http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/07/25/sleuth.arrested.ap/index.html
Kinky Friedman inspiration gets busted
Private eye is charged with posing as FBI agent to bully witness
NEW YORK (AP) -- The private investigator who was the inspiration for the
fictional detective in Kinky Friedman's crime novels was charged Monday
with intimidating a witness by impersonating an FBI agent.
Steve Rombom denied the charge at his arraignment in Manhattan federal
court and was released on his own recognizance.
"I never said I was a police officer or federal agent," Rombom,
47, of New York City, said after the proceeding.
Rombom was charged with one count of impersonating an FBI agent. He is
accused of trying to intimidate an FBI informant in a pending criminal
trial by showing up at the informant's family's home and questioning
them.
The complaint says that during the April 2006 visit Rombom introduced
himself as an FBI agent, flashing a wallet containing what appeared to be
a laminated card with a gold government seal or badge.
Rombom was arrested at a New York hotel Saturday as he was about to give
a lecture at a computer hacking conference. The FBI handcuffed him and
led him away in front of a stunned audience.
His attorney, Terry Todd, told the court Monday that Rombom conducted an
appropriate private investigation of the FBI informant.
He argued that the informant's family members who were interviewed by
Rombom in California spoke only Vietnamese, and he questioned their
credibility in stating that Rombom represented himself as an FBI
agent.
A telephone call to the FBI for comment was not immediately returned
Monday.
Rombom, a private detective for 25 years, was the inspiration for the
detective Rambam in Friedman's series of murder mystery novels, said a
spokeswoman for the author.
Friedman's titles include "Armadillos and Old Lace" and
"The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover." He's also a musician and an
independent Texas gubernatorial candidate.
Rombom is due back in court August 7.
We Hunt Spies, We Stop Espionage, We Kill
Bugs, and We Plug Leaks.
James M. Atkinson, President and Sr. Engineer
Granite Island Group
127 Eastern Avenue #291
Gloucester, MA 01930-8008
Phone: (978) 546-3803
Fax: (978) 546-9467
Web:
http://www.tscm.com/
E-Mail:
jm..._at_tscm.com
Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:18 CST