I never liked to play games and had no tolerance for anyone playing games with me.   During my last year at college, I went to a job fair on campus and was recruited by one of the U.S. government’s 3-letter intelligence agencies. They were interested in me mostly for my language ability and the… Continue reading The Polygraph Test

I’ve met many a person whose life peaked during high school. They fondly remember their time as a star athlete, as a cheerleader, as class president or prom queen. They’ll regale you with story upon story of how much fun they had, how every moment was great, and how they wished that it had never… Continue reading HIGH SCHOOL – MEXICO CITY

Venezuela – 1976   The 1960’s and 1970’s were arguably the heyday of the boy scouts. Growing up during that time period, I jumped head first into the cub scouts in Argentina, and later to the boy scouts in Venezuela. While I question my enthusiasm in hindsight, at the time, it was a big part… Continue reading The Boy Scout

Back in 1987 at the DEA Denver Field Division, there was a great mix of both young agents with a lot of spunk and senior agents who had been around the block enough to keep the younger guys out of trouble. Some of the guys were former state and local law enforcement, while others were… Continue reading Lessons from my first year with the DEA

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…