Jeff Manes: Local detective a real globe-trotter

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Ken Burbridge, 45, is president of Burbridge Detective Agency in Merrillville. He opened his business in January 2000. | Photo provided

Updated: March 6, 2012 8:02AM

Evelyn Mulwray: “Hollis seems to think you’re an innocent man.”

Jake Gittes: “Well, I’ve been accused of a lot things before, Mrs. Mulwray, but never that.”

— From the 1974 film “Chinatown”

Ken Burbridge is a hard-edged private detective who has seen it all. He’s president of Burbridge Detective Agency.

Burbridge’s Merrillville office is on the second floor of what looks like a mob apartment; there are large rooms all around him with nothing in them.

Burbridge, 45, is married and lives in an unincorporated area near Valparaiso. He doesn’t like to detail his personal life because he’s received several death threats through the years.

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Did you grow up around here?

“Yeah, I went to Lake Central (High School),” he said.

College?

“I attended Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer and Calumet College in Whiting. I have a degree in criminal justice and business management.”

Were you ever a police officer?

“Yes, I was a Lansing (Ill.) police officer for about four years. From there, I got into corporate security; I supervised a staff of 14 guards for NiSource.”

When did you go into business for yourself?

“January of 2000. When I got into this business, it was mostly workman’s comp cases. As the years went by, the market kind of dried up. The insurance companies started using their own employees instead of an outside firm like mine.”

Other types of work you do?

“Background checks, surveillance, people searches, skip tracing, process service and criminal, civil and domestic investigations. I also locate witnesses for attorneys and fugitives for bounty hunters.”

Surveillance?

“Surveillance can be boring. I remember sitting in a car more than 30 hours straight. ... There’s an art to surveillance; it’s not just watching people.

“I get a lot of employee theft cases. Parking by an exit door; that’s a flag. It’s usually a supervisor — someone who can drive in and out at will.”

What takes up most of your work time?

“Right now, my main business is background checks all over the United States, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the United Kingdom ... . I do background checks on refinery and utility workers for security purposes.

“About one out of every 20 background checks, somebody is using somebody else’s Social Security number. It’s usually illegal immigrants trying to find a job. I do a lot of background checks in Texas.”

You probably use video equipment quite a bit.

“Yeah, up until a few years ago, we were still using 8 millimeter. Now, we have the HD cameras. I can zoom in from a quarter-mile away. I don’t even have to be on the block and be videotaping you.”

Cases of infidelity?

“Those are usually interesting cases. When you’re dealing with domestic issues, you have a lot of emotion involved. I’ve had some unusual cases.”

I’m all ears.

“I had a case in the area where the husband claimed he was playing in a band, while the wife was staying at home with the kid. She told me she needed me to follow him at certain times. She said: ‘I don’t know what he’s doing; he’s coming home late. He’s getting strange phone calls.’

“I followed him to Chicago about 2 a.m. and videotaped him. It didn’t take us too long to realize he was a drug dealer. We had a couple scary moments because he caught us and chased us — him and his buddy and one of his ‘clients,’ but we lost them.”

What did the wife have to say?

“I told her, ‘Lady, I have some bad news.’ She said: ‘Oh, no. Who is he seeing?’ I explained, ‘It’s not who he’s seeing; it’s what he’s doing. I want you to watch this video; your husband is dealing drugs.’ She said: ‘But is he cheating?’ She was OK with the fact that he was a drug dealer, as long as he wasn’t cheating on her.”

Hell hath no fury.

“Cheaters are pretty easy to figure; they’re always going to go to a meeting place. ... They fall into patterns. They’re usually both married. They like to use their cell phones.

“But the technology for that has gotten more sophisticated, too. We have software to see where phones are; we have GPS in vehicles. Now, there are GSM bugs. They’re illegal bugs with a cell chip. You dial the phone number to your bug, then you can listen on your cell phone. You can get them in China.”

Privacy laws?

“You can take video as long as you’re on public property. For instance, if someone is in the back yard and has an open fence, I can videotape (the person) from the street. But, let’s say this person has a privacy fence and I have to climb a tree to videotape (him or her); that would be illegal.”

Employees?

“I have three of four people I use as needed. For surveillance, I use off-duty police officers. For investigations, police officers are the worst. The best person for investigation work is someone with a background in sales. A salesperson makes a great P.I.

“A cop will help you in a surveillance car and can deal with confrontations. When you serve people, they’re never happy.”

Serve people?

“Things like court documents or evictions. You get more information when you’re a salesperson. You have to get them to believe you’re on their side; then, they open up. Jeff, as a reporter, you understand that.”

I always wanted to be a sleazy, wisecracking sleuth. Live fast, die young and make a good-lookin’ corpse.

“Cops can come off as abrasive. It’s like a me-against-you thing. People seem to shut down during an interview with cops. It can really be touchy, especially when you’re working on, say, a child-molesting case.”

Explain, please.

“Some of the questions you have to ask. First of all, it’s very difficult to investigate something like that. The schools aren’t going to talk to you; they’re not allowed. The police, during investigations, aren’t going to tell you how the case is going.”

Do you make a pretty good buck?

“You don’t make much money; it’s a living. Anybody who thinks they’re going to get rich being a P.I. is nuts. The normal rate in Indiana is about $45 per hour.”

Are you licensed to carry a gun?

“Yes, I have a SIG Sauer semiautomatic 9 mm concealed as we speak. I’ve had to draw a few times. For example, I served a guy, and he came at me with a baseball bat. I told him that he better not come any closer with the bat or I’d have to do something.”

***

Burbridge also mentioned the perils of not doing a background check regarding Internet dating.

He told me he received a call from a woman who was dating a guy she’d met online. Ten minutes later, the same woman called Burbridge again, saying she changed her mind about the background check on her new boyfriend.

She said, “I gotta trust him; that’s what a relationship is all about — trust.”

Burbridge told her, “Look, lady, you got kids.”

He talked her into running the check. The guy turned out to be a convicted sexual molester who was in the registry.