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I was nine years old the first time I conducted surveillance for DEA. Not directly, mind you. But surveillance nonetheless.   My father got word through an informant that a large heroin dealer would be meeting with some of his lieutenants in Chile. The meetings were to take place by the pool at a popular… Continue reading My first attempt at surveillance

As a kid, back in 1972, our house in Argentina was party central on weekends. We had a large house that sat on a property that covered half of a city block complete with a swimming pool, parrilla (barbecue) and a “quincho” – a thatched-roofed structure with a large table and benches that was perfect… Continue reading A bit more of my story…

  A while back, I posted a blog entry entitled “Everybody has a Story to Tell – This is a bit of Mine”. Here is a bit more of my story.   Argentina 1972   The alarm went off in my room and I knew that it was time for my shower. My mother had… Continue reading A bit more of my story

One area often overlooked when managing a distressed sale or bankruptcy is the need for an outside security consultant to ensure the security of physical assets, security of personnel and security of information. This is particularly true in situations where assets are located in multiple countries, jurisdictions or regions, each with their own culture, laws… Continue reading Security Concerns during Bankruptcies and Distressed Sales

We were conducting an investigation for one of our clients on counterfeit laptop power supplies. The chargers were being brought in from China without markings and sold over the Internet after counterfeit trademarks and labels were affixed. We made several purchases online, and each time the power supplies were sent via courier, with a return… Continue reading Treasure from Trash

Corruption is a reality that we face on a daily basis when conducting international investigations. In some countries, it is more visible and institutionalized, whereas in others it lies below the surface in wait. But knowing and accepting that it exists allows us to face it head on with measure designed to mitigate that corruption.… Continue reading Corruption is alive and well…

When working a complex case for a client of ours, we identified a large counterfeiting organization operating in a country spanning three states and involving several dozen individuals who were selling large amounts of counterfeit products of our client’s brand each month. During our investigation, we conductors repeated test purchases to be used as evidence… Continue reading Trust only goes so far…

We had a U.S. client contact us regarding an issue that they were having in one oftheir new offices that they opened overseas. The issue pertained to snacks thatthey provided for their employees. According to the client, it was part of their corporate culture to provide a comfortable work space for all of their employees,… Continue reading Ethical Dilemma II

I recently posted an opinion that I believe that ethics is a matter of culture. Following is an example of a case that we worked that would support this theory.    We were asked by a U.S. client to conduct an investigation into allegations that an individual from one of their foreign subsidies was taking… Continue reading Ethical Dilemma

Ethics are an important component of a company’s identity and reputation, as well as a principal pillar on which is posed the value of the company’s brand. There is nothing that can lead to a quicker downfall of a company’s image, and even bottom line, than a well-publicized breach of ethics. It is for this… Continue reading Ethics – A Matter of Culture