The Sartorial Sleuth - Here's how it's done

Dr. Churchwell, via A Suitable Wardrobe

Kim and I pedaled our bikes down 12th Avenue South on Sunday night in search of a cool glass of wine. Our usual haunt, Rumours, was closed for the night, so we dismounted and walked our bicycles across 12th, chained them to the bench in front of Fish & Co. and strolled inside, sweaty and ready for a drink.

A family of four sat in the booth directly behind us. They were trying to watch the Cubs v. Yankee's game and we were in their line of sight. I recognized the man at the table. Had I met him in the course of work? Had I seen him in court? From the neighborhood?

Then it hit me: I've been studying this man's style for the past several months on A Suitable Wardrobe, one of the best style blogs around. Dr. Andre Churchwell, Nashville's best dressed man. I introduced myself and told him of my semi-stalking practices. He smiled that beautiful smile and introduced Kim and me to his family.

Kim noticed his carnation and commented that I should adopt that practice. Dr. Churchwell entertained us for the next few minutes with a history of the carnation, the button on the lapel, and its importance to Napoleon's army.

In lieu of a long-winded post with my personal ideas of style, I point you now to A Suitable Wardrobe and the series of posts titled, Man In Style. Thank you Dr. Churchwell for a wonderful evening and thank you Will for bringing Dr. Churchwell to our attention.

[FIND] Lexicon - Discourse Analysis

"In the end, discourse analysis is one way to engage in a very important human task. The task is this: to think more deeply about the meanings we give people's words so as to make ourselves better, more humane people and the world a better, more humane place."
- J. P. Gee 

Don Rabon, former Deputy Director of the North Carolina Department of Justice, recently gave a lecture at the ACFE 22nd Annual Fraud Conference. Mr. Rabon is quite possibly a genius. After listening intently for 80 minutes about interview techniques, tied logically to historical literature (Interviewing From Head to Poe), I found myself lost in words; the dissection of words, the parsing of sentences, and the importance of listening and recording (documenting).

I left the class and near sprinted to the ACFE Bookstore, set up in the voluminous exhibit hall, and picked up my first Don Rabon book, Investigative Discourse Analysis. I read the book on the way home on a long flight from San Diego back to Nashville. It's a language nerd's dream.

Upon arriving back at my office the following day, I tried a small experiment. Several months ago a long time client asked me to look into a couple of emails he had received. They weren't necessarily threatening, but they were - just mean. We tried to identify the sender and have a strong idea who the passive-aggressive-cyber-punk was. We could not, however, tie them specifically to the emails. They used a gmail account, more on that at a later date, which when used properly is a fantastic way to mask one's identity.

We did have one email from the suspected ill-meaning-emailer denying all knowledge of the affair. Well, I put that denial email, the statement, under serious scrutiny using Mr. Rabon's book as a guide.

Structure - The email, the suspect's statement, showed structural imbalance, indicating that it was deceptive on its form. The anonymous-jackass-email-fiend told her account of the incident. The prologue made up roughly 10% of the narrative. The actual event (the sending of the email) took up 30%. The remaining 60% of the text was dedicated to the epilogue and a string of negations and denials. Structurally, this narrative is seriously indicative of deception, but it was the analysis of specific words that caught my attention.

Word Choice - The disgruntled-email-bully used the pronoun I, exclusively, throughout the first part of the email. She switched to a near exclusive use of the pronoun Me in the last part of the narrative. Indicating that she had somehow a passive role, almost a victim.

Sentence Length - When the narrative turned to the actual event, her Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) dropped from a Mean of 13.3 to truncated sentences of 5 to 7 words or less. Further indication of deception.

Other issues - The denial email, which again equated to a statement, had several other issues. The most interesting point I noted in the email was the bookending of the statement, first sentence and last sentence, with abjuration (I don't mean to upset you, but...).

I would not feel comfortable approaching a court, a lawyer, or a jury with my brief analysis. I do not possess the skill and training to apply this type of analysis in detail or for court testimony. I do, however, feel comfortable that we now know, based an analysis of the denial email, who wrote the original string of nasty notes.

This, for me, falls into the category of simply cool. If you get the chance, click over to Amazon or the ACFE bookstore and pick up a copy of Don Rabon's book, Investigative Discourse Analysis.

ACFE Fraud Conference - Day 3

All of the sessions today, at least the ones I attended, were informative and entertaining. The class on interview skills was particularly creative. Don Rabon, the North Carolinian with the brilliant southern accent and winner of the ACFE speaker of the year award, managed to tie interview skills to literary references from Shakespeare to Poe. Mr. Rabon clicked his way through a deck of slides and videos like a presenter at a TED conference. If you ever have the chance, take a class, any class, taught by Don Rabon, do it.

The cocktail party on the roof of the Hard Rock Cafe extended well past the allotted two and a half hours. It seems these fraud fighters know how to throw a party. Great chance to hang out with some old friends and meet several new friends.

More later.

ACFE Fraud Conference - Day 2

As usual, The ACFE has hosted a magnificent event. From the opening ceremony to the last session of the day, entertaining and informative.

I particularly enjoyed the talk from Joan Pastor in the morning general session. Ms. Pastor took the podium after the opening speeches and owned the room for far too short a time. I could have listened to her all morning. I am officially begging the ACFE to bring her back for more.

My favorite part of the day, aside from the evening cocktails, was a presentation on how technology has changed fraud investigation. Jean-Francois Legault is a large man, very large man, with a personality to match. He is a perfect example of the level of professionalism and skill that the ACFE has amassed. Professional experience paired with presentation skills, and what appears to be a very healthy avoidance of the standard bullet-point-boresome-PowerPoint-sleep-aid usually employed by Conference speakers. Thank you Mr. Legault.

Assuming I have the energy, I'll try and post again this afternoon. We'll see.

ACFE Fraud Conference - Day 1 (Part 2)

As usual, the ACFE delivers with a great educational offering, Social Networking. Ms. Hetherington put on a fantastic show. @data2know...She fishes, plays golf, and fights fraud... How cool can a person be.

ACFE Fraud Conference - Day 1 (part 1)

I got in last night around 7:00. Checked in, settled in, and struck out in search of a good martini. Found one at Royal India. There was an ACFE sign in the window.

This morning I strolled the Gaslamp and noticed that most restaurants have an ACFE sign in the window, including the Gaslamp Strip Club, which gave me pause. Turns out it's a steak house.

Not sure what to expect from the next several days, but I'm looking forward to learning a lot and meeting some good people.

More later.

[FIND] Vice - Jim Rockford

"This is Jim Rockford. At the tone leave your name and message; I'll get back to you." - Answering machine message at the Rockford Agency.

It's sometimes hard to craft a story about someone you idolize. Jim Rockford, for lots of people my age and older, is the iconic modern private investigator. There were others before and of course there's magnum and that passel of PIs that came later, but Rockford is, for many, simply the best.

He lived in a trailer (that seconded as an office), drove a gold Pontiac Firebird, and owned a handgun that, according to him, "I just point it. I don't shoot." Rockford entertained flight attendants on layover, continuously bothered his cop buddies, and spent quality time with his old man, Rocky (see photo at right). 

 

He was, as was the era, a bit of a sartorial mess. But he had a life that most men envied. 

An ex-con: "I was pardoned." 

An optimist: "Yeah but look at it this way, an inch or two to the left and he'd have missed me completely." 

A fair fighter: "Ow. If I could do that without a roll of quarters in my hand, I'd be a terror." 

A coiner of classic phrases: "Freeze turkey!"

The Rockford Files was a virtual one-liner factory and James Gardner could deliver those lines like no other. So, it is with respect, admiration, and honor that we at [FIND] Investigations bring you this months [FIND] Vice:

The Cocktail - actually a guest post from our friends over at Q103 in Albany, NY, with the perfect tag line: Go Rock (ford) Yourself. Thank you Brian Bushner, Digital Program Director at Townsquare Media for a fantastic guest appearance here at [FIND] Vice. Here's what Brian has to say:

--------------------

What Beer Would Jim Rockford Drink?

I’m a huge fan of Classic TV shows –  call it part of my nerd charm. I watch The Rockford Files nearly every night and I’m pretty annoyed that NBC is so out of ideas that they are going to remake this classic. So I ask the big question: what would Jim Rockford drink?

When Jim wasn’t being shot at while working on a case that he'd likely never get paid for, he enjoyed sitting in his trailer eating Oreos, or going out to a good steak dinner, or a spicy taco from his favorite restaurant, Casa Taco. Jim always had a beer too with that stuff. Usually it was in a can at home or what I’m pretty sure was a lager at a restaurant or bar.

Beer was pretty boring in the mid to late 1970s. Beers popular at that time included Miller High Life, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Schlitz, and a very limited supply of imported beers for variety.  Things started getting better when the ban on homebrewing was lifted in October 1978. The entire microbrewery movement is a fairly recent thing too.

Basically, Rockford was a beer lover with limited options. But if he could sip a cold one today,  here are a few I'd like to pair with his favorite three foods:

Oreos – best known for dunking in milk, dunk in beer at your own risk. I’d say a chocolate and vanilla stout. Breckenridge Brewery makes an awesome vanilla stout, and the Creme Brulee Stout from Southern Tier Brewing Company goes perfectly with Oreos. Very vanilla scent, along with some chocolate and both scents translate to flavor. 

Steak dinner? I’d go with the Brown Ale from Brooklyn Brewery, a great beer which isn’t too heavy. It goes well with a hearty meal, and the flavor pairing with steak is phenomenal. This beer smells like maple and brown sugar. The sweet chestnut flavors mixed with beef (especially grilled) plays a symphony of delight in your mouth. This beer has a low alcohol content so it’s okay to have a second one because once you taste the flavor combinations you’ll want to keep the flavor flowing.

Jim also liked a “spicy taco” from a fictional local joint. Usually I suggest anything with lots of hops, like an IPA, with a spicy food because the hops help cool the burn and the bitter + spicy flavor contrast is one of my favorites. 

Let’s pair Redhook ESB with the spicy taco. The sweet/butter flavors with the spice kicks the flavor up a notch. There are enough hops in this beer to take it a step further and have it with a spicy fish taco. If you take a sip of this as a chaser, the fish flavor returns for a second quick round. It’s a neat flavor trick!

Not sure if Jim would actually drink all that but it was fun to speculate, no?

Thanks again to our friends over at Albany's very own Q103, Go Rock Yourself.

--------------------

The Cigar - Actually a cigar
By: Joe Zike, Cigar Expert, formerly of UpTown's Smoke Shop. 

Padron 1926 Anniversary Series

Length: 5-1/2" 

Ring Gauge: 52

Filler: Nicaraguan

Binder: Nicaraguan

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro

Rockford knows how to relax, and he's going to need to after getting caught up in his friends' activities, a bathroom brawl or two, and a car chase in his Pontiac Firebird. He'll take time out to go fishing, and he's gonna bring a cigar along. It'd be the Padron 1926 Anniversary Series #2 maduro. Its dark wrapper gives the cigar a creamy undertone. As the cigar smokes, peppery spice and hickory notes alternate and are kept in check by the creamy undertone. Whether he catches any fish or not doesn't matter. 

On a personal note: We said a temporary goodbye to out friend Joe last Wednesday night. He's off to Germany for a summer internship at journalism school. We're proud of Joe and we wish him well. Give us a call when you get back this direction, we'll share a cigar and a glass of wine at Rumours.