Killing spotlights people searches
By BRIAN SCHEID
Burlington County Times

Cliff Goldsmith, a private investigator based in Evesham, said he knows his profession already has a bad reputation.

Goldsmith said yesterday the arrest of a Philadelphia man who prosecutors claim used a Burlington Township-based private investigator to locate a Bucks County, Pa., man he has been charged with killing might leave his profession with another black eye.

"I just hope the negative backlash doesn't affect my profession too much," said Goldsmith, a member of the board of directors of the New Jersey Licensed Private Investigators Association Inc. "One bad apple could affect every hard-working private investigator."

Stanford A. Douglas Jr., 29, of Philadelphia was arrested Sunday and charged with murdering William Berkeyheiser, 62. Berkeyheiser was shot six times with a handgun March 27 outside his home in Upper Makefield, Pa., according to Bucks County District Attorney Diane Gibbons.

Gibbons said Douglas held a seven-year grudge against Berkeyheiser that led to the murder. Douglas, who is black, told police he had wanted to kill Berkeyheiser since 1998 when he over overheard Berkeyheiser, who is white, tell a joke with racial overtones, Gibbons said.

Police said Douglas told them he paid a private investigator $150 to track down Berkeyheiser's home address.

According to John Ciaccio, chief executive officer of A-Plus Investigations Inc., Douglas hired his investigators to locate Berkeyheiser. Ciaccio said all of his company's business with Douglas was done by telephone and Douglas never visited the Burlington Township headquarters of A-Plus on Connecticut Drive in Crossroads Business Center, an industrial park near Interstate 295.

Citing client confidentiality and the fact that the investigation into Douglas' case was continuing, Ciaccio declined to comment further.

"We want to cooperate in the prosecution of this and we'll continue to cooperate," Ciaccio said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with (Berk-eyheiser's) family."

According to Goldsmith, private investigators are not required by federal or state law to ask clients why they want to locate a person, but many said they wouldn't consider working for any client who wouldn't provide that information.

"There's really good and legitimate reasons that people need to locate someone 99 percent of the time," said John Stenton, a private investigator who owns Associate P.I., based in Evesham.

"Still, you always have those nuts out there that use the (private investigator) to get the information for something like this," he said.

Stenton said he has located estranged fathers and mothers, former husbands who owe child support, and old college or military friends among others during his 18 years as a private investigator.

Stenton said he has charged anywhere from $100 to $1,800 to locate someone. He said if a client's motives seem at all suspicious, he will not agree to a search.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Email: bscheid@phillyBurbs.com

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