On the Job : Thomas G. Martin

Deborah Robiglio with Thomas G. Martin

Job Title: President/private investigator
Company: Martin Investigative Services
Residence: Orange County
Age: 47
Salary range: $40,000 to $150,000

What's a typical day like?
Well, it could start off with a call in the morning from a court or attorney asking me to go to court and testify. Sometimes you may be asked to go to another part of the state or country that morning to testify. On civil and criminal cases, I'll help clients and/or attorneys gather information for a case. We also do surveillance cases; usually a spouse is checking on another spouse. In this kind of case, we'll have two people in two radioed cars. They'll have 35mm cameras and video equipment to record what goes on while they follow a person around. When we do background searches, we might be asked to check on a person's assets to see whether it's worth it for our client to sue them. Sometimes if people are getting married, they'll do a background check to make sure their fiancé has told the truth. In child-custody cases, background checks are used to determine the fitness of a parent.

We get a lot of high-profile cases, so it's my job to assign a case to someone on the staff. If a case comes across my desk that I'm interested in, I'll pick up the ball and run with it. I've worked on civil cases, which involve divorce, family law, business and real estate. In criminal cases, I've worked on murders, rapes, unlawful entries and fires.

Besides handling a case, we'll have to share information with the client. And you have to be sensitive. People have gotten physically sick in my office. So, sometimes you don't know whether you're a family counselor or a private investigator.

How many hours a week do you work? 70

How did you get your job? What's your background?
I used to be a supervisory federal agent with the U.S. Department of Justice. I had been working for 12 years and then got hurt and retired in 1981. So, this kind of work seemed like the natural thing to go into.

What do you like most about your job?
The variety of people I get to meet. This is a local and international job. I've met CEO's of Fortune 500 companies, and I've don a lot of work for people in the entertainment industry. This job is an entree to meeting those people that I ordinarily wouldn't get to meet.

What would you change about your job if you could?
The paperwork. Everything we do has to be documented. An insignificant detail taken in 1990 may have an impact in a court case in the year 2000.

What advice would you give to someone who wants a job like yours?
You can call the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services to find out what you need to do to become a private investigator. As a personal qualification, though, you should have good communication skills because you'll deal with every kind of person. You've also got to be a good listener. After all, this is a fact-finding job.

What was the biggest hurdle you faced on the job and how did you overcome it?
Obtaining public record information, like court documents or papers that are filed with state or county offices. There were so many sources that I had to go through until we developed our own computer database and got online services. For example, we're online with the DMV.

What opportunities does your job offer for advancement?
If you work hard and pay your dues, you can make a very good living at this.

What motivates you to do your best on the job?
I don't like to lose.