This is a continuation of our previous blog. Since we have so many strange and/or funny stories, we could not fit them all into one blog. After all, we do spend a LOT of hours observing and waiting for something to happen. During that time we occasionally happen to see some very crazy and funny things. Here are a few more for your entertainment pleasure:
- A Different Kind of Hand-Jive – I was sitting in my vehicle getting ready to begin surveillance in Edgemere, Queens. It was a very overcast day which is perfect for surveillance. It makes the tinting on my windows appear so dark that you really cannot see anything inside of the car. I found out very quickly that this is not always a good thing. I was about mid-way through my surveillance and there had been no activity up to that point. That is when I noticed a motion next to my vehicle. I looked out the window to my horror, to see a bum was leaning against the electrical pole that was right next to my vehicle (going forward I will refer to him as “Petey”). I could only see Petey from the chest down to about his thighs, but that was way too much. Petey decided that this would be the perfect spot to “play with his private parts” and without hesitation pulled said part out and began to do his thing. At this point I could not chance blowing my cover, but I also did not want any “bodily fluids” making contact with my vehicle either. I was in a bit of a dilemma. Thankfully, someone pulled into the spot in front of mine at just that moment. The driver got out of his car and started yelling at Petey, who then left his spot and walked across the street. He never stopped, just walked along doing his thing with his thing and continued along until he disappeared around the corner. The driver and I just watched in disbelief and were relieved when Petey disappeared from view. The driver shook his head and walked away as I returned my attention to the driveway and waited for the Subject to arrive home.
- Don’t Even Think About It – I was handling a case in Waterbury, Connecticut not too long ago. I was parked in a rather sketchy area waiting for the Subject to arrive at the place we were told he was working off the books. Our job was to catch him in the act and report back to the company so they could discontinue his worker’s comp claim. It had been reported to management that the Subject was working somewhere else doing the very thing he claimed he could not do due to his injury at work. As I sat in my vehicle, waiting for him to arrive, I noticed in my side-view mirror that there was a questionable-looking person that was walking slowly down the street. I knew by his actions exactly what he was doing. He was checking all the cars on the road. He was looking inside and trying to see what he could potentially steal. He would look around, check the door to see if it was open, then upon finding it was locked, would then move on to the next one. I watched this go on for several minutes. He was slowly making his way toward me. I quietly unlocked my passenger door and pulled out my gun and just waited. Sure enough, he came up to my car next. He tried the door and smiled because it was unlocked. He looked around the area to make sure the area was empty and no one would see him. He opened the door and when he looked inside he was staring directly at the barrel of my Smith and Wesson, which was pointed directly at his nose. All the color drained from his face and he froze. I politely asked him “may I help you?” He put up his hands, backed away slowly, slammed the door, and went running full speed down the block and around the corner. I cannot confirm nor deny if he wet himself, but I’m pretty sure he did.
- Party Til You Puke – So my wife (Terri) and I recently had to do a big case in a nice section of Arverne, Queens. As part of this case, we had to watch a potential cheater who was traveling on business to see if he met up with his suspected mistress. We had followed them to what appeared to be a very nice apartment building, which they entered and we then took turns watching to catch them when they finally left. It was about 4am. Terri was sitting directly across the street in a pretty little park. At about 5am, a group of teens appeared in a car. They pulled over very abruptly almost directly in front of where Terri was set up for the surveillance. There were four young people in all – two guys and two girls – one of which was totally wasted. They practically carried her out of the car and plopped her down next to a light pole, where she proceeded to wobble and the more they tried to get her to stand up, the more she tipped over. She finally crouched down next to the pole and started to cry. They took turns coming over to check on her, but she just continued to cry. This went on for almost 20 minutes. Eventually, they carried her back to the car and drove away. I can only deduce that they were driving around hoping that the following would happen: She would eventually begin to sober up. She would not hurl in the car (and it was a very nice car by the way). Or her parents did not kill her and her friends for allowing her to get into this state in the first place. I do not envy the hangover that young lady was about to have or the parents that would have to deal with it. I hope for the driver’s sake that she made it to her destination without losing her dinner all over the back of his car.
- Pop-Up Parade – We were in the midst of a case in Flatlands, Brooklyn where we had to wait to see if a wandering teen showed up at the boyfriend’s house that she was told was off-limits. Two hours after school let out, she had not appeared. We were both getting antsy at this point and were about to break off for the day, when all of a sudden, a door in what looked like a boarded-up shop opened and a person dressed in a bright (and I mean BRIGHT) blue suit suddenly appeared. He was immediately followed by a woman wearing identical bright blue and white, with a large flower-covered hat. Behind the couple came about six more people, similarly done up in their blue and white Saturday best. As they exited the building we could hear music, which began softly and got progressively louder. Then the last person to exit was seen carrying an oversized boom box, the likes of which I have not seen since the 1980s. He was carrying it on his shoulder with the speakers facing outward – and it was turned up to full throttle. As the group exited, they were doing a part walk/part dance down the sidewalk. They would occasionally do a little “hokey-pokey” turn and continue along. They continued on this way for about 100 feet, then did a very wide turn and headed back in the other direction. As they came close to the door from which they appeared in the first place, the person in the lead went ahead – still dancing – and opened the door for the others. They continued up to and through the door, disappearing inside, never losing a step to the booming gospel music behind them. When the boom-box caboose went past the door holder they gave each other a “hi-five” and went through the door, which closed behind them. The entire thing took less than five minutes, but we were mesmerized by the sight. When it was over, we both laughed and then realized that neither of us, both with cameras in hand mind you, did not think to record it. Ah well, maybe next time.
- Giving Someone The Bird At Lunch – I was between cases and grabbing some lunch at the Sugar Bowl in Breezy Point, Queens. I had a home run case that morning so I figured I deserved a little treat. I ordered some cheese fries and headed outside to sit and relax. Now anyone from the area knows that the seagulls are brutal. Growing up on Long Island I was well aware of what these dive bombers can do if you are not on your guard. So I grabbed a seat out on the deck in a corner, being sure to protect my snack, and looked out at the water. Not too long after I got settled in, a couple with a toddler sat down two tables away. They did not appear to be from the area. The guy was taking a bunch of photos and the woman was settling the child into some fancy chair-type gadget that they attached to the table. Sort of a “do it yourself high chair”. I watched as I did not have much else to do, and was rather impressed with the gadget. The woman told the guy to keep an eye on the kid as she set off in search of a restroom. He was half listening and had walked to the other end of the deck to take a picture of something. This left the food unattended (as well as the kid). As soon as the adults appeared to be at a safe distance from the table, this rat with wings swoops down and attempts to grab the burger off the table. The kid yelled and spooked the bird. Apparently, the bird did not get a good grip on it when it rushed to get away and dropped it – that’s right – right in the middle of my table. The guy turns around in time to see me standing there, holding his burger as I am trying to put it back, and now thinks I was trying to steal his burger. He comes walking over to me as his wife appears from the bathroom. I tried to explain what just happened as they both started accusing me of not only trying to take their lunch but lying about it by saying a bird took it. While this was going on, another seagull swoops down and lands on their table, and begins eating their fries. I point to the table and they both turn around to see that the first one is now joined by a second. The kid is laughing and pointing. The couple is speechless and stares helplessly at the seagulls chowing down on what was meant to be their lunch. I hand them back their burger, shake my head, go back to my seat to get my fries (which I put on the chair underneath the table – I’m no dummy when it comes to these birds), and leave. The last I saw as I walked off was the couple trying to get the kid out of the seat thing as a group of seagulls descended on them for what was left of their food. In retrospect, I should have gotten some video for a TikTok on what not to do when you eat by the ocean. At least it gave me a good story to tell my wife when I got home.
There will be more in the future I’m sure, but that is all for now. I hope you got a chuckle out of these little snapshots of our “side observations” as much as we did experience them firsthand. You never know what you will see out there amongst the humans, so be alert and who knows? Maybe you’ll even get a TikTok out of it.
Investigreat, LLC is a recognized full service Private Investigation Agency that is fully licensed, insured and bonded, handling cases all over Connecticut as well as Queens NY, Brooklyn NY, Bronx NY, New York City, Staten Island and Long Island NY. Adam, along with his wife Terri, have been working cases for Legal Teams, Insurance Companies, Private Businesses, Municipalities, School Systems and general investigation services for the public since 1992.
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