June 23, 2000
Wall Street Journal
Tech Center
Detective Agency Obtained Documents On Microsoft at Two
Additional Groups
By TED BRIDIS and GLENN R. SIMPSON
Staff Reporters
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
WASHINGTON -- Investigative Group International Inc., the
detective agency linked to attempts to buy the trash of a
pro-Microsoft Corp. trade association, obtained internal
information from two other groups that support Microsoft in its
antitrust fight, according to people with knowledge of IGI's
operations.
IGI conducted successful actions against the Independent
Institute of Oakland, Calif., which focuses on economic policy,
and the National Taxpayers Union in Arlington, Va. The company
obtained documents showing Microsoft's financial support of the
groups, which later appeared in news accounts.
The disclosures mean that IGI's anti-Microsoft campaign -- on
behalf of a still-unidentified client -- was much longer and more
elaborate that previously known, occurring over the course of a
year and spanning the country. Several people with ties to IGI
provided the details on the operations contained in this report.
In the Independent Institute matter, IGI employee Robert M.
Walters coordinated efforts from Washington to collect
information about the group's funding sources. The institute
began defending Microsoft in 1998 and took out pro-Microsoft ads
last June. In September, the New York Times published a story
citing internal documents from the institute that indicated
Microsoft had paid for the ads. The newspaper wrote that it
obtained the paperwork from "a Microsoft adversary associated
with the computer industry who refused to be further identified."
Institute officials said they believe the funding information may
have been in two laptop computers stolen from the group the same
month the ads appeared. IGI Chairman Terry Lenzner wouldn't
discuss any specifics of cases the firm is involved in or its
clients. "We would never allow anybody to steal property or break
into a site we were not authorized to be in," he said. "And I
know of no matter where we've ever been in the possession of a
computer without specific authorization of the owner."
IGI obtained information from the National Taxpayers Union by
collecting its garbage earlier this year. The group began
claiming last year that the government's antitrust case against
Microsoft was motivated by the prospect of large fines. In May,
Microsoft's contributions to the group were detailed in The Wall
Street Journal and the Washington Post.
The efforts to pass information detrimental to Microsoft
continue. Mr. Lenzner contacted associates in New York last week,
telling them that one of Microsoft's adversaries had hired his
firm and he had uncovered new embarrassing information about the
software giant, according to people familiar with the
discussions. He said he was looking for a public-relations firm
that could pass details to the media without disclosing his role,
these people said.
Last year, IGI's Mr. Walters, who declined more than a dozen
requests for comment, told friends in Washington he was looking
into contributions from Microsoft to organizations critical of
the antitrust case, according to people familiar with his
activities.
Even the firm's critics said it was unlikely Mr. Lenzner would
tolerate criminal activity. Former employees and others familiar
with IGI operations say the firm's methods include interviewing
former or disgruntled employees, conducting "pretext" interviews
where the questioner doesn't identify himself as an IGI
investigator, and obtaining trash. Collecting trash is a legal
activity and is fairly common in the investigations business.
But Independent Institute President David Theroux said he
believes the information about the ad payments, which he said has
been misrepresented, came from the stolen laptops.
Institute officials were careful never to throw away the
documents about the ad payments, Mr. Theroux said. He added that
financial paperwork is shredded and trash is in a locked box.
However, he added, "We don't have any proof exactly about how the
documents were gotten."
IGI's anti-Microsoft work came to light after efforts to buy the
trash of the Association for Competitive Technology earlier this
month. Office cleaners said a woman twice asked them to bring the
group's trash to the nearby offices of Upstream Technologies
Inc., which began leasing space in the building May 1.
Records show that Mr. Walters completed the credit application
for Upstream and paid for the office space with a personal check
for $4,445 dated April 17 and drawn on his own bank account.
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FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day.
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