PI News Round-up - November 1, 2007

PInow.com Weekly News Round-up

November 1, 2007

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Here are the stories that interested the PInow.com staff this week:

PI Searches For Sinclair Women Gone Missing
CHESTERFIELD, NH - New York PI Gil Alba has been looking into the case of Tina and Bethany Sinclair, who went missing in February 2001. While the mother and daughter already have sparked many searches, Alba says he has new information. Alba, formerly of the New York City Police Department, began his own investigation firm in 1996. Alba’s involvement pleases friends and family of the Sinclair women.
	Read full article and comment	Source: Reformer, October 29, 2007

Book of the Week

How to do Financial Asset Investigations

With the concerns over privacy and identity theft continuing to impact the investigations industry, investigators must obey new laws and adhere to new standards of conduct. In response, this edition covers the issue of identity theft and offers investigative techniques that are sensitive to current and future legislation. The key to asset investigations in a privacy-conscious era is to become an excellent database and web-based information researcher with emphasis on using open sources (many of them available through the Internet).

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PIs and Privacy
BOSTON, MA - A recent USA Today article and Steve Jones, communications professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, pointed out that younger generations have a different view on privacy than their elders, in part because of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. People who use such sites often don’t worry about where personal information will end up, but experts suggest that social networking sites allow stalkers to find information about their victims and allow personal information to get into the hands of other people. Here at PInow.com, we are waiting for the first case of a PI cracking a major case by scouting a MySpace page.
	Read full article and comment	Source: Boston Now, October 30, 2007

McCann's PIs May Have Found New Leads
UNITED KINGDOM - The parents of Madeleine McCann drew criticism from Portuguese police in recent months for hiring a team of PIs. Now, the PIs are alleging that the little girl was kidnapped and smuggled to Morocco. The Spanish Metodo 3 detective agency believes that Madeleine was kidnapped for North Africa's child sex industry and was targeted specifically by her kidnappers. The PIs are now considering pedophiles who may have been involved in the girl’s disappearance.
	Read full article and comment	Source: Daily Mail, October 28, 2007

Divorce Fair in Vienna
VIENNA, AUSTRIA - The first-ever divorce fair was held in Vienna, giving spouses a way to find resources – from PIs to attorneys – to end their marriages. Among the vendors at the fair were PIs, mediators, laboratories specializing in paternity tests and attorneys. Vienna currently has a 66 percent divorce rate. Although there were not many clients, many media outlets were there and eager to speak with exhibitors.
	Read full article and comment	Source: Associated Press, October 29, 2007

PI in Cape Town Spy Case Makes Claims
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - PI Phillip du Toit, involved in a Cape Town spy case, sees himself as a "political prisoner." He also asserts that he is in possession of information showing high-ranking politicians in Cape Town involved in crime. According to attorneys for Du Toit, the PI was arrested after he submitted a report on Cape Town councilor Badih Chaaban. Allegedly, the PI uncovered facts about high-ranking politicians involved in illegal activities in an unrelated investigation and is prepared to disclose the information.
	Read full article and comment	Source: IOL, October 30, 2007