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By Susanna Speier Denver Private Investigator Blogger On November 9th we covered Ronan Farrow's New Yorker story revealing Harvey Weinstein's connection to the Israeli private investigative agency, Black Cube. A Black Cube board member had just apologized and promised to donate money earned from working on the Weinstein case to women's organizations. So we asked private investigators what they thought of Black Cube's apology, expecting to gather a range of reactions. Here's what we got: Not only did all PIs we heard from doubt the sincerity of Black Cube's mea culpa apology --- some were even dubious of their promise to donate the profits from the Weinstein case to women's organizations. Other raised doubts regarding the firm's ethics and legalities. As the PI community was weighing in, the Wall Street Journal published an article about Stella Penn Pechanac an Israeli actress and one of the Black Cube operatives involved in the attempted cover up. According to Mark Maremont, Jacquie McNish and Rob Copeland, the three person team of Wall Street Journal reporters, Pechanac met with Ben Wallace, a writer who had been researching the Weinstein allegations. Claiming to be a spurned ex mistress named, "Anna." Pechanac -aka- Anna delivered a tearful expose of the consensual affair she had with Harvey Weinstein and the hunger for revenge it was now fueling. Could this have succeed in steering some of the nations top investigative reporters off the trail? Of Black Cube's litany of attempts to misdirect reporters and reinforce Weinstein's claim “it is a fiction to suggest that any individuals were targeted or suppressed at any time,” this was one of the flimsier ones. As Wallace recalled, Anna was welling up with emotion at one of their meetings, her story, "''didn't ring true." "It makes sense she went into private investigating, not acting" he concluded "because I found her acting skills not stellar'."
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By Susanna Speier
Denver Private Investigator Blogger On or about January 26, 2017, Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) reviewed a complaint regarding Patrick Baird, a Granbury, Texas based private investigator who has held a Colorado level 2 license since June 16, 2015. According to public records, around September 26, 2016, Baird pled guilty to calling and leaving over twenty voicemail messages with a client in a single afternoon. The Harris County District Court in the State of Texas sentenced him to two days of confinement and a $250 fine. Baird admitted the violations to DORA’s Office of Private Investigator Licensure Program Director, Mark Browne who cited several licensing regulation sections including 12-58.5-109 which includes stalking and failing to meet generally accepted standards of practice in private investigation. After he was fined an additional $250 by the State of Colorado --plus an additional 15% surcharge, bringing his total Colorado fees to $287.50-- Baird was issued an Admonishment for failing to meet generally accepted standards of the practice of private investigations. He was warned that such conduct would lead to formal action against his license including probation, suspension or revocation, should it recur. DORA and the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) require disclosure of public documents which, according to their website, "are generally defined as an existing written or electronic document made, maintained or kept by a state agency for use in a government function or purpose." The Order, signed by Baird as well as Browne, is now a public record in the custody of the Director which is how it was obtained for the article. By Susanna Speier Denver Private Investigator Blogger The series finale of PBS Nature's Spy in the Wild series: meet the spies just concluded on Rocky Mountain PBS and it wasn't really a spy show. For any Colorado private investigator interested in the present and future of the surveillance, however, this will be a fascinating watch. If you're an under cover operative, even better. There is, in fact, so much to be gained from observing the dynamics of the animal world you would probably have a difficult time persuading yourself not to binge watch now that the series itself has aired and is available online in its entirety. See also: Spies in Nature After spending the last few weeks watching and making observations we compiled a list of the top spy skills the show taught us for the Denver private investigator community . We assume no responsibility for you using or misusing the skills and/or strategies you are about to read.
Did we miss anything? Keep in mind you may not have the opportunity to put these things to use if you're a Denver private investigator. Even a Colorado private investigator may question how to put it all to use.
You may have trouble finding a local wolf pack, however, there are myriad prairie dogs to be found along the I25 in Aurora, Centennial, Parker, Castle Pines Castle Rock and Monument as you shuttle between the Denver zoo in Denver and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs to see more of the animals featured in this series. Speaking of which, a giraffe at the Denver zoo just gave birth!! See the Spy in the Wild series in its entirety, now archived, for yourself onPBS Nature. Private Investigators can bring their stories to the Buntport Theater stage in Denver this month2/2/2017 By Susanna Speier Denver Private Investigator Blogger I've been wanting to figure out to help private investigators bring their stories to the stage for a long time but never had the resources to curate an actual event for the Mile Hi PI community. Just recently, however, my buddy Ron Doyle who runs The Narrators, a monthly storytelling event at Buntport Theater, approached me with an idea. Why not send a private investigator his way this month to tell a story at The Narrators "Red-Handed show"? If you are a Colorado private investigator and would like to be considered for the one remaining slot at The Narrators "Red Handed" show on Wednesday, February 15th at 8:00 p.m. at Buntport Theater, email thenarrators3000@gmail.com to find out more.  “It’s a black box theater that seats about 125-150 so it’s a sizable crowd. The audience is very welcoming. Folks are there to listen and we’ve built up this community to help built empathy and hear experiences from a wide range of voices," Doyle says. "It’s almost all 1st person narrative, memoir style.” There will be a lot of eyes on you which could feel unsettling for a private eye accustomed to hiding in the shadows, however Doyle likens the experience of telling a story on The Buntport stage to the experience of telling a story around a campfire or sharing a story at a dinner party with "not a lot of pretense" involved. "The spotlight and microphone may be intimidating but the audience will be very encouraging." Are you a woman or a minority? If so, you may be given preference. This is because, according to Ron, they get a lot of white males who approach them and would love to come tell stories. "We want a variety of voices and are looking for a variety of folks not visible in the public eye." To find out more about The Narrators you can check out the FAQ section of their website, an article bout them in Confluence Denver or their Facebook page. The show is always free for audience members and participants as the creators consider it a community service. "Facebook is wonderful for what it is. Human interaction is wonderful for what it is," Ron explains. "I think it's important people meet one another face to face as a tool for getting life experience you wouldn't get in your social circle."  By Susanna Speier
Denver Private Investigator Blogger The long anticipated premiere of Sherlock season 4, BBC's series about the self-proclaimed, high-functioning sociopath, returned last night after a three year hiatus. The episode, "Six Thatchers" was the continuation of Sherlock's season 3 finale. Spoiler Alert: The episode leaves one wondering how close Watson came to committing infidelity before his wife took a bullet for Sherlock at the London Aquarium. Key details of Watson's interactions with the woman-on-the-bus are deliberately blurred. Were other texts exchanged? Was there an off-screen rendezvous? Will she come back in a subsequent episode? Questions linger like they do with an unresolved case. What happens to the lose ends and inconsistencies? It is often the missing digital information that determines the outcome. In other words, we wont know without more digital evidence -ie- a complete transcript of texts Watson exchanged with the woman-on-the-bus. See also: Digital evidence 101 workshops for Denver attorneys and private investigators. The show's signature cinematography --with its floating text message overlays, fade-in Skype chats and word clouds--- bring the data drenched world of a private detective's mind front and center, however, the picture we're being shown is still incomplete. A real life private investigator would need more evidence. Text overlays aren't limited to Holmes and Watson’s tete-a-tetes. Holmes' episode adversary does an online background check after his altercation with Sherlock. He is able to connect the dots back to Mary through a Google search that points him to a photo of Holmes walking Watson's bride down the aisle. Text overlays move the story forward while giving the viewer a simultaneous peak of Holmes' assessment gears churning. It is important to know that any data in public domain can be used by the legal opposition. Backstories and narrative unfold simultaneously. You must chose between skimming or honing in on the thread that you desperately hope is the more substantial. The assessment gears of a private detective's mind are, once again, churning away. Information disseminated into femto blips, though dizzying, did not preclude fans from finding an error in Watson’s digital filing system and tweeting it out immediately. Why on earth would Watson file a blog post as a JPG? Or, as the UK metro put it, "he wasn’t typing on a website at all, but on a picture labeled JOHN BLOG PAGE.jpg" Professional private investigators, like BBC staffers, are only human. In real life, as opposed to on Masterpiece, investigators can get dinged by their bosses for filing errors because the information is private and not available to the twittersphere.  By Susanna Speier Denver Private Investigator Blogger Apparently even the CIA wont carry the 2017 Secret Ops of the CIA calendar that is available through The Spy Museum gift shop. According to The Washington Post this is because the "inaugural “Secret Ops of the CIA” calendar was produced by the nephew of an agency contractor killed in the line of duty and features reproductions of the actual paintings that have hung for years in the hallways of CIA headquarters in Northern Virginia." however, "Toni Hiley, the longtime CIA museum director, said the gift shop can’t sell the calendar because “it’s not an official work of the U.S. government.” The Spy Museum gift shop is, of course, over the moon about the exclusivity as well as the fact it has the actual CIA logo on. So if you plan to order one for your office, we recommend doing it before these calendars sell out!  The 2017 Sherlock calendar is put out by the BBC and comes with photos and quotes from a whole slew of characters, not just the stern faced, deerstalker hat clad Cumberbatch. Although we don't mind the fact they chose to include a couple of those, as well. If you're a fan of BBC's Sherlock this is a calander to be adored and/or coveted.  What would a private investigator's office be, if it didn't include an homage to film noir. The Film Noir 2017 calendar we found on Etsy. It's wire bound, glossy and ships directly from New Zealand. It also provides a colorful and comprehensive sampling a a wide range of noir movies, not just the classics and if you visit the site you can choose from three different noir calendars as well as a Casablanca calendar. Casablanca, btw, will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2017!  The Things We've Learned From Nancy Drew calander is the brainchild of the brainy Nancy Drew fan club president, Jennifer Fischer and its Dastardly Villians calendar was also enthusiastically endorsed in our holiday gift article in PursuitMag. Take your pick of illustrations and crimes.
 By Susanna Speier Denver Private Investigator Blogger Chris Wells, a computer, cell phone and vehicle systems forensic examiner, lives in a world of ones and zeros. His many years of experience working in the cyber realm have made him invaluable to private investigators, attorneys at law and other clients. He has also spent the last few months developing a workshop that will cover the nuances of digital evidence. "My clients aren’t as savvy about the cyber world as they need to be," Wells explains. "Just stop and think about the common devices around you; in your home and in your car, that store your personal information. A client's whereabouts can be verified by their vehicle's on-board navigational system. Some don't know that if you post to Facebook on a cellphone that your entry may be internally tagged with your coordinates." Law enforcement frequently works with dedicated digital forensic teams to glean hidden infomation from digital sources. It is important for private sector PIs and attorneys to understand the basics of digital footprints. This is the reason, according to Wells, that "they don't think right off the bat, 'oh there's digital evidence here and I need to try and go get it.'" You can visit Wells' Linkedin post to learn more about his upcoming $40 digital evidence workshops. And if you're not yet sold on the value and want to sample an abbreviated version of the material he'll be presenting, Wells is doing a presentation at the January 4th PPIAC meeting. Well continued, “what I want to do in the workshop is remind people of all the devices they use on a day to day basis." For example, "at home they talk to their Amazon echo. Their nest thermostat. All these devices are storing information about people, activities, their contacts their communications (and it is) all information (that) can be made available to an investigator." Could the in-house IT person or the tech support desk at Best Buy do the trick? "The guy at Best Buy has no knowledge or bearing on legal evidence," explains Wells, "a person who does digital forensic work will always focus on what does the legal outcome need to be."  By Susanna Speier
Denver Private Investigator Blogger NY Mag just announced that Jessica Jones' season 2 will have an all female director lineup. This is unusual for Hollywood where, according to the Directors Guild of America (DGA) female directors are outnumbered by male directors 84% to 16%. That's about the same as the disparity between female private investigators and male private investigators in the United States. Although no comprehensive study has been done on gender disparity among private investigators, PI Magazine estimated that 15% of the approximate 60,000 private investigators in the United States are women. The choice to go with an all-female director lineup is just one of many extraordinary things about the "groundbreaking show that’s delved into topics most mainstream shows — never mind Marvel properties — eschew, such as post-traumatic-stress disorder, sexual assault, and the complexity of female friendship" reports Jenni Miller in NY Magazines' The Cut. At the end of 2015, one of MileHiPI's Pursuit Mag contributions (we have a content partnership) praised Jessica Jones for its portrayal of the private investigator world. "With the exception of the superhero stuff -ie- psychopathic mind-control villain, gunfire, fistfights, massive property damage, and high frequency of self-inflicted death & dismemberment" the show actually managed to maintain the day to day functions of a private investigator with refreshing accuracy. This is no small feat given how rampant Hollywood mis-portrayals are. "Jones isn’t an alpha Magnum, PI or a Charlie’s Angel with unlimited wardrobe combinations. She’s a chronic underachiever struggling to earn a living, and sometimes, to just get through the day. She relies on a visualization exercise to manage symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and she drinks herself to oblivion." Netflix’s Jessica Jones show runner, Melissa Rosenberg brought humanity to a character whose work ethic requires that she "throws herself full-force into her work, uncovering evidence of cheating spouses and tracking down missing persons. Jones trivializes no one and is fiercely protective of her friends and clients. She will stop at nothing to find the answers" and we can't wait to see the results of Rosenberg's decision to use an all female lineup of directors in season 2. If you've already binged your way through season 1 of Jessica Jones (as we have and as most of the show's fans probably have by this point) and can't wait for season 2, we recommend the Jessica Jones spinoff, Luke Cage if you need to get your Marvel beta hero fix before then. Although no private investigators are featured in Luke Cage there is police detective, Misty Knight. Scriptwriters that know how to pay homage to their film noir origins will make the series worth your while, as this exchange between Luke and Pop exemplifies: Pop: Where are you from, Luke? Luke: Chicago Pop: You ain't from no Chicago. Where are you from, really? Luke: Savannah, Georgia. Pop: Alright, country boy. You know how the wind feels fluffy like you could stuff it into a pillow case right before a thunderstorm? Harlem's the same. Trouble smells a certain way like you could touch it.
By Susanna Speier
Denver Private Investigator Blogger Insurance fraud may not be a topic of tonight's debate, however our post about Ken Bone's, relatively benign insurance fraud history --he forged documents to make his then frozen car insurance policy appear as though it were an active one in order to secure a pizza delivery job-- concluded by urging MileHiPI readers who are not already registered to vote to hurry up and register to vote!! According to GoogleTrends, Voter Registration is a top Google search topic right now. Ken Bone himself, is urging everyone to register.
Bone lost a lot of fans last week when his AMA Reddit account revealed a dark and creepy side however, Ken Bone remains one of several celebrities being featured in a post-debate discussion with Jimmy Kimmel featuring Bone along side actress Gal Gadot and Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson. "Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Debate" will air on Wednesday, October 19, on ABC at 11:35 p.m. / 10:35 p.m. CT.
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Highly experienced team of Denver private investigators serving attorneys, businesses, and individuals. Our investigation services include, but are not limited to: process of service, responsible party identification, witness locates and interviews, workplace investigations, competitive intelligence, background investigations, surveillance investigations, fidelity investigations (infidelity), cheating spouses, aerial video, & more. Ross Investigators PC, Inc. proudly offers their PI services to: Arvada, Aurora, Boulder, Broomfield, Castle Rock, Centennial, Cherry Creek, Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Denver, Englewood, Fort Collins, Glendale, Golden, Greenwood Village, Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Longmont, Louisville, Loveland, Morrison, Northglenn, Parker, Pueblo, Superior, Thornton, Washington Park, and all of Colorado.
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