Internet fraud is rampant. For years the 10news investigators reported on the multitudes of methods in mail fraud. But now, cyber crime is in vogue, it’s like mail fraud on steroids, with every kind of con game under the sun. It allows the crooks access to thousands of potential victims at one time. The entire fraud process is done at much higher speed and while the authorities are trying to keep up, the reality is the bad guys have the advantage, at least for now.

That’s why we were hopeful when San Diego’s CATCH team was created -- COMPUTER AND TECHNOLGY CRIME HIGH TECH RESPONSE TEAM. What a concept -- local, state and federal agencies talking to each other. San Diego sheriffs and police, the FBI, the district attorney's office, and others, all working together no matter where the victims or crooks lived.

That’s why I recently agreed NOT to do a story on an alleged cyber crime. The alleged bad guy, a local who was selling on eBay, was collecting cash for car rims, computers, and high-end basketball shoes but wasn’t shipping the merchandise to his customers in Florida, Wisconsin, and Illinois. We also found out the CATCH team was investigating the case. Here’s the dilemma: Our job is to be aggressive advocates for consumers, to expose problems and advocate for solutions. But if we immediately report this story, the CATCH team tells us there is a good chance the suspect would destroy all computer files. There goes the evidence. So we cut a deal. We would “sit” on the story and wait for the CATCH team to acquire bank record information and victims' statements, get warrants signed, etc., in order they have the strongest case possible. In return, the CATCH team would tell us when the bust was going down, so we could get some powerful images, of WHY computer crime doesn’t pay. On rare occasions in the past we’ve had similar agreements with other agencies. We don't do it a lot, we don’t consider ourselves an arm of the government but we are citizens with a responsibility to our community. We’ve always kept our word, nothing has ever leaked out, we always played by the rules at the crime scene. We pride ourselves on our reputation of playing straight and fair.

But then SOMETHING WENT WRONG. The project director on the CATCH team decided to play a different game. Keith Burt from the district attorney's office would not honor the promise made to us. We would be told nothing—even though this was the gentleman’s agreement. I learned of the raid the day after the CATCH team grabbed the suspect at his residence. I was and I still am very disturbed by this.

HERE'S THE QUESTION—

I’m sure some journalists will say we should have never agreed to sit on the story. I am sure some law enforcement types would say that there is never any gentleman’s agreement when it comes to the media. I’m curious--what do you think?

You can find the story on the EBay case here:

http://www.10news.com/video/11423566/index.html


Just e mail me at jwblog@10news.com

For 21 years, Channel10 has been involved in investigative reporting. It’s been my job during this time to produce, write and eventually oversee our investigations. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Bill Griffith, Michael Finney, Bianca de la Garza, Bree Walker, Marti Emerald, Michael Tuck, Stephen Clark, Mark Matthews, Thom Jensen, Lauren Reynolds, Steve Atkinson and other good, solid, journalists during this long run.

Not many local television stations have two decades of experience in exposing wrongdoings in the community. But Channel 10 has done just that. To survive, to be successful, an investigative team needs good reporters, creative and thorough producers, experienced photojournalists, a sharp legal team and support from your management. We have gotten all of these resources and it has allowed us to do our jobs in a meaningful way. Trust me, some investigative stories can be like going to war and a professional and dedicated support staff is crucial to your ability to produce tough, thorough and fair reports.

The 10News ITeam goals are many: to investigate waste and inefficiency in government, uncover illegal or unfair practices by public and private entities, and just as importantly, to initiate positive change. Our goal is to continue this effort on behalf of the citizens of San Diego.

If you come back here in the future, you will be seeing something new, 10News Investigative team’s “The Story-Behind The Scenes.” I’ll be writing about some of the stories we break and how we did it. What was our thinking? What did we hope to accomplish? I hope you will come visit here again and give us your feedback on our stories, good or bad. After all, we are human, we don’t always get it right, but we sure try.

J.W.August Managing Editor