Spy gear for the private investigator

Spytek-Detroit was established in 2005 in conjunction with Lakeside Investigations, LLC. Lakeside Investigations is a full service Michigan detective agency. Lakeside Investigations prides itself with 100% customer satisfaction to this date . We feel that customer service is ultimately more important to us then making the sale. If we can provide our customers with the direction they need it will always come back to us later as well as the referrals. In an effort to provide our customers with the means of doing some of their own detective work before getting involved with a professional detective agency we established Spytek Detroit. Spytek Detroit is an authorized dealer of investigative equipment.
Spytek Detroit provides a very high quality product to our customers to ensure customer satisfaction. Spytek Detroit is constantly evaluating our products and acquiring new products to ensure that we sell the best products possible to our customers. A lot of our customers are law enforcement agencies, commercial businesses, private investigators, and private citizens nationwide.

Link: http://www.spytek-detroit.com/aboutus.php

Illegal speed cameras in California, fines upheld

The defendant in the case argued that this ticket was invalid because it had been issued by a private company and the city of Lancaster who were operating together under an arrangement specifically forbidden by the state's red light camera statute. The law requires that camera contractors be compensated on a flat-rate basis to remove the financial incentive for the company to issue more tickets. Lancaster is one of dozens of California cities ignoring this mandate by using a "cost neutral" formula that adjusts the rate paid based on whether the number of tickets issued falls within a certain range.

Link: http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/26/2699.asp

Atlanta policemen convicted of cover-up

At the hearing, Tesler’s lawyer provided examples of other Atlanta police officers who broke the rules or violated the law and said a disturbing culture of misconduct pervades the force.
Following the sentencings, state Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta), who represents Johnston’s neighborhood, called on Atlanta police to release the FBI report. Federal prosecutors have said it contains recommendations that could lead to some officers being disciplined, fired or indicted. U.S. District Judge Julie Carnes imposed the most severe sentence — 10 years — on Smith, 36, who obtained the illegal, no-knock search warrant allowing officers to batter down Johnston’s door. Jason Smith was losing it. “I [screwed] up; I think I killed this woman,” the Atlanta narcotics cop told partner Arthur Tesler in the yard behind a small brick bungalow on Neal Street. “You guys got to help me.”
A terrified Johnston, thinking she was victimized by a home invasion, fired a warning shot through the door. Narcotics officers responded with a hail of gunfire, killing her.
The next day, a worried Tesler approached Junnier, who’d been released from the hospital. He told him their supervisor suspected they were lying. Still, the sergeant had told him, “You need to get your story together and stick to it.”
To that end, Tesler wrote a police report to match the false affidavit and cover story.
Carnes sentenced Junnier, 42, to six years in prison. Junnier, the most experienced officer, was the first to cross the “blue line” — the unspoken code of silence among police — and divulge to the FBI what really happened at Neal Street and how the officers concocted a sophisticated coverup.
Links:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2009/02/23/johnston_sentencing.html
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories//2009/02/22/kathryn_johnston_sentencing.html

Wrongfully convicted of murder, Timothy Master's set free

CNN: You spent some prime years of your life -- late 20s, early 30s -- in jail for a crime you didn't commit. What do you think you missed most by not being a free man in those years?
Masters: There's so much. Right off the top, I'd say having a family. I think they're very much responsible for me not having a family right now, a wife and kids. But it goes back further than just them arresting me. It goes all the way back to my high school days when they labeled me a murder suspect among all my peers and my teachers and everything. It goes back a long time. Watch police interrogate a 15-year-old Masters »

CNN: Any hard feelings toward the Fort Collins Police Department or the prosecutors in the case?
Masters: Oh, absolutely. They locked me up for a decade for something I didn't do. Read how DNA pointed to a new killer
CNN: If you could talk to the prosecutors or police who handled your case, what would you say to them?
Masters: I don't want to talk to them at all.
CNN: Talk about your lawsuit against the prosecutors and police. Who does it target?
Masters: Mainly, [former prosecutors, now Judges] Jolene Blair and Terri Gilmore and [Fort Collins police Lt.] Jim Broderick, but there are a few other defendants involved and the city, but in my mind those are the big three. Key players in the case »


Links: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/25/tim.masters.year.later/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/22/masters.case/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/18/masters/index.html?iref=newssearch#cnnSTCText
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/02/01/masters.gifts/index.html

Medicaid Fraud on the rise in NY

The Post has learned that, on the Upper West Side, unlicensed eye-care "specialist" Jeanne Prosper allegedly blindsided the Medicaid program by filing $1.2 million in fraudulent bills.
Prosper, affiliated with supplier Fried & Kohler, claimed she provided hundreds of visually impaired customers with prosthetic eyes, costing $2,000 apiece.
But Medicaid Inspector General James Sheehan's office said most of the customers had a good set of eyes - and didn't need or get an artificial one.
Investigators decided to take a closer look when Medicaid bills from Prosper skyrocketed from $75,000 to $600,000 over a two-year period.


Link: http://www.nypost.com/seven/02232009/news/regionalnews/medicaid_cops_bare_eye_popping_scams_156496.htm

What is the probability fired employees might steal from their employer?

Many ex-employees in the U.S. are walking off with companies' sensitive and confidential data when they leave their jobs, a new study has found.
And of those, most have either used or plan to use the data for their next job with another company.
"Not only is this putting customer and other confidential information at risk for a data breach, but it could affect companies' competitiveness and future revenues," said the study released Monday by the Ponemon Institute, a Michigan-based independent think-tank that researches information and privacy management practices in business and government.
Among 945 survey participants who had been laid off, fired, or changed jobs in the past year, 59 per cent admitted to taking company data with them, said the study, which as sponsored by Symantec Corp., the internet security company that makes Norton Antivirus.


Link: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/02/23/tech-steal-data.html

Mall advertisers hide cameras in outdoor advertisements

Advertising agency Trumedia Technologies puts hidden cameras in malls. How long before the hidden cameras are used by police?

Links: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/02/20/joyce.mo.ads.with.cameras.ksdk
http://www.tru-media.com/

Security Jobs on the rise in the U.S.

In the spring of 2007, Homeland Security Today published its first educational directory, with a list of 81 institutions with homeland security programs. The most recent directory, published last fall, had nearly twice that number.
Silverberg says the growth in academic programs mirrors the job market. The Department of Homeland Security, a labyrinthine federal department made up of 22 agencies with more than 200,000 employees, is just the beginning, he adds. Every state has its own homeland security framework, and job seekers in the private sector, even in seemingly unrelated fields such as nursing and law, find the courses are a résumé builder, he says.

Links:http://www.hstoday.us/
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-02-17-homeland-security-classes_N.htm

Citibank losses 27 million dollars to a Nigerian banking scam

By BENJAMIN WEISER
Published: February 20, 2009
Swindles in which someone overseas seeks access to a person’s bank account are so well known that most potential victims can spot them in seconds.
But one man found success by tweaking the formula, prosecutors say: Rather than trying to dupe an account holder into giving up information, he duped the bank. And instead of swindling a person, he tried to rob a country — of $27 million.
To carry out the elaborate scheme, prosecutors in New York said on Friday, the man, identified as Paul Gabriel Amos, 37, a Nigerian citizen who lived in Singapore, worked with others to create official-looking documents that instructed Citibank to wire the money in two dozen transactions to accounts that Mr. Amos and the others controlled around the world.
The money came from a Citibank account in New York held by the National Bank of Ethiopia, that country’s central bank. Prosecutors said the conspirators, contacted by Citibank to verify the transactions, posed as Ethiopian bank officials and approved the transfers.

Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/nyregion/21scam.html?_r=1

Mayor and police chief arrested in Louisiana

The mayor and police chief of a federally funded Louisiana speed trap town were arrested Wednesday on felony corruption charges. A Tensas Parish Grand Jury indicted Waterproof Mayor Bobby Higginbotham for felony theft, malfeasance in office, payroll fraud and using public funds for personal use. Waterproof Police Chief Miles Jenkins faces three felony counts for receiving bonuses for meeting traffic ticket quotas and altering traffic citations. The activities of both officials were fueled by federal taxpayer dollars.

Link: http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/26/2694.asp

Locating building & fire research documents for the private investigator

A great resource for private investigators...
Search pdf's by author, title or keyword.
Link: http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/

Forensic failures in the U.S.

Fingerprint science "does not guarantee that two analysts following it will obtain the same results."
Shoeprint and tire-print matching methods lack statistical statistical backing, making it "impossible to assess."
Hair analyses show "no scientific support for the use of hair comparisons for individualization in the absence of (DNA)."
Bullet match reviews show "scientific knowledge base for tool mark and firearms analysis is fairly limited."
Bite-mark matches display "no scientific studies to support (their) assessment, and no large population studies have been conducted."
"No measurement or scientific determination is immune from error," says forensic scientist Thomas Bohan of Medical and Technical Consultants in Portland, Maine, noting the report found many evidence-gathering tools "plausible" but lacking in statistical backing. "I can also say as a forensic scientist that no technique for which the error rate is unknown should form the basis of trial testimony."
"Forensic science should be a science," says William Watson, chairman of the Association of Forensic DNA Analysts and Administrators in Austin. "The reality is that this report is going to cause a lot of pain for people in my field. Defense lawyers will use it to challenge in all sorts of situations. But we need to go through this to professionalize things and protect innocent people and the public."







Link: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2009-02-18-crime-lab_N.htm

Speed Camera Fraud coming to a state near you?

Maryland Speed Camera Program: Scams, Conflicts of Interest Everywhere

When the Maryland Legislature authorized Montgomery County to use speed cameras in 2006, the people were given certain assurances. One was that there would be no per-ticket payments to speed camera contractors, which would create a financial incentive for contractors to “cheat” to maximize profits. Another was that they would only be used in “residential and school zones”, not major arterial roads. And finally, that they would not be used as cash cows for local governments by earmarking the revenues for (undefined) “public safety” improvements. All of those promises were given to the driving public – and ALL of those promises have since been broken by the Montgomery County Speed Camera Program.

Links: http://dccamerafraud.wordpress.com/
http://www.motorists.org/blog/ticket-camera-scams-are-plentiful-in-the-dc-area/#more-320

How to accurately gauge the amount of visitors a website receives

How accurate is Statbrain? Statbrain estimates the number of visits that a website has based on offsite factors like backlinks, Alexa Rank etc. Statbrain does not have access to log files or any counter information. The number of visits that Statbrain estimates gives you an idea of the number of visits that a website has, but not the exact visitor number.
The number that Statbrain estimates are visits, is also known as visitor sessions and indicates the number of visits that a website has. The number is not the same as unique visitors which usually is a bit lower. Visits should not be mixed up with hits or page views which are entirely different numbers.

Link: http://www.statbrain.com/

D.C. Water Authority sued for $200 Million, demonstrates the need for private investigators

The water utility between 2001 and 2004 hid elevated levels of lead from customers and federal authorities, plaintiff John Parkhurst of Capitol Hill claims in the lawsuit, which seeks class-action status. WASA failed to take steps to remedy the situation, omitted language from public education campaigns that would have warned people about the problem and continued to encourage residents to drink the water, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court.
Meanwhile, the validity of a 2007 research paper that also claimed D.C. residents were unharmed by the water crisis is being questioned by city officials who want an investigation. The paper was written by a university professor who had a contract with WASA. "It's very clear that WASA did everything it could do to protect itself, rather than protect the public," said Katherine Kimpel, an attorney with Sanford, Wittels & Heisler in Washington, which is representing Parkhurst.

Link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-02-17-leadpoisoning-case_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Facebook reverts back to old terms of service after public outcry

In the meantime, we've decided to revert to the old Terms as we work to address this. Mark has explained this in more detail in another blog post (http://blog.facebook.com), and we've created a group where people can provide input (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=69048030774). We hope you'll join this group and post comments. We promise to use these comments to help construct a new Terms of Use that reflects the principles around how people share and control their information, and that's written clearly in language everyone can understand.




Link: http://consumerist.com/5155549/facebook-reverts-back-to-old-terms-of-service?skyline=true&s=x

Is the UK a police state and is the U.S. close behind?

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) found that “many states have fallen into a trap set by terrorists”, by introducing anti-terrorism measures which undermined the very values they sought to protect. Many such measures were imposed on a temporary basis but ended up becoming permanent features of law and practice, it said. It condemned the use of torture, disappearances, and arbitrary and secret detention.
Dame Stella's criticism was seized upon by the Conservatives. David Davis, the Tory MP and former shadow home secretary, said: "Like so many of those who have had involvement in the battle against terrorism, Stella Rimington cares deeply about our historic rights and rightly raises the alarm about a Government whose first interest appears to be to use the threat of terrorism to frighten people and undermine those rights rather than defend them."

Link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5750713.ece

Why it's a good idea for private investigators to continue their education

Have you ever seen "CCDI*", CMP," "CQM," or "PMP" behind someone's name and not had a clue what it meant -- or if it meant anything at all?
Contrary to what you might think, those letters aren't just for show. In fact, those three or four symbols can separate you from the pack or be the reason you get the job over someone else.
"Especially in today's business climate, anything that differentiates you from the crowd and emphasizes your commitment to your profession is career critical," says Kent Johnson, partner for Davinci Search, a Minneapolis-based recruiting firm.

* Certified Criminal Defense Investigator

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/worklife/02/11/cb.jobs.certification/index.html

Posting anything on Facebook becomes Facebook's property forever!

Accroding to the "Consumerist" anything you upload to Facebook can be used by Facebook in any way they deem fit, forever, no matter what you do later. Want to close your account? Good for you, but Facebook still has the right to do whatever it wants with your old content. They can even sublicense it if they want.
Excerpt from the new user aggreement:
"The following sections will survive any termination of your use of the Facebook Service: Prohibited Conduct, User Content, Your Privacy Practices, Gift Credits, Ownership; Proprietary Rights, Licenses, Submissions, User Disputes; Complaints, Indemnity, General Disclaimers, Limitation on Liability, Termination and Changes to the Facebook Service, Arbitration, Governing Law; Venue and Jurisdiction and Other."

Link: http://consumerist.com/5150175/facebooks-new-terms-of-service-we-can-do-anything-we-want-with-your-content-forever

Is the IRS steroid investigation warranted?

"On March 2, the Barry Bonds trial will begin, and a jury will decide if he lied under oath about using steroids. But the trial really isn't about Bonds—most of us decided long ago what to think of the home run king. No, this trial is about federal agent Jeff Novitzky (above, left), who has spent seven years and millions of dollars dragging Bonds to court. It's also about whether we want the government policing sports
Until September 2003, Novitzky was an anonymous IRS special agent working drug and fraud crimes in Silicon Valley. Then his investigation into BALCO blew the lid off steroids. Soon he had the backing of Congress, President Bush—who included steroids in a State of the Union—and the U.S. attorney general, who announced the BALCO indictment on national TV. That's a lot of clout for an IRS agent. Maybe too much."

Link:http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3896270

Germany, Police caught tampering with Speed Cameras

Although this story happened in Germany can it happen in the U.S.?

Prosecutors in Nuremberg, Germany are investigating three police officers implicated in a scheme to manipulate photo radar ticket speed readings. The charge centers on an officer in the Bavarian city of Neumarkt who allegedly forged speed camera log entries in an attempt to protect the son of a colleague from the consequences of speeding. According to Mittelbayerische Zeitung, the young driver had been photographed while doing 96km/h (60 MPH) in a 50km/h (31 MPH) zone.

Link: http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/26/2685.asp

Two Pa. Judges Accused of Jailing Hundreds of Kids for Bribes

In one of the most shocking cases of courtroom graft on record, two Pennsylvania judges have been charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers.
"I've never encountered, and I don't think that we will in our lifetimes, a case where literally thousands of kids' lives were just tossed aside in order for a couple of judges to make some money," said Marsha Levick, an attorney with the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center, which is representing hundreds of youths sentenced in Wilkes-Barre.
Prosecutors say Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juvenile offenders in lockups run by PA Child Care LLC and a sister company, Western PA Child Care LLC. The judges were charged on Jan. 26 and removed from the bench by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court shortly afterward.


Link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,491148,00.html

Elderly abuse on the rise

At the same time, programs designed to help ease the burden - such as home care services and a training and stress management program for family caregivers - are being cut, they say. That fuels a rise in abuse allegations.

The reports cover a range of mistreatment by family members, who make up a significant portion of caregivers. In one case, a son demanded money from his 84-year-old father and when the elder refused, he shoved him, causing a serious head injury, according to the neighbor who alerted authorities.

Link:http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2009/02/09/mass_elder_abuse_on_rise/

Massachusetts incarcerating more people and keeping them locked up longer boosts counties coffers

But Hodgson, and other sheriffs across the state, are glad to have them: For each immigrant, they receive an average of $90 a day. Bristol and other cash-strapped county jails are increasingly embracing the immigration business, capitalizing on the soaring number of foreign-born detainees and the millions of federal dollars a year paid to incarcerate them. Bristol County alone has raked in $33 million since 2001, and has used the money to transform itself into a sprawling campus with a commissary, an ambulance communications center, and a "management accountability building" for regular meetings on jail operations.
"That money is a tremendous boost for us," said Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph D. McDonald Jr., whose jail houses 324 immigrants, up from 44 a decade ago, bringing in $15.6 million last year. "We aggressively try to market ourselves to get as many of those inmates into our doors as we can."


Link: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/02/09/jailed_immigrants_buoy_budgets/

Surveillance, Intelligence firms expected to grow in this economy

At a time when most companies are paring budgets mercilessly, Gordon is positioning his security company, Viewpoint CRM, for growth in 2009: he expects revenues to triple, from $4 million last year, and to add about 30 employees to his staff of 63. The new command center, an upgrade of an existing facility in the same building, will spool up later this month.
Viewpoint, and a handful of other local companies, are benefiting from two dynamics that most of us regard as pretty depressing

Link: http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2009/02/08/surveillance_gets_intelligent/

You won't need a Private Investigator to figure out who assaulted this man

"He admitted that he gave himself several shots in the face to appear that he'd been attacked," Attwood said.
The mugging tale was a ruse to get the day off work, the man told police.
"I can only assume that they didn't have a great sick plan where he works," Attwood noted.


Link: http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1424735

Did police in Chicago torture suspects?

"Federal prosecutors continue to investigate decades-old allegations that Chicago police routinely tortured murder suspects, focusing on a half-dozen detectives following the recent indictment of former Cmdr. Jon Burge, the alleged ringleader, sources said.
A case in point is Andrew Wilson, who was convicted of killing two police officers after giving a confession that Burge and his men allegedly coerced. Wilson contended he was beaten and shocked and forced to press his chest and abdomen to a hot radiator. He died in prison in 2007."



Link: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-burge-investigationfeb04,0,5165114.story

Domestic abuse on the rise as the economy falters

Calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline have shot up during the recession, says spokeswoman Retha Fielding. For example, there were 21 percent more calls in September than in September 2007. When the stock market plunged in October, there were 18 percent more calls than in October 2007.
“And we hear more and more about money. ‘We’re about to lose the house, my husband lost his job.’ “ Domestic violence is about power and control, Fielding says, “so if an abuser loses control of one part of his life, he’s going to try harder to get control at home.”
And concern is rising about possibly higher rates of child abuse, which increases in tough economic times, though national statistics lag a few years behind.
Unemployment and financial problems create stress, “and we know they’re contributing factors. The more stress factors a family has, the more likely you are to have child abuse and neglect,” says Theresa Costello, director of the government-funded National Resource Center for Child Protective Services.

Link: http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20090202/ARTICLES/902029927/1008?Title=Economy_holds_families_hostage

Eyewitness testimony leads to another wrongful conviction, albeit posthumously

About a month later, she was asked to review a photo lineup of possible suspects. Blackburn says she picked out Cole, not knowing the photo was taken when Cole — who had no criminal record — was being questioned by police as a possible witness in an unrelated theft case.
Mallin later identified Cole in a physical lineup. Her identification, jury foreman Walter Lupton says, was among the strongest evidence against Cole at trial.
Lupton, who hadn't known DNA testing implicated Johnson or that Cole died in prison, says the knowledge leaves "an empty spot in my life."
Mallin, meanwhile, had "kind of put the whole thing behind me." Then, last May, she was notified by the Lubbock County District Attorney's Office that DNA testing had eliminated Cole as the attacker and that he had died in prison.
"I was really shocked," says Mallin, who has joined Cole's family in their effort to exonerate him and plans to appear at the hearing. "Timothy is as much a victim as me."
Nationally, the Innocence Project, which attempts to prove innocence claims using DNA, says misidentification is the "single greatest cause of wrongful conviction." Of the 232 exonerations involving DNA evidence, about 75% involved some form of misidentification, the New York City-based group reports.
Blackburn hopes the case will spur a new state law allowing stronger challenges to witness identification.

Link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-02-03-exoneration_N.htm