The following is a press release put out by LexisNexis regarding their background screening solutions offering. We are republishing this release for informational purposes only.

The LexisNexis Background Screening press release –

LexisNexis(R) Announces Background Screening Solutions; Screening Solutions Help to Mitigate the Risk of Hiring New Employees
BOCA RATON, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–March 1, 2006–LexisNexis Risk Management(TM), a leading provider of information and services solutions, announced its availability of pre-employment and background screening products to help companies make informed hiring decisions quickly. The LexisNexis(R) Screening Solutions include a range of products that can offer timely and comprehensive screening for new employees, partners, vendors and volunteer workers.

Industry reports show that over 33 percent of job applicants misrepresent themselves regarding their work history, 31 percent misrepresent their educational credentials or professional licenses and 10 percent of all applicants do have some type of criminal record.

“An average company spends typically $7K to $10K per hire when you consider the cost of recruiting, hiring, training and turnover of employees,” said Jim Collins, vice president and general manager of the risk management unit of LexisNexis. “Businesses have an obligation to know who they are hiring to protect their customers, employees, and their company reputation. They need to confirm if this candidate really did go to this school, do they have the needed professional licenses, did they really do the job that they said they did on their resume.”

Human resource officials have seen an emergence of challenges such as a rise of violence in the workplace, globalization, employee theft, labor shortages and mitigating the upcoming wave of baby boomers ready to retire.

To help companies mitigate the risk of hiring new employees, LexisNexis Screening Solutions include the following products:

– Full Service Screening: Designed for larger organizations that require a full menu of screening options and services including data integration and personalized account management.

– Express Screening: Designed for smaller organizations that need fast, easy and online screening with built-in reporting tools.

– Specialty Screening: Can be created for organizations – often volunteer or event-related – that need customized screening applications, including applicant self-pay options.

– Vendor Screening: Designed for organizations that need to perform specific business screening searches.

“Background screening should be an important part of a company’s overall talent management strategy,” Collins said. “Industry reports consistently show that having the right person in the right job increases a company’s bottom line.”

The Smoking Gun web site has published the full indictment against Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano.

You can read the Anthony Pellicano indictment online @ Pellicano Wiretap Indictment.

Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano was indicted today on racketeering charges surrounding alleged illegal activities that include paying Los Angeles and Beverly Hills police officers to provide him with private information on people.

Pellicano’s attorney Steven Gruel said the indictment included 105 counts against Pellicano. In addition to racketeering, Pellicano was charged with unauthorized computer access, interception of wired communications and possession of a wiretap device.

Pellicano pleaded not guilty to the charges. Some of Pellicano’s famous celebrity clients include Michael Jackson, Sylvester Stallone as well as numerous high-powered attorneys and agents.

The next time you want to investigate a cheating girlfriend, or cheating boyfriend for that matter, maybe you should buy an African Grey Parrot instead of hiring a private eye. CNN.com is reporting on a brilliant, talking bird that revealed the words and phrases of a cheating girlfriend to its owner.

From the article –

A computer programmer found out his girlfriend was having an affair when his pet parrot kept repeating her lover’s name, British media reported Tuesday.

The African grey parrot kept squawking “I love you, Gary” as his owner, Chris Taylor, sat with girlfriend Suzy Collins on the sofa of their shared flat in Leeds, northern England.

But when Taylor saw Collins’s embarrassed reaction, he realized she had been having an affair — meeting her lover in the flat whilst Ziggy looked on, the UK’s Press Association reported.

Ziggy even mimicked Collins’s voice each time she answered her telephone, calling out “Hiya Gary,” according to newspaper reports.

Call-center worker Collins, 25, admitted the four-month affair with a colleague called Gary to her boyfriend and left the flat she had shared with Taylor, 30, for a year.

Taylor said he had also been forced to part with Ziggy after the bird continued to call out Gary’s name and refused to stop squawking the phrases in his ex-girlfriend’s voice, media reports said.

Unfortunately, Taylor had to give up the parrot, after the bird could not stop repeating the cheating “sweet nothings” of his ex-girlfriend.

You can read the entire article @ Mouthy parrot ‘reveals sex secret’.

South Bend Tribune reporter Robin Toepp has written a short, interesting interview with local private investigator Steve Radde about the P.I. profession.

The article is available @ Investigator takes interesting with mundane.

The American Daily is reporting that high-profile private eye to the stars Tony Pellicano is the subject of an ongoing federal investigation into illegal wiretapping. The investigation has the potential to include a who’s who list of entertainment and political celebrity figures.

From the article –

There are probably two private detectives who are considered the leading private eyes for the stars: Former NYPD detective Bo Dietl on the east coast, and Anthony Pellicano on the west coast.

Of the two only one — Tony Pellicano — is the subject of an ongoing federal investigation into illegal wiretapping by a high-profile private detective in Hollywood known as The Pelican. Two witnesses — his ex-girlfriend, and the other police officer — on Tuesday pleaded guilty to having lied to a grand jury about the detective’s use of wiretaps and other illegal tactics.

These pleas, one coming from the former wife of the actor Keith Carradine, add grist for the mill of a criminal case that some suspect will rise into the highest echelons of the Hollywood elite. When the investigation first began, the studio establishment in Los Angeles was on the edge of their seats. Suddenly The Pelican’s client list became a list of suspects for the feds.

At the center of this blossoming investigation is Anthony Pellicano. Until the time the police raided his Hollywood offices in 2002, he was hailed as one of the most successful private detectives in the city, with a roster of clients that included A-list actors and some of the industry’s most important lawyers who represent Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Michael Jackson and many other showbiz bigwigs.

Pellicano is already in prison on federal charges of possessing explosives and grenades at his office, although he is due to be released on parole next month. So far, the federal government has filed no new charges against him, but federal investigators aren’t finished with their widening probe.

The Pelican was also suspected of being retained by Bill and Hillary Clinton as part of their network of goons who harassed women who were considered a political liability for Bill Clinton while he was president. The well-paid private eye may have been involved in the Clintons’ clandestine activities such as digging up dirt on those they deemed a threat.

You can read the entire article by Jim Kouri @ Hollywood Private Eye to the Stars and the Clintons in Hot Water

John Christoffersen from the Associated Press has written an article on some problems with information provided to employers by criminal background check providers. Lawsuits are resulting from errors in criminal records that show people with criminal and felony convictions in cases where none exist and show convicted criminals and sex offenders with a clean record. As a result, negligent hiring lawsuits are rising.

According to the article, there are no best practice standards in the industry for criminal background check providers to adhere to.

From the article –

“It’s very important and it’s getting more important,” said Robert Belair, a privacy attorney in Washington and editor of the Privacy and American Business newsletter. “The incidence of negligent hiring lawsuits is way up.”

But the burgeoning field lacks consistent standards, causing errors that can disqualify reputable job applicants, some industry experts and consumer advocates say. When criminals slip through with clean records, the consequences are more severe.

…

“There are no standards for what is a background check,” said Tal Moise, chief executive of Verified Person, a New-York based company that performs background checks. “This is an industry that has delivered historically a very low quality product.”

A national task force funded by the Justice Department last month recommended national standards for screening companies.

“The nation’s security, as well as on-the-job efficiency, and certainly civil liberties and privacy interests, all demand the development of a blueprint,” the task force concluded.

You can read the entire article @ Background-check policies can create major problems.

Pat Burson from the Seattle Times has written an excellent article on ways to catch a cheating wife or cheating husband. The article discusses the use of high tech spy gadgets, including GPS tracking systems and newly-available chips that can be placed in your spouse’s cell phone to secretly record conversations, to buying infidelity kits; hiring a private investigator or using your own investigative senses to conduct a do-it-yourself infidelity investigation.

An infidelity poll of more than 19,000 anonymously-surveyed married men and women revealed that 13% of married women and 22% of married men admitted to having an extramarital affair.

From the article –

So, how can you be so sure they are — or aren’t?

Relationship and infidelity experts, private investigators, technology specialists and divorce attorneys say if you know the subtle and not-so-subtle signs to look for, they’ll point you to the answer.

You can put your five senses to work. Or you can shell out hundreds — or thousands — of dollars to hire a private detective. You also can invest in the newest high-tech products on the market — computer spyware, electronic tracking devices, in-home evidence-gathering kits among them — in an effort to catch cheating mates.

For more details on the how-to’s of catching a cheating wife or cheating husband, you can read the entire article @ Spy gadgets and private eyes can help you catch a cheating spouse.

The Jan/Feb 2006 issue of Professional Investigator Magazine includes articles on investigating sexual harrassment cases; spyware; developing and managing informants; satellite images; evaluating expert witnesses; approaching adverse witnesses and the death of landlines.

PI Magazine

Here is an interesting list of Christmas signs and signals to alert you to a possible cheating husband.

Although this handy infidelity tip sheet from well-known infidelity expert Ruth Houston was written for wives who want to catch a cheating husband; the advice could be applied by any man or woman who is looking into a cheating husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriend.

From the article –

During the 2 to 3 weeks after Christmas, any wife who suspects infidelity can find telltale signs to confirm her cheating husband’s extramarital affair.

“A cheating husband can be exposed by the Christmas gifts he gives or the Christmas gifts he has received,” says Ruth Houston, infidelity expert and author of “Is He Cheating on You?– 829 Telltale Signs”. “During the 3 week period after Christmas, a wife who suspects her husband of infidelity, can usually find several telltale signs to confirm that he’s having an affair. Knowing what to look for is the key.”

You can read the entire infidelity tip sheet by Ruth Houston @
After Christmas, Look for These Telltale Signs of a Cheating Husband’s Affair.