Ross Investigators PC, Inc.

By Susanna Speier
Denver Private Investigator Blog

For my very last Denver Private Investigator Blog post, I've compiled a 'best of' roundup, featuring the top five posts of my half-decade tenure working as Chief Content Officer and Blogger for Ross Investigators. Google analytics rankings, personal favorites, reader feedback and timely industry issues also went into making these selections. I've listed according to topics starting with the post I felt to be the most important. 

Telling Tom Mills' story was my most important blog post. The civil suit against Bret Carbone ended up getting settled out-of-court and the details of that settlement were never disclosed to me, however the series resonated profoundly with private investigators who understood that what  happened to Tom Mills could have happened to any of them.

The take home?  There were several actually. The first being the most obvious: ever ever go on a serve without some video format-- but it also touched upon the larger issue of  private investigator safety and brought to light concerns about long term health ramifications like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and it's impact
on health and business. 

One of the benefits of the licensing program was it made private investigators accountable in ways they hadn't been previously.  Violations, if reported, were available to the public through open records requests and part of my job was to obtain those records, review them and write about what went on. 

It didn't happen frequently but when it did happen I told the story so people in the community would know how the licensing program was serving consumer and the industry. 

Go here to read about license violations reported against Grand Junction Private Investigator, Jessica Erin Lane.

Stories ranged from the ski resort bear caught on camera when it banged out a few cords on a piano to the pit bull dog reunited with it's Colorado Springs guardian thanks to a supportive PI. The Spies in the Wild review was also wildly popular. As was the story about Operation Acoustic Kitty. 

Thanks to supportive communications team and data, data, data, I was able to hone in on salary disparities between men and women in the private investigator industry. I also used census and Bureau of Labor Statistics to look at and report on how salary trends varied in different regions of the country and in different demographics. 

Perhaps most complicated were Rule 8.4 (c) and Formal Opinion 137. We addressed the negative ramifications for private investigators in several blog posts, one of which garnered statewide recognition when it was cited in Law Week Colorado. 

Thanks again for all your likes and shares. Your support and your readership. I enjoyed spending the last five years telling your stories. 

By Susanna Speier
Denver Private Investigator Blogger 

According to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook the private detective industry is expected to grow 8% between 2018 and 2028. The annual wage average was $50,090 in 2018 as "demand for private detectives and investigators will stem from security concerns and from the need to protect confidential information." The project that the field is expected to continue attracting qualified people, "including relatively young retirees from law enforcement and the military. Candidates with related work experience, as well as those with strong interviewing skills and familiarity with computers, may find more job opportunities than others," they add. But what happens to this playing field if the mandatory licensing law is taken away? 

In effort to obtain an answer by zooming in on Colorado specific-data, I punched in the address of the Ross Investigators, PC, Inc., 1665 Grant St. #304, Denver, CO. 80203 What do the earnings of Colorado private investigators working in or nearby the firm look like now under the current licensing program. 

Note that the local and regional salary growth projections do not take into account the late 2019 numbers which may have been impacted by the Department of Regulatory agencies' Sunset Report  and DORA's subsequent decision to end the Colorado licensing program by the end of 2020.
Colorado's mandatory licensing program has been in place for half a decade and projecting salaries based on these numbers is problematic but they are still worth looking at.

See also: Colorado Department of Regulatory Agency 2019 Sunset Review recommends the General Assembly sunset to Colorado Private Investigator Licensing Program 

Honing in on states without licensing programs --there are only five of them-- might shake things up a bit. Or at least make them more interesting. What happens in states where anyone can hang a shingle and proclaim themselves a private eye? Will the field become saturated or will the cream rise to the top anyway? If DORA's plan to sunset the private investigator licensing program goes through by the end of 2020 will the field become more or less competitive?  

The BLS provides a comprehensive  median salary range breakdown for most but not all of those states if you isolate the stats. Wyoming is the only relevant data that is missing. 

South Dakota, at $17,770 annually below the national average and $8.54 annually below the national average wins the Golden Raspberry or Razzie for worst salary in an unlicensed state. Boooo South Dakota!Of the five states in the country that don't have licensing programs, fifty percent have salaries that fall below the national average and fifty percent have salaries that exceed the national average. Colorado hovers around the average salary with Denver and the surrounding metro area (which includes Aurora, Lakewood, Englewood, Parker, Castle Rock, Glendale and Boulder).

Colorado's local salary averages do not take real estate, cost of living, unemployment rates or health insurance costs into account. What can we learn from them, regardless. More importantly, is Colorado at risk of becoming another South Dakota or Mississippi which hails at $9,920 annually below the national average?

Perhaps if DORA successfully sunsets the Colorado licensing law salaries will stay the same. Because sure, anyone can hang a shingle but consumers know how to disseminate between whose real-deal and whose not. Or do they? 

The Denver Private Investigator Blog will continue to report on this topic. If you are a stakeholder who wants to weigh in, please contact us via email, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. 

(Continued from part 1 of 2)
The staff members based out of Trustify’s opulent Arlington, Virginia Headquarters unfortunately learned the hard way that they would end up working without pay. They must now join the ranks of Trustify’s former landlord, public relations firm and attorneys whose paychecks were backburnered while Boice and Mellon indulged in lavish spending. Boice also owes over 10K in child support backpay. As though the FBI investigating now investigating him for embezzlement wasn't enough.

Of course, Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region are built upon a rich history of boom/bust stories, most of which do not end well. There's the Baby Doe Tabor story and all the prospector's gold sites that eventually worked their way to profitability by building ski resorts and turning caved in mine shafts into high end tourist resorts. 

The intrigue of the venture capitalist "uberizing" the private investigator industry with an app  was astutely expressed by PursutMag Editor-in-Chief, Hal Humphreys [Disclosure: PursuitMag and the Denver Private Investigator Blog are content partners] who is a fan of disruptors and of startups. “Most of them fail. Most of them fail miserably" he also pointed out but, "every once in a while, one hits and changes everything." 

Pursuit published several articles about Trustify and some of the other authors were not as forgiving as it's Editor but it's coverage over time provide a great sense of the former dumpster fire's rise and fall.

The Trustify App, part 1 ​

The DrivenForward blog maintained by Glen Hellman wins for most consistent, persistent and comprehensive coverage of the Trustify fiasco. It contains primary documents as well as a running chart of statuses of lawsuits against Trustify. Hellman was actually pursued by one of Boice's attorneys and posted the notice on his blog. 

My final effort to verify the derelict status of the site’ was to call the 888 number. I dialed and got a busy signal. When was the last time I heard one of those? 

Will the consumer driven demand for a standard hourly with no retainer fee be met by yet another disruptor rendering the private investigator industry as we know it as obsolete as a busy signal?

​Only time will tell. Hopefully savvy investigators as well as savvy tech entrepreneurs will continue learning from the mistakes of their predecessors.  

Bibliography:

Washington Biz Journal - https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/08/22/heres-whats-left-of-trustifys-private-eye-inspired.html

Driven Forward - https://drivenforward.com/former-trustify-employees-awarded-260-thousand-judgement/

Washingtonian - https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/12/09/is-the-blogger-mr-cranky-glen-hellman-out-to-save-dc-tech-industry-or-destroy-it/

PursuitMag - http://pursuitmag.com/a-trustify-postmortem/

By Susanna Speier
Denver Private Investigator Blog

Denver comes in 11th on the list of private investigator salaries nationwide. Does that mean that if you're a private investigator living in Colorado you should migrate to NYC? Not necessarily . 

Claiming to see salaries "as high as $99,500 and as low as $22,500, the majority of Entry Level Private Investigator salaries currently range between $34,500 (25th percentile) to $46,000 (75th percentile) across the United States" according to Zip Recruiter's national chart dated September 2, 2019. But where are they getting their data? And how many private investigators are they speaking to? "The  average pay range for an Entry Level Private Investigator varies little (about $11,500), which suggests that regardless of location, there are not many opportunities for increased pay or advancement, even with several years of experience" reflects an anonymous analysis on another part of their website. And they may be onto something. 

Putting the data together enables you to compare a private investigator living in New York City to Denver and other major cities in the US. Most can expect an average annual salary of $49,268 as of August 26, 2019 and an average annual pay for an Entry Level Private Investigator in the United States averaging $46,587 a year. Does this mean that the highest average private investigator salary in the country is just $2,681 shy of what the highest earning PIs in the country make? 

Zip Recruiter's post unfortunately, also falls short in providing the number of jobs surveyed. Previous years' Labor Day posts discussing salary pulls data from the United States Census Bureau and from the Bureau of Labor Statistics provide the most comprehensive results however recruitments sites rolling out salary data based on the jobs posted on the site are also useful. Moreover, reviewing and discussing salary with your colleagues is, according to Adam Conover, the best way to bridge the income inequality gap and this is a clip of Conover's rundown if you'd like to know more: 

Back to recruitment site data though: if you're following recruiter sites, they update frequently and tend to provide local as well as national analysis. This makes it worth the effort, despite the fact it's not as comprehensive as government sites or sites using government data. 

Glassdoor's comparisons, which were updated July 29, 2019, list the average base pay at $53,854 but lists entry at $45,318 which is in Zip Recruiter's ballpark. But GlassDoor provides additional options that allow viewers to compare bonuses and see how large firms compare to small firms. Spoiler alert: larger firms pay better. GlassDoor also offers recent anonymously shared salary reports which, although also unverified, provide feedback from someone who was actually employed rather than something a job poster submits.

Could Glassdoor be amalgamating too many listings which range from topics as broad as "Environmental Health Investigator" for the City and County of Denver to "Cyber Coder Fraud Investigative Analysis" for Cyber Coders. Absolutely. Is it nevertheless a viable resource to include in your research? Yes it is. 

Indeed's rundown of PI salaries is the outlier in so far as they actually include the number of salaries submitted: 338. Indeed also provides the unique observations that the average PIs tenure is 1-3 years and hourly averages $23.11 which is a penny away from the Arlington, Virginia average and more than Denver's $21.81 average. 

​Happy Labor Day!! 

By Susanna Speier
Denver Private Investigator Blogger

"What do you charge for your PI services," is a question most of us, at some point or another, will be asked. The person asking, which can be anyone ranging from friend and acquaintance to Facebook group contact, is probably asking because something in their personal life or in the personal life of a family or loved one needs to be resolved.. 

Whether or not you are a licensed private investigator --and in my case, I am not licensed and I do not want to be-- they may also need information that does not require a licensed private investigator to obtain and the question, "how much do you charge for your private investigation services?" is actually conscious or unconscious code for, 'will you help?'

"I'm just looking around for someone to do some background digging. I have to figure out how much it's worth to me to get the info. ;-)" the person responded when I informed her the firm I work for has a $500 minimum retainer for a background investigation. 
 
When she specified she was looking for, "more than an apartment rental, less than a security clearance," I pointed out that myriad online services are available to landlords. They can obtain something that doesn't go very in depth for around $50 online. That is a background "check" as opposed to a background investigation, however. And again, a background investigation starts with a $500 retainer fee. 
 
"That is probably more than I can justify paying for this particular project and more background check than I need," she acknowledged. 

"Alright," I said reiterating that a background investigation is different than a background check and it something you can't just get from a basic online service for a $50 fee. 
 
"Okay, that all sounds good. I suspect it's going to turn out to be more than I'm willing to spend, but I'd be happy to chat with someone about it, and my budget's not nothing," she said. So I wished her well and referred her to the Denver Public Library which offers access to online phone directory and newspaper listings. 

"We often to asked to help find someone (their current phone number, current address, reverse lookup, etc.) or we help someone use something like an inmate locator.  But as far as actually researching the background and history of a person, that's a bit different and we aren't really able to do that very well" said one of Denver's Central Library reference librarians when I asked.  "Our genealogy department, obviously, helped people locate their family and ancestors, but that's also different." 

Hiring a private investigator to do a background investigation is the route you take when you've  exhausted  options like the public library and $50 background checks. 


 
 
 
 

 By Susanna Speier
Denver Private Investigator Blogger

You got busy. Then you then procrastinated and now you have to figure out what to get the kids for Christmas. Too late to order by mail but look on the bright side. Kids don't know how much of your time is spent monitoring driveways, watching and rewatching slip n' fall footage and finalizing the final revision of your witness testimony reports and thanks to a robust children's literature industry --conveniently saturated with an abundance of scrappy, savvy teen and adolescent sleuths-- some kids may actually regard you as the grownup embodiment of Nancy Drew or Encyclopedia Brown.

Read also: 85 years of Nancy Drew detective stories

We recommend leveraging this perception to help with the crisis at hand. In other words, yes literary misconception about the private investigation and security profession are at best, irritating  but this this is the time of year to make the most of the trench coat, magnifying glass and fedora. Especially if you're trying to make some last minute, on-the-spot Christmas magic happen. 

Read also: Valentines Day gifts for private investigators 

For starters, if, in the worst case scenario, you had to improvise something on Christmas morning, you can always grab a boxcutter and turn a cardboard delivery box, pair of old socks and the kookiest witness interviews of the last half-decade into original and memorable puppet sketches for the kids to watch or even participate in.

Better yet, you could track down a couple of Unemployed Philosophers Guild Sherlock Homes finger puppets, pair them with the right music playlist (a simple google search lead us to some spy kids ones) and you'd have the option of placing Sherlock in the show!

If they're totally in love with the puppet theater progress you'll have the entire 2019 season to take them to shows at The Denver Puppet Theater, located at 3156 West 38th Avenue, Denver, CO 80211.

​Unfortunately, the local independent company has a real life unsolved crime.  Between $300 and $500 worth of hand puppets were stolen in May of this year for reasons that still seem to elude the owners. Who would steal a bunch of puppets from a puppet theater? Perhaps a new case assignment will also come out of it.

​
There is even a Denver International Airport Tattered Cover if you're headed out of town for the holiday and want to grab something on the way. Additional book recommendations are covered in our books for kids segment in our content partner, Pursuit Mag's article. .

​Back to the local Denver metro area, though. Taluah Jones, located at 1122 east 17th avenue in Denver has a cubby shelf featuring spy gear, walkie talkies, fingerprint detectives, invisible writing ink and spy view specs according to a sales associate we spoke with on the phone. They have also extended their evening hours to 7:30 p.m. to accommodate -ahem- last minute Christmas shoppers.

Second Star to the Right, located at 4353 Tennyson St in Denver is another incredible locally owned store for kids. They another shop at 1545 South Pearl if that is more convenient. Their sales associate recommended the new edition of Clue because it has "more suspects, rooms and weapons." It also has the classic art of the original. "The character portraits are neat and art in general is older style which is cool." Almost as iconic as Monopoly, Clue thankfully, continues to pass the test of time in flying colors. 

Also worth mentioning is we saw the Scientific Explorer, Crime Catchers Spy Science Kits, were sold out at the Glendale Target but seems to be available in area Kohl's, Walmart and possibly the Colorado Blvd Barnes and Noble.

Although the focus has been primarily on locally owned retailers the fact that we're mentioning this now should probably say a lot about how high quality of an educational tool we consider it to be. One of the many reasons we feel this toy deserves a top spot on our recommendation list --besides what we perceive to be simplicity of the educational toy, we feel it's accessibility combined with the importance of preparing kids for STEM careers so you're not supporting them through their early and mid adult years on a limited or perhaps nonexistent private investigator pension. 

Whatever you end up with we hope you'll enjoy the holidays and find us on social media to let us know what you got! 

Taluah Jones, 1122 east 17th avenue, Denver, Colorado 
​Second Star to the Right, located at 4353 Tennyson Street, Denver, Colorado 

By Susanna Speier
Denver Private Investigator Blogger 

According to Ross Investigators' Senior Executive Editor, Joanne Lu,, writing a report for a private investigator, "is communicating all of the most relevant details in a concise way that really has the best in mind for the client, meaning the personal injury lawyer and their client."

Ross Investigators now has a team of two editors working to ensure, as Lu puts it, "language and formatting communicate a certain level of professionalism." The challenge is how to "paint a comprehensive picture without obscuring details." One way Lu meets this challenge is by retrospectively asking, "have we provided enough details or have we obscured what's really useful by providing too much detail?" 

Because they don't get to talk to the Client's Client (the CC) and know what they're looking at is second hand, Lu and her team "are trying to laser focus on what's really helpful." Ultimately Lu wants to properly represent the quality of work the Ross Investigators team does in the field. 

If your own report writing skills could use a tune up, you're in luck. June's PPIAC Training Meeting, which takes place Wednesday, June 06, 2018 at 6:30 PM, MDT at CB & Pott's in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The trainer is John Morris of EVCO LLC which is based in Greely, Colorado. Social hour begins at 6:00. 

By Susanna Speier
​Denver Private Investigator Blogger 

Jessica Jones (which --in case you're not already looped-- just dropped season 2) may run a solo practice The Defenders she need to collaborate in order to save Hell's Kitchen. But what about a place like Colorado with a smaller and more regionally spread out population? 

Castle Rock investigator, Andrea Orozco's upcoming Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado (PPIAC) training workshop on Wednesday, April 4th at CB & Pott's 6575 Greenwood Plaza Blvd in Greenwood Village, CO will focus on subcontracting for other investigators. It's a great opportunity to learn more about how and when to collaborate with investigators who specialize in areas of expertise that may compliment yours. 

A recent article Pursuit Mag article by legal investigator and former Durango police detective, Sam Petitto also discusses the solo versus collaboration dynamic.

​Many of the questions on Rachele' Davis list of questions to ask before hiring a private investigator are relevant to questions you might ask a prospective sub contractor or collaborator. 

Collaborations don't have to be limited to current cases. Earlier this month a New York Post article detailed a  Suffolk County cold case and the circumstances behind a grisly crime was finally resolved thanks to DNA forensics. 

To check out the team of associates our own Denver based firm, Ross Investigators, subcontracts with, check out our about page or call (720) 458-1497 for a free consultation. 

By Susanna Speier
Denver Private Investigator Blogger 

Near the end of the first act of Hamilton, as anyone familiar with the musical and American military history already knows, the Battle of Yorktown turns the tide for the Continental Army, led by General George Washington and wins the decisive victory against the British Army, led by General Lord Charles Cornwallis.

Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette both played critical roles in cinching the Yorktown victory however a New York tailor named Hercules Mulligan also played a prominent role in the victory by obtaining British intelligence that enabled the Continental Army to plan, in advance, for the attack.

When Alexander Hamilton asked Mulligan to help him obtain British intelligence for General Washington, ​Hercules Mulligan's fashionable tailor shop, which catered to wealthy British businessmen and high ranking British officers, was well positioned to charm proprietary intelligence out of his British customers. Performed by actors Lin-Manuel Miranda and Okieriete Onaodowan in the original broadway musical, Alexander Hamilton and Hercules Mulligan sing in hip-hop infused rhyme explaining,

Hamilton
How did we know that this plan would work?
We had a spy on the inside. That’s right,
Hercules Mulligan!

Mulligan
A tailor spyin’ on the British government!
I take their measurements, information and
then I smuggle it!

 

​To get more context I visited several secondary sources online including the CIA's Hercules Mulligan tribute that explains, "When General Washington mentioned to Alexander Hamilton, now Washington’s aide-de-camp, that he was looking for a spy on the inside within New York City, Hamilton recommended his old friend Hercules Mulligan. Hercules excitedly agreed." 

The CIA's biography (written by an uncredited author) goes on to explain that "Hercules continued to provide service for British officers, collecting their measurements and secrets alike" as mentioned in the musical.

The fashionable tailor, unbeknownst to his customers was also an active member of the Sons of Liberty organization and strategically and deliberately "played to the officer’s vanities, stroking their egos to elicit statements of speculation.

When officers requested repairs to their uniforms, he would ask the date they needed them back. When customer after customer gave the same date, he could surmise the day of their next movement. He would then dispatch his African-American slave, Cato, to Washington’s headquarters in New Jersey to share the information on the redeployment of a particular unit."

Mulligan's African-American slave, Cato is among many slaves who --with the exception of Sally Hemings-- went unmentioned in the musical, however it is clear from the several secondary accounts I reviewed, Mulligan succeeded because he did not operate in isolation but with a support team of equally courageous individuals. This team consisted also consisted of his wife, Elizabeth Sanders who was the daughter of a Royal Navy admiral and gave him access to officers who would talk about military matters, according to Revolry. 

Frances Mulraney's Irish Central article claims Mulligan "met his customers at the front door and personally took taking their measurements despite his own social stature. Mulligan often offered a glass of whiskey to keep conversation flowing.

With the help of yet another team member --his brother Hugh Mulligan, who supplied him with information on British supplies and shipping schedules through his work with the British commissariat in New York-- Mulligan learned of two separate plots to capture George Washington. Each time he was able to warn Washington before the plots could bear fruit."

Gil Troy's Daily Beast article reiterates this, portraying Mulligan as " a discrete but silver-tongued Irish immigrant in New York City, who prospered as a haberdasher, tailoring garments for colonial aristocrats and British officers. He was also a member of the Sons of Liberty, and his passion helped recruit Alexander Hamilton to the Revolutionary cause. His work also happened to make him a great, meaning oft-overlooked, spy." 

According to Thomas Fleming's Journal of the American Revolution article, Less well known is the story of a working class Irishman, big hearty Hercules Mulligan. He shocked his American friends by welcoming the red coated British regiments when they captured New York in 1776. A skilled tailor, Mulligan was soon making money outfitting British officers and wealthy Americans who had remained loyal to the king.

Beyond the city limits, Americans shook their heads. Who could believe Mulligan had become a traitor? He had seemed to be a fervent patriot. Mulligan still was, but only a few people knew it. One of these insiders was General George Washington. Another was Washington’s aide, Colonel Alexander Hamilton, who was a close friend of Mulligan. Throughout the war, the Irishman was one of America’s most valuable spies. Among other things, he warned Washington of a well-organized British plot to kidnap him."

After the war, Washington stopped by tailor shop, had breakfast with Mulligan and pronounced him a "true friend of liberty" before commissioning his first civilian wardrobe. Shortly after, the sign to Mulligan's 218 Pearl street (then 23 Queen street) tailor shop read “Clothier to Genl. Washington." 

When I google mapped the address of the location that once housed Hercules Mulligan's New York tailor shop. This is the image that came up:

​When I arrived at the Buell Theater early the mood was giddy with Denverites about to see Hamilton for the first time. Then I opened the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Applause program to discover yet another local overlap. The actor who plays Hercules Mulligan in the traveling show (which performs at the DCPA through April 1st) Mathenee Treco, is a returning Denver local!

By Susanna Speier
​Denver Private Investigator Blogger 

If you've been following Denver's Amazon bid, you already know Denver one of a twenty of mid-sized cities being considered for Amazon's new headquarters (HQ2). If selected, the online commerce giant would bring 50,000 new high paying jobs to the city of Denver along with some notoriety.

In October, Amazon Studios chief Roy Price resigned over sexual harassment allegations. In 2015 The New York Times called Amazon a "bruising workplace" where "workers are encouraged to tear apart one another’s ideas in meetings, toil long and late (emails arrive past midnight, followed by text messages asking why they were not answered) and held to standards that the company boasts are “unreasonably high.”"

Recent race discrimination, gender identification discrimination and pregnancy discrimination charges indicate the juggernaut's local presence would mean ample opportunities for Colorado employment lawyers, should the mile high city make the final cut.

With or without Amazon's HQ2, Colorado's robust tech industry will continue to expand and abuses of power will continue to create new opportunities for private investigators who are employment litigation literate.

Given the landscape, next week's Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado (PPIAC) training seminar, How PI's can Assist Employment Attorneys, looks like a worthwhile way to spend a Wednesday evening in early February. Disclosure: I am a PIAC service member and gave a training seminar last fall.

David Miller, Esq will give the free training seminar on Wednesday, February 7th, 6:30 pm - 8:30 at CB & Pott's, located at 6575 Greenwood Plaza Blvd in Greenwood Village, CO 80111 Networking begins at 6:00.

Additional Amazon references: 

1. ​https://news.wgbh.org/2016/10/12/local-news/amazon-accused-discrimination-firing-boston-area-drivers
2. http://gothamist.com/2015/08/26/amazon_backlash.php
3. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-lawsuit/amazon-sued-by-transgender-woman-husband-for-workplace-harassment-idUSKBN1AP2FI