News
Jay Groob featured in Northeastern University Magazine
May 1, 2003
Q&A: Jay Groob, American Investigative Services
Jay Groob (Criminal Justice, 1980), has owned and operated American Investigative Services, Inc., since 1983. With offices in Brookline, Massachusetts, and New York City, the firm offers an extensive range of investigative and security services. Last August, Groob was named International Investigator of the Year by the Council of International Investigators.
Q. What sets you apart from other private investigators that allowed you to win the Investigator of the Year award?
A. The length of time I’ve been in the business and my accomplishments. That’s not to say there aren’t more deserving investigators for the award; however, I’ve made something of a name for myself in the industry.
Q. What cases have you been involved in that we may have heard of?
A. My tenure as an investigator goes back twenty years. Cases include the [Richard] Rosenthal case, the financial analyst who fatally beat his wife in their backyard in Framingham; the [Lonnie] Gilchrist case, the Boston stockbroker who murdered his former boss at Merrill Lynch; John Mulligan, the Boston police detective who was murdered while on a detail at a Walgreens in Roslindale—there have been many.
Q. What types of services do you provide on a typical case?
A. Most of what I do is after-the-fact investigations. I’m typically hired by criminal-defense attorneys to identify, locate, and interview witnesses; review depositions, police reports, photographs, and other discovery material; visit crime scenes; independently verify forensic evidence; and interview law-enforcement investigators.
Q. Do you spend a lot of time out on stakeouts?
A. I spent years and years doing surveillance—I once spent three days in a car during a high-profile domestic case. But I don’t do much of it anymore. I’m not as young as I used to be, and I can’t sit for it.
Q. How many cases might you work on at any given time?
A. Hundreds at a time; more than a thousand a year.
Q. What’s the biggest misconception the public has about private investigators?
A. That you can solve a case in an hour, like they do on TV, and that following people and getting information is easy and simplified. It isn’t—it’s a very tedious task.
Q. Care to dish any dirt about a celebrity you’ve crossed paths with?
A. That wouldn’t be beneficial to me. I’m with celebrities on occasion, and they like their privacy. For me to publicize who I associate with would not only be contrary to my obligation to them, but contrary to the code of ethics.
Q. Is it hard to keep that really juicy gossip under your hat?
A. It’s one of the hardest things about the job. I know a ton of information that I can’t reveal. And, of course, you’d love to talk about it—especially when you’ve done a great job—but you can’t.
Q. What are some of the tools of a great private investigator?
A. You have to be extremely detail-oriented, be up to speed on new legislation, stay abreast of new resources and technology, and be very creative.
Q. Do you see the law-enforcement community as allies or impediments to getting the job done?
A. Post–9/11, there’s more of a camaraderie between professional investigators and law enforcement. As a matter of fact, the Department of Homeland Security uses outside investigators for various duties and tasks.
Q. Ever come close to losing your life?
A. Early in my career, I was a store detective, and I got into several situations where my life was in danger. I’ve had weapons pulled on me—knives, guns, even bats. I’m not a strapping six-foot-eight, 300-pounder, so I tend to use my ingenuity to get out of bad circumstances. But on some occasions, I’ve had to show a weapon.
Q. What’s your all-time favorite detective series on television?
A. I was partial to "The Rockford Files," even though it was somewhat unrealistic.
Q. In a good year, how much money can you earn?
A. With background investigations and defense work, anywhere from $100,000 a year and up.
Q. Has your work made you lose faith in people?
A. Sadly, yes. I’m much more cynical now than I once was. Documenting and reading discovery reports and police reports—nothing shocks me or surprises me anymore.
©2006 Northeastern University Magazine.
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email: info@americanlnvestigative.com
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