PInow.com Weekly News Round-up

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This week, the PInow.com staff was intrigued by these industry news stories:

What’s the Price for a PI's Free Speech?

MIAMI, FL - PI Rory McMahon worked on the Liberty City terrorism case for 180 hours, but now U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard has banned the PI from the case and has refused to have McMahon paid the $9,000 he is owed for his work. The reason for the judge’s decision is allegedly McMahon’s criticism of Lenard in a newspaper article. Although McMahon is upset that his right to free speech appears to be in peril, federal judges yield considerable power, and McMahon can do little to receive payment or justice.

PI Hires Psychic to Work on Missing Persons Cases

LOS ANGELES, CA - PI Lawrence Olmstead recently hired psychic Ginette Matacia Luca to help crack missing persons cases. Olmstead, of Hollywood P.I., already has a 97 percent success rate in homicide cases involving a missing body. That’s fairly impressive for 23 years in the business. Olmstead is a Court Qualified Missing Persons Expert, as well as a PI. He hopes that Hollywood P.I. will be able to crack more missing persons cases with Luca on the team, and will position itself as a specialist in these cases.

PI Gadgets, Spyware Popular in China

BEIJING, CHINA - China has an official ban on spyware and hidden surveillance tools such as spy cameras. Despite this, sales of such products are increasing rapidly in the country and PI gadgets are increasingly common in stores. According to experts, the growth of the PI industry in the country, the national surveillance by the government and expanding technology all contribute to the popularity of the devices. Although the government has installed 300,000 security surveillance cameras in Beijing, the state is trying to crack down on hidden cameras owned by citizens. Information gathered by personal hidden cameras is inadmissible in Chinese courts and is subject to confiscation.

PIs Sell Private Information

LONDON, ENGLAND - The Consulting Association, a PI firm, allegedly sold detailed files about construction workers to a number of construction companies. The files included personal information such as information about union affiliations, troublemaking activities and other traits that the companies considered undesirable. More than 40 construction companies allegedly purchased the private information, leading to an Information Commissioner investigation and harsh criticism of the practice by trade unions.

City Hires PIs to Look Into Disability Claims

ISLIP, NY - The town of Islip has identified two fraudsters after hiring PIs to investigate potential workers' compensation claims, and other cases of insurance fraud stemming from disability claims. Since hiring a new firm to handle these cases, Islip has seen lost work days decrease 30 percent and plans to save almost $500,000 annually in case management. The city's new case management company is RMSCO Inc., and that company has hired County Wide Technical Services for surveillance work on suspect cases.

Industry Events

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