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Pretext Services has been involved in many well known cases covered by local and national media. The headlines listed involve cases where Pretext Services provided essential information which contributed to the successful outcome of settlements and trials for our clients.

"Suit services invalid, judge says in $ 10 million libel suit."
Palm Beach Times, August 29, 1977
Faced with a $500 million lawsuit, the defense team consulted PRETEXT to assist in defending the character of one of the world's richest men. The private investigation set for evidence refuting the claims by plaintiff, mitigating damages to the favor of the defense.

Planes hit over airport; six die Mid-air collision kills six
Fort Lauderdale News - Associated Press, February 4, 1981

Fatal airplane owner had faced cocaine charge
Miami Herald - By Ron Rshoy, February 23, 1981
Plaintiffs claimed that the loss of the corporate president resulted in millions of dollars in corporate and business losses, thereby depreciating the estate value. The PRETEXT investigation revealed that the surviving chief executive officer diverted corporate business and assets to his new entity, depreciating the decedents net worth

Probe Asked Into Agents’ Dealings with Drug Informer
Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA) – By Dick Cooper, April 29, 1982
Defense lawyers in a major federal drug case yesterday asked for a court-supervised investigation into the conduct of FBI agents and federal prosecutors into their dealings with a convicted drug dealer, who is the key witness in the case.

Firm cleared of liability in air crash -- Jury: Boca Aviation was not negligent
Boca Raton News - By Jeff Stanfield, December 1, 1982
The PRETEXT investigation caused concern to plaintiff counsel as to the damage claims and original representations of plaintiff witnesses. Plaintiff and Defense counsel elected to bifurcate the trial, which lead to favorable defense verdict on liability, when plaintiff witnesses were impeached by the private investigative discoveries.

Putting lifestyle on trial -- Delta: Lawsuits force probe of private lives
Dallas Times Herald - By Robert M. Feinstein, July 28, 1985
It is a common misconception that an investigator's sole purpose is to dig into the private lives of claimants. However, the experienced staff at PRETEXT has the unique skill to adapt to a situation and provide counsel the evidence to resolve any claim amicably.

"Just Like a Quake" Six hurt in hotel ceiling collapse
The Boston Herald - By Joe Battenfield, August 26, 1986
Plaintiff damage claims initially exceeded $20 million. As a result of the PRETEXT investigation, plaintiff witnesses -- tell the truth, reducing the damages claimed to a fraction, below six figures, proving comprehensive background investigation can reveal lifestyle and character evidence to refute plaintiff counsel's exaggerated claims.

Damage Control -- After 137 people died in its Texas crash, Delta helped families but when some sued, it investigated the dead; a life reduced to dollars
The wall Street Journal - By Ed Bean, November 7, 1986
The PRETEXT team discretely and respectfully developed relevant facts to amenably resolve major claims by victim's family.

Boiler room bust nets 43
Sun Sentinel - By Ted Cilwick, May 1, 1987

Ex-Customs officers indicted in smuggling
Miami Herald - June 27, 1987
On behalf of defendants seeking post-conviction relief, the PRETEXT team uncovered a pattern of corruption that resulted in the conviction of federal agents.

Be prepared for a good fight when taking a claim to court
Dallas Times Herald / Opinion - By Jim Schutze, July 30, 1987
The investigative efforts of PRETEXT revealed witnesses and fact evidence considered in the evaluation of damages, bringing savings in excess of $50 million to the insured.

Philadelphia Kingpin To Testify In California Ex Con Paid 55,000 for a Contract Murder of Broker
By    Toni Locy, Daily News Staff Writer
Source: Philadelphia Daily News (PA); 642 words
Published: 1988-03-14

Raiton became one of the local FBI's most controversial informants in 1981 when he pleaded guilty to importing into Philadelphia $500 million worth of phenyl-2-propanone, or P2P, the key chemical ingredient in making speed. The Philadelphia native was the undisputed distribution king for the chemical on the East Coast. As part of a plea agreement, he kept more than $2 million in drug profits he has said he socked away in foreign banks.

Charles Constantinides, a San Mateo deputy district attorney, said the case has everything, including "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll."

Wheels Turned Within his Deals Cutting Out Drug Partners or Stinging for FBI, Ronald Raiton always had a Plan to Sharp ‘em
Philadelphia Daily News (PA) – By Toni Locy, May 25, 1988

"The Manipulator" is the story of Ronald Raiton, who built a multimillion-dollar drug empire, then became one of the biggest - and most controversial - informants in local law enforcement history. Part One, which appeared yesterday, detailed the controversy that still swirls around how the federal government used Raiton

Murder suspect acquitted as "lies" sink high seas testimony
The Palm Beach Post - By Peter Whoriskey, February 7, 1989
While the FBI claimed the decedent's body was nowhere to be found, PRETEXT establishes the real identity of the deceased, refuting agent testimony as to the victims identity, activities and resulting in the acquittal of the defendant.

Slander suit back in court Hospital ruined life, fired worker says
The Palm Beach Post - By Val Ellicot, November 26, 1989

Escape Artist's Mother Accused of Aiding New Plot – January 31, 1990 DAN MORAIN | TIMES STAFF WRITER

SAN FRANCISCO — The aged mother of Ronald McIntosh, a California man serving a 25-year sentence for plucking his inmate lover out of prison in a dramatic helicopter escape in 1986, has been charged with helping her son in a new escape plot, authorities said Tuesday.
McIntosh, a veteran who flew helicopters in combat in Vietnam, commandeered a helicopter at gunpoint in San Jose and flew to the yard at Pleasanton. There, his lover, Dorinda Lopez, a convicted bank robber serving a 50-year sentence, waited. The couple evaded capture for 10 days, but were arrested at a jewelry store in a Sacramento shopping mall where they had stopped to pick up wedding rings they had purchased earlier In San Mateo County,
McIntosh is facing charges that he paid $53,000 to a hit man, Drax Quartermain, to kill a business associate. Quartermain was convicted of the murder and is on San Quentin's Death Row.

Dietary aid has been banned, but users continue to suffer
The Richmond News Leader - By Anna Barron Billingsley, September 23, 1991
PRETEXT assists defense investigation to develop evidence mitigating millions of dollars in damage claims.

Judge to rule on hearsay in Larzelere trial P.I. report: Underworld tied to death
Sun News / Deland. FL - By John M. DeMarco, February 3, 1992

U.S. asks to drop drug case Conviction would not add to sentence
The Palm Beach Post - By Val Ellicot, August 18, 1992

Jason Larzelere Found Not Guilty
The Sentinel – By Henry Pierson Curtis and Cory Jo Lancaster, September 21, 1992
The 19-year-old is acquitted in the slaying of his stepfather, an Edgewater dentist, gunned down in his office.

A drug-dealing cross and double-cross, U.S. says hired informant smuggled on the side
Houston Chronicle - By Bob Sablatura, November 8, 1992
PRETEXT founder develops evidence resulting in the indictment of federal agents and co-conspirators in a major drug trafficking organization responsible for smuggling more than 50 tons of cocaine.

"We were DHL of cocaine"
The Wall Street Journal - By William Carley, November, 1992
One of the most interesting cases in PRETEXT history, providing the reader insight into the short comings of US and international Drug Enforcement activities. A single witness make a major difference in the prosecution of individuals.

Roger Dean gives estranged wife a deal - $15 million
The Palm Beach Post - By Val Ellicot, January 9, 1993
Domestic investigation uncovers the real story and results in a divorce settlement 5 times greater than the former husband's offer.

Geraldo to tackle Larzeleres' story of murder, money
The Orlando Sentinel - By Pat LaMee. January 12, 1994
Investigator goes public concerning the innocence of Virginia Larzelere, convicted of the day time murder of dentist, husband Norman Larzelere. Public awareness, provides additional evidence and proof of innocence, as well as the identity of the guilty.

AERO MEXICO investigates $52 million in financial irregularities
REUTER - November 16, 1994
PRETEXT searches for former AERO MEXICO executive accused of misappropriating an international loan. His locating, and negotiations bring about a resolution for the Nationally Owned airline, which remains solvent.

Pilot details Escobar link to S. Florida drug smuggling
Sun Sentinel - By Warren Richey, December 2, 1994
Takes an inside look at one of the largest drug networks in the world, responsible for bringing an estimated 27.5 tons of cocaine into South Florida.

BANCO LATINO: Execs engaged in massive fraud
The Miami Herald - By Jane Bussey, June 20, 1995
PRETEXT staff investigates the collapse of the Government-owned Venezuela Banking System. Millions are recovered.

Dossier ultima ultima hora
EXTRADITO - BS.5., 1996
After facing life in prison, a former commander of the Bolivian Military Academy and Bolivian Drug Czar, gains his freedom as PRETEXT exposes a trail of lies by informants, agents and prosecutors.

Win at all costs
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - By Bill Moushey, November, 1998
This award-winning writer has featured several PRETEXT Investigations, detailing how out-of-control federal agents and prosecutors have pursued justice "at all cost".

Der deutsche James Bond: Opfer sagen, Rattenkonig
Wochenede - By Von Christine Hinkofer, March 20-21, 1999
PRETEXT documented the crimes, travel and misconduct of foreign and US agents managing high level informant in 5 countries. The evidence lead to the acquittal of several of PRETEXT clients, and to guilty plea by the informant to fraud and perjury. Following the acquittal PRETEXT working closely with Congressional Representatives helped redefine the use of foreign informants.

“Sheik” Ploy Detailed at Hasson Fraud Trial
The Palm Beach Post – By Mary McLachlin, Staff Writer, January 14, 2000
Harry Speiser, a big-bearded boat mechanic with an impassive face, told a captivated courtroom how he bought a Halloween costume, joined to sexy women in see-through “harem” outfits and pretended to be an Arab sheik to fool a rich old man aboard a private jet at Palm Beach International Airport.

$83 million in gems valued at $6 million
The Palm Beach Post - By Mary McLachlin, February, 2000
The staff of PRETEXT is the first to discover clients former husband had secreted $20 million in assets. The trail of evidence is used to overturn clients Divorce settlement based on fraud. Business victims continuing the investigation, to gather evidence for the prosecution.

New Witness Reported in 1991 Slaying
Orlando Sentinel – By Purvette A. Bryant, Staff Writer, November 2, 2000
Attorneys for Virginia Larzelere, convicted of hiring someone to shoot her husband to death in his dental office, say they have an eyewitness who can prove her innocence and they want a judge to hear the new evidence.

U.S. Challenges Ruling on Paid Informants.  In his Final Order, Judge Criticized Tactics in Case
Sun Sentinel, Ft. Lauderdale – By Ann W. O’Neill, Staff Writer, September 2003
In the final days of his life, U.S. District Judge, Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr., held onto one last criminal case, working on it in the hospital, as leukemia and chemotherapy sapped his strength.  This case was special.

Complaints About Agent Date to Start of His Career
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – By Bill Moushey, February 24, 2008
McDaniel called the cases made by Agent Lucas a “textbook example of the abuse of power of which appear to be endorsed by senior management of the DEA”.

DIE ZEIT, REISEN
March 2008 Sonderbeilage
GROEBE – had a corrupt relationship with the DEA. He constructed the cases, victimized innocent persons while collecting far more then a million dollars as a paid informant..

Larzelere Off Death Row
Associates Press – August 1, 2008
A woman who had been on death row in Florida has been re-sentenced to li8fe in prison.  Prosecutors on Friday indicated they were not going to seek the death penalty for Virginia Larzelere. A jury convicted Larzelere of masterminding the 1991 shotgun slaying of her husband, Dr. Norman Larzelere, at his dental office.  She got a new sentencing hearing because the Florida Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that lawyers botched the sentencing phase of her trial.

DEA Agent and his Rogue Informant to Cost Taxpayers $365k
Crime Policy – By Jeralyn, September 28, 2008
Federal drug agent Lee Lucas, whose rogue informant botched a major drug conspiracy case in Mansfield, had the same problem in Florida and it could cost taxpayers $365,000.

DEA Agent Lucas Indicted on Perjury, Civil Rights Charges; Pleads Not Guilty
Cleveland Plain Dealer – By K. Turner, May 13, 2009

Playboy – Dope
By T.J. English, December 2009
Lee Lucas rose through the ranks of the DEA the old-fashioned way, employing shoddy evidence, partnering with thugs, and abusing the authority of his position.

Santa Cruz Bolivia, Notebook -Soap opera or reality show?July 31, 2010 by Haroldolmos
All the ingredients for a soap opera at a sordid and thrilling point emerged in the last few days in Bolivia. Dirk Schmidt, a German living for two decades in Bolivia was arrested by, his lawyer says, police who not so many days ago were friends and acquaintances with whom he frequently worked and went fishing and hunting as a supposed intelligence official of the Ministry of Interior.  Now he is accused of conspiracy and armed uprising, a charge quite common in Bolivia these days, and is held in custody in a local prison in Santa Cruz. Interior Minister Sacha Llorenti does not believe his allegations that he worked for the Government although in his services file he says he provided critical help to defuse some of the most serious showdowns faced by the Indian-social government of President Evo Morales. The German’s wife, Bolivian Karina Flores Villa, presents documents supporting his claim that he was appointed as a direct “informer” (euphemism for spy) of former deputy Interior Minister Gustavo Torrico, fired just a few days ago with no known reasons.
Schmidt, in short, was a dangerous element. In his home police had found seven shotguns, two revolvers, and powerful caliber ammunition, which the German claims were all duly registered at the government’s arms control agency. The official story crashes as  ousted deputy minister Torrico discloses that the German was positively an officer under his command as an “informer”—and not only recently but since the onset of President Morales’ government, that is over five years now. Now Torrico is likely to face a legal process.

B.C. man who spent 27 years in prison as serial rapist acquitted on all counts
By All Hall, Vancover Sun October 28, 2010
Henry had been in custody since his arrest in 1982. He was convicted by a jury in 1983 on 10 counts of rape and indecent assault involving eight women.

Union Racketeering Trial 1: Guilty
Sun Sentinel - By Larry Lebowitz
PRETEXT aids defense counsel in the successful acquittal of defendant through the preparation of witness biographies for cross-examination in a twenty five year historical conspiracy case.

Briton jailed 27 years for Florida murders seeks to reopen case
Reuters - World News
Tue Jan 14, 2014

Florida Judge grants hearing to Briton convicted in 1987 double murder
The Guardian
Wed May 28, 2014
Kris Maharaj, imprisoned for the past 27 years, insists he was a victim of an elaborate plot involving a Colombian drug cartel.

Colombian kingpin's former hit man leaves prison
How 'Popeye' became Pablo Escobar's favorite hitman
AP
August 27, 2014
John Jairo Velásquez Vásquez, who walked free from a Colombian prison on Tuesday night, initially wanted to be a policeman. But he ended up working for the world's richest drugs lord, and ordering the murder of 3,000 politicians, journalists, rival narcotraffickers and unfortunate civilians.

Krishna Maharaj: The 75-year-old Briton 'framed for murder by Pablo Escobar'
The Independent
December 11, 2014
Krishna Maharaj has spent 28 years in a US jail convicted of a double killing in a hotel room he says he didn't do. This is his last chance to prove it.