John Lehe: computer sleuth.

• Author: Hill, Robin Mackey
• Position: Electronics in criminal investigation

Give him a name, or better yet, a name, social security number and a date of birth, and in a matter of minutes, John Lehe can tell you what type of car a person drives, their college major, what jobs they've held and whether or not they've ever been involved in criminal or civil litigation. Want to know more? No problem.

From the comfort of his uncluttered downtown Anchorage office, Lehe can access not only Alaska public records, but also thousands of databases nationwide, and tell you that your subject graduated cum laude, was inducted into a business fraternity and that he was salesman at a Colorado ski shop in the mid-1980s.

And that's not all. He can also tell you the value of any real property owned, whether or not the person has ever been the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and, if relevant, the total market value of investment portfolios handled. Want to talk to the neighbors? Here's a list of their names and phone numbers.

"In an hour, I could produce a lot of information on you," says Lehe. That much has become obvious. "It's kind of like putting a puzzle together. You just keep gathering more information. It was all leg work before. But now it's computers."

In the last decade -- and especially in the last three or four years, according to Lehe -- computers and sophisticated software have taken a lot of the leg work out of traditional investigation. And although many in the field continue to follow the proverbial paper trail, more and more rely on computer know-how and easy access to thousands of national and international data bases.

"It's a quicker, more expeditious way of getting information," says Alan Hart, director of the National Association of Legal Investigators. "Why spend hours at the courthouse if you don't have to?" Lehe agrees, pointing out that he spends most of his time in the office at the computer or on the phone.

Reared in Florida and trained as a Marine Corps intelligence specialist, the 34-year-old former paralegal describes himself simply as a private investigator. Others might be more apt to dub him a hi-tech computer sleuth.

Digging Into Databases

By dipping into thousands of nationwide computer databases that range from hunting and fishing licenses and vehicle registration records to bankruptcy filings and educational records, Lehe can assemble a fairly comprehensive sketch of a person. And all from information that's been made public. (This is not the same as public...