"For Your Peace Of Mind, Let Us Uncover the Truth" CA P.I. Lic. 21673
Actual Cases
Disclaimer - All investigative work performed by Butler & Associates Private Investigations is confidential and will not be released to ANY third party without the expressed written consent of the Client. The below listed cases are posted at either the expressed request of our clients or are public court record and include JPEG images and WAV files that may be considered graphic or disturbing to some viewers.
On February 4, 2006, the NBC news network contacted this office to ask if we had any clients who would permit NBC reporters to ride along with our investigators. One very courageous female client volunteered her case, as long as her identity, and the identity of her fiance, was protected.
To view the story and the newscast, please play the below video:
Our female client reported that her wedding date in June 2006 was approaching rapidly. Her fiance was beginning to exhibit signs of infidelity, which was causing her tremendous anxiety. A surveillance strategy was reached. First, our client brought in her personal vehicle for the installation of a tracking device. This allowed not only our client, but also our investigators, to track the location of her car via computer. Second, our client told her fiance that she was going out of town to visit friends for the upcoming weekend. This strategy, known as "paving the way", simply made it easy for the fiance to cheat if he so desired. Finally, our client switched cars with her fiance, placing him in the tracked vehicle. The rest was relatively easy.
On the evening of February 4th, our investigators quickly located our client's vehicle in an East Bay shopping mall parking lot. There, they observed our client's fiance to enter the car and depart the area. He was followed to a nearby apartment complex, where he was observed to pick up his "other girlfriend". The car was then followed into downtown San Francisco to Pier 39, where investigators obtained very incriminating evidence of infidelity. This evidence later ended up on the evening news.
Our client, naturally hurt by the revelation of infidelity, called off her June 2006 wedding. She has since recovered very well and is reportedly dating a much more trustworthy individual.
Undercover Infidelity Sting - March 2007
During her initial consultation, our Client advised (among other things) that various friends had told her that they had seen her husband in out-of-the-area bars with other women. When our Client confronted her husband, he not only denied this behavior, but accused her friends of lying. Her husband exhibited numerous "red flag" behavior patterns, including picking fights as an excuse to leave the house. Ultimately, staff investigators determined that the best possible course of action would be an undercover sting, as the husband fit the profile of a "player". A GPS unit was installed in the husband's car that same day, as our Client just happened to drive his car to this meeting.
On March 10, 2007, our Client "set the stage" for the sting, advising her husband that she was leaving town to visit her sister approximately 100 miles away. This "visit" required an overnight stay, so the husband believed that he had a free evening. That evening, the GPS signal from the husband's car led our undercover team to a Bay Area bar. The undercover girls were hit on by the husband within 5 minutes. Acting on instructions from our Client, our undercover girls allowed the husband to act out his intentions to a limited degree. Utilizing a hidden camera concealed in her purse, our "control" girl recorded the husband getting very intimate with the undercover "bait" girl.
The above image clearly demonstrates (despite the low-light bar room) the husband's intentions.
Not satisfied with just one undercover girl, our Client's husband soon began making advances on our "control" girl, too.
Our Client's husband eventually pulled both of our undercover decoys onto his lap. Based on the provided hidden camera footage, our Client verified that the rumors she had been hearing about her husband were true.
Inter-State Infidelity Sting - December 2007
Our client, a stay-at-home mother of two, visited our web site and confirmed several of the infidelity signs her husband was exhibiting. Despite confronting her husband (an error) and receiving the standard "You're crazy if you think I'm having an affair" response, she had computer spyware installed on the family computer. The spyware revealed more than she had expected; her husband was actively seeking out women on the internet by posting ads for himself on various porn sites, as well as moving money into new bank accounts (an act she did not know was happening).
During her appointment with our investigators, it was determined that an infidelity sting would be the best strategy to prove his infidelity, as her husband was exhibiting behavior consistent with "playing the field", as opposed to being involved in a standard affair with one woman. This "player mentality", simply put, meant that the husband's behavior would be quite predictable if he met any attractive female. The challenge would be how and where to introduce our undercover female decoy to the husband, who was a high-level corporate executive who traveled extensively and had lots of scheduling freedom.
Our client advised that her husband would be taking a business trip to Hawaii during the first week of December. The computer spyware had revealed that her husband spent lots of time at hotel bars; thus, logic would dictate that we place an undercover decoy at his hotel bar.
On the evening of December 7, 2007, the husband entered the outdoor hotel bar and, as expected, spotted our undercover female decoy sitting alone at the bar.
Our surveillance team observed as the husband quickly removed his wedding ring and sat down next to the decoy at the bar. The husband told our decoy that he was single and had "lots of money". Our client, upon seeing the above image and hearing the conversation (emailed immediately after it happened), wanted as much evidence as possible of her husband's infidelity and spending habits with other women.
The next day, her husband met our investigator at the pool. For hours, the husband swam, ordered drinks, and kissed the undercover decoy, all under the watchful eyes of our surveillance team, who recorded just about everything.
This strategy provided our client with the irrefutable evidencelishe needed to realize that she was not crazy, but absolutely correct in her suspicions. She further realized that ANY GIRL her husband found attractive could have been substituted for our decoy, anywhere, anytime.
Undercover Psychic Sting - February 2008
Our client, a San Francisco Bay Area psychic, reported to our investigators that a rival family of psychics operating out of Oakland, California was systematically victimizing unsuspecting customers by making fraudulent claims and threatening anyone who would questions their tactics. An undercover sting was immediately initiated.
The staff at Butler & Associates knew that the right decoy was imperative to the successful execution of this undercover sting. Our craigslist job posting resulted in hundreds of applicants; during an exhaustive interview process for the proper decoy, investigators met "Betty", a 60-year old woman who had the right combination of daring character and unassuming appearance. Investigators outfitted "Betty" with expensive jewelry and sent her into the psychic for a reading. Our decoy uncovered behavior by the Oakland psychic that proved our client's allegations of misconduct.
The actions of the Oakland psychic recorded by our investigators were documented on an ABC-TV KGO I-Team news story that aired in February 2009. The Butler & Associates undercover sting was featured prominently in this news story. As a result of the joint efforts of Butler & Associates and the I-Team, psychic Janet Adams was arrested on charges of elder theft.
Child Custody Case / D.U.I. - December 2008
Our client, a divorced mother of two, was ordered by the court to share custody of her children with her ex-husband, despite the ex-husband's propensity to drink too much and engage in drug use. Our client's fears were realized when the children reported to her that their father drank beer before driving them around. Our client reported to her attorney that her husband was drinking and driving when he had custody of the children; however, without proof of such behavior, her attorney correctly advised that the court would not listen to such claims.
Our client, upon meeting with our investigators, decided that a modified undercover sting would reveal if her ex-husband had a propensity to drink and drive. Since the ex-husband was active on several internet dating sites, introducing him to one of our undercover decoys (posing as a female internet dating site member) was easy. The ex-husband predictably suggested meeting our undercover decoy at his favorite bar that evening. Once at the bar, he met our attractive undercover decoy and began drinking. And drinking. And drinking. Our secondary investigative team, assigned to monitor the ex-husband, determined that the ex-husband's balance and coordination appeared to be impaired.
After our undercover decoy departed the bar, the ex-husband was observed to enter his vehicle and depart the area. Our secondary investigative team quickly notified local law enforcement; the ex-husband was stopped and arrested for D.U.I.
As a result of this investigation and modified undercover sting, our client now had proof to present to the court that her ex-husband was indeed drinking and driving. Her children were protected from further child endangerment, much to her relief. Her ex-husband's visitation was severely curtailed as a result; he was further ordered to attend AA meetings.
On September 20, 2009, HBO premiered a new television series titled "Bored to Death". The series followed a writer, named Jonathan Ames, based in Brooklyn who moonlights as an unlicensed private investigator who posts ads on craigslist. The main problem with performing unlicensed private investigator services is that it is illegal. Butler & Associates investigators recognized the potential for copycat behavior by persons posing as investigators who also have criminal backgrounds, possibly leading to serious consequences for unsuspecting citizens.
Working with the I-Team at ABC-TV affiliate KGO-7 News in San Francisco, our investigators periodically checked craigslist over a two-month period and located multiple ads posted by unlicensed people posing as investigators. Our investigators performed several undercover stings to bring attention to the serious risks of hiring unlicensed private investigators and persons posing as licensed investigators. To view the evening news story broadcast on March 1, 2010 about these undercover stings, click here.
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