private investigator

16 Stories

Meet the Man Who Has Found Dictators' Secret Fortunes

Jules Kroll, 80, has had a legendary career

(Newser) - Jules Kroll is arguably the world's most famous private eye, and he was seeking a redemption piece, writes Simon Shuster for Time . The 80-year-old New Yorker was looking to give an interview, and Shuster obliged. It came after some years of press that wasn't so flattering, among it...

British Tabloid Got Meghan Markle's SSN in 2016

Investigator says the 'Sun' paid him for info on Markle family from restricted database

(Newser) - Private investigators in the US are allowed to access databases of restricted information for certain reasons—but those reasons definitely don't include digging up dirt on the romantic partners of British royals. Retired Los Angeles-based private investigator Danno Hanks tells the BBC and the New York Times that Britain'...

Famed Private Eye Jack Palladino Dies After Attack

San Francisco private investigator had many big-name clients

(Newser) - Jack Palladino, the flamboyant private investigator whose clients ranged from presidents and corporate whistleblowers to scandal-plagued celebrities, Hollywood moguls, and sometimes suspected drug traffickers, died Monday at age 76. Palladino suffered a devastating brain injury Thursday after a pair of would-be robbers tried to grab his camera outside his home...

Famed P.I. Was About to Retire, Now He's on Life Support

Jack Palladino had taken on last case

(Newser) - Jack Palladino, the private investigator who worked on high-profile cases ranging from the Jonestown mass suicides to celebrity and political scandals, has been placed on life support after suffering a head injury during an attempted robbery. Palladino, 70, had just stepped outside his San Francisco home on Thursday to try...

Billionaire Couple Possibly Murdered by Multiple Killers

New theory is from the private investigators hired by the children of Barry and Honey Sherman

(Newser) - Private investigators hired by the family of Canadian billionaires Barry and Honey Sherman believe the couple were murdered by multiple killers in December, and did not die as the result of a murder-suicide, CBC reports. The children of the Shermans never believed the murder-suicide theory, releasing a statement after their...

He Knew Everything About Everyone, but Is Veiled in Mystery
He Knew Everything
About Everyone, but
Is Veiled in Mystery
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 10, 2017 6:32 AM CDT

He Knew Everything About Everyone, but Is Veiled in Mystery

Eamon Javers pieces together the life of Tom Corbally

(Newser) - "Nobody ever learned everything about Tom Corbally," Eamon Javers writes at Buzzfeed . He should know. Despite a 10,000–word feature on the man with many titles—private investigator, spy, con man, socialite—Javers notes Corbally will always remain somewhat of a mystery because he "bluffed and...

Fox News Gets Sued Over Explosive Seth Rich Story

Investigator says network fabricated quotes, worked with White House

(Newser) - Remember the controversy over the death of young Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich? It just took another tangled turn. A private investigator is suing Fox News, alleging that the network made up quotes from him to buttress its allegations that Rich leaked DNC emails and was murdered because of...

How One Woman Caught a Criminal the FBI Couldn't

Skip tracer Michelle Gomez finds people for a living

(Newser) - Finding Ryan Eugene Mullen was a tall order: Neither the FBI nor three private investigators could find the man wanted for stealing $2 million from federal agencies. But when a debt collection agency called Michelle Gomez—whose job, as a skip tracer, is to track down missing items and people...

Journo Asks Hackers to Spy on Him—With Scary Results

Took control of his wife's computer, got into his bank account, cracked all his passwords

(Newser) - Some 14 years ago, journalist Adam Penenberg wrote an article for Forbes in which he paid a private detective to investigate him, starting with nothing but his name. This year, he decided to repeat the experiment for the 21st Century, asking an "ethical hacking team" to do the same...

Maddy Suspect Asked About Her 'New Daughter'

Calls flood in after request for tips about Australian woman

(Newser) - Private investigators working for Madeleine McCann's parents have received “hundreds of calls” from people with information about a woman who may be involved in the child’s disappearance, the Telegraph reports. A witness said the woman, described as a Victoria Beckham lookalike with an Australian accent, was pacing and...

News Corp Paid $1.6M to Hide Journos' Crimes
News Corp Paid $1.6M to Hide Journos' Crimes
INVESTIGATION
Jul 9, 2009 6:27 AM CDT

News Corp Paid $1.6M to Hide Journos' Crimes

Tabloid hacked thousands of phones of stars, politicians

(Newser) - The British subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp paid out more than $1.6 million in out-of-court settlements to conceal illegal methods deployed by its journalists, including hacking cell phones, a Guardian investigation reveals. Phone-hacking charges were first raised in 2007 in a case involving Prince William, but suppressed police...

$40K Reward Offered for Condor Shooter

Green groups hire private eye to probe California attack

(Newser) - Environmental groups probing the shotgun shooting of two California condors have hired a private eye and raised $40,500 in reward money for information leading to the culprits, the Los Angeles Times reports. The condors—two of just 81 in California and 322 in the world—were found last month...

Investors Hire Gumshoes to Snoop on Fund Managers

Fraud schemes prove boon to private eyes

(Newser) - Investors are increasingly hiring private investigators to dig up dirt on fund managers in hopes of avoiding the next Madoff-style fraud, Bloomberg reports. Background checks are expensive—depending on the firm, they may cost $1,000 per company or individual investigated—and can take weeks, but investors say they are...

Denim Detective Unzips Fake Jeans Biz

Designers hire PI's to protect their bottom lines

(Newser) - Chris Johnson likes collecting women's jeans, but he doesn't wear them—he's one of hundreds of fashion detectives hired by designers to spot knockoffs, the Los Angeles Times reports. Johnson trolls stores and Internet sites for clients like True Religion who want to put counterfeiters out of business. The fakes...

Hollywood Private Eye Found Guilty

'Ultimate problem solver' Pellicano faces hefty term after racketeering conviction

(Newser) - Celebrity private detective Anthony Pellicano was found guilty today of 76 of the 77 charges he faced, including racketeering, wire fraud, and illegal wiretapping, the Los Angeles Times reports. Pellicano, 64, could face a life sentence after prosecutors won conviction on charges he illegally threatened and placed several prominent celebrities...

Dunne Wanted Daughter's Murderer Killed

Now-disgraced PI talked famed crime writer down

(Newser) - Crime writer Dominick Dunne asked Anthony Pellicano to put out a contract on his daughter’s killer’s life—and relented only when the private investigator talked him down. Dunne hired the now-incarcerated Pellicano to follow John Thomas Sweeney in the mid-1980s; the Vanity Fair writer now tells Slate he...

16 Stories
Most Read on Newser