Schulman Professional Private Investigations

Armed stalking investigations by investigator & SAG member

2011-07-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

Accused Halle Barry Stalker Arrested!

Halle Barry was just in the news as an adult male who had been known to stalk her was caught on or near her property in the Hollywood Hills. We at SchulmanPPI are experienced in many facets of stalking investigations. First, our lead investigator has been a police officer, and is currently or license holder and Qualified Manager. He [David Schulman] also holds additional licenses and permits such as a Ca. Guard Card, a weapons permit, and one aspect that allows him to gain a better understanding from the celebrity's point; David is a part time actor [under an alias], and is a current member of (SAG) the Screen Actor's Guild.

So, celebrities, whether internationally known or famous on a local scale, may often become the target of stalkers. And some of these stalkers will turn their admiration into deadly obsession.

A Few Top Stalkers in the News:

William Lepeska, Anna Kournikova Stalker

A middle-aged homeless man swims across Biscayne Bay to unite with his smoking-hot 20-something tennis-star lover. Well, that's how William Lepeska saw it anyway. Not so much for Anna Kournikova. Lepeska had tried to swim to the tennis star's Miami Beach house, but was caught wandering nude at the home of her neighbor.

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Stalking Doesn't Just Involve Female Celebrities!

Rev. David Ajemian, Conan O'Brien Stalker

Rev. David Ajemian, the stalker priest who sent threatening letters and DVDs to Conan O'Brien of NBC's Late Night With Conan O'Brien. Ajemian pleaded guilty in 2007 to disorderly conduct and agreed to stay away from the late-night talk-show host. He was placed on leave by the Archdiocese of Boston after the scandal broke and was later stripped of his priestly duties entirely.

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Couples are also not immune to stalkers

Dawnette Knight,
Catherine Zeta-Jones/Michael Douglas Stalker

Dawnette Knight developed an obsession with actor Michael Douglas and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones who became her natural enemy. Knight sent threatening letters to the Oscar-winning couple, which included claims that Knight would cut up Zeta-Jones and feed her to dogs. Following a much-publicized trial, Knight pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison.

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And a Stalking Case That Forever Changed DMV Access in CA.

Robert John Bardo, Rebecca Schaeffer Murderer

In 1989, Rebecca Schaeffer, former star of the television series My Sister Sam and several movies. But just as her career was taking off, her life was cut short by Robert John Bardo, a man who had been stalking Schaeffer for years. In July 1989, Bardo showed up at Schaeffer's apartment and fatally shot her as she stood in her doorway.

Bardo's crime sent chills through Hollywood, especially because of the ease with which he found Schaeffer through her driving records. The incident led to new anti-stalking laws, including the 1994 Driver's Privacy Protection Act, which prevents the Department of Motor Vehicles from releasing private addresses.

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So, in closing. You have seen that no two cases are alike, and that stalking is no laughing matter such as this and other items available for sale:

Are you concerned about an individual that is becoming problematic and/or may be a stalker who is stalking you, you need not just protection, you need an investigation. And this investigation actually turns the tables on the stalker. So Instead of waiting on your property to be stalked, a great surveillance on the stalker lets us have the police on the way before the stalker actually gets too close! And remember, being an active member of SAG both as an actor, and as a consultant to productions for accurate police/investigations scenes, we know the world you work in and can easily navigate it.

Feel free to call us directly (in full confidence) for your free investigative anti-stalking campaign consultation by a licensed armed investigator. We also offer personal Taser training and rental/purchase. They are close to the police brand, however, the darts don't fire due to gun powder, they fire on compressed nitrogen.

714.743.3078
http://www.schulmanppi.com

Have You Considered Hiring a Private Investigator For Thorough & Professional Investigations?

2010-01-02T13:07:00.000-08:00

Do you think you may have a cheating spouse? Do you have a runaway teenager? Do you want to find someone such as a birth mother? Do you own a business and want to find out who may have stolen money or property from you? Have you been the victim of fraud or other special circumstances theft? These situations and many others similar to them come up more than you would probably think. The proper manner in which to handle these situations (above and beyond the help of the police) may be through a competent investigation by a qualified and licensed private investigator. The assistance you'll get from a quality private investigation usually pays for itself in benefits many times over, and is usually faster than other resources; like consultants and the police.

If you're not sure what a private investigator is, he or she is quite often someone who undertakes investigations for an entity, using their experience and knowledge to perform difficult to seemingly impossible feats to gather hard to find information. Business owners may hire a private investigator to find out who is behind an internal theft or fraud case. Attorneys quite often use private investigators for civil and criminal law cases. During divorce cases a private investigator may be hired to gather evidence of illegal, immoral, or improper conduct on the behalf of the "other side." Such "conduct" can include evidence of child abuse or misconduct, and/or marital infidelity. Auto/health insurance companies and worker's compensation firms frequently use private investigators to protect against fraudulent losses.

Private investigators (also known as private eyes and detectives) must be licensed in order to practice in most States. For example, in the State of California, a private investigator must be licensed in order to conduct investigations. In order to become a licensed private investigator in California, one must have accumulated a minimum of 6,000 hours of paid investigative experience, pass a background investigation, and lastly he or she must pass a two hour State board examination. Once a private investigator earns his license, he has the ability to legally conduct investigations. With this responsibility, private investigators must keep detailed records of all their findings. They must obey all State and Federal laws, as well as be willing and able to appear in court as a witness regarding any case that they undertake.

A private investigator's work may vary greatly depending upon the specialty in which he chooses to work in. Most investigative work involves surveillance, conducting numerous computer records checks, physical records inspections, interviews, interrogations, questioning individuals, and spending long and irregular hours at work. Investigations quite often involve lots of driving, conducting physical audits, and visiting many locations such as work, court, etc. A general investigation could involve talking to co-workers, relatives, friends, prior boy/girl friends/spouses, neighbors, and actual suspects.

Tips on how to find the right private investigator for you

First of all, you should ONLY hire a licensed investigator who is authorized to practice in your particular State. Look up your State's website and find out if and what requirements are needed for an investigator to practice in your State. A few States don't require much for some to call themselves private investigators. You should ask to see a copy of their license, and you should check their license status on your State's website. For example, California allows you to check the status of an investigator's license on their website under the category of BSIS (Bureau of Security and Investigative Services). Here's the link to check to see if an investigator is licensed in the State of Ca.: http://www.bsis.ca.gov/online_services/verify_license.shtml

Next, the best way to hire any professional (including a private investigator) is through the use of professional recommendations. Ask your friends, your attorney, or your business associates for a recommendation. You can also look for investigative associations in your State that usually have lists of investigators that you can search through. Once you have an investigator that you are looking to hire, make sure that they are licensed as we wrote about earlier, and also make sure that you are clear about his fees, timelines, hours of work, specialties (obviously very important), and special costs such as travel, court appearances, and expenses. You should also discuss what you expect from the investigation a far as results, costs, and timeline. Do you want an open ended investigative contract? Probably not; you definitely don't want a overly large unexpected bill for something you didn't make plans for.

So when you're looking for a private investigator, whether it be for a fraud case, a subject locate, or a miscellaneous civil matter, the aforementioned information will assist you in finding the right resource!

David Schulman, PI is a licensed California Private Investigator for Schulman P.P.I. (Schulman Professional Private Investigations), a general investigations firm which focuses on workplace fraud and safety. Hire David Schulman, PI or learn more about how to hire a private investigator by contacting him at http://www.schulmanppi.com, License #25758

Creating evidence that can be used against a client - Don't do it!

2009-08-26T22:34:00.000-07:00

If an egregious situation is uncovered during an investigation you would be tying your company's hands (if your an internal investigator) or your client's hands (if they are your client) should you document the facts in your report.

Remember, should the affected employee decide to file a lawsuit, your company would generally be liable for discrimination on behalf of supervisors and managers. If your report stated that this discrimination occurred, you would be tying your company's hands in the courtroom. The employees' attorney will tell the jury that the company's own investigator admitted that my client was discriminated against.

Instead, the better strategy would be to state that company policies were violated, and that the manager or supervisor acted inappropriately or unprofessionally, and leave things at that.

Air Traffic Control on The Hudson (ATC) & the collision between a tour helicopter and a small plane

2009-08-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

It is a most unfortunate breaking news story that one can imagine.... BREAKING NEWS NOW: "A small plane and a tour helicopter collide over the hudson river - at a low altitude."

Now stories of blame are circling around, in order to place the blame square in peoples' laps. Laps such as both pilots, the ATC center, and most likely the manufacturers of the aircraft involved.

The one entity that I feel is going to be a scapegoat in this tragedy are the staff at the ATC (air traffic control center) center that covered the area including the Hudson river where the accident occurred. Let's take a look at the role of ATC and my educated guess of what happened.

Aircraft, both helicopters and fixed wing, fly under VFR and IFR flight rules. This means that when VFR conditions exist (Visual Flight Rules) the sky is clear and there is enough visibility to clearly see other aircraft, structures, and clouds to avoid. VFR was the condition that both aircraft were operating under - presumably. I say presumably, because the plane may have requested flight following, or it may have had a special rule to fly by while operating at the area over the Hudson where the collision took place.

If there were no special rules to follow, or there was no flight following provided by ATC, both aircraft were flying on a see and be seen basis. By the way, flight following is where an aircraft can request to be entered into the ATC system and get updates on air traffic to avoid, and clearance as they fly from one sector to another (called a handoff).

So this brings me to the fact that an ATC controller was on the phone, and a supervisor was out of the building when the accident took place. Of course this shouldn't have happened, but what could they have done; assuming that they were not under ATC control? - which is normally the case in flight operations such as these. If and ATC controller saw on radar a fast moving set of converging aircraft, what frequency would the aircraft likely be on? There are common air frequencies, but they are commonly know as advisory frequencies. This means that if a call went out from ATC on a CTAF, it is likely that none of the two aircraft would have heard the warning; especially if it required immediate evasive action.

So before scapegoating the ATC personnel, it should be noted that there is a lot to consider - which is why a thorough investigation must take place.

Dave Schulman, PI of Schulman PPI is a licensed pilot with over 800 flight hours with his initial flight training conducted at USMC MCAS El Toro.

Schulman PPI comes Back Online with a New Look

2009-08-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

SchulmanPPI's website has gone through a major renovation, and is now open for business. We have made our site more user friendly and have added quite a bit more information.

We also are going to be accepting credit cards (Visa, MC, and Discover) in addition to Pay-Pal.

So check us out when you get a chance, we know you'll like what you see.

P.S. There is a newsletter sign-up on our home page. Sign up and receive your bi-monthly newsletter; opt out at any time.

Dave "The OC Investigator"

An industry first. Orange, Ca. PI firm opens eCommerce Store for the workplace

2008-02-08T21:47:00.000-08:00

Due to overwhelming demand, Schulman P.P.I. has announced its intention to open a workplace Loss Prevention Ecommerce store. The store, which is being created at this time may be accessed from http://www.schulmanppi.com by clicking on the STORE link.

"This is a first from what we have seen" said David Schulman, Owner/Managing Investigator of Schulman P.P.I. Customers (mainly retail businesses) really want CCTV products to assist them in their loss prevention efforts. They also want to know what to do after a system is installed, from a loss prevention / HR point of view. This is where we (Schulman P.P.I.) come into the picture.

We can advise business owners on industry standards in the loss prevention arena. If the business is located in California, Schulman P.P.I. can assist in conducting internal and external investigations. For businesses outside of California, we can advise a business on what to do from an loss prevention aspect. If further investigative needs are requested, Schulman P.P.I. can arrange for a State specific licensed PI firm, who specializes in corporate investigations, to assist the business owner with his/her situation.

On all orders over $500 schulman P.P.I. provides a free 15 minute scheduled consultation with the business ownership. This consultation focuses on how to reduce shrink, employee theft, prevent robberies, workman's compensation claims, and other issues such as auditing and HR issues.

The focus on our eCommerce site is to educate the visitor, and not to confuse them. We offer enough equipment for our customers to select the right system for them without being over burdened with to many items to choose from.

So click on the STORE link and visit or eCommerce store! We look forward to serving you.

Thank you for your time.

Schulman PPI Backs the USMC in Berkeley, CA

2008-02-01T13:32:00.000-08:00

With all of the protesting going on in the town of Berkeley, CA against the USMC recruiting depot, Schulman PPI (a licensed private investigations firm in Orange County, CA) affirms our strong stance for a strong and diverse military which includes the right for the USMC to recruit in a City that receives much federal funding.

"The very right to speak freely against the USMC recruiting depot is a right secured by the blood of fallen and fighting soldiers in the USMC and other branches of our military." said David Schulman, owner of Schulman P.P.I.

If you feel strongly about this subject and stand behind the USMC, please call them and let them know you stand with them at: (510) 705-8060. It is a small token of appreciation, but one that will give the staff of the depot more encouragement to go on with their business.

The Northern California region of our great State must get the message that they remain safe and diverse because of the sacrifices our troops (USMC and others) make everyday within and outside of our borders.

Thank you.

Cash Register & POS Camera Interfaces

2008-01-27T14:55:00.000-08:00

Once a luxury that only the most most liberal budgets could afford, POS interfaces are now available for the standard business at a cost that's affordable. POS interfaces allow your POS or cash register to interface with your current CCTV system. This means that you can watch your video of your cash register and the items being rung up along with totals will be overlayed over the video you're watching.

This is an extremely powerful tool in your loss prevention arsenal. If you have high shrink, or high food and paper cost (if you are a food service operator), you'll be amazed at what a POS interface attached on each resister or POS can do for your bottom line.

If you have a loss prevention program, your LP or upper management staff will be able to save many man-hours while they check the efficacy of their staff's actions.

Simply browse our site for equipment, or call us to speak with an investigator who is experienced with POS systems at (714) 280-4514.

What a Good Workplace Investigation Can Do For You

2008-01-27T14:53:00.000-08:00

The Workplace investigation

Very few employers are pleased to learn that they have a workplace problem serious enough to require an investigation. However, you can turn this negative into a positive by having us investigate in a manner that strengthens and protects your company. Among its many benefits, an investigation will help your business in the following ways:

Figure out what happened - Get to the bottom of the problem
Nip employee problems in the bud - A proper investigation will help figure out who's behind your workplace issues/problems, so you can take action before things get worse
Enforce company policies - If you don't enforce your own policies, your employees will quickly learn that they don't have to follow the rules.
Encourage reporting - Investigating and dealing with problems quickly will encourage workers to come forward with their issues and concerns.
Avoid and counter bad publicity - When you ignore complaints and problems, you give the impression that you don't care about the law or your workers. If word of this gets out to public knowledge there could be harm to your reputation and drive away business.
Protect your company from lawsuits - a solid investigation is a kind of insurance policy, protecting the decisions you make now from legal challenges in the future.

Really, What Are Background Checks?

2008-01-26T05:07:00.000-08:00

Background checking is the process of authenticating the information supplied to a potential employer by a job applicant in his or her resume, application, and interviews. In most application processes, lying about background and credentials will keep the employer from hiring the applicant.

Additionally, if it is determined at a later date through a background check, that an employee lied about credentials, qualifications, experience, education and so forth, the employer may fire the employee. This assumes that the employee signed a statement attesting to the truth of his or her provided information.

What's included in an employee background check?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) sets the standards for screening for employment. The FCRA defines a background check as a consumer report. Before an employer can get a consumer report for employment purposes, they must notify you in writing and get your written authorization. If the employer is simply conducting inquiries (rather than running reports) they should also ask for your consent. That way you could withdraw your application if there is information you would rather not see disclosed.

If an employer decides not to hire because of this report, they must give you a pre-adverse action disclosure that includes a copy of the report and a copy of your rights. They must then give you notice that they have decided not to hire you and let you know the name and address of Consumer Reporting Agency and information on your right to dispute the report.

At the very least your background check will verify your social security number. At most, it can include an analysis of your work history, the people you know, along with a full credit report. It can also include your credit payment records, driving records or criminal history. The inquiries should be related to the job. For example, if you are hired to work in a bank, it would be reasonable to find out if you have a history of embezzlement or theft.

MORE: What Are Employment Background Checks?

2008-01-26T05:01:00.000-08:00

If you are beginning to apply for a job, you may wonder what exactly an employment background check is. In actuality, it is not just each separate business that sets its’ own standards for employment screening. There is an Act, which oversees employment-screening standards known as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This Fair Credit Reporting Act considers a background check as a consumer report. Even before an employer can receive a consumer report for the purposes of employment screening, the employer needs to have written authorization from the subject. For simpler inquiries, the employer should still seek your consent. You have the right to withdraw application for the position if you do not want information disclosed. This gives you, as a potential employee, a right to decide for yourself if a certain position or is a job worth the disclosure of particular information about personal life.

It is in your right to dispute any errors in data in a report. Once the employer receives the background report results and chooses not to hire you due to information in it, the employer is required to provide you with a pre-adverse action disclosure, which contains your rights and a report copy. After this, they must inform you that they are not hiring you and include the address and name of the Consumer Reporting Agency, which provided the data because you have a right to dispute any errors in their data, per Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

At the very least, an employment background check includes social security number verification. More detailed employment background checks may even contain a work history analysis, complete credit report, and names of references. Criminal history, driving records, and payment of credit records may also be included. The background inquiries are always associated with the nature of the job applied. If, you are applying to work as a cashier, trying to figure out if you had a prior conviction in the past for stealing is not a far stretch of information that an employer may want to know.

However, that there is various information sources, which in any case can be part of a comprehensive background check. There are multiple states, which do not permit inquiries concerning certain convictions or arrests before a particular period. Other states will not allow inquiries regarding criminal history for particular positions. Also, as an applicant you should be aware that employers are not allowed to base their hiring choices on a potential employee’s disabilities, which is why they may not ask for medical records. Your capability to perform the tasks for a particular position is what they may ask about as well.

If you are an applicant, you should be aware of your own information. It may sound strange, but it is actually a very smart thing to do is perform a personal online background check before applying for any employment, before Human Resources (HR). This is for your safety as well, because you do not want any errors during your HR Background Check.

Corporate & Workplace Investigations

2008-01-23T04:04:00.000-08:00

Business owners who manage employees will inevitability have to investigate and resolve common workplace issues. Workplace incidents and complaints can carry serious risks to your company. If things are not dealt with in an expeditious, and correct manner, or not even handled at all, your company could land itself into a lot of legal hot water.

Our services work on investigative strategies that will help you sort out our workplace problems quickly and legally. We resolve all sorts of workplace complaints, including:

Employee Harassment
Background Checks
Discrimination
Workplace Violence
Employee Theft

We can conduct an investigation that will stand up in court. We can also act in a proactive role and assist you in setting up policies and procedures before problems arise.

Background Checks Can Be an Employer's Best Friend

2008-01-23T03:45:00.000-08:00

It's a fact that many people lie on their job applications. Therefore, if you want to avoid liability for negligent hiring, run a background check before you hire anyone. As stated below, you will want to run background checks on staff that will have a lot of public contact in addition to other job specific attributes.

Limit your employee risk

You will also want to run pre-employment background checks and regular employee background checks to make sure that you aren't putting anyone (current staff and/or customers) at risk. It should be noted that lawsuits have appeared in many states with a clear trend which allows injured parties to sue employers for hiring, or even keeping on a dangerous worker.

About Schulman PPI's Background Information Sources

2008-01-16T21:58:00.000-08:00

Schulman PPI's information sources are for authorized businesses who have a legitimate business need to locate information on people and businesses. Examples of "legitimate business needs" include such things as for collections & skip tracing, witness locates, and fraud detection/ prevention.

Schulman PPI's information sources are NOT available to the general public.

Some of the sources of Schulman PPI's information are NOT available to any business type that is NOT on a list of permissible business types. The permissible business type list consists of private investigation agencies, repo agencies, collection agencies and similar types of businesses.

Schulman PPI's information gathering services are strictly in compliance with all federal and state laws that regulate dissemination of consumer information.

Schulman PPI's information service only obtains lawful, commercially available data from public and non-public record sources. It does not engage in the use of pretexts or other unlawful acts; nor does it engage in the sale of telephone calling log or toll records.

All of Schulman PPI's information suppliers conducts thorough, multi-level screening of all companies applying for an account to verify that they are legitimate businesses with a need for services.

Schulman PPI's data sources utilize a multi-tiered security system to prevent unauthorized access by third parties. Their servers are located in high security, state-of-the-art facilities with 24 hour per day monitoring. Their sites are scanned daily for intrusion vulnerabilities by leading computer-security companies.

Are Employee Background Checks are a Necessity?

2008-01-16T21:49:00.000-08:00

Are background investigations really necessary? In short, a definite YES! It is extremely important for you to know about a employee before you hire him or her. Here are a number of reasons why a to order an background investigation on your a) pre-hire staff, b) promoted staff, and c) staff at management levels, which should be conducted on a regular basis.

Will they have access to confidential information?
Is their SSN number Valid, complying with Federal law?
Will they have keys to your location?
Will they have an alarm code, leaving you vulnerable ?
Will they have a Safe Combination, and access to all of your cash?
Does a current employee have a new conviction they are hiding?
Can you afford not to do any due diligence on your staff's background?

Schulman PPI can perform basic or extensive background checks on your staff (pre or post hiring) and provide you with a report usually within 1 to 72 hours depending upon the options you select.

We offer a menu based selection when ordering a background investigation. Therefore, you can order BASIC checks on average staff, or more EXTENSIVE checks of those holding management positions. Positions such as those that perform banking procedures and know your security operations and safe combinations.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO ORDER A BACKGROUND FEEL FREE TO VISIT:

http://www.schulmanppi.com/checkthem.htm

Books written for workplace investigations

2008-01-05T13:25:00.000-08:00

These books are recommended by the California Licensed Private Investigations firm Schulman P.P.I. and www.MyCaInvestigator.com.

It would be in the interest of every franchisee, business owner, administrator, risk manager, or HR / human resources staff member to order the book titles listed below. The books are available in soft/hard cover in addition to being available in an immediate download format.

The book titles and the link to get more information on each title are listed below:

Dealing With Problem Employees: A Legal Guide
Create a trouble-free workplace with progressive discipline, investigations and performance evaluations.

Everything you need to investigate -- and resolve -- common workplace complaints and problems

The Essential Guide to Workplace Investigations is both a legal and practical book, packed with tips and strategies that will help you sort out your workplace problems, quickly and legally.
It offers a 10-step plan that you can use to resolve all kinds of workplace complaints, including:

Harassment

Discrimination

Workplace violence

Employee theft

The Essential Guide to Workplace Investigations explains how to conduct an investigation that will stand up in court, helping you decide whether to investigate, do interviews, gather evidence, write an investigation report and make disciplinary decisions.

The book provides forms, checklists, sample policies, sample documentation and legal resources for all 50 states. All forms, as well as audio interviews and scenarios, are included on a CD-ROM.

Nolo.com

Business & Human Resources Information at NOLO.com

Do-It-Yourself Legal Books, Forms and Software From a Trusted Source

Most Private Investigation Firm's Areas of Expertise

2008-01-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

     Address Checks
    Workplace investigations
    Affidavits and Affidavits of Due Diligence
    Asset and Background Searches
    Asset Investigations
    Background Check
    Cheating Mates
    Civil Investigations
    Collection Research
    Court Filing
    Court Research
    Court Searches
    Covert Camera Installations
    Criminal Background
    Criminal Records Research
    CT Corporation
    Current Property Owner Searches
    Date & Time Stamping
    Divorce Asset Investigations
    Document Retrieval
    Drivers License Information
    Electronic Surveillance
    Evictions
    Expedite Service (48 hours)
    Flat Service Rate
    Hearings
    High-Quality Frames & Prints
    Insurance & Criminal Investigations
    Insurance Fraud Investigation
    Interviews
    Investigations
    Judgment Recovery
    Locate and Interview Witnesses
    Missing Person Investigation
    Motor Vehicle Searches
    Municipal record searches
    Notarized Affidavits
    Personal Property Searches
    Photography
    Post Office Checks
    Pre-Marital Investigations
    Private Investigation
    Private Investigations
    Process Service
    Professional License Investigations
    Public Records Searches
    Real Property Records Research
    Research
    Routine Service (3-10 days)
    Rush Service (24 hours)
    Secure Archiving
    Service For All Legal Documents
    Skip Trace
    Skip Tracing
    Small Claims
    Subpoena Service
    Subpoenas
    Summons and Complaints
    Taped Surveillance
    Technical Surveillance
    Videotape Duplication

Undercover Investigations & Assignments Defined

2008-01-02T01:19:00.000-08:00

Undercover assignments are cases in which an investigator is employed by a client to document activity within or effecting the workplace. Theft, fraud, substance abuse, sexual harassment, morale, supervision, and training are just some of the broad areas reported upon during an undercover assignment. A good undercover report also details what is going well within the organization so the client has a complete picture as to the inner workings of the business.

The process involves an investigator going to the business and applying for a position. Often times, the local business or hiring representative is unaware of the investigator's true purpose. This is what is commonly referred to as a "cold hire". During this period, the investigator is noting questions asked during the application and interview process.

The investigator follows up the application as a normal applicant would. Documenting each conversation and/or visit with the hiring representative. Once hired, the investigator documents the orientation process, training, and general introduction into the company. This provides objective insight on how employees are introduced into the company.

The investigator then spends the next few weeks developing relationships and mastering his new position. While observations are being made of the general environment, the investigator gradually makes inquiries of any activity that is contrary to the client's interests. These inquiries are not first made when the investigator is hired as not to arouse the suspicions of employees.

Assignments continue until such time as the client decides sufficient information has been gathered. Often times, formal interviews by Diogenes Investigators are conducted. The interviews independently document the information gathered during the Undercover Assignment.

Undercover personnel report daily to their manager to review the day's events. Detailed daily notes are written which in turn are complied into a weekly formal report. Any instances of major policy violations or illegal activity are immediately communicated to the client.

Why Business Owners & Attorneys Should Utilize P.I.'s

2008-01-02T01:17:00.000-08:00

By M. Ettisch-Enchelmaier, B.A.

By using private investigative experts business owners and executives can help improve their odds to win a case by collecting any known bits of information about their opponents. If a businessman and his attorney contemplate hiring a private investigator for assistance in their cases, they should also forget such PIs as depicted in fiction or the media.

Often much information is buried in traditional as well as electronic files and in human memory. It must be "unearthed" and presented to the private investigator bestowed with the task to collect or prove the existing data as an independent third party.

In the same way as in many walks of life there are crafty "do-it-yourself" people, even they may need expert help from a certain stage on, let alone a "lay person." And the investigative expert is the PI who should be called in on a case. If an attorney is also involved in the appertaining case, his advice should be sought and also be kept informed until the end, since he may need more information than envisaged by the businessman due to the judicial angle of the case.

In recent times more and more attorneys refer the investigation to PIs. Criminal and civil attorneys and especially attorneys specializing in "cyberlaw," i.e. the Internet, have a better insight in this problem and are more ready to use a outside professional PI to improve the possible results they would have obtained through an in house investigator [1]. Attorneys should use PIs as their arms and legs [2] so to speak.

Some reasons as to why attorneys should leave the investigation to PIs, the professional investigators:
First and foremost it is not cost effective for attorneys: PIs are much cheaper than attorneys yet get better results.
Attorneys' knowledge of investigative sources and resources is limited.
Attorneys are trained to find already existing laws and less in finding persons and facts.
Their paralegal staff often lack time to execute proper investigation.
Attorneys must divulge which side they represent, not so a PI.
Attorneys may jeopardize their case when being questioned as a witness.

In most instances a business person as a client has only a certain amount of dollars to spend on a case, yet his attorney wants as much of the client's dollars he can get. Moreover, no client wants to pay an attorney's higher fees when he can get a PI to do the job for a fee ranging between $80 to $125/hour, and a more qualified investigation at that [3].

It is not cost-effective for an attorney to undertake his own investigation. An attorney's billable time averages in $150 - $250/hour or even higher [2]. His time is more profitably spent working on other cases and leaving the low cost mean work to the PI, the investigative expert.

In the medical profession, for example, a surgeon comes in on a case only after some other doctors, laboratory and x-ray technicians have diagnosed the problem and submitted their findings to the surgeon. The same applies to any good lawyer. The key to any profitable business is knowing how to get the job done well at the lowest possible cost which often also means to delegate the work to the person who can do it fastest, most thoroughly and accurately [4].

It is known that some law firms seek to keep every billable hour to themselves by various methods, e.g. doing their own investigation or have their staff do it for them because they firmly believe it to be less expensive employing their staff instead of using an outside PI [3].

One of the main topics when an attorney discusses a case with a PI is costs, costs, costs. Next is the time element as to how quickly the PI can get the case solved by obtaining the information sought for.

Often an attorney will call a PI in on a case at the last moment, needing the results no later than the next morning, having tried already in vain to get the information through his own or his staff's efforts. Attorneys doing the investigations they need themselves or using an "in-house investigator" appear to use resources available on the Internet for free or database services such as "PublicData.com" believing that if they use a good database like the American DBT/ChoicePoint, the provided information already recorded in the database or gathered on their request is true, accurate and up-to-date [3]. Rarely do attorneys talk with their peers about databases, timeliness, accuracy, etc. to improve the value and accuracy of the information gathered.

It is quite frequent to a large extent that in-house investigators or paralegals do not really care how current a piece of information such as an address is. If they get a newer address, or when failing to find a newer address which still may not be the current one, they are often of the opinion that they have well carried out the investigation needed for the benefit of the client. Attorneys' knowledge of investigative sources and resources is limited, in the main because they have not learned such talents in law school [3,6]. The same applies to businessmen or women, even those having gained an MBA degree.

Not so a seasoned PI. He on the contrary knows how current the information is of sources such as databanks and directories. The information may be outdated by months or even years. A PI is aware in most cases as to how the data is gathered, processed, and resold and how long the lead time is for many of these steps.

An example as to how databases work: If an investigator does not find the information he searches for (the technical term being "gets a hit") while looking for Bill Smith at 1234 W. Main, Houston, Texas, he does not give up but tries the address at 1234 West Main, Houston, Texas and may be successful in finding the subject. Similarly he may search for Trinh Thi Doung and may not get a hit, but perhaps is successful with Doung Trinh or Thi Trinh Doung, etc. or Bob Johnson may be found perhaps under Bobbie, Bobby or Robert Johnson [3].

Another possibility, still legal in most American states but hardly in overseas countries is to find a person by an automobile tag or license. For example the target is John Birch (an assumed name of course) who used to live at 150 East Lincoln Boulevard, Austin, Texas. He no longer lives there the attorney informs the PI, but is needed as a witness the next day. So the PI searches as to who owned the vehicle before John Birch. It was Larry Birch. Consequently the PI telephones Larry Birch learning that he is John's brother. Five minutes later the PI is talking with John Birch [3].

Admittedly these are rare examples of how easy it is to find a person or skip (a technical term for a person no longer living at the known address having left without supplying a new one). Attorneys simply do not normally understand the whole range of sources and resources of information available. Most attorneys believe it is easy and simple to look something up on the internet, that there is no difference in the method of searching for information than looking up cases and laws. Since their staff are trained for such, they can look up the facts too. Many attorneys forget the analysis to be done on facts developed so as to get the right facts in an understandable and usable manner [3] by also being able to reading between the lines [13] .

In one instance a PI was given a case and he wanted to double check the results, just to be on the safe side. While reviewing the file the PI found that the attorney had sent the in-house paralegal investigator to the court house across the street to get some records. The attorney's billing rate was $105.00 per hour, and it took 2 hours to find the information needed. The PI found the information online in no time at all. Then the PI talked to the paralegal. The latter's pay was $22.00 per hour, and had to keep at least 80% billable. This goes in line with ABA [9], a leading attorneys' association, advising that the billing schedule should be 1/3 for the employees, 1/3 for the overhead, and 1/3 for the partners' profits of a law firm [5].

It is well known that most of the legal secretaries and paralegals simply do not have enough time left to conduct a thorough investigation besides getting all the typing, briefing, and case preparation work done properly.

Attorneys are bound by their code of ethics to disclose which side of the case they represent. PIs may interview witnesses without ever saying who the clients are and are frequently able to get information from people who would be openly hostile toward an opposing counsel. If a witness is represented by counsel a PI may not communicate with that witness, unless it is with the explicit permission and in the presence of the witness's counsel. There have been attorneys disbarred because their PIs have committed this ethical violation.

Attorneys are also aware that in many cases if they were to investigate they might have to go to the rough side of the town to see a witness at 10:30 at night to interview him. It also makes little sense to send lawyers or support staff to sit outside a subject's door for five hours on an investigative mission [3, 11]. An important feature, especially in such cases, is that a seasoned PI can blend like a chameleon in the surroundings, while most attorneys cannot or will not be able to become inconspicuous [6].

However, most attorneys believe that they are the best in asking questions because of their training in direct examinations, cross examinations, re-direct, depositions, interrogatories, etc. and besides, they are so brilliant at case analysis they know they can see the forest for the trees. But while they may be seeing the forest for the trees, a PI is often seeing the mountain from the little rocks and boulders [3]. Here lies the difference between the formal versus the informal interview technique.

When an attorney begins an interview he acts almost exactly like he does in a deposition. He takes a couple minutes of being very friendly to the interviewee hoping, mostly in vain, to be able to put the interviewee at ease, but then he launches into questions that have been carefully laid out on a yellow pad with a line down the center so that he can write the answers on the other side [3]. No matter what the personality of an attorney is he is still an "attorney" in his way of thinking, demeanor, and body language. The very word "attorney" tends to make people nervous and wary to talk to an attorney [14].

Furthermore, an attorney does not usually ask questions to find a broad range of facts, but more to find points that would tend to prove each element of his cause of action which he has already outlined in his mind. For example, he may ask a lady whether she saw the red car approach the intersection; whether the car stopped or entered into the intersection; and whether she saw the color of the light that the car was supposed to obey. But in most instances he would not think to ask the lady about any possible eye problems of hers or any eye treatments around the time of the accident, and if she wears glasses and had them on at that significant time. Most attorneys aim at is to get facts to prove their elements, and they do not tend to worry about whether the facts could be tainted by the lady's vision [3].

It is agreed that the findings at times may weaken a case, but an attorney is better prepared knowing all the facts should the opposition also discover those weaknesses and bring them up in court. On the other hand there is a good chance that the little known facts may strengthen the businessman's case in court. Therefore this chance should not be given away lightly.

Attorneys, even doing informal interviews tend to act formally. They have not been trained to chit-chat and build a rapport with blue collar workers. Furthermore, they cannot utter questions at the (potential) witnesses' level without appearing demeaning [3, 6, 11]. Indeed, PIs frequently experience the results of this attitude.

One of the comments quite often uttered by attorneys is as to why the witness has supplied the PI the information needed and not to the attorney in question. The reason is obvious. A good investigator will put a witness at ease first [11] by coming down to the witness's level by talking with him for 30 minutes or so about something the witness may be interested in. Then when the investigator begins his interview the witness is relaxed and feeling he is on the same level as the PI. At that point the witness generally tells the PI everything he needs to know [3, 12].

Some PIs and process servers do not mind that that attorneys first have their "in-house investigators" or paralegal staff attempt to find the information needed. On the contrary the PIs may earn more when an attorney's staff first attempts to find the target. After having dispatched servers to two or three addresses developed by the attorney's in-house investigator, proving to be out of date or completely wrong, the professional process server eventually ends up handling both the locate and the final serve. Furthermore, by the time the PI/process server is bestowed with the task, it becomes a rush case and the attorney, being desperate to get the paper served on time, is ready to pay a much higher fee than usual without much discussion [8].

Other PIs or process servers do not agree. They prefer to get the cases not meddled with by others. The usual cheap and easy sources have already been contacted and "used" to no avail. They cannot be re-contacted by the professionals who could probably have employed the sources more resourcefully and consequently, most likely more successfully. Therefore, much more difficult and costly sources and more work and time must be invested to the detriment of the businessman client to find other ways and means to still successfully handle the case.

Furthermore, an improperly handled investigation, such as an ill searched address, can put an attorney in jeopardy and cause a client to lose his case. About a decade ago a PI had a summons to serve for an attorney on a Janice Williams (an assumed name) in the framework of an accident case. The PI went to the address the attorney's in-house investigator had developed and found an individual with the same last name. The PI told Mr. Williams that he had a summons to serve on the latter's wife Janice. Mr. Williams stated that he was not married let alone to a Janice, nor did he know anything whatsoever of the accident from which that suit had arisen. Trusting his professional instincts that the individual was honest, the PI left with an apology.

The next day the PI contacted the attorney and informed him about the incorrect address. The attorney checked with his secretary who had located the address and she could not understand what the problem was, maintaining that the address was the only one she could find with the name "Williams" in that area. The PI made the attorney aware that his office had almost forced an uninvolved party to defend themselves in a lawsuit. It is well known how that would impact on the plaintiff's attorney. It was the last skip or search the secretary ever was asked to do and the PI gained a new client [14].

Another reason why an attorney should not undertake an investigation himself is not to conflict himself out of the case when he becomes a fact witness. He may also lose his work product and attorney/client privilege when he has to testify as a fact witness since this is very detrimental to his client [15]. By not undertaking the investigations himself the attorney avoids the awkward situation that if he interviews the witness and the witness later recants, whom should he call to the stand to impeach the witness?

Many attorneys do not place much importance on knowing a PI's credentials or history of success and sources, nor do they care whether the PI they use crosses the thin line of legality. They just want "information." They do not realize that with this attitude they can jeopardize their case, even wind up in court along with the investigator who oversteps the boundaries of appropriate behavior. Fearing just that is the greatest worry for some lawyers according to Brian Rishwain, a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Neville, Johnson & Rishwain.

One of Mr. Rishwain's clients sued the opposing counsel and their investigators for invasion of privacy, claiming that the investigators had already done so by misrepresenting their identity to secure information about a real estate dispute. A California appellate court ruled that indeed there was an invasion of privacy. The investigators were also sued on the grounds that a private investigator is effectively an agent of a lawyer and his client. In order to avoid those problems, Katsh [6] does not leave anything to chance when he hires an investigator.

Duli [16] and Brown [17] describe in detail what a businessman or his attorney should consider and do before hiring a PI in order to check his integrity and competence. Katsh [6] also acts along the maxim that a lawyer involved has to maintain complete and utter control over everything that the PI or his company do. Dailey [18] and Moro [10] go even further by regarding recommendations from other attorneys using a PI to be of great importance, while they rate the word of mouth as being by far the best recommendation. Not only is a PI's integrity of great importance, but also his competence and availability of sources to get a job done. To ensure the quality of the investigation most of the investigators Moro [10] uses are former police officers, who have formal training and are already familiar with the rules of evidence.

According to the author of this article, former police officers may be the just the right investigators for the jobs Moro has to offer, but like in other professions there are PIs specializing in one field of activities while others specialize in other fields, e.g. a top surveillance specialist may have no knowledge in how to trace a person online. Just as a medical or legal general practitioner does in directing his patients or clients to specialists when the case is beyond his scope, the same is true with an ethical and seasoned PI. When he sees that an investigation is beyond his skills after having learned what is needed or in a later stage of the investigation, he will refer the case to the PI specialist, having secured his client's agreement first.

The supervision of a PI by the lawyer in question is also crucial, especially since the PI is a vital part of the legal team. If the attorney representing the businessman has the full supervision of the case he can also warn the PI of any legal snares thus ensuring that the PI's findings will be valid and not jeopardize the case.

In recent times there is a trend revealing companies or universities, insurers or others needing an investigation done calling upon a law firm to do the investigations instead of turning to a professional investigator directly to get better results with many insightful notes and at a much lesser price. However, this trend probably originates from the wish to be legally on the safe side at any cost.

This article was derived in the main from a discussion which took place in an online private investigators' restricted group in September 2001, thePIgroup@yahoogroups.com, and the article by Lisa Stansky: Practice Strategies/Focus Litigation, Staking out a Detective, http://www.abanet.org/journal/sept01/focus.html of September 2001.

Employee Dishonesty in the Workplace

2008-01-02T00:51:00.000-08:00

Here are some alarming statistics that every administrator or business owner should know:

75% of internal theft is undetected. (Source: "How to Identify Dishonesty Within Your Business")
Several studies estimate employee theft and dishonesty costs U.S. businesses between $60 billion and $120 billion per year, not including the billions spent on protecting against theft. (Source: "How to Identify Dishonesty Within Your Business")
Insider theft is growing at 15% annually. (Source: Justice Department)
Employee theft amounts to 4% of food sales at a cost in excess of $8.5 billion annually. 75% of inventory shortages are attributed to employee theft. (Source: National Restaurant Association)
The Labor Law Industry has increased by 2200%. (Source: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)
Employee theft costs between 1/2%-3% of a company's gross sales. Even if the figure is 1%, it still means employees steal over a billion dollars a week from their employers. (Source: "How to Identify Dishonesty Within Your Business")
One-third of all employees steal from their employers. (Source: Department of Commerce study)
30% of business failures are due to poor hiring practices. Annual losses generated by poor hires, absenteeism, drug abuse, and theft amount to $75 billion per year. (Source: U.S. Department of Commerce-Atlanta Business Chronicle.)

More to come...

Pellicano Case Shines Spotlight on Private Eyes

2008-01-02T00:23:00.000-08:00

Los Angeles Times

February 12, 2006 Sunday  Home Edition

Pellicano Case Shines Spotlight on Private Eyes

BYLINE: Peter Y. Hong, Times Staff Writer

SECTION: CALIFORNIA; Metro; Metro Desk; Part B; Pg. 1

LENGTH: 1257 words

The federal indictment of Hollywood private investigator Anthony J. Pellicano for allegedly using wiretaps and police bribes to dig up dirt on celebrities and business executives has cast a spotlight on the often murky but growing practice of commercial sleuthing.

America’s appetite for litigation, a rise in corporate snooping on employees, partners and rivals, and the trafficking of vast stores of private information on computer databases have fueled a boom in private investigations.

The burgeoning industry and its darker practitioners have alarmed privacy advocates, federal regulators and legitimate investigators, who say the Pellicano case underscores the need for more public scrutiny of investigators and their employers.

California has nearly 10,000 licensed private investigators, up from about 6,000 in 1990. As their ranks multiply, “we’re unable to tell the good players from the bad players,” said Robert H. Townsend, a Dana Point private investigator with 40 years’ experience.

Pellicano and six others were indicted last week on charges of conspiring to wiretap, blackmail and intimidate dozens of celebrities and other targets, including Sylvester Stallone and Garry Shandling. Prosecutors believe the private eye illegally obtained confidential information to gain advantage for clients in legal disputes.

Pellicano has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He remains in federal custody.

Although the investigator’s alleged tactics might put him at the fringe of his trade, the demand for Pellicano’s services came straight from the mainstream. For years, private lawyers and government prosecutors paid for his work.

Whether in a criminal case or a messy divorce, personal information such as financial, criminal or even telephone records can help a lawyer build a case or destroy an opponent’s. “A lawyer without an investigator is like a gun without bullets,” said Zvonko “Bill” Pavelic, a Los Angeles investigator.

But Pavelic and others acknowledge that requests from clients can sink to the lowest depths.

In one instance, Pavelic said, a defense lawyer asked him to find nude pictures of a prosecutor who had once been a Las Vegas showgirl. Pavelic said he refused. “The sleaze is unbelievable” among private investigators, he said, add-ing that lawyers’ requests are often “the most sleazy of them all.”

The demand for confidential information coupled with the amount of money one can make obtaining it encourages rogue tactics, Pavelic said. According to the 110-count indictment, Pellicano is accused of paying a former Los Angeles police sergeant nearly $189,000 for scouring law enforcement databases for information and to help bug celebrities and business leaders.

“Are there people in the LAPD, the Sheriff’s Department, the courthouses selling information?” Pavelic asked. “There is no question the answer is yes.” * As a hired detective who often worked for the rich and famous, Pellicano evokes an image — whether intentionally or not — of investigators deeply rooted in Hollywood lore.

Hard-boiled private eyes navigating the city’s seamy underside are well established in the public’s imagination, from Raymond Chandler’s 1930s gumshoe Philip Marlowe to Jack Nicholson’s snooping Jake Gittes in the 1974 film “China-town.”

Indeed, the popular image endures. When Richard Riordan was mayor of Los Angeles, a private investigator worked out of a backroom of his famous old down-town steak-and-eggs restaurant, the Original Pantry Cafe. Riordan and the investigator, Phillip Burruel, have never publicly commented on their relationship.

Unlike some others in the private eye business, authorities allege that Pellicano had inside help. He is charged with paying former LAPD Sgt. Mark Arneson and veteran Beverly Hills Police Officer Craig Stevens to search for information in the National Crime Information Center, a secured FBI database. The NCIC contains information ranging from criminal histories to records of stolen vehicles.

Putting such police information into the hands of private parties “shows how vulnerable we all are,” said Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson. A former federal prosecutor, Levenson said the Pellicano case raises “the question of, do we have a bad egg here or another systemic problem at the LAPD? It does indicate that police computer systems can be easily abused.”

Pavelic, who retired from the LAPD in 1992, said he often entered law enforcement databases on behalf of private investigators when he was on the force. “That happens day in and day out,” he said. “I don’t believe there’s a cop on the beat who has not accessed a police computer for some type of personal reason.”

But not all private eyes operate that way.

“Most of your private investigators are very legitimate operators running small mom-and-pop businesses,” serving clients such as insurance firms and plaintiffs’ lawyers, said Townsend, who opened his business after serving as an investigator in the Marine Corps. He said his main clients are plaintiffs’ lawyers and a nonprofit group seeking to prevent boat injuries.

At the top of the industry’s food chain are multinational companies, such as Kroll Associates, serving mainly corporate clients. The firm has grown from a single office in New York in 1985 to a global practice with 63 offices and 3,000 professional staff members, including lawyers, accountants and journalists.

Henry Kupperman, a lawyer, heads Kroll’s Los Angeles office. The company’s business, he said, includes working for corporations investigating internal fraud and embezzlement or checking the financial condition of a potential acquisition.

“When you have prosecutions and investigations like the one involving Pellicano, it helps our business,” he said. “We pride ourselves on being legal and ethical.”

At the bottom rung of the sleuthing trade are fly-by-night operations on the Internet that for a fee offer to dig up copies of phone bills and Social Security numbers. Federal officials say such companies routinely engage in deceptive practices to obtain information, such as pretending to be an account-holder when requesting a copy of a phone bill, or paying an employee of a store to pass on customer information.

Chris Hoofnagle, a San Francisco-based lawyer for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a group focused on privacy issues, said the lack of widespread licensing standards for private investigators was a problem, noting that six states do not require licenses.

One of those states, Colorado, was the site of the first Federal Trade Com-mission lawsuit against a private detective for “pretexting,” using deception to gain information. James J. Rapp and Ragena L. Rapp, whose Denver-area business obtained bank and phone records through various techniques, paid the government a $200,000 settlement in 2000. James Rapp also served a 75-day sentence for racketeering.

Rapp drew the attention of authorities when the LAPD suspected his firm of selling home addresses and phone numbers of organized-crime detectives to a reputed mobster.

California’s licensing requirements are among the most stringent, requiring three years of paid work experience for an investigative agency such as a police department or insurance company, passing a written exam and undergoing a criminal background check.

Yet Pellicano’s alleged transgressions occurred while he was a licensed investigator. He obtained his license in 1983; it expired in 2004, while he served prison time for possessing hand grenades and plastic explosives.

*Times staff writer Henry Weinstein contributed to this report.

LOAD-DATE: February 12, 2006

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper

Employee theft is REAL in most every workplace!

2007-12-31T23:38:00.000-08:00

Employee Theft at Record Levels

In a study, conducted by the University of Florida with a funding grant from ADT Security Services, Inc., a unit of Tyco Fire and Security Services, discovered that retail security managers attributed more than 48.5 percent of their losses to employee theft, up from 46 percent the prior year. Internal theft by employees cost retailers a record $15 billion.

More coming soon...

Schulman PPI has created a new Blog on Google's Blogger

2007-12-31T06:43:00.000-08:00

Schulman PPI (a California based private investigations firm) is proud to announce that it has a blog space on Google's Blogger. The Blog will be an area for our staff to post important (and free) information on issues involving the retail marketplace and workplace investigations.

What you should know about your POS or cash register's NS (No Sale) button/option

2007-12-31T06:32:00.000-08:00

The NS button (or option) on your POS / cash register has its useful purposes in the retail environment. However, it can also be used to drain your profits without your knowledge.

The NS or "No Sale" button on your POS or cash register has its purposes, such as opening the cash drawer to make change for a customer, or to quickly access the cash drawer to perform some sort of accounting function. But there is a problem with the NS feature. Use of the NS button can be one of the biggest contributors to employee theft there is.

It has been our experience that dishonest employees (almost every business has some sort level of dishonest staff) use the NS key to ring up zero sales when assisting a customer with an actual sale. Why not. From the customer's perspective the cash register performs in a normal manner. But the dishonest employee usually has the sale added up in his/her head with tax added for the customer to pay. When the customer hands over the cash, the NS button is used to access the cash drawer. It all seems normal to the customer. But now the register is over in the amount of money that the employee collected and your stock is less goods (adding to your shrink, food cost, etc.).

Some of the tell tale signs that the NS key is being used for theft are:

NS usage printed on the register's journal tape
A calculator placed next to the cash register
The register display to the customer is disabled
The register drawer is left cracked open
Your shrink or (food cost) is high

More to follow...

Schulman Professional Private Investigations

Armed stalking investigations by investigator & SAG member

Accused Halle Barry Stalker Arrested!

A Few Top Stalkers in the News:

Dawnette Knight,Catherine Zeta-Jones/Michael Douglas Stalker

Robert John Bardo, Rebecca Schaeffer Murderer

Have You Considered Hiring a Private Investigator For Thorough & Professional Investigations?

Creating evidence that can be used against a client - Don't do it!

Air Traffic Control on The Hudson (ATC) & the collision between a tour helicopter and a small plane

Schulman PPI comes Back Online with a New Look

An industry first. Orange, Ca. PI firm opens eCommerce Store for the workplace

Schulman PPI Backs the USMC in Berkeley, CA

Cash Register & POS Camera Interfaces

What a Good Workplace Investigation Can Do For You

The Workplace investigation

Really, What Are Background Checks?

MORE: What Are Employment Background Checks?

Corporate & Workplace Investigations

Background Checks Can Be an Employer's Best Friend

About Schulman PPI's Background Information Sources

Are Employee Background Checks are a Necessity?

Books written for workplace investigations

Most Private Investigation Firm's Areas of Expertise

Undercover Investigations & Assignments Defined

Why Business Owners & Attorneys Should Utilize P.I.'s

Employee Dishonesty in the Workplace

Pellicano Case Shines Spotlight on Private Eyes

Pellicano Case Shines Spotlight on Private Eyes

Employee theft is REAL in most every workplace!

Schulman PPI has created a new Blog on Google's Blogger

What you should know about your POS or cash register's NS (No Sale) button/option

Dawnette Knight,
Catherine Zeta-Jones/Michael Douglas Stalker