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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Of PIs and VCs
Ugh...
Dear WSJ,

CC: Tim Hay

Note: Drawing erroneous parallels between corporate investigators and the fictional hard boiled gumshoe set - Sam Spade, Phillip Marlowe and the like - is so, so tired.

Perhaps U.S.A. Today could reasonably use that kind of lame comparison for the benefit of their mouth-breathing clientèle, but The Journal is supposed to be written for sophisticated people.

Please respect the intelligence of your readers and trust that they are capable of understanding the role of investigators in the business world at a level beyond clichéd references to mustaches, Ferraris and Hawaiian shirts.

Your pal,

The Daily Caveat
Whew, now that that is out of the way, IF you can get past the pitiful lede, you might enjoy this WSJ piece focusing on investigators serving the venture capital market. It is really not so bad once you get over the hump.

-- MDT

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2 comments DIGG DEL.ICIO.USTECHNORATI
2 Comments.
Anonymous davesaid...
i read it, equally confused, but that's the "new wsj" right? little bit of flash, little bit of credibility, little regard for digging into the issue in a short piece...posted my own little rant on the blog because every single one of their items and resources in a related article this week was - surprise - covered in a similar article that i wrote for competitive intelligence magazine last fall (you can see it under pubs at clewllc.com at top of list, along with the article about 'sizing up talent in a deal')...whatever...
May 15, 2008  
Blogger Francine McKennasaid...
Go get 'em, Michael. Like the image of the accountant with a green eyeshade, that ship passed a long time ago.
May 15, 2008  
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Mapping Connections Between the Powerful
I absolutely love stuff like this... From the NNDB.

Another classic... The sadly no longer updated, They Rule.

And, while I hate to give it up, The Daily Caveat's secret weapon for tracking connections in current news stories - Silobreaker!

Go have fun with their "network" feature.

-- MDT
1 comments DIGG DEL.ICIO.USTECHNORATI
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Blogger Francine McKennasaid...
Wow! I also loved "They Rule." Thanks for the new sources. I will definitely write on this tomorrow.
May 15, 2008  
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 Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Investigative Firm Used to "Spy" on DOJ Investigation?
Did the daughter of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev use a U.S. investigative firm to pry details out of an $84 million Justice Department bribery probe targeting her father?

It certainly seems so. The New York Times reported today that Dariga Nazarbayeva hired investigative firm, GlobalOptions for just such a purpose.

In a 2003 report produced by GlobalOptions and cited by The Times, the firm stated that they "mined connections at the White House, State Department, Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to learn more about the inquiry."

It might comfort you to know (or it might not) that CIA Director James Woolsey and former FBI Directors William Webster and William Sessions have all been affiliated with GlobalOptions in recent years.

I hear that they're all doing quite well in private practice.

-- MDT

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IPOC, Alfa and the Missing Multi-Millionaire
This IPOC story just gets weirder and weirder... Remind me to never, never get in a pitched battle over lucrative telecom contracts with very rich and very shady Russian businessmen.

Keep an eye out for a cameo in the article from the fine folks at Kroll as well as a brief recap of how Diligence LLC's ill advised involvement (and bad judgement) cost them some serious cash.

The IPOC tag below will also lead you to the full background, should you need it.

-- MDT

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Michigan-Based Web Fraudster Faces Commuppence
No really, I am begging you - stop giving these people your money...

Gregory McNight is not really going to produce those 10-15% monthly returns - and yes, his company Legisi Holdings is really just a scam.

Don't believe me? Ask the SEC. They'll tell ya the same.

I just wish we'd been here sooner so we could have helped these poor chumps. I'd really like to hear from SCAM.com forum Junior Member 5Blade to see how he's doing.

If you're out there 5Blade, give us a holler...

--MDT

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 Monday, May 12, 2008
Corporations, Private Investigators and Civil Liberties
This editorial from Eric Schlosser , author of Fast Food Nation, appearing in the New York Times is required reading.

The issue he raises - the use and mis-use of investigators by corporate America is one worth attending to closely.

Of course, all this could be avoided if we had more investigators willing to say No to a client when necessary.

-- MDT
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 Thursday, May 08, 2008
Uphill Battle For Shareholder Suits
The game has changed.

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Kroll Ontrack Decifers Space Shuttle Columbia Hard Drive
Here's a fascinating piece on some fine and admirable work from Kroll Ontrack - salvaging the scientific data on a hard drive recovered from the wreckage of the Space Shuttle Columbia.

The Columbia broke apart during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003. Of the seven crew members there, sadly, were no survivors. A hard thing...

Ontrack was able to preserve much of the contents including data on a test of how xenon gas flows in a zero gravity environment.

Pretty darn impressive for a hard drive that literally fell out of the sky...

-- MDT

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Marsh & McLennan to Break Up Kroll?
That's the word on the street... And there's a hot prospect waiting in the wings.

-- MDT

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 Wednesday, May 07, 2008
P.O. Box Hedge Fund Crumbles
Please stop giving these people your money.
Seriously...

-- MDT

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Top UBS Banker Question on Tax Evasion
U.S. authorities apparently held and questioned, Martin Liechti, UBS's Head of Wealth Management for the Americas as in connection with an ongoing investigation into whether the bank had aided clients in evading taxes.

Certainly some smoke. We'll see whether there's fire to go along with it

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Another German Firm Faces Bribery Probe
This time it's engineering firm, Alstom, which is facing heat from German and Swiss authorities about bribes it may have paid to win contracts throughout Asia.

And in a timely move, European business ethics face increased scrutiny...

-- MDT

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 Tuesday, May 06, 2008
SEC Puts the Kibosh on San Diego Hedge Fund Manager
Plus Money is not exactly a name that would inspire me to invest millions. Sounds like a shady payday loan company and shady it definitely is. The SEC has jumped on Plus Money proprietor, Matthew La Madrid freezing his assets while they sort through his $30 million dollar hedge fund investment fraud.

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2 comments DIGG DEL.ICIO.USTECHNORATI
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Anonymous Anonymoussaid...
Maybe you should try and get all your facts straight,,,before you start accusing people, you PITOHEAD..
May 08, 2008  
Is that you Matthew? And how did you know my wife's pet name for me?

I always assumed it meant something nice, although my Spanish isn't quite as good as hers (or yours, it seems).

Frankly, if you have "facts" you are welcome to post them here. Or better yet, send them along to the SEC. They're the folks investigating.

And Plus Money is still a bad name for a hedge fund.

-- MDT
May 08, 2008  
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