When you are a licensed private investigator and former Federal agent, you can choose whether or not you want to carry a gun. Thomas G. Martin describes his reasons for not carrying a gun, and a horrible incident in which an agent was shot by undercover operatives.
Information leaks make headlines, as with the Edward Snowden/NSA case. Former Federal agent Thomas Martin, now president of Martin Investigative Services in Newport Beach, California, sees cases every day involving people in the business and private sectors falling victim to moles and leaks, often costing millions of dollars. “Be careful how you share information,” Martin…
Most of us remember our first job, the funny story of how we were almost late, or the bag of groceries we dropped on the foot of an irate customer. But in the world of private investigation, first jobs can carry some unusual memories. Such is the case of a paper server who’s just starting…
Toothpaste and murder. Not a combination most people would ever see, but then most people aren’t highly trained investigators like Thomas Martin. And in the case of a murder investigation, things usually are always unusual. When he took a case looking into the disappearance of a client’s nephew in Southern California, Martin approached it with…
I first visited Johannesburg, South Africa in the early 1970’s. I was assigned there for a lengthy period enforcing duties as a Drug Enforcement Administration agent. At the time, Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and had been since 1962. He would ultimately serve 27 years. Mandela became South Africa’s first black president and served from 1994-1999.…
I am about to complete my 44th year as an investigator. This number combines my service as a supervisory Federal agent with the U.S. Department of Justice, and my current position as President of Martin Investigative Services. Along this journey I have come across many outstanding investigators. When client demands and requests exceed our current staff of 20+ investigators,…
Every day, our agency receives calls and emails from people trying to determine where specific individuals are working. There are usually two types of callers: those trying to collect on judgments they have received, and those trying to collect alimony or child support.
We have two main methods of locating a person’s workplace.
Over the past few years, online dating web sites have exploded in popularity. Not only are sites like Match.com, eHarmony and Plenty of Fish an accepted way of dating in our culture – online dating may even becoming the norm. These sites essentially allow a person to pre-screen prospective dating partners – by being able…
No one looks forward to putting a loved one in senior care facilities or a nursing home. The task of choosing the right senior care facility can be overwhelming. While everything might look good on the initial visit, there are several things you can do to protect your elderly or disabled family members from mistreatment…
We all pay a price for worker’s comp fraud, but businesses shoulder the majority of the costs and responsibly. Businesses pay higher worker’s comp premiums because insurers pass the high costs of fraud onto their policyholders. Often the premium increases are large and very damaging —especially for smaller businesses that can least afford higher premiums.…
