PI Blotter: Town Defends Use of Private Investigators to Sniff Out Voter Fraud
- July 30, 2012
- by PInow Staff
- In the News
Each week PInow combs the web for the latest and most interesting industry news stories to bring you the Weekly Private Investigator Blotter.
Town Defends Use of Private Investigators to Sniff Out Voter Fraud
QUARTZSITE, AZ – The Town of Quartzsite is defending its use of local Arizona private investigators, saying that the sleuths are needed to uncover fraud which may have occurred during the last election. According to city authorities, state statutes allow for the hiring of private investigators for such matters. Recently, the town's decision was called into question after a complaint was filed stating that the town did not seek council approval for the $30,000 that has been spent on private investigators so far.
*Note: According to the Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators (AALPI), the person hired for this investigation has officially been charged with violating the Private Investigation regulations and registration requirements by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. It is a class 1 misdemeanor violation.
To read the full article, click here.
PI Searches for Missing Woman
ASHEVILLE, NC – The family of April Pickens have been searching for the missing woman since Pickens went missing in December. Pickens has five children and the family have hired North Carolina private investigator Tom Chickos to help with the case. Chickos has created new fliers and has spoken with the Asheville Police Department detectives to get answers. He has praised the efforts of the police and has stated that he hopes to uncover new information during his own investigation.
To read the full article, click here.
Florida Private Investigator Weighs in on Colorado Shootings
SARASOTA, FL – Bill Warner, a Florida private investigator, has claimed that the man suspected in the Aurora, Colorado shootings in a movie theater may be a member of the Black Bloc. Warner alleges that James Holmes fits the profile of a member of the violent anarchist group who linked themselves to the non-violent Occupy movement. According to Warner, there is very little public information available about Holmes. He has no credit card or car, which Warner alleges may suggest that Holmes was working undercover as part of an organization such as Black Bloc.
To read the full article, click here.
Private Investigators Help Crack Down on Counterfeit DVDs
CANADA – Private investigators helped police bust a counterfeit DVD ring seizing $5,600, 114 DVD burners, and 100,000 counterfeit DVDs. All the parties involved were arrested. The defendants in the case were involved in an organized attempt to create and sell the counterfeit products, netting an estimated $2 million yearly. The ringleader, who is said to run the largest operation in North America, allegedly owns mansions and sports cars. According to one of the private investigators working on the case, the ringleader is well known to police and it is very rare for people to serve jail time for counterfeiting. The leniency of the court system according to the investigator, allows the ringleader to continue his work. The ringleader in this case is allegedly Yu Qian Fang, also known as Jimmy Chen. He, as well as Lan Qin Chen, Ting Zhuang, Shuting Wang, Zifan Chen, and Jian Qing Xie have been charged and arrested as part of the latest crackdown on counterfeiting.
To read the full article, click here.
Child Abuse Investigations in 2012
HARRISBURG, PA – According to author and expert Marci A. Hamilton, the summer of 2012 has been a pivotal one for child abuse investigations in Pennsylvania. Grabbing the headlines are high profile cases such as the one at Pennsylvania State University and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Hamilton argues that in both cases private investigations were pivotal to the cases. An internal private investigation at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia was anything but transparent while the report by Louis Freeh into the abuse at Pennsylvania State University was very detailed.
To read the full article, click here.
Surveillance Reports Draw Ire and Concern
IRELAND – Privacy International (PI), an advocacy group for privacy, has claimed that British surveillance technology is being used on at least three continents, in some cases to violate the privacy rights of individuals. PI is threatening to sue the UK government for its role in the dissemination of the technology. The organization claims that the UK government has known that British surveillance technology has been used by dictatorial governments since at least April 2011 but has failed to take steps to prevent the possible human rights violations which may result.
To read the full article, click here.
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