James Rapp, 39, was sentenced January 20, 2000, to 100 days in jail, with credit for time served, and four years probation for his part in a scheme to use fraud to obtain confidential information for clients throughout the country.

Rapp was indicted in Jefferson County with his wife, Regana Rapp, 29, on two counts of violations of Colorado's organized Crime Statute.

Regana Rapp pleaded guilty to one count of the indictment on December 2, 1999. James Rapp pleaded guilty to one count December 6, 1999. Regana Rapp was given a two-year deferred sentence. If she stays out of trouble, the conviction can be removed from her record.

As a condition of his probation, James Rapp cannot work as a private investigator.

The clients who paid James Rapp for confidential information may not be off the hook with his conviction. He was reported to be cooperating with investigators.

When sentencing Rapp, Jefferson County Judge Thomas Woodford reportedly chided Rapp for grand jury testimony that underlined Rapp's pride in his skill at deceiving people.

The FTC Fights Back

The Rapps operated Touch Tone Information, Inc, a company cited in a civil action in Federal District Court in Denver by the Federal Trade Commission as an "information broker" engaged in illegally obtaining and selling private financial information.

The FTC is the Federal Agency charged with the enforcement of federal law governing how, when, for whom, and under what conditions personal and confidential information can be obtained and disseminated, including credit reports, bank, medical, telephone, and other records.

This case by the FCC is the first Federal action against companies, like Touch Tone, that use pretexts, ruses, to illegally obtain confidential information.

As of February 22, 2000, a motion to dismiss by the defendants was pending.

At issue apparently is the fact that Touch Tone has been closed down and the fact that the Colorado criminal case has concluded. With the business closed, a Federal injunction may be moot, but the Rapps still may face substantial financial penalties in Federal court.

Efforts are underway in state legislatures and in the US Congress to restrict the kind of information that private investigators depend upon for the good and valuable services we provide for people who otherwise may have no recourse.

These intrusions into our area of professional responsibility are directly due to precisely the type of conduct that James and Regana Rapp, at best, thought were justified, even permitted, and for which they've paid a penalty I'd consider to be relatively soft.

The Trial That Wasn't

Plea bargaining is the order of the day, even in serious felony cases these days, but I would like to have seen a trial.

The conviction of the Rapps may serve as a warning to investigators, but a dozen of Touch Tone's more egregious clients in the witness chair might have sent a stronger message to those who might request like services from like-minded brokers of private lives in the future.

If there are investigators willing to steal bits and pieces of private lives for profit, there also must be witting or unwitting clients willing to pay for peeking privileges.

Most people who ask for help from a private investigator may have no way to know how that help will be obtained, but too many may be willing to turn a blind eye to the means and methods that cause real harm and get us into trouble.

That brings us back on point.

Image May Be Everything

Private investigators serve a good and worthy purpose. The good that we do depends on the availability of information. More and more, the availability of that information depends, not so much on our responsible conduct, but on a public perception of our irresponsible conduct.

The convictions of the Rapps and the FTC action against them and their company may blow over. Bills in the Congress may disappear into the void that seems to collect ideas at the Federal level. The states may or may not follow through.

But all of this is a message... and a warning. The real trial has only just begun.

Whether we recognize it or not, everything we do as investigators is testimony entered into the public record of public opinion.

We had best understand the responsibility entailed by the authorization we currently are granted, and the reasonable limits that will preserve our authority.

There always are alternatives to breaking the law.

Discreet, Thorough,
Accurate & Creative

• Eight years in the Denver& Jefferson District Attorney's Offices
  
  
• The only private investigative agency in Colorado to be hired by the Denver Election Commission to investigate allegations of campaign fraud.
  
  
• Broad Knowledge of criminal & civil law, insurance regulations, and common sense acquired through 20 years of investigative experience.
  
  
• One of the very few investigative firms in Colorado to carry $1 million in liability insurance.
  
  
• More than 20,000 civil and criminal investigations.
  
  
• Associate Member: Colorado and Denver Bar Associations.
  
  
• Member: World Association of Detectives, Metropolitan Law Enforcement Agency, Intelnet, ION, NCISS National Association of Legal Investigators.