The cliché private eye is a hard, gumshoe snoop with noir-regulation cigarette, trench coat and shifty sleuthing.

Sorry, Raymond Chandler. That’s sooo last century.

Welcome to 2008, where a private investigator likely has a degree in business or computers, a background in law enforcement and an area of specialization — say intellectual property, cold-case homicides or accident reconstruction.

“Cheating-spouse work is the least of what PIs do,” said Jimmie Mesis, a former Marine and editor-in-chief of PI Magazine Inc., an industry publication in Freehold, N.J.

Private investigators in the U.S. number roughly 60,000, and the most common cases they handle are insurance fraud, missing persons and background checks, Mesis said.

“Many have become master librarians of research and investigation. There are significantly high percentage who are former FBI, customs agents, Secret Service, even some CIA,” he said. “So the level of professionalism has dramatically increased.”

About 30 PIs or investigative firms are licensed to operate in York County, according to the clerk of courts, which keeps such records.

The cost of hiring an investigator can vary depending on market and the type of task, but a few constants exist across the industry.

Investigators charge an hourly rate ($50 to $200) and expect reimbursement of expenses that flow directly from a case, such as airfare, hotel bills, vehicle mileage and rental and telephone bills.

Most PIs work off a retainer, which will factor in the estimated hours required to accomplish a job, expenses and fees.

In York County, hourly rates range from $50 to $80, varying firm to firm, local investigators said.

Some agencies require a minimum amount of time required, such as a three- or four-hour block, said Randy Tuer of Charles Tuer Investigations in Shrewsbury Township.

Anthony Marceca, a private investigator, works in his Springettsbury Township office.

On Anthony Marceca’s desk is a flyer from a missing person’s case he worked on. He says he traced the individual to Israel.

Surveillance might require more than one investigator to increase the chance of success, and a two-person team could run $85 to $120 an hour, said Tuer, a former Baltimore-area cop.

Cheating-spouse cases consistently average $500 to $1,500 a case, while criminal defense jobs or complicated civil investigations such as wrongful death will take 25 to 50 hours or more.

The 10-man York firm of Anthony Marceca, a retired civilian Army investigator, specializes in corporate espionage, intellectual property and some homicide-investigation work, he said.

Marceca made headlines 12 years ago during the White House FBI files controversy of the Clinton administration (often called Filegate) when Marceca, then working in the White House personnel security office, was accused of improperly requesting FBI reports on hundreds of Republicans.

An independent counsel appointed by the attorney general later found no credible evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the scandal, concluding Marceca’s collection of the files was due to his having an outdated Secret Service list of White House passes.

Marceca’s firm, CI-Investigations, charges $54 an hour for interviews, depositions and sworn statements; $28 an hour for travel and personal security jobs and protective services. For out-of-town travel, PIs charge a per diem fee of $200, Marceca said.

Marceca also does background checks for two federal agencies: The Government Accounting Office, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he said.

Hiring PIs for complicated, long-term cases can quickly get pricey.

Locating birth parents for adopted children or vice versa can run between $5,000 to $10,000; matrimonial and alimony cases run in that same range, Mesis said.

Generally, it’s more expensive to locate a missing woman than a man because the woman might have changed her name in marriage.

Because of the monetary investment involved, George Morrison, a PI in Monaghan Township, recommends consumers check the licensing, references and liability insurance coverage of any PI they consider hiring.

He said, “Just like any contractor you’d hire for yourself, I’d expect references or someone they could contact.”

Keep in mind that investigators charge by time invested and not the information located.

“Investigators never guarantee what they’re going to get,” Mesis said.

“The information might not be available, or it might not be there at all.”