When Russell walks down the street, no one notices, but that’s his job.

Sitting in his chair, he could be just about anyone.  A man of average build in his early 50’s, he dresses casually and keeps his hair relatively short.

Russell is a private investigator and to protect himself and his business he has chosen only to give his first name.  Yes, PI’s do exist outside of Hollywood and no, they don’t constantly carry a magnifying glass.

Tools of the trade

Russell does, however, have the benefit of several tools: “a video camera, informational databases, digital tape recording and a button camera…The button camera literally looks like a button and I can wear it right on my shirt,” says Russell.

Russell has been an investigator for 13 years and it’s rare that he is ever noticed.

“I’ve had over 26,880 hours of observation in my career and I’ve only been burned three times,” Russell said.  By being “burned,” he means being discovered.  “You don’t have to worry though, if I’m following you, you won’t know.  That’s the job, to extract information without the person knowing it’s being extracted.”

“It’s interesting what a little manipulation can accomplish.  I once had someone tell me their driver’s license number, their social security number, their date of birth….I think I even got their mother’s maiden name and home address.”

Hostile clients and nosey neighbors

“You have to be careful in this profession, everything from hostile clients to nosey neighbors can get in the way,” he says.

Russell has had a few run-ins with nosey neighbors, sometimes having to talk himself out of situations, other times having to be rude and other times having to be a little more creative. “A few times I’ve had to pretend to be a dog to get neighbors to leave my car alone…”  He’s not joking either. Depending on the tint of his vehicle, Russell has barked loud and shaken the car pretending to be a vicious dog to get nosey neighbors away from the car window.  He laughs.

“You have to be careful in this profession, everything from hostile clients to nosey neighbors can get in the way.”

“I’m a puzzle kind of guy and I love to use my problem solving skills.  It’s a lot like the medical field, you get presented with a problem and you have to gather information to correct it.”

Background

Russell’s analogy didn’t come without explanation.  Years ago, he was six months away from graduating from medical school.  “I was displeased with the training and decided it wasn’t worth the money.”  On a whim, however, Russell hired a private investigator to find out whether the president of the school was embezzling money.  Together, they discovered that the president had embezzled $250,000 of the school’s money.  “He [the private investigator] said I should try this line of work, so I did.”

Russell spends hour after hour on surveillance, working in conjunction with civil, criminal and domestic issues.  Civil usually involves locating and taking statements for attorneys, while criminal can involve locating witnesses and missing persons.  Domestic cases involve insurance and workman’s compensation fraud, as well as requests from private citizens.

And if you’re wondering whether or not he’ll find your cheating  spouse and teach him/her a lesson, he will, for a price, but the lesson teaching is entirely up to you.

Hours of observation

Russell has spent up to 16 hours in a car on observations, sometimes focusing on a door for eight hours straight.  “I can’t read or talk on the phone, and it’s rare that I listen to music; a ten second distraction can cost me an observation,”  said Russell.  “It can be frustrating, especially when certain bodily functions get in the way, but I’ve got a tool for that.  They call it a Gatorade bottle.”

He also has done some high profile, celebrity stalker cases.  “I am basically hired to stalk the stalker.”

Russell owns his own agency and is licensed in both the states of Arizona and California.  For more information or to hire a private investigator, his website is: www.accuratedetectivegroup.com.