Lead plaintiff Roderick Smith says he discovered a spy camera in the restroom of a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Encino last year, and that personal injury attorney Mark Daniel Wenzel planted another camera a week later.
Detectives allegedly identified Wenzel as the culprit because the spy cam's own footage captured him during the installation process.
"The police sent pictures of defendant Wenzel to all the Coffee Bean shops in the area, and weeks later, in or about November of 2011, defendant Wenzel was apprehended by the police on a visit to the Coffee Bean located at the intersection of Woodley and Ventura at 16101 Ventura Boulevard in Encino, California, where another hidden recording device was also uncovered," the complaint says.
Meanwhile Coffee Bean superiors allegedly told staff to keep the incident to themselves. (more)
Dedicated spycam'ers plant multiple devices — in this case, at least three before the case was solved.
All businesses need to "proactively prevent spying" (especially optical spying). Schools, country clubs and companies dealing with the public use our services on a regular basis. Contact us.
Proactive inspections are cheap insurance. Inaction leads to lawsuits and lost customer goodwill.
