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“Congrats to Chelsea Binns and Bruce Sackman for reminding us clearly that core skills and learned abilities will always outpace a technology-only approach. This compendium of decades-worth of experience in one text outpaces Chat and AI programs every day, and will in the future!”
Cynthia Hetherington, Founder, Hetherington Group and OSMOSIS
“Chelsea and Bruce have leaned on their decades of experience to bring you some of the skills they have learned that make them great investigators. Knowing them personally, as well as several of the fraud examiners in this book, I can assure you there are many takeaways to help you hone your skill set, whether you are just starting out or perhaps transitioning from a long career in government to the private sector.”
Bruce Dorris, J.D., CFE, CPA; President and CEO Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
“In a world that is increasingly dependent on technology, it is easy to overlook the core skills essential for an investigator to possess. The Art of Investigation Revisited: Practical Tips from the Experts shines a bright light on these important traits and should be a required part of every investigator’s library.”
Jeffery G. Hughes, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General – Retired
“This book details qualities that will never surface by artificial intelligence. They are what made Sherlock Holmes and Lt. Columbo adored by millions, as to how they solved seemingly perfect crimes. Increase your skills in these areas and your success as an investigator will be guaranteed.”
Paul Italiano, Police Commissioner, Wappinger Falls Police Department Licensed Private Investigator, New York State
“This is a great follow-up to The Art of Investigation, which I also really enjoyed. Having worked with both brand new and seasoned investigators, there is little doubt that the highly successful possess the skills so well-detailed in this book. Read
each chapter carefully and learn from its examples. Without these skills, you simply cannot succeed in this wonderful profession.”
Mara McLaughlin, Founder, Mayberry Investigations Corp. Fraud Investigator, New York State Government
“The best investigators have a combination of superb training and actual experience working on cases. They also possess the ability to take the lessons learned from their investigative successes, or failures—and the training courses that created the bases for their investigative skills—and pass them on to their colleagues. In essence, this book is a seminar conducted by those experts: highlighting the training, experience, and wisdom gained by each presenter for the reader to use for completing highly challenging investigations in their careers. As a forensic investigator with 55+ years of experience, I found many points, in the first book by these authors, that will further enhance my own skills. Rx… Read it!”
Lowell J. Levine, DDS, DABFO; Director Medicolegal Investigation Unit (Retired), New York State Police
“The ‘soft skills’ highlighted in this book are the qualities essential for the successful investigator to possess. In both fiction and real-world detective stories, these are the skills that finally solve the case every time. Without them, the mere collection of evidence will probably never link itself to the right perpetrator.”
Alan C. Stoddart, Senior Special Agent, US Department of Commerce Retired, and Special Investigator, FBI
The Art of Investigation Revisited
The Art of Investigation Revisited: Practical Tips from the Experts examines the qualities required to be a professional, thorough, and effective investigator and is a follow up to the authors’ highly touted book, The Art of Investigation (2019). This book features a wholly new line-up of investigators, experienced professionals in the field, who delve into the “soft skills” that make an investigator effective. Each chapter examines a specific quality required to be a professional, thorough, and—most importantly—successful in this challenging discipline.
The editors, and contributing authors, are all top in their field and bring a wealth of real-world knowledge and experience to the subject. While several publications exist on the procedures and steps of an investigation, few books cover the creative and intuitive skills required. Such traits are necessary to continually question in the face of investigative roadblocks, unique qualities endemic to an inquisitive mind that can be trained to improve an investigator’s professional skill set. Each chapter discusses the applicability of the traits and requirements to the contributor’s own work and experience as an investigator. In doing so, the contributors will provide valuable stories from their personal experience, which demonstrates their use or a given trait and its importance in the course of their investigative work and career.
The case examples included throughout are engaging and, as is often the case, surprising. An investigator must keep an open mind above all else and this book seeks to “lift the veil” on the inner workings of an investigation and the thought process and inner monologue of an investigator as part of that process. The book is a welcome addition to any investigator’s toolkit and is also of interest to students in criminal justice, security and Homeland Security programs, security consultants, corporate and private security professionals, and the legal community.
Chelsea A. Binns is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Center for Private Safety and Security at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is also the Director of John Jay’s Center for Private Security and Safety. Chelsea has a PhD in Criminal Justice from the CUNY Graduate Center and is a licensed private investigator and a certified fraud examiner. Prior to working at John Jay, she was an investigator for the City and State of New York and in the financial industry.
Bruce Sackman served as the Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division, Northeast Field Office. He is also a recently retired self-employed licensed private investigator in New York City specializing in healthcare related matters. He is a frequent lecturer on the topic of medical serial killers having spoken throughout the United States, Great Britain, United Arab Emirates, and Sweden.
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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data
Names: Binns, Chelsea A., editor. | Sackman, Bruce, editor.
Title: The art of investigation revisited : practical tips from the experts / edited by Chelsea A. Binns and Bruce Sackman.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023001009 (print) | LCCN 2023001010 (ebook) | ISBN 9781032172125 (hbk) | ISBN 9781032171500 (pbk) | ISBN 9781003252283 (ebk)
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023001009
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023001010
ISBN: 9781032172125 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781032171500 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003252283 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003252283
Typeset in Garamond by Newgen Publishing UK
Dedication
Bruce and I would like to dedicate this book to Della Williams. Her chapter on “initiative” appears in this book.
I met Della in 2016 when I sent an email to the Doe Network to learn more about missing persons investigations and opportunities for my students to get involved. The very next day, I received a long, detailed, and extremely helpful email from Della, who was their Area Director at the time.
Thanks to her laudable efforts, which included several more emails, a few phone calls, and reading a book she recommended, I taught my students how to perform her investigations as part of a course I designed called “Unsolved Murders.”
I was so impressed with Della. I couldn’t believe she was a self-taught investigator who had developed her unique talent on a volunteer basis and performed years of selfless investigative work on behalf of missing and unidentified persons. I invited her to contribute a chapter to our book. I told her the chapter on “initiative” would be perfect for her, and she agreed. As we collaborated on it, I learned that in addition to being a great investigator, she was extremely humble and had a terrific sense of humor.
Sadly, Della passed away suddenly before this book went to print. Thanks to her supportive family, especially her beloved nephew, Caleb Wilson, her story appears here, as planned. We knew it was what she would have wanted. She was very excited about this chapter and the positive impact it could have on others.
Thus, it’s our collective hope and belief that her chapter serves as a legacy of her work and a testament to the value of initiative in investigations. Undoubtedly, her story will inspire the next generation of investigators, who might also choose to exercise initiative by “giving back” to the profession and performing their own volunteer work.
When you read her chapter, you will be amazed. I feel very lucky to have known her and had the opportunity to learn from her. She was truly an exceptional person and one of the great investigators of our time. I will never forget her.
Editor, Chelsea A. Binns
Foreword
Investigators have been a unique part of both daily life and popular culture for decades, if not centuries. From Sherlock Holmes to Dick Tracy to Columbo to Magnum P.I., the public has always been fascinated by the process of finding out “whodunit” and closing the case. But what the public does not see is the hard work, the time, and the mental effort expended by real investigators in solving a crime. Real cases cannot be solved in 60 minutes. It takes days, months, and sometimes years of work to find the answers to the seemingly endless list of questions.
It takes special types of people to dedicate themselves to such an undertaking. Investigators cannot be easily discouraged. They also must be organized. Having a good investigation plan is the first step in making sure that all bases are covered. Missing just one crucial item can cause a case to collapse.
Investigators must also have good people skills. Being able to elicit information from individuals is one of the most important keys to building a successful case. Having an inquisitive mind, thinking outside the box, and maintaining independence are important in developing a case theory, but being willing to change your theory when the evidence points another way is crucial. What can get lost in the shuffle is just how important these soft skills are in making an investigator whole— taking one from merely a good investigator to a great one.
I have been practicing law for nearly 30 years, with over two decades of that time dedicated to white-collar crime, whether as a prosecutor or at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. And during that time, I have worked with many certified fraud examiners and those tasked with fraud cases in federal, state, and local governments, as well as those from the private sector. One of the many things that would set a great one apart was the mastery of those soft skills. Some of these skills are instinctual, but most can be learned.
My first day as a prosecutor began with this tutorial: “Court starts at 9:30.” Granted, I had someone working with me in the beginning, but many of us are thrown into the pool and have to learn to swim quickly or drown.
Many times, you have a job description of what you are supposed to do, but ultimately one of the things that makes you successful at that job is the ability to adjust and figure things out on the fly. The more scenarios you endure, the more you are enabled to handle situations better.
I knew an investigator who was a very athletic 6’ 7” hulk of a figure but could make any witness feel at ease when he started questioning them, despite his intimidating size. He could recognize immediately if someone felt uncomfortable and did what it took to make them feel safe. Talents like this can be learned.
Chelsea and Bruce have leaned on their decades of experience to bring you some of the skills they have learned that make them great investigators. Knowing them personally, as well as several of the fraud examiners in this book, I can assure you there are many takeaways to help you hone your skill set, whether you are just starting out or perhaps transitioning from a long career in government to the private sector.
This book describes how fraud examiners have improved their skills and how they got better at their jobs. By taking this deep, personal dive into the “qualities” of an investigator working on fraud cases, you too can go from a good investigator to a great one.
Bruce Dorris President and CEO Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Editor and Contributor
Biographies
Editors
Chelsea A. Binns is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Center for Private Safety and Security at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Chelsea has a PhD in Criminal Justice from the CUNY Graduate Center and is a fraud expert who previously worked in an investigative capacity for the City and State of New York and in the financial industry. She is also a licensed private investigator and a certified fraud examiner. Chelsea was named one of the “Top Private Investigators of 2022” by PI Magazine and “Speaker of the Year” by the Rhode Island Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) in 2019. Chelsea is a past President (2018–2000) of the New York Chapter of the ACFE.
Chelsea has published three books to date: The Art of Investigation (CRC Press); Safety and Security in Hotels and Home Sharing (Springer); and Fraud Hotlines: Design, Performance & Assessment (CRC Press). Her work has also appeared in leading peerreviewed publications such as Security Journal, and she has received grants to conduct studies for major industry organizations such as the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS). Most recently, she did a study for the ASIS Foundation titled Using Social Media to Gather Security Intelligence.
Chelsea is a highly sought-after expert. She has appeared on CBS Channel 2 News and Fox 5 News in New York City. Additional media organizations where her work has been featured and/or she has provided expert assistance and commentary includes Asheville Watchdog, Bloomberg News, Buzz Feed News, DocumentedNY, Forbes, Metro NY, NBC News MACH, Orchard Park Sun, Oxygen/Crime TV, The Daily News, The Washington Times, The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal.
Bruce Sackman served as the Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division, Northeast Field Office until May 2005 when he retired after 32 years of service. In this capacity, he was responsible for all major criminal investigations involving VA
from West Virginia to Maine. During his tenure, he was involved in hundreds of investigations involving allegations of fraud, corruption, false claims, thefts, patient assaults, pharmaceutical drug diversions, and suspicious hospital deaths. He was also responsible for supervising the successful investigation of the nation’s first homicide conviction in connection with pharmaceutical research. His cases involving medical professionals who have murdered their patients have been featured on the Discovery Health Channel, CNN, MSNBC, America’s Most Wanted, and Home Box Office. He is the recipient of many awards for his investigations and for his efforts in encouraging the profession of forensic nursing. He has lectured at several forensic related conferences, state police organizations, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, universities, and medical related symposia.
He is the co-author of the book Behind the Murder Curtain: Special Agent Bruce Sackman Hunts Doctors and Nurses Who Kill Our Veterans and the article “When the ICU becomes a Crime Scene” for Critical Care Nursing Quarterly. He is also the co-editor of The Art of Investigation. He was recently featured in an episode of the CNN/HLN special “Dr. Death.”
Sackman is a recently retired self-employed licensed private investigator in New York City specializing in healthcare related matters. Under contract he had directed major investigations for a large New York metropolitan regional healthcare system.
He served as the President of the Society of Professional Investigators (SPI) in New York City from 2010 to 2019 and is a board member of the American Academy for Professional Law Enforcement. He is a frequent lecturer on the topic of medical serial killers having spoken throughout the United States, Great Britain, United Arab Emirates, and Sweden.
Contributors
Edward J. Ajaeb is an experienced professional investigator, researcher, business owner, author, and national speaker specializing in legal investigations, background checks, due diligence, social media and online investigations, and OSINT. He serves on the Board of Directors of the National Council of Investigation and Security Services (NCISS) and is also a member of the ACFE, the SPI, ASIS International, and the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP).
Rajainlall Dhanlall is a Chartered Accountant (CA(SA)) practicing in South Africa as a partner in a large international firm. Having been involved in private practice since 1998, he has serviced many clients in the private and public sectors, providing assurance and investigative services, and overall business management and development support. He currently serves on the Board of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners South Africa Chapter, where he is also a past Chapter President
and is amongst a small group of individuals accorded Honorary Life Membership of the Chapter for their contributions in its development in the country.
Bruce Dorris is the President and Chief Executive Officer for the ACFE. He also serves as an advisory member to the ACFE Board of Regents. Dorris has conducted anti-fraud training for the United Nations, the American Bankers Association, colleges, and universities around the world, as well as with the FBI, Government Accountability Office (GAO), and other federal and state law enforcement agencies in the United States.
Keith Elliott is the Chief Executive Officer of Reed Research Limited, a professional investigation firm based in Toronto, Canada. As a seasoned professional investigator with over 30 years of experience, he has practical involvement in identifying risk and investigating frauds relating to criminal enterprise, employment, health care, insurance services, fake deaths, disability, cyber scams, as well as various payment platforms and online services.
John A. Hoda is a licensed private investigator and a former insurance fraud investigator and police officer. He graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Criminology. He can be reached at www.johnhoda.com
Michael Bret Hood served for 25 years as a Special Agent in the FBI and became the Director of 21st Century Learning and Consulting LLC upon his retirement in 2016. He serves as an adjunct Professor of Corporate Governance and Ethics for the University of Virginia and as a faculty member for the ACFE. Bret received two FBI Director Awards for leadership development and leadership innovation for his work on the FBI’s executive leadership development program.
Janet M. McHard is the Founding Partner of The McHard Firm, a firm specializing in forensic accounting, fraud prevention, and accounting reconstruction. Together with her partner and staff, she conducts forensic and investigative accounting in matters concerning alleged white-collar crimes, embezzlements, employee theft, and other disputed accounting issues. She is a certified fraud examiner and has served on the faculty for the ACFE, teaching on topics of fraud examination and white-collar crime since 2003.
Beth A. Mohr is Managing Partner of The McHard Firm, where she works nationwide providing expert witness testimony, conducting investigations, and teaching professional education courses. She is retired from the San Diego Police Department and has over 30 years of sworn and non-sworn investigative experience. She is credentialed as a nationally certified law enforcement instructor by the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST)
and is also certified as a Peace Officer Standard and Training (POST) law enforcement instructor in California.
Kelly Paxton has more than 25 years of investigative experience. Kelly is a certified fraud examiner, private investigator, author, and podcast host-founder of Fraudish. She started her career in law enforcement as a Special Agent for U.S. Customs Office of Investigations, working white-collar fraud, money laundering, and narcotics cases. Kelly has worked in the public and private sector with her investigations including embezzlement, conflict of interest, intellectual property, open-source intelligence (OSINT), and fraud. Kelly is also the proud owner of pinkcollarcrime.com, a passion of hers about embezzlers in the workplace. Her book, Embezzlement How to Prevent, Detect and Investigate Pink‑Collar Crime, was published in 2020.
Ryan Sakacs is a civil and criminal litigator, social equity advocate, and was the founding chief of the Prescription Drug Investigation Unit with the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York. He also has served as counsel to the New York State Athletic Commission, where he regulated major professional sporting events, and as special counsel in the commercial litigation practice with Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP. He is an active member of the New York City Bar Association Drugs and Law Committee and a regular contributor to law journals, mental health magazines, and sports publications.
Omar Sarach attended John Jay College, New York. He now works as an investigator for the City of New York. He has accumulated extensive experience working in the field of security and investigations for both the private sector and for the City of New York.
Amber Schroader has spent the last two decades as a driving force for innovation in digital forensics. She has developed numerous software programs, courses, and guides in the areas of recovering data from smartphones, computer hard drives, cloud, email, and gaming systems. Her established protocols for the seizure and processing of digital evidence have been used by numerous organizations throughout the world, and she coined the concept of the “360-degree approach to digital forensics” and “Forensics of Everything–FoE” with her focus on unique problems in digital evidence and solutions.
Della Williams started her career with the Moberly Police Department before transferring to Warrenton, then Wentzville, where she remained for 19 years. She also worked part time for the Lake Saint Louis Police Department. Della also conducted missing persons investigations as an Area Director and Regional Manager for the Doe Network. She was a volunteer for the Doe Network for much of her adult life.
More recently, she started her own nonprofit organization called the Missing Persons Support Center, to support and advocate for families of missing persons and provide training and resources for law enforcement in their efforts to find missing persons https://www.mpsupportcenter.org.
Louis Zaneri is a retired lieutenant with 27 years in the New York City Police Department plus another three years with the District Attorney’s Office. His assignments included Detective Squad Commander in the Central Robbery Division, Commanding Officer of the Manhattan North Grand Larceny Unit, Precinct Special Operations Lieutenant, Team Supervisor in the Narcotics Division and Patrol Supervisor in three precincts. He is a licensed private investigator, a federal subcontract investigator with top secret clearance, and a former adjunct instructor in police sciences at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Introduction
Want to be a great investigator? A great way to start is to learn how to master the qualities or soft skills that differentiate investigators from other people. These qualities define the “art of investigation.” They include adaptability, confidence, creativity, curiosity, discretion, empathy, energy, ingenuity, initiative, integrity, patience, professionalism, self-control and skepticism. While this art is often unspoken, nor is it measured, its presence is critical. These skills are coveted and serve as necessary survival skills for investigators. What’s great is that anyone can learn them and immediately apply them to their work. That’s the purpose of The Art of Investigation series of books.
That said, we are delighted to bring you this book, The Art of Investigation Revisited: Practical Tips from the Experts (2023, CRC Press), our follow up to the successful first book in this series, The Art of Investigation (2020, CRC Press). This series uniquely brings the reader the collective wisdom of 30 esteemed investigators across the globe, representing over 500 years of collective experience across the United States, Canada, England, Japan, and South Africa. Our books are perfect for the student of investigations, the new investigator, the seasoned investigator who seeks a new perspective, or any reader who is interested in investigative work.
How important is The Art of Investigation? In short, it is their secret to success. In fact, former City of New York Police Department Chief of Detectives, Robert Boyce, says in The Art of Investigation that “without possession of these attributes it would be impossible to sustain a career as an investigator.” In this book, The Art of
Investigation Revisited: Practical Tips from the Experts, Bruce Dorris, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, stresses “how important these soft skills are in making an investigator whole—taking one from merely a good investigator to a great one.”
Here is the concept behind The Art of Investigation: for each book, we invited a diverse group of 14 investigators who are among the “best in the business” to contribute to our book by selecting one of the soft skills to write about from our specially curated list of 14 qualities, enunciated above. Then, the investigators, who operate in a myriad of industries, discuss the importance of these qualities, or soft skills, to their work, and include case studies of their application. In their chapters, our investigators also give their advice when it comes to mastering the “hard skills” of investigations, such as conducting interviews, gathering evidence, and conducting surveillance.
For this book, the types of investigations our contributors wrote about include: Accounting; Background Checks; Corruption; Death; Digital Forensics; Embezzlement; Fraud; Human Lie Detection; Insurance; Missing Persons; Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT); Prosecutorial; Retail; Social Media; Special Investigations; Surveillance and Undercover.
For the first book, the types of investigations our contributors wrote about included: Background Checks; Business Intelligence; Crime Scene; Criminal; Criminal Defense; Death; Landlord Tenant; Law Enforcement; Lost Heirs; Medical; Missing Persons; OSINT; Personal Injury; Police Work; Polygraph; Prosecutorial and Surveillance.
From these two books, you will learn that investigators are highly skilled people. Some investigators say they were born with these skills; others say they cultivated them over time. Investigators perform a variety of tasks in their roles, which can shape their skill set and facilitate the development of various personal qualities. Investigators can also hone certain qualities based on the genre of cases they investigate. While some tasks are common among investigators, such as report writing or evidence collection, others are unique to their role, such as performing a grid search or using forensic accounting software.
Since many investigators develop their art while “on the job,” it is important to understand the work they do. Many of them will tell you their work is not the glamorous role often depicted in popular culture. It’s really hard work. While they can have a lot of job satisfaction, there are also a lot of negative aspects to this career choice. Generally speaking, investigators gather evidence, write reports, interview subjects, and conduct research. In some cases, the amount of evidence collected, volume of reports written, and number of interviews conducted can amount to tens of hundreds. They often carry heavy caseloads, work under tight time constraints, and put in a lot of hours. They can have a tendency to “take their work home with them.” Their work is often open to public scrutiny. Their clients can be unhappy with them. Cases they work might never be solved, despite best efforts. Information
they learn or conditions they are exposed to in a given case might be disturbing, forever altering their mental psyche.
So one might ask, why do they do it? For many investigators, they cannot imagine a career doing anything else. There are many positive aspects to this line of work. The work is diverse and interesting. An investigator’s job is never the same from day to day. They learn a lot and meet many interesting people. When things go well, there is immense satisfaction in a job well done. Finding a lost loved one and reuniting people with their families. Solving a “cold case.” Identifying a “Jane Doe.” Finding a key piece of evidence that gives them a “break” in the case, facilitating its closure. Identifying a major fraud and saving a client a lot of money. Protecting a client when learning from a background check that a potential hire may pose a serious risk.
Needless to say, investigators are very busy people. We are very thankful to everyone who took the time to contribute to The Art of Investigation series. In sharing their experience with the world, they brought deserved recognition to their work, contributed to the scant body of literature in the investigative field, and helped to educate the next generation of investigators. Ultimately, we believe The Art of Investigation and The Art of Investigation Revisited: Practical Tips from the Experts will help you to become a better investigator—a very useful skill, regardless of your official line of work.
Chelsea A. Binns and Bruce Sackman, Editors
Chapter 1 Energy
Chelsea A. Binns
“Where do you get your energy?” People always ask me this question. It typically happens when they hear I spent ten years simultaneously building a career as an investigator while obtaining two Master’s Degrees and a PhD in Criminal Justice. More specifically, I leveraged my energy to start my investigative career: pursue coveted investigator roles in prestigious organizations; achieve successful outcomes in my cases; graduate from a competitive PhD program; and teach the next generation of investigators in a world-renowned criminal justice school.
In this chapter, I will share the ways that I have effectively used energy in my life and career. I will also discuss the value of energy in investigation, cases I worked on in the field, and will reveal techniques to harness one’s own energy. I hope that my story is a useful one for any investigator, including new ones just entering the field.
I was attracted to the field of investigations from a very young age. My grandmother sparked my interest as a child by inviting me to watch “police shows” on television. It was a very dramatic and exciting event for us. This was before the proliferation of the “CSI” genre and streaming internet. “Police shows” were rare and we patiently waited each week for a new episode to be released. We eagerly anticipated the event and often spent time discussing each show between viewings. I’ll never forget the way her eyes lit up when we sat down to watch. She usually celebrated the occasion with a glass of her favorite bubbly—Pepsi Cola.
My grandma was a pioneer. Her interest in investigations was unique, since it was an uncommon career path at the time for women. Little did she know, watching
television with me helped inspire a whole new generation of female investigators. In retrospect, I think grandma would have been an investigator herself, if she thought it was possible. I’m sorry that she didn’t have that opportunity, but she would have been very proud of the positive influence she ultimately had in the field.
What exactly is energy? The type of energy I am referring to in this chapter is the vigorous exertion of power, or effort. It’s critical for an investigator to have energy. An energetic investigator can accomplish anything. The type of work that we do requires a lot of energy, both physical and mental. For instance, we conduct physical activities such as evidence gathering and mental exercises such as strategizing about our cases. The ideal investigator is self-motivated, which requires energy.
The opportunities for energetic investigators are limitless. Energy gives you the ability to handle a large caseload, seek continuing education and credentials, be active in professional organizations, obtain big clients, and run your own successful business.
All cases require energy to move forward. Moreover, some cases require more energy than others. You will never work on a case that requires “zero” energy. You could have a case that takes one day to investigate, or a case that you work on for decades. You might work on cases by yourself or with several different people from multiple agencies. A case may be solved by a “new” investigator with very little experience, or it may require investigators with specialized knowledge or a particular expertise, such as a polygraph or handwriting expert. You might conduct work in situations where you identify yourself to your subject, such as when you conduct interviews, or you might need to work undercover to gather information. All these situations require your energy investment. Even if your case is never “solved,” if you approached your case energetically, you would know that you always did the best job possible.
How long does it take to investigate a case? According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), over half of all fraud investigation cases take 30 days or less to close.1 In one major case I worked on, the investigation lasted 20-months and involved collaboration between three government agencies. We were not investigating ordinary fraudsters. They were physicians. Medical clinic managers. Patients. Shop owners. Professional criminals recruited from the public. Although they were different people, from various backgrounds, they all had one thing in common. They colluded to commit a massive fraud.
When the 17 indictments were announced in the news, we were elated. A major fraud ring was officially broken. That case required a lot of energy, and many investigative techniques were employed. One such technique was wiretapping. The perpetrators collaborated over cell phone. We used court-ordered wiretaps to listen to their conversations. I managed a key aspect of this process. It was a tedious yet highly informative experience.
Wiretaps require so much work. The end goal is a set of fully transcribed conversations that may serve as key evidence in the case. To achieve this goal,
investigators must listen to a very large volume of telephone conversations and take exact notes. The words are often not easy to decipher. There could be volume or language variances, or other interference, such as background noise. The transcriber might need to listen to the same conversation multiple times.
Additionally, “coded” language is typically used by criminals. They speak in a manner they believe is only recognizable to them, to prevent law enforcement from listening to their conversation. For example, a criminal could use the word “let’s pick up a pizza” to really mean “let’s meet and exchange our stolen goods.” In our case, we were able to solve the code after listening to many hours of calls. The perpetrators also changed phones often, requiring us to identify the new numbers and obtain additional warrants.
At this point in my career, I appreciated the value of energy in an investigation. Leading up to my involvement in this case, I spent years energetically building my investigative career. It’s not easy to get started in the field, especially as a woman. New positions often required experience, which was difficult to obtain. It was the ultimate conundrum. How can you possibly get that first “break” when no one will hire you unless you already had that first “break?” It is a dilemma that still plagues new investigators to this day. Also, entry-level positions usually paid low salaries and internships were often unpaid. It was difficult to live on an entry-level investigator’s salary, especially in New York City (NYC). Positions also were scarce, since at the time, there was a hiring freeze in most government agencies.
So, after I graduated college, I started working as a paralegal in a law firm. The salary was very good at the entry level, and it helped me to pay for my Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice, where I specialized in investigative techniques. I worked during the day, went to school at night, and wrote my papers on the weekends. It took me three years to finish.
Upon graduation, I was selected to participate in an investigative internship at a local government agency. I was thrilled because this opportunity would give me the experience I needed to jumpstart my career. However, it was unpaid and could only be conducted during the week. I knew I had to do it, so I brokered a deal with my manager at the law firm. I offered to work on Saturdays, instead of Fridays. On Friday, I would work at the government agency from 9 am to 5 pm. The paralegal manager accepted my deal. But all of this meant that I worked at least six long days a week. Paralegals often work nights and on the weekends. It required a lot of my energy but ended up paying off. After my internship, the government agency offered me a full-time position as an investigator. I happily accepted this position, and my investigative career was born.
It was a long road, but a great one. Ultimately, my resume included three unpaid government internships as well as jobs with several government agencies and two major banks. I worked in undercover roles, performed surveillance, participated in raids and wiretaps, conducted interviews and background checks, and supported our agency’s hotline. Eventually, I managed teams of people conducting investigations
and managed an entire investigative unit. I also broke through the glass ceiling to become the first female President of the New York Chapter of the ACFE—an organization that existed for nearly 30 years before I became president.
My most memorable experience as an investigator was working undercover for a city agency. This work required a lot of energy. You need both physical and mental energy to be a believable undercover investigator. Your mind always needs to be working. You must constantly keep your story straight. You never know what might happen yet must be expertly prepared for anything. It’s a tough job! But sometimes undercover work is the only investigative technique that helps you solve a case.
I gained my experience as an undercover very quickly. In fact, I had started a government agency job for less than a week when I was placed in my first undercover role. I was a bit nervous. But I was ready. The job entailed going to a job site, which was a public place, and monitoring the activity of the employees. There had been accidents at this location in the past, allegedly due to the actions of the employees. Members of the public were fatally harmed. Our work would yield important clues regarding any poor employee behavior. In other words, my undercover work could potentially save lives. I started to prepare. I thought about the scenario in advance. I brainstormed in my head what I would say if I was confronted. In retrospect, I was glad I did.
I was paired up with a partner. She was more senior in the agency but had not worked undercover before. I could tell once I arrived at her house. To be successful in our roles, we were supposed to be stealth and not call attention to ourselves. We were told to “blend in” with the crowd. Instead, she was dressed in a very bold, attentiongetting outfit. She also carried a notebook and pen and told me she planned to “take notes.” Obviously, this was not stealth behavior and certainly not something an undercover investigator should do. But at the time, I was new to the agency, and she was senior to me, so I didn’t say anything. Instead, I quietly distanced myself from her at the job site. I knew I wouldn’t successfully work undercover with her.
To my surprise, when I reached the job site, I was immediately face to face with my investigative subjects, the employees. Not one, but multiple. They were located far away from their assigned posts, and not doing their jobs (keeping the public safe). Instead, they were reading the paper and chatting. That’s not what we wanted to find, but it was the reason we were there. Each employee had an important job that they were purposely avoiding. This negligence could cost lives and had done so in the past. I was disturbed by what I was seeing, but I needed to be careful not to show it.
Suddenly, I was confronted. One of the subjects walked over and asked me sternly, “What are you doing here?”. Now I had some very quick explaining to do. What was I doing there? It was a public place, but why this area, which was a little remote. I quickly thought about the “cover story” I had prepared in my head. I walked in that direction to get away from my annoying aunt, I said. Part truth, part lie. It worked. Sure enough, they told me how they noticed us earlier, especially my “aunt,” due to my partner’s attire. He said they monitor people more closely now,
since they heard “the investigators” might be watching them! Now here I thought for a moment I was totally busted. But instead of panicking, I just laughed and said, “Oh, really?” I figured that was my best bet. Brush it off. Luckily, my levity and complaints about my “annoying aunt” helped to disarm them. They talked to me tirelessly, rather than doing their work. It was clear that my role as an undercover was a success. While we spoke, they continued their bad behavior and gave me incriminating information about themselves. One of them even asked me out on a date! Ultimately, my observations gave us the evidence we needed to build our case and to ultimately institute much needed safety changes.
There was another time I worked in an undercover role that required a lot of energy. My partner and I were ordered to go to a high crime area in NYC to investigate parking meter thefts. Today, this type of theft is mostly obsolete, due to the advent of digital meter systems. But at the time, bold thieves would steal entire parking meters and dismantle them for the coins inside. This was a lucrative type of theft. The city earned millions of dollars a year from these meters, collected in coins. We surreptitiously canvassed the area to make some observations. Our goal was to blend in with our surroundings. We dressed casually and walked up and down the street, window shopping and browsing in various stores. For a long time, we didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but we persevered. It can take a surprising amount of energy to perform this work. You are essentially acting like you are someone you are not, trying your best to look casual as a member of the public, while also staying busy at your job of monitoring for any suspicious behavior. Eventually, my partner needed to use the restroom. I decided to wait in our car, so that I was not standing alone on the street.
As soon as my partner left, there was a major development! I was sitting in the car, casually looking around through the heavily tinted windows on the passenger’s side. Unexpectedly I observed a man, standing about three feet away from me, with a large makeshift “tool” in his hand. He raised it over his head. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. He was getting ready to strike! Suddenly, he started jamming it violently into the parking meter! I couldn’t believe I was watching the crime transpiring directly in front of me. Meanwhile, I was trying to remain calm so that I could make useful observations. For instance, I noticed this was not an ordinary tool. It was made by hand, specifically for the purpose of breaking the meter. Suddenly, coins came pouring out. I heard him shout with glee and begin to collect his prize money. However, I was in a tough position. I didn’t want to confront him without my partner, for safety reasons. Luckily, we soon connected and eventually arranged for the arrest of the criminal by police officers.
I worked on another case where my colleagues and I made unexpected observations in the field. We were monitoring a construction site in NYC. We visited there on a Friday, in a location far away from our office, and spent the entire day conducting surveillance of it. Surveillance can zap your energy, since you can go a very long time without seeing anything notable, yet at the same time, you must remain very alert and vigilant, in case you do. It was a long day. We kept our energy up by chatting
about case strategies and current events while we painstakingly watched the workers for hours. For a long time, we didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Many people would have been tempted to leave and get an early start on their weekend. But we decided to stay and keep observing. Because that’s what you do when you conduct surveillance, if you are the energetic type. You see the assignment through, up until the end.
As the day progressed, we saw something unexpected. One of the vehicle operators loaded a toddler onto his lap in the construction vehicle for a “ride.” It was scary to watch! I feared for this child’s safety. But then the situation worsened. The worker put the child in the driver’s seat and allowed him to operate the vehicle! We could not believe what we had witnessed. In retrospect, the worker likely decided to do this on a Friday afternoon because he assumed no one would be watching. But thankfully we observed the dangerous acts and prevented them from happening again in the future.
After finishing my undercover work assignments for the city agency, I decided to go back to school. I really enjoyed school and I wanted to continue my studies. I was also interested in teaching someday. I applied to a PhD program at the City University of New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice. I also simultaneously applied to work as an investigator in the financial industry. I ended up receiving, and accepting, both opportunities.
My acceptance marked the beginning of a long personal journey. For seven years, I worked full time as an investigator in the financial industry while attending a doctoral program in the evenings. I leveraged every bit of energy I had to make it work. School was difficult. It required a lot of reading, writing and research. As I progressed in the program, I also taught master’s level classes at night. My days were long and hard. I often completed my schoolwork and graded papers while commuting to work and on the weekends. In the evenings, a slice of pizza was a common dinner for me. Finally, after seven years, I received my PhD in Criminal Justice. It was truly one of the biggest accomplishments of my life.
So how did I find the energy for all of this? I was born with energy, carried it into my adult life, and I have worked hard to maintain it. I’ve been called the “energizer bunny” based on a popular commercial for a battery company, where the rabbit runs on batteries. I’m always on the go and rarely sit still. I have always enjoyed working and I have consistently held a job since I was a teenager. I never really liked to sleep. In fact, as I type this, I am on an international flight, the lights are off, and everyone else around me is sleeping. But I have always been this way.
According to my mother, I didn’t listen to her and never sat still when I was a child. This is not ideal for most parents. However, during one incident, it worked to our advantage.
One afternoon, when I was a toddler, my mother and I were in the parking lot of a grocery store. She told me, “Chelsea, stay right here and do not move,” while
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After the sixth death—all of them with their brain-pans charred and their grey matter stuck together—Shreve broke down.
He threw a blanker over the shaft and sat there swearing. His body shook and heaved as he mumbled into his hands. In one stride he was off the couch and had smashed his fist full into the reflecting metal of the console face. It left a shallow dent, and he didn't seem to notice the angry inflammation of his knuckles. Teller stood across the room, keeping very still, shaking his head slowly, and thinking soft sounds.
After a while Shreve stopped, and collapsed onto the couch, his face red and swollen. "Sorry, Karl," he said.
"Why don't you try crying, it's easier on the metabolism," he suggested.
Shreve gave a bitter laugh, thin and short. "Last time I cried I was eating cream cheese and jelly sandwiches and didn't know where little babies come from." Teller didn't smile. He knew Shreve was covering up. He had never seen the man break as he had today, and he knew the knowledge should go no further.
"But why? Why?" Shreve pounded his fist into the yielding couch. "We came to help them, why won't they let us?"
"Luther, Luther," Teller soothed him, sitting down beside him on the couch, "don't you see? They're adolescents. They don't know when to call for help. They've been hurt, and with the single-minded purpose of the immature they're bound not to let it happen again. You can't blame yourself for what's happened.
"You had no way of knowing about this power of theirs. Why don't we leave right now. If we lay on all power we can make the schedule still pretty close."
Shreve stood up, flicked on the view-plates. He stared into them a moment, seeing nothing but tangled jungle. He drew up a bit, laid his hands flat on the console. "I've got to talk to them once more. To beg them again."
We warned you came the cold, hard tones. The group-mind is infinitely stronger than our individual power now that you have seen our strength will you go?
"I've come to beg you once more," Shreve pleaded, looking up at the masked Diamoraii, astride their mounts. He had made certain all outside pickup mikes were off. "We only want to help you. Won't you let us re-direct the coming eruptions. Please!" Shreve had plumbed the depths of his mind in an attempt to find reasons for sacrificing such efforts to save the Diamoraii. The only reasons he had found he had not been able to translate—yet there was a sense of identification with the long-legged and stubborn aliens. He wanted to save them!
"Can't you read my thoughts?" he said, projecting truth, projecting honesty and sincerity. "Can't you see I want to help you, help your people?"
They did not even bother answering. He knew their acquaintance with the truth that men of other worlds had offered. To be defeated because those who need your help had been spoiled by another race!
The bitterness, the hatred, the distrust, washed over him, as the Diamorai leaned across his beast's neck, thought one snarled word: Go.
Shreve felt the futility of everything he had done, suddenly caving in on him. He looked up into the blank stares of the masked aliens, said slowly, "We will hang above your atmosphere till you call us."
He walked back to the Wallower. The huge plug-port closed behind him. The aliens sat astride their beasts, staring at the ship.
Their minor-key whoops of victory rang and bounced in the jungle's treetops as they swung their mounts roughly, dug boney knees into their sides, and careened into the multi-colored vastness.
The Diamoraii had won again!
The Wallower spun slowly in space, the eternal dust of the universe lapping at her ports. Below her, enveloped by clouds of steam, the planet Diamore blasted and erupted and screamed and belched and tore itself apart.
Luther Shreve sat before the control console, staring with almost hypnotized attention at the view-plates. He watched the world die. His face was hard and unyielding. He had refused entrance even to Teller, barring everyone from the control room.
At every eruption, with each fissure that opened wide enough to be seen from that fantastic height, he felt a strange sinking in his heart. His throat was dry, and there was an odd pressure behind his eyes. He watched silently, every once in a while letting the thought They didn't know when to ask for help filter through his mind.
The Group of Deciders huddled in the blasted Council Hall. The floor —what was left of the inlaid tiles—shivered and heaved. Beyond the twisted lattices of the windows they could hear the mighty rending of the planet as it opened and swallowed all that stood.
Within an hour of the first eruptions, so quickly and with such fury that there had been no time for preparation, almost three-fifths of their race had been decimated.
The cities Kes and Uykvabask and Laylor had gone under with roaring flames and the scraping of stone against flesh. The Great Ocean had exploded with a red-hot bubbling and roared onto the land, washing everything before it. The lava flows raced Eastward to the Ceremonial Grounds and Westward to the Hunting Preserve. Everywhere the ground opened without warning or reason, and life sank beneath the earth.
Wrong, the Group of Deciders admitted in their last refuge. We were wrong we have been foolish we have rejected our only salvation we
must prepare the group-mind send our plea for aid into space speak to the outsiders ask them to help us.
They thought their instructions away from themselves, to their kin across Diamore's blasted face. Prepare! Join! Speak to the outsiders!
And when they had gathered together every last Diamorai, with more dying as they joined the chain, with the feel of agony radiating through the group-mind, the message weakly rose. Tentatively it probed at the inner surface of Diamore's atmosphere.
The power was, perhaps, insufficient to reach the spaceship. Threefifths of the Diamoraii were lost to the group-mind.
The group-mind struggled, frantically beaming, in hopelessness trying to get through to the Earthmen who rode above them.
The men who rode above them—waiting for a signal from the Diamoraii.
Shreve turned away from the plates, flicking them off. "I can't stand it, Karl! How senseless! Because one race dealt them unfairly, they closed their eyes to help from anyone else."
Teller crossed his legs as he sat on the couch. He did not appear to be disturbed by the sight from below.
"Luther, you can't go on destroying yourself. You did everything you could. You were as resourceful as any man could have been.
"Now you'd better get back to the schedule. We're over four and a half months due at our next landfall." He saw his words were having no effect. "Look, Luther, I've been in this business almost as long as you. I've seen this time and again. When you come up against an adolescent race, that doesn't know when it's got something too big to handle, there's nothing you can do but back off and let them handle it themselves. If they don't get smart enough to know when to call the fireman—that's their agony. Not yours!"
"What's the next stop on our itinerary?" he asked the last almost jauntily, consciously trying to take Shreve's mind off the cinder that spun below the Wallower. He rose and stretched, as though from a profound sleep.
For a moment he stared in wonder. Then he stepped into the shaft and quietly left the control room. He had never thought he'd see the day when Luther Shreve cried like a child.
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