist "rants and raves" forum, accusing her of child abuse and welfare fraud and making crude comments about her sex life.
The woman said the postings were defamatory. But unlike the majority of libel cases, which are tried in civil court, local authorities have taken the unusual step of charging Weichel with a crime.

Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-craigslist-libel4-2008dec04,0,2332954.story

PI uncovers Firefighters scam in East Dennis, MA

The city’s Retirement Board, at its meeting last month, watched a DVD presented by city officials. Where they saw footage of a man working earlier this year in a yard at an East Dennis home. The man bent down to gather leaves and chopped at a tree stump. Other footage in the roughly 13-minute video showed the same man moving furniture with his brother and taking items to a Cape Cod transfer station.The man, Fire Lt. David P. McGrath, was on sick leave at the time. The 56-year-old, who is now retired, was sitting before the board that day, Nov. 20, seeking a disability retirement. The footage was taken by two private investigative firms hired by the city to document the retired firefighter’s injury.

Complete article: http://www.pinow.com/news/2008/12/10/pis-uncover-firefighters-scam/

Trucking Accident blog is a useful blog for the private investigator

Looking for information concerning trucking accidents, this blog has numerous sources that the private investigator might find useful.


Link: http://www.truckingaccidentattorneyblog.com/

Mortgage Fraud blog is a useful blog for the private investigator

Rachel Dollar is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles fraud recovery litigation for lenders and secondary market investors nationwide. She is a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud. Ms. Dollar is licensed to practice law in California and maintains offices in Santa Rosa, California.
Mortgage Fraud Blog is co-sponsored by Interthinx the leading provider of fraud services and solutions for the mortgage industry.

Link: http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/

Private defense attorneys, how much are they making in MA

Below are payments made to private attorneys and firms by the state Committee for Public Counsel Services who provide direct legal services to indigent clients. All payments are a total from 2004 to September of this year.

Link: http://www.bostonherald.com/projects/lawyer_pay/name.ASC//5/

From my cell I scent the reeking soul of U.S. justice

From The Sunday Times
November 23, 2008
Conrad Black

I write to you from a US federal prison. It is far from a country club or even a regimental health spa. I work quite hard but fulfillingly, teaching English and the history of the United States to some of my co-residents. There is practically unlimited access to e-mails and the media and plenty of time for visitors.
We did not know the grand jury was sitting, have never seen the transcript of its proceedings and I was denied counsel of choice by the ex parte seizure, which the jury later judged to be improper, of the proceeds of the sale of an apartment in New York that I was going to use as the retainer for trial counsel.
The system is based on the plea bargain: the barefaced exchange of incriminating testimony for immunity or a reduced sentence. It is intimidation and suborned or extorted perjury, an outright rape of any plausible definition of justice.
The US is now a carceral state that imprisons eight to 12 times more people (2.5m) per capita than the UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany or Japan. US justice has become a command economy based on the avarice of private prison companies, a gigantic prison service industry and politically influential correctional officers’ unions that agitate for an unlimited increase in the number of prosecutions and the length of sentences. The entire “war on drugs”, by contrast, is a classic illustration of supply-side economics: a trillion taxpayers’ dollars squandered and one million small fry imprisoned at a cost of $50 billion a year; as supply of and demand for illegal drugs have increased, prices have fallen and product quality has improved.

Complete Article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article5213243.ece

See how your city ranks in crime for 2008/2009

CQ Press has published its latest rankings for cities nationwide.

City Crime rankings in Alphabetical listings...
http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/CityCrime2008_Alpha.pdf
Metro Crime rankings in Alphabetical listings...
http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/MetroCrime2008_Alpha.pdf

Low to High rankings...
http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/CityCrime2008_Rank.pdf
Low to High rankings of metropolitan cities...
http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/MetroCrime2008_Rank.pdf


High to Low rankings...
http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/CityCrime2008_Rank_Rev.pdf
High to Low rankings of metropolitan cities...
http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/MetroCrime2008_Rank.pdf