Littleton – When his employer, Action Research Group, gave Bryan Wagner a list of names to investigate in February, he thought nothing of it.
On Wednesday afternoon, those names were all he could think about as he paced the hallway outside his Littleton apartment, talking on a cordless phone, clutching a Bud Light, waiting for a Super Shuttle van to take him to the airport.
Turns out, those names are believed to be part of an investigation that computer giant Hewlett- Packard was conducting. HP’s former board chairwoman, Patricia Dunn, had ordered a probe to find out who on the board was leaking information about the company to journalists.
Wagner, 29, and four other private investigators are now front and center in the case. On Wednesday morning, Wagner received a hand-delivered subpoena from the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, ordering him to appear at a hearing today in Washington, D.C.
The committee is looking into the use of “pretexting” by contractors hired to conduct HP’s investigation. Pretexting is pretending to be someone else to obtain personal information, such as phone records.
“I’m terrified,” said Wagner, who worked for Action Research, a Melbourne, Fla., data broker for five years. “I feel like I’m just a little guy getting pulled into this big situation. I don’t have a lawyer. I can’t afford one.”
Wagner said he received the list of names in February, when he lived in Omaha, before he quit working for Action Research. He said he “had no idea” who the people on the list were but made calls to obtain their phone records.
“I don’t follow HP. I didn’t know anything about HP,” Wagner said.
Wagner recently destroyed his computer with a hammer after getting a tip from his uncle James Rapp that he might be caught up in the probe of HP, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Last week, investigators from the California attorney general’s office came to Wagner’s home to question him.
“Three cops came,” Wagner said. “Two of them played ‘good cop, bad cop,’ and the other stood back watching me. I was shaking.”
Wagner said he first told the cops he had computer problems and got rid of the machine.
“The cops caught me in a lie about the computer,” he said. “I’ve never had cops in my home like that before.”
Wagner said he’s still shaken by the visit from the investigators.
“I’m not going to say any more about the computer,” he said. “I’m afraid I’ll be charged with destruction of evidence.”
His apartment in the Dakota Ridge gated community was in disarray Wednesday. A bottle of anti-anxiety medication prescribed by his doctor was on the kitchen counter.
A spokesman for the California AG’s office wouldn’t comment on the investigation.
Wagner called himself a “salesperson” when describing the work he did for Action. He said pretexting was a legal practice, used by bounty hunters and car companies to find people.
“Action has lawyers to make sure that we’re doing everything legally,” he said. “I never thought I was doing anything wrong.”
When the Super Shuttle arrived Wednesday afternoon to take him to the airport, a clearly flustered Wagner emptied his Bud Light bottle in the grass.
“I don’t know what I’m going to say. I’ll try to explain as much as I can (about pretexting),” said Wagner. “Or maybe I should plead the Fifth. The first thing I’m going do is apologize for not wearing a suit. I don’t have a suit, just a shirt and tie. I have a lot of respect for the government.”
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson
can be reached at 303-954-1088
Al Día: Para leer este artículo en español. denverpost.com/aldia
