European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 24, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse -. Second opinions on suitors by Dirk Johnson new York times Ager to Trust but determined to verify Many single women in an ago of risky Romance Are hiring private detectives to Check the backgrounds of their suitors. Most people have a few skeletons in their said Darla Greenwood a 32-year-old chicagoan who has had four boyfriends investigated in the last two years. I d like to know what they Are " investigators in the United states say they Are asked for information about employment credit education and sexual practices they attribute much of their new business to the threat of aids and other sexually transmitted diseases but detectives say that Many americans Are also concerned about preserving the nest eggs they have built up while pursuing careers More ardently than marriage Twenty years ago this was unheard of said Ralph Thomas president of the National association of investigative specialists but now we re getting As Many single people As married women Are far More Likely than men to hire an investigator and usually their suspicions Are borne out detectives said. A 27-year-old Bank officer in Chicago suspected that the Man she had been dating for seven months might be Gay she hired a detective to follow him. The detective sent a Gay Friend of his to the health club where the woman s Boyfriend worked out in the club s locker room the Boyfriend met the Gay Man and suggested sex with him. The woman ended the relationship. It s like going to the doctor to get a second opinion Thomas said. They want to know does he really make that much Money does he really have that degree what does his sex wife say about him " sociologists say that investigators represent the latest step in the United states in a trend toward shrewdness in Romance not so far removed from prenuptial agreements. Trust said Bernard Beck a sociology professor at Northwestern University is viewed As a naive sentimentality. This is the modern reaction to conducting our interpersonal relationships with strangers in earlier times we stayed in our Hometown. We dated someone from the neighbourhood. You knew everything about the person. You did t need a private detective to Check them out. You had your Mother around to do As hiring detectives becomes More common among singles in the United states Many investigative agencies Are advertising Intel source in Naperville iii., runs an and near the singles columns in Chicago life Magazine do you know who you re dating the and asks ominously now More than Ever it s important to such ads attract clients like the 29-year-old insurance executive in Phoenix who had been dating a Man who said he was a professional football player. He was not playing this season he had said because of a knee injury. But she became suspicious because the athlete who supposedly Drew a High salary was always Short of Money. A detective Agency in Santa Barbara calif., Learned that the Man was a former convict who had borrowed several thousand dollars from another woman who never recovered any of it. Computerizing of Public records in recent years has proved a Boon to investigators who say they can find out almost anything by simply keying a social Security number into a computer. For $500, the inter tech investigative Agency in Houston promises to verify within a week a person s age ownership of businesses history of bankruptcies and tax liens mention in newspaper articles As Well As divorces and children. Clients have paid the Agency As much As $10,000 to Darla Greenwood has had Lour boyfriends investigated i d like to know what they unearth secrets it s usually very easy said de Pankau. President of inter text author of How to investigate by computer and a former investigator for the internal Revenue service. People want to find a Quality partner. I would t say they re paranoid but they re very cynical they Don t want to make a mistake that s going to Cost them years and a lot of checking into sexual history is not much harder than verifying financial data detectives said investigators typically have Good sources in nightclubs and among Gay people. If a woman suspects that a Man is sexually involved with other men the detectives will simply Trail him for a few Days. If a Man used to hang out in a homosexual bar Pankau said that s probably something a woman is going to want to know but investigators say it is difficult Short of a blood test to determine whether a person has been treated for sexual diseases. If they Are treated at certain medical institutions we might be Able to get it through a limited number of confidential contacts said a private investigator in Washington. But we re not highly successful in this in some cases the same detective said even the woman is unaware someone is snooping on her Boyfriend. Sometimes it s the parents who come to us he said. They la say this Guy seems too Good to be True and they re often and stripes bookstores stars and stripes bookstores a special kind of Christopher Burke Cove who stars As Corky Thacher in Abc s life goes on is a Symbol. A special kind of hero. It s not just because Christopher has Down syndrome that his accomplishment has made television history there is social history being forged Here As Well. Each week marrying his Talent his Charm and his special determination to the unmatched Power of the tube he is teaching America a great Deal about our 250,000 fellow citizens who like him have Down syndrome. This Issue of life features a Young Man who Only wanted two things out of life to become an actor and to help the mentally handicapped. He got both. Also in this Issue the winning est High school football team in the country the Animas panthers comes from nowhere no Mcdonald a no malls not even a Rock station. They win because there s nothing else to do. Life Magazine is available for $2.95 at a Bookstore near you. O 255 m 8i o3d m and stripes bookstores stars and stripes bookstores sunday december 24, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 17
