Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency, formed in the 1800s to help
law enforcement track down criminals, once sparred with the outlaw Jesse
James. It later became entangled in the notorious labor disputes of
industrial America.In the hit videogame “Red Dead Redemption II,” players belong to a gang of bandits in the Old West in 1899 who spend a good deal of time offing Pinkerton agents, known simply as Pinkertons.
The plot twist comes in real life: Pinkerton still exists today as Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations Inc., a specialist in corporate security and risk management—and it’s tired of being the bad guy.
Pinkerton, now owned by the Swedish security firm Securitas AB, hoped a letter sent last month to Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. would persuade the game publisher to do right by the Pinkerton name. The letter included a demand for compensation in the form of a lump sum or “an appreciable percentage of each game sold.” more
To anyone who worked with me at Pinkertons, always feel free to say hello.