Did detective work bring down the superstar marriage?
The marriage of one of Hollywood’s most famous couples came crashing to an end this week, reportedly thanks in part to some clandestine work from a private investigator.
According to Page Six, Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt after a detective she had hired found evidence of his infidelity, among other unseemly things (namely Russian prostitutes and drugs). These allegations, now splashed across the internet, may be bad for Brad, but for the professionals who investigate cases like these, the scandal could be great for business.
Jolie is far from the first celebrity to enlist the help of a private investigator prior to a divorce, according to Gil Alba, president of the Associated Licensed Detectives of New York State. In fact, he said, the majority of celebrities hire investigators in cases of suspected infidelity or pending divorce. Highly publicized cases like these can also serve to draw attention to the investigation industry as a whole, which according to IBISWorld was predicted to grow 2% last year, fueled by a rising divorce rate and increase in disposable income.
“This level of publicity would drive people to hire investigators more often in situations like these,” he said.
Cases like Brangelina’s pique interest in investigative services for more than just scorned celebrities. Tom Ruskin, president of a firm that investigates highly publicized matrimonial cases, said they see a surge of requests from the average person after events like these.
“We get a lot more calls when something like this happens because people who have been sitting on the sidelines wondering what to do about suspected infidelity think, ‘Ah-ha!’ Let me go speak to this private investigation firm,” he said.
However, the average person may not be able to pay for the same level of investigation that Jolie might have enlisted. Private investigators charge an average of around $50 an hour, but experienced firms can cost customers hundreds per hour, and many cases require multiple people for surveillance work. For the rich and famous in particular, those steep prices are worth it, according to Ruskin. Celebrities have more to gain from hiring a private investigator than the most people, often working to avoid letting their personal issues play out in public. The more damaging information that is found in the private investigation, the more likely it is that the couple will settle out of court. This is particularly true in child custody battles, Ruskin said. (Jolie reportedly has asked for physical custody of the couple’s six children in her divorce filing.)
“Normally the stories that are coming out now are most often leaked by someone either close to the party or part of the legal team of the party for the purpose of settlement,” he said. “The parties usually don’t want to be dragged into court with the paparazzi outside and reporters digging deeper. They would rather try to settle with each other and find equitable custody arrangements for children and move on.”
Information that could affect these arrangements include drug and alcohol use and other behavior that would affect the safety of children. Upon breaking the news of the divorce, TMZ reported that Jolie was upset with Pitt’s parenting methods and consumption of marijuana, the divulging of which some characterized as a “ruthless” PR campaign and ploy to help her case. Whether Pitt’s parental shortcomings are fact or a strategically leaked rumor, the barrage of coverage influences public opinion as the real battle likely continues behind closed doors.
One sold her charge’s Adderall pills for $300. Another eavesdropped on her Wall Street-employed bosses to pick stocks. Another left a toddler alone outside while she went shopping.
While most nannies are responsible, some are not, giving rise to a booming cottage industry: Nanny spies.
More than 5.6 million American families leave children under age 6 in someone else’s care when both parents are at work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There’s no data on how many use nannies, but in recent years,nannying has gained more legitimacy, as salaries have gone up for applicants who are college-educated or have other marketable credentials.
The bulk of nanny spying is conducted by professional investigators, many of them former police or military officers.
At a cost of up to $350 an hour, the services aren’t cheap. But Vincent Guastamacchia, a retired New York Police Department hostage negotiator who is now partner at private investigation company Perimeter Agency, says the peace of mind is priceless.
“You’re leaving your child, your most precious possession, with a stranger. You really need to know who this person is,” he said.
Tom Ruskin, President, CMP Protective and Investigative Group, offers nanny spy services that are $1,250 and up for a background check on a nanny; surveillance starts at $2,500. Brett Carlsen / for NBC News
On a recent stroll through a playground on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Tom Ruskin, a 21-year NYPD veteran who also offers nanny spying through his firm, CMP Protective and Investigative Group, zeroed in on a nanny in the distance. The woman was chatting with another nanny while the girl she was watching — who looked to be about 2 — ran off.
It took the nanny nearly a minute to notice the child was missing and start glancing around for her. When the girl scampered back, the nannies looked relieved and continued their conversation.
“That nanny had no idea where she was,” Ruskin said.
A generally jovial guy whose phone ringtone is the “Law And Order” theme song, Ruskin’s face darkens when he recalls episodes from his career as a police officer that inspire him to keep working to protect kids: searches for missing children; a girl he resuscitated from the brink of death, only to have her later die in his arms.
For $1,250, Ruskin’s firm will do a comprehensive background check on a potential nanny. For $2,500 and up, it will assign a pair of investigators to do surveillance on a nanny who’s already on the job. He said the company gets requests from all over the country.
For surveillance missions, nanny spies will make sure they fit into their surroundings by dressing up as, say, construction workers taking a lunch break in the playground. Others just don sunglasses and a hat. The spies tail their targets with undercover cameras disguised as everyday objects like coffee cups, keychains and pocketbooks.
Reconnaissance can last for days or weeks, easily running into the thousands of dollars. That’s not a problem for clients, who tend to be wealthy; among them are top plastic surgeons, TV personalities, and celebrities who only give their initials so as to conceal their identities, the nanny spies told NBC News.
When a nanny abandoned her charge while she went into a store to shop, Ruskin’s investigators moved in closer than they normally would to make sure no one harmed the child, and immediately informed the parents, who debated pressing neglect charges.
“It was going to get some press exposure probably if the nanny was arrested,” Ruskin said. The family ultimately decided against it because the father was a “known person in the city in New York.”
Tragedies involving nannies are rare, but business picks up whenever a case makes headlines, he added.
While many clients prefer a quiet dismissal, nannies don’t always avoid responsibility for wrongdoing, Ruskin said, recalling a case in which a nanny was discovered trading stocks on information about prospective financial deals she was hearing from the parents. The clients reported her to the Securities and Exchange Commission and she was arrested.
Guastamacchia, the Perimeter Agency partner, advocates cameras to keep an eye on nannies. His firm installs discreet pinhole cameras in ‘ homes, and he also recommends having visible cameras, such as the Nest Cam, to deter bad behavior.
Some nanny wrongdoings border on the absurd, such as one who snuck non-organic food into the kids’ diets — a firing offense for the mom who hired another nanny spy, Limor Weinstein, a former nanny herself.
But Weinstein, who runs a family solutions agency, has witnessed worse than that: nannies stealing, doing drugs on the job, even abusing children.
One client, a psychologist with a 2-year-old, told Weinstein that her daughter had recently started putting pillows over her doll’s face during play.
“It’s probably nothing, I’m probably just a neurotic psychologist,” the client told her, Weinstein recalled.
“When we put a camera in the bedroom, everything was fine until the kid started crying,” Weinstein said. “All of a sudden this nanny switched, and was like, ‘You spoiled brat … I told you to be quiet. I’m going to get you.’ And she’s holding a pillow, she’s holding a hand around her neck.”
Weinstein called the mother, who ran home and fired the nanny.
“We as moms have this gut instinct,” Weinstein said. “Sometimes it’s nothing, you’re a crazy first-time mom. But when there is something else, your child is regressing, there are all these red flags … observe the nanny.”
That “something else” can run the gamut.
In one of Weinstein’s cases, a hidden microphone in the bathroom revealed a nanny raiding the medicine cabinet and selling Adderall. That put an end to her five years of employment with the family.
In another, Weinstein discovered the nanny was having an affair with the kid’s father. She was stumped about what to do because the mother, who was on TV, was on the road nearly all the time, and the nanny treated the child wonderfully.
Limor Weinstein, founder and Executive Director of LW Consulting, LLC, stands in a playground in Manhattan. As a nanny spy, she works to ensure that those watching family’s children are putting child well-being and safety first. Brett Carlsen for NBC Nanny Spy Brett Carlsen / for NBC News
“I always put the child first,” Weinstein said. “I know it sounds weird, but this (nanny) was the best thing for the child.” Conflicted, she told the mom the nanny was great with the child but under a lot of stress, and stopped working for that client.
Unlike the former police officers, Weinstein sometimes interacts with her targets, bringing her daughters to a park where she expects the nanny will be. She says that enables her to use skills she acquired while serving in the Israeli army to assess the nanny, including reading body language and watching for good eye contact with the child.
Then she offers recommendations for parents, ranging from termination in the most extreme situations to corrective actions. Sometimes she will suggest parents pay for therapy for the nanny through social workers Weinstein works with or receive training from the variety of experts she works with, including child sleep specialists and dietitians.
Not every nanny is salvageable — Weinstein says she has encountered “a lot” of alcoholic nannies — but some are just overworked. For those nannies, she recommends parents make sure the nanny knows she can rest when the child naps, as opposed to cleaning or cooking and being “on” for the duration of her shift, which might last from 7 a.m. to as late as 9 p.m.
She also recommends parents show appreciation. A gift certificate for a manicure for a nanny can go a long way, she said.
Not all parents need to snoop on their nannies, the spies say. Good communication about expectations often can prevent trouble. They recommend parents do a trial of a month or so with a new nanny to make sure she or he is the right fit.
At the same time, they say, parents need to look out for warning signs. They might even want to play nanny spy themselves on occasion, said Guastamacchia, the ex-hostage negotiator.
“If you want to know who somebody is, watch how they treat the waiter or waitress, or the busboy,” he said. “Your best face goes to people who can do better for you, and then you show your real self to people who can’t.”
Thomas Ruskin 