My Biz: Cedar Rapids private investigator watches, researches

CEDAR RAPIDS — Nearly three decades of helping people solve their personal and legal problems has given Jeff Marlin some perspective.

“I do turn down a lot of cases,” Marlin said one recent afternoon. “People ask me to do illegal things, and I say ‘No, I won’t do that.’ There are some crazy people out there that ask me to do some crazy stuff, and I turn them down.”

Licensed, bonded and insured to work in Iowa, Marlin runs Marlin’s Special Investigations out of his Hiawatha home. He takes cases that often involve seemingly ordinary, everyday problems, nonetheless very important to those involved.

“I do a lot of surveillances, which consists of domestic (situations), cheating spouses,” he said. “Personal injury cases, workers’ comp cases. I do a lot of locates, background checks, asset searches. I serve papers.”

Marlin, 57, took over the business his father Mike Marlin started in 1994 after retiring from the state Division of Criminal Investigation. Mike Marlin died in June 2023.

“I started working for him part-time in ’96 when I was a high school math teacher at North Linn,” he said. “For four years when I was teaching, I helped him during the summers, and he asked me to come on full-time.”

Cops & teachers

When Marlin bought the business from his parents in 2007, it was something of a return to his first career.

The 1985 graduate of Regis High School earned a degree in criminal justice and worked as an officer for police departments in the Kansas City area before returning to Cedar Rapids to become a teacher.

“My dad’s side of the family were a bunch of cops, and my mom’s side of the family were a bunch of teachers, so those were the two emphases,” he said.

Most often hired by attorneys, he spends a fair amount of time watching others, usually with a camera and a voice recorder.

“Everywhere I go I have a Dictaphone,” Marlin said. “I record when I started work, when did this happen, if it’s not on video. I document everything, pretty much by the minute.”

Internet help

Surveillance jobs may mean following someone through their daily routine to confirm or challenge an injury claim for insurance. Most cases begin with a background check via public records.

“Iowa Courts Online is a great source,” he said of the state court system’s database. “I use that all the time. It gives me a little background.”

Marlin’s investigative career coincided with the development of the internet and social media.

“Facebook helps a lot,” he said. “Doing surveillances, I would have to go to the Department of Transportation to get a (driver’s license) photo of the person if my client didn’t have one, just to know who I was following. Now, I rarely have to do that because most people have Facebook and I can see what they look like.”

Life online also generates business.

“On occasion, I get people who are dating someone, maybe even online,” Marlin said. “They want to know what that person’s background is before they get too serious. I’ve found that many of the online dating are scammers. They don’t even exist. I let the client know: ‘Don’t take any more calls. They’re trying to scam you.’ ”

Criminal cases

Real-world, life-or-death cases happen, too.

“In the criminal world, I usually work for the defendant,” Marlin said. “Murder cases, assaults, rapes, drug cases, you name it. It’s basically tracking down witnesses, reading police reports, and finding out if any mistakes have been made or if they didn’t follow up with somebody. I go find them and interview them and see what they know.”

His work has supported acquittals that have been featured on TV shows such as NBC’s “Dateline.”

“I was not interviewed, and I was not on the show, but they were my cases,” Marlin said.

Locating a missing person, he said, often raises ethical considerations.

“There are people who have lost touch with loved ones — family, military, old friends — and they want to find them,” Marlin said. “I always tell my client, I’m going to contact that person and let them know you’re looking for them and if it’s OK to give their information to you.

“I’ve had numerous calls where the guy will say, ‘I’m trying to track down my old girlfriend,’ and I’ll tell them that, and they’ll say ‘Oh, well, don’t worry about it then.’ Those are people who are maybe trying to do harm to that person.”

What’s next?

Marlin expects to ease into retirement, possibly handing off the business to a third generation.

“I don’t necessarily have to retire,” he said. “I can just take (fewer) jobs. Still bringing in an income, just working less and enjoying life a little more.

“My son who’s in Des Moines might be interested in taking over the business. My father passed it on to me, I might pass it on to my son if there’s interest there. It would be something I would have to teach him how to do.”

Know a business that should be considered for a “My Biz” feature? Let us know by emailing mary.sharp@thegazette.com.

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