Popcorn and private eyes

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Popcorn and private eyes

Investigators uncover kernels of info

By Damon Hodge ([e-mail])

It's the Las Vegas Weekly's version of a "Columbo" mystery: Who's burning the popcorn?

The suspect strikes randomly, leaving only a trail of overcooked kernels and a hellacious odor that hangs in the air like an atomic mushroom cloud.

And everyone has an idea of who the culprit is: All signs point to a certain older scribe--with beady eyes, cowlick and a mild case of Tourette Syndrome.

Try as we might, none of us has been able to collar the thief. Peter Maheu says there was likely something in the bandit's personnel file that indicated his pyromaniacal popcorn proclivities.

As president of Global Intelligence, a firm with 48 private investigators, Maheu's certainly cracked harder cases.

Like the time his investigators caught top brass in a major film company skimming profits via a separate business they set up in Hong Kong. Or the time his folks nabbed the application of ex-felon seeking to run a casino. Or uncovering a kickback scheme involving a supervisor of a nuclear reactors manufacturer who coaxed subcontractors into buying cars from his flagging Pontiac dealership.

"What we do is not rocket science," says Maheu, who's presenting a background investigation seminar at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 27 at Palace Station, 2411 W. Sahara Ave. "If you have an experienced human resources person, they can do a lot of the simple stuff."

The luncheon costs $30 and is being put on by Business Watch Network, a 7-year-old nonprofit that focuses on public safety and crime prevention.

Maheu's company offers a wide range of gumshoe services, including employee investigations. Among his clients are casinos, Hollywood studios and authors. He is a former chief investigator for the Pima County, Ariz. District Attorney's office.

"In the past two years, we've done 2,000 investigations in 56 countries, from background investigation to the fraud involving millions of dollars," says Maheu, noting that he discourages owners from hiring troubled employees. "Why risk it?"

For us, it's too little, too late.


www.lasvegasweekly.com/2002/03_28/news_upfront4.html

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