Rest In Peace Ranger

Beau MacVane

The 33 year old son of Matthew & Sandi MacVane has died.

Beau was an adored son, brother, grandson and uncle. He excelled as a soldier and teammate.

After graduation from college and a bit of soul searching, Beau enlisted in the US Army. He volunteered for, and graduated from, the elite Rangers School and subsequently served five tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The 31-year old survived the war, and was honorably discharged in 2006. Matt and Sandi no doubt breathed a sigh of relief to have him home safely.

While serving his country, Beau earned numerous citations for bravery. However nothing could have prepared him for the enemy that was awaiting him on his return home.

Stepping into civilian life, and eager to pursue his interests in preserving the natural environment, he joined the Department of Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management.

On April 5, 2007 Beau was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. This was the war after the war. For 27 months he fought that disease with Matt and Sandi by his side, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Born on June 4, 1976 and taken from us on June 25, 2009 this man stood as a testament to what some of us in my generation consider the highest attributes of civilized man. During his illness, Beau, with the kind and loving care of his Mother and Father, continued to exhibit the traits that were the mettle of his soul. Above all, courage and good humor, honor, kindness, a genuine concern for others and an abiding love of nature were the ideals that made this man so special. The huge tropical fish tank, build for him to watch the creatures of the sea, which he loved so much, now stands without him. The vacuum left in our society by his passing will not be filled. The debts society owed this man can never be repaid. Those lucky enough to have known Beau will be forever grateful for his acquaintance.

Rest In Peace Ranger

Although Beau has left us, his untimely death has given us an opportunity to honor his memory, as he honored all of us, by his exemplary life.

The disease which took Beau is scarcely known about. The name is familiar enough, but few know any real facts of the disease.

Although the number of deaths from this disease is rising, there is little meaningful research being done. There is so little money available to finance the research necessary to find a cure for this disease that it might be fair to say nothing has changed since Lou Gehrig died with it. There is no cure. There is no hope.

If you feel moved to honor this man please contribute to the ALS Association 561-789-0341 or in the alternative, a Foundation is being set up in Beau’s name. For information you can contact Debby Funk at marcmydog@yahoo.com

BETRAYAL

The weekend has provided time to read the newspapers (even their name is diametrically opposed to truth. They should be called postiche-papers) and watch about 2 hours of television.

Michael Jackson is still ringing in my ears. Not so much the scope of his enterprise, but more the terrible ordeal he seems to have had to go through, just to be himself.

Having had some experience in well publicized “crimes”, I am only too familiar with how distant truth and reality can be, from what you see on TV news.

I’ve met and worked for celebrities who were known world wide. These are people with unimaginable amounts of money. The ones I’ve met have also been extremely intelligent, cautious and for the most part, kind.

Many celebrities know, just as I know, there is a particularly terrifying evil that specializes in stalking their kind. The darkness of this creature, born of humankind, cannot be underestimated. It’s presence is so insidious that when you are hunting it, trying to protect your client, even their families, friends and advisors cannot be trusted. The truth is, even the most efficacious security sometimes will not protect them against this beast. It lives in the dark, and inspires those, closest to the star, to the most disgusting kind of treachery that I deal with. It’s name is Betrayal and it’s history is so old and rooted so deep in the darkness that even I and Wikipedia, cannot definitively cite it’s first kill.

Somehow my investigative intuition tells me that Michael Jackson is another victim of this predator. How could we all have forgotten Anna Nicole so soon after her death? Of course, everyone says “That can’t happen to me.”

So what happened to Michael Jackson? We will never know the truth. At least, I will never know the truth. I am not on the inside, and unless you are, you are never going to know.

This is indeed the land of secrets, and those secrets are protected. We will never see a person exposed for betrayal and at the same time be allowed to see the devastated victim as they truly are. When the media spins betrayal, you would hardly recognize it! They will disguise it and wrap it in a package that calls upon the beast itself, again, to destroy the victim. The second time around it will do so by pointing to clichés like, “She was really asking for that” or “He got what he deserved”.

And we’ll see betrayal in soap operas, and late night talk show hosts will joke about it, pointing to whoever is in the latest crop of Political or Hollywood miscreants, most of whom we can’t stand to begin with. And that’s why they will be chosen to be the victims. Once again we’ll be convinced that only those who “deserve” it, get it. We want to believe, that “they got what they deserved” but that’s not justice. That’s propaganda.

As long as we are willing to accept that betrayal is a means to administer justice to those who deserve it, it will walk among us. And while it lives, it will continue to take some of the brightest people on the planet. The same people who provide us with so much of the beautiful mosaic of our lives. Believe me. They don’t deserve it. No one does.

So it’s Sunday. I have a brief meeting scheduled with an investigator who works for me. He needs some ideas on how to penetrate the security of a palatial condominium in Miami. Seems someone who lives there owes a bank a bunch of money.

When I first heard of the case I thought it would be pretty simple. As it turns out, it’s not quite so simple. Oh the security wont’ be a problem. Most security guards can be compromised in a variety of ways. How we do it depends on how much money it’s worth to the bank to get it done.

I suppose I should start at the front end of this. I got a call from a bank that said they were trying to serve papers on a person who resided in Miami. The lawyer for the bank further stated the amount of the claim (millions) and said they had used another agency without success.

I did some research, and spoke with our firm’s manager in Dade County. She said she thought we could do it, estimated the costs and expenses and I called the bank back. Of course the bank did not want to come up with any money up front (which my firm, without exception, gets) so they delayed another week before finally sending a small retainer.

So where we’re at is, while we are able to walk up to the front desk, I.D. ourselves and get access to the defendant’s unit, there is nothing to stop the security guard from calling the defendant and warning him/her that we are on our way up. So herein lays the problem.

There are laws against warning defendants of the imminent approach of a process server. I don’t know of anyone who has ever been prosecuted for violating those laws so for our purposes they might as well not exist. That brings us back to betrayal.

In my experience security guards protect individuals from process servers for a variety of reasons. Number one reason is they like making the process server’s life difficult and that makes them feel powerful. Number two reason is the defendant is paying them on the side to warn of a process servers approach. Number three reason is that they have an affinity for the defendant or like them for one reason or another and are therefore willing to go out of their way to “help” the defendant. Remember, we are only talking about security guards who are compromised, i.e. they are not at their posts solely to protect their charges in a lawful manner. Many security guards are loyal, law abiding and trustworthy. We’re not talking about those guys here.

Without going into the psychology of why the reasons above tell us everything we know, what we do know is that these guards practice betrayal all the time. They betray their badges by deliberately violating specific criminal statutes as they relate to obstruction of justice. They betray their protectorship by taking money from residents to provide extra services that they do not offer to all residents. Finally they betray the entire concept of laws and justice by deciding that they like someone or someone makes them feel important and they repay that by breaking the law and offering extra protection from process servers at no monetary charge.

These are the things that I am going to go over with the investigator who I am meeting later today. We’ll discuss it and when he leaves he will fully understand the vulnerabilities of these guards predicated upon their documented conduct.

The short and the long of it from an investigative perspective is this: Simply determine which betrayal each guard you are targeting uses. Once that’s done it’s just a matter of deciding how to utilize their weakness, caused by their conduct, to your advantage.

For instance, the guard who really likes the defendant can be countered by a guard who does NOT like the defendant. If one will go over the line to protect him, the other will go over the line to give him up. So you patronize the guard who is protecting the defendant and you satisfy the guard who dislikes the defendant by convincing him he’s helping bring the guy/girl to justice and the guy/girl “deserves it”. If you are asking how I know there will be a “counter” guard there, the answer is I don’t know. But if there is a large staff of security you can almost always find two who disagree. If there is not a guard who does not like the resident, then you can go on to another type of betrayal with another guard.

Anyway, I’m sure you get the idea. For each guard who obstructs you there will be one who will help you. You can pay them, you can satisfy their need to “get even” or you can patronize them and beg for their help. Those are the things, I believe in this case, that it takes to get to the door of the residence without the resident knowing, in advance, that you are there to serve them a summons and complaint.

It’s harder to explain than it is to do. Much of process serving is like that. If someone had told me the secrets when I first started out doing process serving I could have made a fortune. But like most things involving a little art and a little science, you have to learn the tricks yourself. Psychology is a big part of what process servers need and use and the example above of knowing about security guards can be extraordinarily helpful. After learning the principle, now all you have to do is go out with someone who can lead you through an actual implementation. Then you’ll have it all for that particular scenario.

Another Week, Another Tort

Well it’s Friday evening and the week is over. I had no idea how difficult it would prove to be, to take the time to write. However it’s a task that I enjoy so I am determined to pursue it.

I’ve had a few inquiries about learning to serve process. Kind of surprised me. If enough people want to know about it I’ll provide you with all the secrets . I know it backwards and forwards. From the legal as well as the business aspect and I can show you how to make money doing it.

What a week it was. Time goes so fast when you are busy. Sometimes I find myself asking myself if I can really tell the days apart. Sometimes that’s good. Sometimes it’s not.

There were several interesting things that I'd like to write about, but I have not yet devised a formula through which I can facilitate the "protection of the innocent" in my cases!

I am getting some advice on the subject so I hope that the future will bring more realism to my case descriptions, as well as reasonable protection for the people I am talking about. No one likes to see their lives paraded in public. It has become an absolute necessity, that I excercise diligence, to assure that individuals identities are protected. It's all part of the learning process for me.

Last Sunday, as I mentioned in my first post, I attempted to determine whether or not a person was living at a specific address by going to that address and actually observing it. I knew my chances of finding out anything of value were small to none. Nothing ever works when you do it ad hoc. No plans. I just thought, as I have a million times, I’d get lucky. And a million times I’ve been wrong. In this business you’ve got to be prepared to pay for your success with very hard work and a truck load of diligence. Short of that, you are wasting your time. So even with all of my experience, I love to tempt fate once in a while…just to see if she’s finally starting to let up on me. Well, she’s not.

So I drove up there in the evening and sure enough, the subject’s car was in the driveway again. I decided to wait around and see if I could photograph him there. If he did not come out, I was going to be stuck with just seeing the car there without him. That’s what happened the last time I had gone up there.

I parked in front of a large, grand residence, 2 houses away. Naturally the vehicle I was using had dark tinted windows and it’s almost impossible to see if anyone is in the car (there are some really funny stories about being on surveillance and having people come up and lean on the car, which they can’t see into, while you sitting there trying not to move or make any noise).

I sat there for about an hour and generally observed what was going on in the neighborhood. It was pretty quiet. The residence is on a dead end street, in a nice waterfront neighborhood. Just about the time I thought my subject might be leaving for dinner, after having sat where I was for over an hour, a neighbor started to get nosy.

I had noticed this guy walking up and down the street twice in the previous hour and did not think much of it. He was older, 65 or so, very grey, about 6 feet 170 pounds, dressed in shorts and a tee shirt. He seemed to be in pretty good shape, so I thought the walking was probably part of his fitness routine. Well, maybe the first pass was, but the second was definitely inquisitive. As I watched him walk past the second time, he made a determined effort, to see if anyone was in my car.

At that point I had to decide whether or not to stay or leave. If I stayed I would have to confront him, and to do that, I needed a suitable pretext. After he passed me the third time, I knew he would be walking by me again to get back to his residence at the end of the street. I figured I had only a few minutes to make up my mind because I was fairly sure that if I stayed and did not confront him, he would take action of some kind when he got back home. He was just too curious.

I had sized him up as a nosey type when I first saw him. I figured that if I did not get him off my trail on his last pass to home, the action I was thinking he might take would be to call the local police (which irritates them). That would also be an inconvenience to me, because it would (1) give up my surveillance spot, and (2) waste my time while they checked my I.D.

That only left me with confrontation, so I rolled down the driver’s window of my vehicle and prepared to greet him when he came walking back. As he approached, he did not notice the window was down. He finally saw it when he was walking right next to it. I startled him when I said, “Hi. Beautiful evening isn’t it?” in a fairly loud voice.

He came to a screeching halt and stepped back one step. He sized me up and tried to control his anger, obviously precipitated by me, when I startled him. I smiled at him, waiting for him to recover and decide how he was going to respond to me. In about 20 seconds, he was able to regain some composure, but friendly, he was not.

Without preface, he took the offensive and elected to answer my greeting by saying, “What are you doing parked in front of this house for so long?” No doubt that the tone of his voice indicated that he thought he owned the neighborhood!

I looked at him, held up my camera and said, “I take pictures for the bank and as you know this residence is for sale (I had seen the for sale sign in the back yard leaning up against the house and it was dark, no cars in the driveway). I’m supposed to meet someone from the bank here to photograph the interior. Doesn’t look like he’s going to show up. He was supposed to be here by 7:00 pm.”

What do you mean “bank”. Why would any bank want pictures of the inside? He said. His curiosity peaked (I told you he was nosey)

Oh, I said. You didn’t know it was in foreclosure? Well, of course he didn’t, and neither did I, but it was a great way to start a conversation about the people who used to live there. You know. The usual gossip. Mr. Neighborhood Watch said the guy who lived there was supposed to be a big executive, but he, with his years as an executive himself, knew, after observing the man and his wife there for 2 years, that they would never be able to maintain. As we spoke his demeanor began to change. He almost began to pontificate. I guess he was gratified that he was finally proven right about “those damn phoney neighbors”. I’m sure he’s told that same story many times while the people still lived there. Probably to anyone who would listen, but most likely, to, what I could imagine, was his long suffering wife.

After that little conversation he went scurrying home, no doubt to tell Mrs. Neighborhood Watch that he had been right about the “people down the street” all along, again.

I did not see him for the rest of the night. I left at 10:00 pm and did not see the object of my surveillance either. I documented, with photos, my presence and the presence of his vehicle. That’s about all that could be done without more money for surveillance; a real surveillance next time, instead of this hit and miss stuff.

My company is trying to find 2 new Certified Process Servers to serve process in the North end of Palm Beach County. Areas of service are typically divided into easy to serve sections. Right now we’re looking for North of Boynton Beach to Okeechobee Blvd., West to Wellington. Then, the second new server would handle North of Okeechobee all the way to Jupiter, including “the acreage”. I spoke with one guy today. He’s fairly new at it and has not done general work. He’s only served in a specialized area so if we do use him he’ll need training.

I have continued to make inquiries into what law enforcement agencies might be interested in helping my client who was defrauded by a company on the internet for $8k. At this point I’m thinking I may have to tell her I just can’t help her…..no one can. That’s why the crooks in the real world just keep getting richer. The concept of justice just does not work in most cases and it’s not for a lack of laws!

There’s roughly 5082 arrest statute citations in Florida. Oh, that may not sound like many. Maybe someday we’ll list them. Then you can peruse them and estimate how many of them you violate every day. You’ll be surprised at how incredibly easy it is to put you in jail.... and keep you there.

A good summation of my feelings on the matter come from Tommy Chong. A man sitting in the front row of one of Chong’s lectures yelled at Tommy, “ Hey Tommy! What’s it like to be in jail?” Tommy looked at him and slowly shaking his head said, “You’re gonna find out!”

At any rate, so far, I have not found out exactly who to approach about helping her. Lots more happened this week. When I started I thought I’d be able to do a full week, each week and talk about every case, but I’m learning. I’ll just have to pick things that I find interesting and hope you find them the same.

The First Day

I've had friends, in the entertainment and media industry, tell me for years, that they thought I should put my experiences down in writing. My whole argument was that anyone who had not lived it, seen it and understood it, would never believe it. Well, that's changed.

After decades, one man I am particularly proud to call my friend, Thom McFadden, http://actingforreal.com/ and his well thought out words, are starting to make sense. His message then, and now, is that if others can benefit from your insight or advice, then give it freely. He hinted that it might enhance my own introspect. He said intellectual and emotional growth would follow, and that everyone that I knew or worked for, would benefit. By the example of his own exemplary life, dedicated to helping others, he taught me how to start.

So in this starting moment of a new endeavor, I want to thank Thom McFadden, again, for providing so much positive karma and extraordinary attitude, at times in my life that were rarely darker. Thanks Thom!

Moving on. There is nothing that I have ever done professionally, with individuals, that gives me as much satisfaction and emotional "bang", as helping them, and seeing them relieved of their burdens. The absolute minimum result that I strive for, is to enlightened them to a point, where they can successfully deal with reality and move on with their lives. Emotionally or financially.

Dealing with corporations, especially really big ones, has a different kind of reward. It's fascinating. We'll talk about them later if anyone is interested.

I want to make it clear from the start, that this blog is not now, nor will it ever be, intended as a solicitation. If you want to ask questions, have problems etc., I welcome them and will answer without any compensation whatsoever. If it gets to a point where I can't go any further without a legal relationship (attorney client privilege and all that sort of thing) you will already know me well enough to make an informed decision as to whether or not you need to engage my services.

So on to my present tasks. I am now working with several clients, some are law firms and others individuals, attempting to collect debts. Pretty routine stuff these days, but nonetheless important to the people who are owed the money.

I am also looking at an potential investigation involving an internet scam that has defrauded a woman of $8000.00. She called and we spoke. I agreed to look at the case after she told me of her experiences at trying to get "official" help. I don't know whether I'll be able to help her or not. My goal is to find out if there is a law enforcement agency we can get interested enough to take the case. The $8K loss and complexity of the case (due, I believe, in no small part, to the experience of the scammers) are going to pretty much rule us out as investigators for her. Our fees for this kind of case would far exceed her loss and we have no reasonable expectation of recovering any of her money. I do believe we could find these guys and build a case that could be prosecuted in Federal Court, but again, we have an $8000.00 loss and it just does not make any economic sense.

I also have cases pending that involve divorce. Child custody is a large part of one. Seems Mom may have a less than desirable boyfriend and I'm trying to decide what the best way to present our information to my client's lawyer is. In this case, as in many, we were employed exclusive of the client's attorney, by the client himself, and now we are left with the task of dealing with his attorney, who is slightly less than thrilled to have been overruled on a strategy decision involving the case. It's just one of those things that we run into all the time.

I'm going to go out this evening and see if I can find out if a specific person is residing at a specific address which he has stated he is not. It involves business litigation and is not a personal or marital problem. Kind of interesting how the smallest things can become major issues when there is an argument over money!

We're working on a Bahamas Land case. I have started a book titled "Caribbean Gold" that will, eventually describe in detail the largest treasure ever found, anywhere in the world. Strangely enough, almost no one knows about it or even knows that it existed. If you like pirate tales set in the Caribbean, you'll love this one.....only it's absolutely true!

Well, that's it for this first post. I've got notes, and I sincerely hope that the following posts will be interesting, informative and entertaining. I'll keep you informed as to my progress in the few cases I've mentioned. I am trying to get some of the other cases we are working on together and enough information redacted that I can publish them here and give you some real insight into how things work.....really work.

If you have any desire to contact me please do so either through my personal email dleigh@privateyes.net or this blog.