HP probe may have involved Omaha data broker
WASHINGTON, D.C.--Investigators for the state of California have begun collecting information on Brian Wagoner, one of the men allegeded to have helped HP conduct a controversial investigation into news leaks.
Wagoner, who resides in Omaha, Nebraska, is an employee of Action Research Group, the Florida-based detective agency hired by HP to locate the sources of media leaks, according to his uncle, James Rapp, who himself was convicted in 2000 for improperly obtaining phone records belonging to the parents of murder victim JonBenet Ramsey.
HP's boardroom drama
Rapp told the New York Times this week that his nephew has worked for Action Research for several years and performed some of the investigative work for HP. In a phone interview on Wednesday, Rapp told CNET News.com that he was misquoted in the Times' story.
"(Wagoner) and his family are a little upset at me," said Rapp, who lives in the Denver area. "Apparently he's not into (Action Research) as much as I thought."
Wagoner could not be reached for comment.
But Rapp testified last June before a U.S. congressional committee investigating "pretexting," the practice of obtaining information through false pretenses, that Wagoner once worked for his data-brokering company, Touch Tone Information. Wagoner took a job with Action Research after Rapp was forced by federal officials to shut down his business following his conviction.
Sources with knowledge of the investigation into HP by the state of California say authorities there believe Wagoner performed some of the information gathering for HP. A spokesman for California's attorney general declined to comment.
HP is under congressional scrutiny following the company's acknowledgement that it hired a team of private investigators from around the country to collect personal information belonging to board directors, employees and journalists, including three from CNET News.com .