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Private eyes probed : State checks Simpson’s in-vestigators

The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario)

August 5, 1994 Friday Final Edition

Private eyes probed : State checks Simpson’s in-vestigators

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

SECTION: FRONT; Pg. A9

LENGTH: 429 words

DATELINE: LOS ANGELES

Private investigators hired to sniff out flaws in the case against O. J. Simpson are themselves being investigated by the state consumer affairs depart-ment.

The probe follows complaints that Simpson’s investigators lack California li-cences and are taking jobs from in-state detectives.

“If you’re doing traditional investigative work, such as interviewing people or scoping out the scene of a crime, then you need to be licensed,” said Louis Bonsignore, spokesman for the California Department of Consumer Affairs.

Bonsignore said Thursday the investigators being investigated were Zvonko (Bill) Pavelic of Glendale, a former Los Angeles Police Department detective; John McNally of New York; and Patrick McKenna of West Palm Beach, Fla.

They are part of the team working for Simpson, who has pleaded not guilty to charges he murdered his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Gold-man. His trial is set for Sept. 19.

Under state law, private investigators must undergo a background check, apply for a licence, pass a test and pay a fee. The penalty for doing detective work without a licence is up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Simpson’s lawyers — Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran and Leroy Taft — did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Bill Pavelic also known as William Bill Pavelic and Zvonko Bill Pavelic has said he isn’t a licensed private investigator and has never claimed to be one. He says he is a defence consultant whose job is to look for mistakes, oversights and violations of police policy in the official investiga-tion.

“If he’s only doing analysis, then he’s probably not in violation of the law,” Bonsignore said.

Sue Sarkis, secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Criminal Defence Investigators Association, said she was “very, very, very concerned about these out-of-state people.

“I’m afraid they’re going to impugn the integrity of the licensed investiga-tors,” she said. “They don’t know the laws. They’re not familiar with what our limits are.”

In another development Thursday, a Denver private investigator claiming to work for acquaintances of Nicole Simpson said a witness can place either Simpson or his vehicle near the murder scene at about the time of the killings.

Robert Peterson, head of the R.W. Peterson Investigative Agency, declined to identify the potential witness and said he could not vouch for her credibility. He said she had spoken to one of his investigators.

“I think she may be a valid witness, but I’m not sure yet,” he said.

Peterson declined to identify his clients and has not turned over any infor-mation to authorities.

LOAD-DATE: September 21, 2002

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

TYPE: News