Investigations and emails continue

Happy New Year! Okay, it’s February so maybe I should say Happy Valentine’s Day. I’ve been on sabbatical and it’s been refreshing. Still writing, of course, just not focusing on the locksmith industry.

It’s been an interesting year (11 months actually) writing a blog. But it’s been tough because blogs demand frequency and consistency. Investigative journalism doesn’t work that way. It requires research, documentation, fact-checking, multiple interviews, re-interviews, writing, re-writing several times, then sending it to your editor. By the way, my editor, Carol Leff, is pretty good at not letting anything get by her.

Investigative reports cannot be scheduled for weekly postings as much as I’d like it to happen that way. I usually work on two or more investigations at the same time. If another important story breaks, I’ll mention the publication/reporter and provide a link to it instead of jumping into another investigation. In that way, I can focus on what I feel are the issues of the locksmith industry instead of concerns about a weekly post.

Favorite emails

My favorite emails by far are from locksmiths and consumers who thank me for the work I do. It’s gratifying.

Second on my list of favorite emails are fellow reporters who are working on their own stories about locksmith scammers. TV reporters generally don’t have the time or budget to invest in lengthy investigations. Last fall one news reporter asked how I came up with the figures for my phone directory story. I detailed the interviews and steps taken to get accurate numbers. Since I haven’t seen his story yet, I’m assuming he couldn’t invest the time to investigate in his area. News organizations, both print and TV, are short-staffed and it’s a growing problem in the industry. Many of the posts on news forums deal with the lack of funds for investigations.

Finally, I don’t usually receive emails from an editor of a national locksmith publication complimenting my “solid investigative skills and writing.” (Thanks, Carol, for making me look good!) She asked that I contact her about writing a monthly column for them. About a week later I attempted to get back to her and she was no longer listed on the website for the publication. Yet another staff cutback. C’est la vie!

Bogus locksmith emails

There were several attempts by locksmith scammers to get listed as legitimate locksmiths on my www.find-a-legit-locksmith.com when it was up. I also get comments from scammers trying to post comments to my blog posts. I guess they think I’ll list them or post their comments with a link to their business without checking them out first. Not likely. One Miami locksmith scammer wanted to get listed so I asked for his locksmith license (required in Dade County). Never heard from him again.

Anonymous emails

An anonymous email from my www.find-a-legit-locksmith.com site showed up in my inbox last year. Some one sure was mad at a Spring Hill locksmith. They passed on his name, business name, address and phone number along with information that he was a convicted felon, drug addict and had protection orders out on him. Ouch! That sounds personal.

So was it true? I don’t know. I did some initial checking but the locksmith had a fairly common name and no birth date was given. He was not legally registered in Hernando County with a business license and there was no response to my email to the sender. I did find two criminal cases for someone with his name – one case did not end in a conviction and the other was really bizarre. A 2006 drug possession case was suddenly closed and a death certificate was entered into the court records. So I’m thinking that wasn’t him. Sometimes investigations just dead end.

I had just about decided not to waste my time investigating any more anonymous email writers when I got one from a former employee of David Peer of Dependable Locks, Inc. Peer owned the Florida locksmith call center that sent out phony locksmiths. After several email interviews, my editor and I decided the timing wasn’t right to release the story. We needed more than one source to verify the story, plus we couldn’t risk the informant (or myself) becoming a target of these criminal enterprises types who use lawsuits, death threats and other intimidation practices to silence those who attempt to expose them. Some of what this informant, (who later revealed part of his identity), told me was uncovered in court documents during Peer’s arrest last November. The rest, I’ll leave for another post.

Write me if you have a particular topic you want to see covered.

In the meantime, Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Locksmiths, Florida and the Russian mob

The New York Times has a blog called The Board written by a group of journalists on their editorial board. Last August I happened to read board member Verlyn Klinkenborg’s post entitled “A Bad Day.” It was a litany of exasperating experiences that piled up all in one day.

Klinkenborg’s bad day began as he left for work. He found he was locked in his apartment with a deadbolt that wouldn’t retract.

What originally intrigued me about the story was Klinkenborg’s next sentence:

“If you’ve ever called an emergency locksmith on a Sunday, you know what followed – a visit from the Russian mafia, which accepts only cash on weekends, a whopping bill, and a grudging drive in the locksmith’s van to a nearby ATM.”

“Hum, so the Russian mafia is probably controlling the whole locksmith industry in New York City,” I thought. “Glad we don’t have that problem in Florida.”

I didn’t think about it again until ten days later when I received a call on our business line from a man with a heavy Russian accent and broken English.

“Hello. What is Martin Security? You a locksmith?”

“Yes, Sir, we are,” I replied. “How can I help you?”

“I find you online. Craig’s List. This is Locksmith 911. I lost a man in your area and need someone to take care of a lady. You do Orlando?

“Yes, now, what did you say your name was?” I asked. “Are you in Central Florida?”

“This is Russell with Locksmith 911. We work all over Florida. I lose a man. You do the job? Yes?”

“Yes,” I said. Since I was at my computer I did a reverse phone number search on the name and number listed on my digital display. His name and number matched, but he was calling from a landline in Manhattan, NY.

As Russell gave me the particulars of the job, I searched the Florida Department of Corporations website, but a company by the name of Locksmith 911 was not found. A dozen businesses were listed under Russell’s name, but all were medical industry companies (medical supplies, doctor groups, HMO’s). Russell must have a common Russian surname.

“I give you this one free,” said Russell about the financial arrangements. “Next time you pay me 30 percent and you get to keep 70 percent. Okay?”

“Okay,” I said. “But where do I send you the money? What’s your address here in Florida?

“Next time I call, I give you my address and you mail me a business check.”

“Right,” I thought, “I’m going to send my check with my bank account numbers on it to someone who may be in the Russian mafia. No way!”

I assured Russell that if for some reason we couldn’t do the job, I would get another locksmith to do it. We hung up and after thinking about what transpired, I decided to toss this hot potato to Jerry, a fellow locksmith, who accepted the job after I explained the situation.

Russell’s Florida business must have slowed down or he discovered I passed the job on. In either case, he’s never called again.