The Judge Dropped The Case

By Bruce E. Modway

The murderous Johnston brothers did not have a chance.

The team of Dave Richter and Thomas Cloud was hot on the criminals' trail in the late 1970s, as the law enforcement duo spent many days and nights traversing the Chester County countryside looking for clues and evidence that would convict the notorious gang members of cold-blooded murder, theft and other nefarious deeds.

Richter, an FBI agent, Cloud, a member of the Pennsylvania State Police, and other members of the county's law enforcement community successfully prosecuted the Johnston brothers: all three are serving multiple life imprisonment terms in state prisons for murder, and other gang members have spent multiple years behind prison bars. Richter and Cloud have retired from their respective agencies, but hey have not left heir law enforcement roots. Richter and Cloud are still partners - they have teamed with another ex-FBI agent, Jef Feehery, in a West Chester-based investigative service company to help businesses solve tough problems. Cloud, Feehery & Richter, Inc, not only find solutions, but they have also saved clients thousands of dollars in the process.

"We investigate," Feehery said of the services his company provides. His concise explanation does not begin to tell the story of the private investigative agency. Three essential components - who, what and how - of the investigative team differentiate them from other agencies.

The trio is quick to point out that they do not resemble detectives seen daily on television shows. They don't pick locks or in any other way break the law in the course of their investigations. Their work will stand up in any court in the nation. They also don't peak into windows to photograph a straying spouse, as they won't handle divorce cases. And, they emphatically say, they don't do criminal defense work.

The lack of criminal defense work is not surprising when you consider the core staff consists of six former law enforcement officers with FBI and state police experience, and they have a network of former police officers on call when extra help is needed. Some current police officers also do work for Cloud, Feehery & Richter, Inc. In fact, clients have access to an army of ex-FBI and other law enforcement officials across the country and internationally. "If we need help in California, or any other place, we have contacts," Feehery said. "We refer business to them and they refer business to us."

"We don't stray far from our law enforcement background," Richter said. "We live here and we want to make the community better. We want to make a contribution, and we still wear the white hats."

The types of investigations they handle seem almost endless, and a vast majority is geared towards corporate clients. In fact, they have developed a whole set of services they call CFR Corporate Investigative Services. "Business owners should look upon our company as an asset to help them solve problems and save money," Richter said.

Insurance fraud, bankruptcy fraud, price fixing, arson, embezzlement, product liability, witness location, undercover operations, internal investigations and pharmaceuticals investigations head the list. Also high on the list is due diligence.

"It doesn't make sense for business executives to enter into multimillion dollar deals without investigating the background of the people with whom they are doing business," Cloud said. "Is the person or company who they say they are? Businesses spend little on us and could save a lot later."

Spending a little on Cloud, Feehery & Richter, Inc., saved one local company at least $180,000 in attorney fees, not to mention any possible settlement costs. A company in the Philadelphia area had a supervisor with four EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) complaints. The company was told to figure on $180,000 for the lawyers to litigate the case. Company officials turned to Cloud, Feehery & Richter for help.

"We interviewed all 35 employees in the department and a clear pattern of conduct developed," Cloud said. "We submitted a full and complete report, which the company forwarded to the judge in the case. All charges were dropped and the client said it was the complete report and investigation which led to the positive result."

Don't expect to see a client list from the firm, as it protects each client's identity. "In many instances coming to us indicates a problem," Richter said. "They don't want the public to know the fact." Feehery said at times a business client will approach them, knowing something is wrong but not sure what is taking place. "We pinpoint the problem, help them to focus on the issue, and we find a solution," Feehery said. "Our goal is to help our clients in a cost-effective way."

Workplace violence was on the mind of one Allentown client when he called Cloud, Feehery & Richter. "The owner was worried about a former employee returning and causing a problem during the Christmas holidays," Richter said. "They wanted us to do surveillance for 10 or 11 hours a day for weeks. It would have cost him a lot of money for us to perform those duties. We suggested just following the guy for a couple of days to see if he had moved on to his new job. This was a cost-effective resolution."

Another company was worried about the reaction from a mass layoff of workers. "We went into the company and helped defuse the issue," Cloud said. One worker, who had been employed for 25 years, said the day he was laid off was especially awful day because his wife also lost her longtime employment.

Not all investigations have sad endings. "We used our resources to reunite a birth mother with her child after 37 years," Richter said.

The resources the firm can draw upon are extensive, especially their databases. "We have access to information that most firms don't have. Some are in the public domain but even those need a degree of sophistication to properly use," Cloud said. "We pay a lot for the access and we're on-line every day. We also have access to ones not open to the general public." The firm has done background checks on candidates for public offices, including police chief candidates, and they have done work for nursing homes on compliance issues.

A pharmaceutical company used the firm's research and investigative abilities to head off a potentially crippling lawsuit. The survivors of a man who committed suicide had sued the company saying the firm's medication had cause the suicide. "We investigated and found the family had a history of suicide," Richter said. "The case settled for a small amount."

The investigative team began to assemble in 1973 when Richter was transferred from North Carolina to the Newtown Square office of the FBI. After two days on the job he began working with Cloud. Feehery, an expert in financial investigations, joined the Newtown Square office in 1977. Cloud worked for 26 years with the state police and retired as the supervisor of Criminal Investigations in Delaware County. Richter served 33 years with the FBI and handled numerous white-collar cases. Feehery had 25 years of services with the FBI and has an accounting degree and masters in business administration. At one point, Feehery was assigned to the British Serious Fraud Office in London, England. Feehery handles investigations involving security fraud, price fixing, SEC filings and Initial Public Offerings.

After retiring, the three found themselves working for the National Fraud Center. They decided because of the commute and other factors they should open their own agency. Cloud, Feehery & Richter, Inc., opened its doors on April 19, 1999. The staff also includes John W. Whiteside, III, a 30-year veteran of the FBI. His expertise includes foreign counterintelligence investigations. He has worked on classified and complex traditional and economic espionage cases. Joseph Nangle worked for the state police for 26 years and has years of experience in insurance fraud.

"After all these years, we still like our work," Richter said. "We're good investigators."