Numbers on corporate espionage are hard to come by. Most countries in the G7 estimate they lost around $100 billion to foreign business spies each and every year between 2000 and 2010 - but that's just speculation. No one knows for sure.
It's hard to track the value of information that gets picked up at a sauna or handed over on a USB stick in a parking garage. Too many people pretend the problem doesn't exist until they're staring at a smoking gun.
Getting your hands on your competitor's dirty laundry can provide an advantage that could turn the tide in your favor. It's a thriving industry for former military personnel and corrupt detectives.
I know from experience that most corporate victims don't ever go public when they feel they've been compromised. There is little incentive to do that because it tends to reflect badly on management. Anything that makes your shareholders nervous can trigger a sell-off and a drop in share values.
The one question I have to keep asking is who could be a spy? It's not an easy question to answer because there are many reasons why someone might start selling information about their employer to a competitor. Some people sell out because they want to look important and puff up their ego. Most times, its just a briefcase full of cash.
The biggest motivator of all is blackmail. It's been responsible for the biggest losses and it can be the most difficult to uncover. Even employees that are beyond suspicion can be manipulated by blackmail. Would you share a little secret to avoid pain from public humiliation? It's my job to wonder.
Most people have something they don't want to see splashed all over the news. The risk is high because today's technology makes everyone an easy target.
If that weren't enough, most governments are involved in industrial spying and each has it's own policy to facilitate gathering business secrets from other nations. Take China as a case in point: government sanctioned espionage has taken that country from a third-world nation to an engineering leader in one generation.
Part of my job is to explain to clients that there hasn't been any change in human behavior; people are as they've always been. It's just that stealing stuff and distributing it around the world has become so much easier. The easier it is to do something, the more people will do it. It's that simple.
Chapter 6
53 Division Headquarters - Toronto Police
Staff Sergeant Ed Rozinsky knocked lightly as he walked into Captain Gallagher's office with the morning's news update. "You want to do this now?"
"Might as well get it over with Ed. Grab a coffee and have a seat."
"Thanks, can I get you one?" Rozinsky headed over to the drip coffee maker and poured two cups. He knew the captain would have one, whether he said he would or not.
"Got one you're going to like Captain. Guy driving a Honda Civic pulled a shotgun on another driver at Bloor and Spadina. Said the guy was too slow to move when the light turned green. Guy was in a hurry to get home after work I guess."
"Anything I should know about the friendly driver?"
"Uniforms found him about one hour later and seized four firearms. Booked and released on his own recognizance early this morning."
"Figures." Gallagher had been doing this for too long to be surprised by much any more.
Rozinsky tugged on his waistband to remind his pants where they should sit "I've asked detectives Chan and Brady to have a closer look to make sure we didn't set a real nutcase loose."
"What else?"
"We had a break in at The Spy Store on Yonge Street last night. A bunch of stuff missing including recording devices, GPS locators, lasers and a couple of tasers. Perp took enough stuff to start a P.I. business."
"Any suspects?"
"Looks like a pretty clean job so far. Video cameras were disabled."
"Could be anybody."
"Yeah. Probably hundreds of people going through the place every day."
"Anything I need to know Ed or is it just more of the usual crap?"
"No real award winners Captain."
"Alright. Leave a copy on my desk and I'll go over it later. Tell Stan Novak I want to see him for a minute."
"You still getting lots of heat about him looking for Terry's murderer?"
"Let's just say I wish he was going about this differently. I've never had this much flack in my 25 years on the force. I'm too old for this Ed. Too old and too close to retirement."
Chapter 7
"You wanted to see me Captain?"
"Have a seat Stan." Gallagher walked over to the coffee machine and refilled his cup.
"Have you thought about taking a bit of time off? No one is going to think any less of you if you take a bit of time off to recharge you know."
"I'm doing fine Captain. I don't need any time off."
"A lot of people would disagree with you Stan. You've been carrying on a one man investigation - an unofficial investigation into Terry Reynold's death. A lot of people think you've become obsessed with it."
John Gallagher looked worriedly at detective Novak as he delivered the news.
"I've been getting a lot of heat about the way you've been questioning people Stan. They all feel like they're under investigation for a murder that hasn't officially happened."
Stan had drifted off, lost in memories. Captain Gallagher's voice sounded like it was coming from far away.
"This is important Stan. Deputy Chief Galecki is breathing down my neck about this and he expects me to put a stop to it." Captain Gallagher removed a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket, took one out and lit it.
"Can't seem to give these up" he said. He inhaled deep into his lungs and blew the smoke into the smoke-free zone. Every government office in Canada had been declared smoke-free many years ago.
Gallagher grabbed a couple more long draws on the cigarette and stubbed it out. He tossed the butt in the toilet of the private washroom that very few cops had. It was a perk.
"I've got a bad feeling about this, Stan." Gallagher headed back to his favorite spot in front of his desk and stared out the window with a gloomy look on his face. "I even got a call from the Mayor's office for Christ's sake."
Novak looked at the Captain. "Can't imagine why the mayor gives a crap about this."
"Because people have been calling him and complaining, that's why. Some of them think you should be put on medical leave if that's what it's going to take for you to stop badgering people."
"You've got to be kidding! Since when is it wrong to investigate the murder of a prominent citizen?"
"It's how you're going about it Stan. First of all, there is no official investigation. Terry Reynold's death has not been officially declared a murder; it was classed a mugging. People are afraid you're a wild cannon and you don't care who gets hurt as long as someone suffers.
You have to stop telling people that you're investigating a murder Stan. People like James Turkell are not without influence. These are high profile citizens with a lot of influential friends. Christ, this is becoming a nightmare."
"All I'm doing is checking out anyone who met with or talked to Terry in the last couple of weeks before his murder Captain. I'm following up on leads and I don't see how that should be a problem."
"You don't get it, do you. When people start asking whether you should be walking around with a gun and a badge you've got to pay attention. Look Stan, it's a political thing. We're heading into an election year and they don't want to have the unsolved murder of a prominent journalist stealing the headlines. You need to tone it down and keep it low key is all."
"They got something on you Captain? Is there something I should know?"
"Jesus Christ Novak. Haven't you heard a word I've said? You know me better than that. I'm not a dirty cop and I've got nothing to hide. But I'm not naive; I know how these things work. These people are upset and we have to play ball. If you don't smarten up they're going to insist I put you on medical leave."
"So, what am I supposed to do Captain. Forget about trying to find Terry Reynold's killer?"<
br />
"Look Stan. Of course we want to get whoever did this. But we don't have any evidence that it was a murder that wasn't related to the robbery. You have to accept the fact that it could be just what is looks like - a daytime robbery by some whacko who doesn't value life."
"Nobody stabs a guy in broad daylight for his watch and his wallet captain. The killer just took those two items to make it look like a robbery."
"I agree there could be more to this than meets the eye. But you have to tone it down. There is no official investigation into Terry Reynold's death for the time being. It hasn't been called a murder and you can't go around questioning people as if you're conducting an official murder investigation."
"Reynolds was a good guy captain. He deserves better than this."
"I agree. But the DA's office doesn't want to announce a murder investigation that might never get resolved - especially right now. We don't have a motive. Christ, we don't even have any witnesses to the robbery! Until we find some evidence or a witness that justifies escalating this to a full-scaled murder investigation, you have to stop this. That's an order!"
"Alright. Is there anything else?"
"Yes. Take the rest of the day off. Get the hell out of here and do something normal people do for a change."
Chapter 8
Rozinsky was watching Stan Novak as he left Captain Gallagher's office. He could practically see the weight on Stan's shoulders sap the energy from his body. Reynolds and Novak had been close friends.
"You okay Stan."
Novak took in the staff sergeant's broad girth as he said "sure." Ed Rozinsky had been putting on the pounds lately. Stan wondered if Ed was one of these emotional eaters he'd been reading so much about.
"You look like you lost your best friend in there."
Stan could hear Ed's labored breathing and noticed the buttons on his shirt straining to break free from the button holes.
"Captain just told me I could be put on sick leave or suspended if I don't stop looking into Terry's murder."
"That's just perfect, isn't it? Criminals walk every day and a good cop gets gets harassed for doing his job." Rozinsky's face turned red as he felt his blood pressure rise at the thought of Stan's situation.
Novak broke the silence. "How are you doing pal?"
Rozinsky smiled. This was one of the reasons he liked Stan Novak so much. The man was being reamed out for trying to find his best friend's killer and he asks how you're doing.
Ed ran his hand through his thinning hair. The pile of paperwork on his desk spoke louder than words ever could. "I'll put in a word to see if I can get you assigned to desk work rather than put on leave if it comes to that Stan. Lord knows I could use a hand with all this paperwork."
Stan appreciated the gesture and asked "anything special on today's menu?"
Rozinsky said. "Christ, people are walking the streets with tasers and zappers. Road rage used to mean giving someone the finger or cutting them off with your car, not shooting their tires out while the car is moving at the speed limit!"
Stan's attention drifted off at the memory of the computer programmer who sent a fifty year old secretary's car crashing into the concrete pillars below the Don Valley Parkway because she was moving too slowly in the passing lane. The guy was late and wanted to use the faster lane to get to work on time. When he was providing a statement to the responding officer he said that he'd slept in and was late for an important meeting.
Rozinsky was describing how a road rage spat had escalated at 6:45 pm the night before.
"The victim was stopped at a red light on Bloor and Spadina when a man driving a Honda Civic pulled up directly beside his car and started an argument because the light had turned green and the driver hadn't noticed. An argument ensued and the next thing you know, the Honda driver is pointing a shotgun at the 35-year-old victim and threatening his life.
We got crazies on the street and good cops like you are being hassled for doing their job."
"I'll be fine Ed. Probably just need to do something normal for a while, like Captain said."
Novak headed back to his desk to make sure there wasn't anything that needed to be taken care of before taking the rest of the day off.
Chapter 9
Detectives Patrick and Rossi were the rock stars of 53 Division. Well, they thought they were. They dressed and talked like they were on a movie set and fancied themselves the best detectives in the city, if not the country. When asked why or how they got to be so good, Patrick and Rossi simply said they were better cops. And better looking too!
Stan Novak had been working without a partner for nearly four weeks now. Paul Rosenberg had transferred out west so his wife could take a job at UBC. It was technically against departmental procedure for a detective to work solo, but with recent budget cuts and union rules allowing for job transfers, Stan had been going it alone.
Losing his best friend hadn't helped Novak's disposition. Gallagher had been giving him a bit of free rope, but he couldn't keep doing it much longer.
Case in point was the current mess with the Reynolds investigation. Novak had no evidence or police witness to back up his suspicions. It would still be a mess had he not been working alone. But working solo put Novak on much shakier ground and made it easy for them to ask for his suspension or to have him sent for an evaluation.
The fact that Novak suspected there were dirty cops in the division did not go down well. Patrick and Rossi knew this and made no bones about it.
"You take down any respected citizens or cops today Novak?" Rossi picked up Novak's name plate and turned it left and right as if he needed better light to see something.
"Detective Stan Novak it says here. Didn't they tell you you're supposed to be looking for bad guys detective?"
"Leave him alone Rossi. He's been under a lot of stress lately. It's hard to tell who the bad guys are when you're working alone isn't it Stan?" Patrick put on his most sympathetic look.
Novak tried to pretend he hadn't heard one word of what they'd said.
Rossi put the name plate back and sat on the corner of Stan's desk. "They'd probably let you go on paid leave you know Stan. Go sit on a beach somewhere, soak up some rays. You could use it."
"Leave the poor guy alone Rossi. He's just confused is all. We brought in more bad guys in the past couple of days than Stan's brought in the past month. Stan here sees us with so many bad guys every day, he's probably thinkin we're one of them. Ain't that right Stan. Guilt by association or somethin."
Novak looked at Patrick and Rossi. "Are you two feeling guilty? Is there something you'd like to share with me and Captain Gallagher?"
"How do you think we catch so many bad guys Novak. Oh I know, they just walk up to us and confess. Ain't that right Rossi?" Patrick was on a roll.
Gallagher heard the commotion and stuck his head out his office door. "Rossi, Patrick, get in here for a minute."
Chapter 10
Before running for office, Mayor John Corbett worked as a lawyer specializing in civil litigation. His client list looked like the who's who of corporate land developers.
Because of his background he was no stranger to zoning bylaws and the huge sums of money that could be freed up when land was rezoned to a higher intensity use. City park land was worth much less than the land that sat under huge office towers or shopping malls.
It was this knowledge that led him to run for office. It's true, he had made good money representing developers. His fee would often run up to two or three hundred thousand dollars on a big land deal. Still, that was peanuts compared to the hundred of millions his clients raked in on those deals.
Corbett had made some powerful acquaintances in the corporate world and on the legal side as well. He knew which buttons needed to be pushed to make things happen. He also knew how to get rid of obstructions. Some people had a different agenda and Mayor John Corbett didn't have a lot of patience or understanding for anyone who disagreed with him.
The person he was mee
ting with shortly was taking much too long to push the right buttons to get this one particular land deal moving. Corbett was used to getting what he wanted and he didn't like it when someone stood in direct opposition to one of his plans. He was Italian on his mother's side and it showed.
The St. James Town land deal would be worth 100 million to Corbett alone, not to mention what his partners would rake in. His secretary Deedee's voice came over the intercom.
"James Turkell is here to see you Mr. Mayor."
"Send him right in Deedee and hold my calls for now."
The Borman Factor Page 2