WHETHER LB OR PI, GREENE HARD TO BEAT.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Daily News Staff Writer

Russell Greene, former North Hollywood High School linebacker turned private investigator, drives up to a crime scene in a white Toyota Camry wearing a pressed suit, complete with tie, shiny shoes and suspenders.

Magnum P.I., Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe he isn't. No colorful Hawaiian shirts, no rumpled clothes, no stale alcohol. He doesn't grab interview subjects by the collar. The office of Gotcha Investigations isn't some cold, dark two-room dingy unit. It's his Studio City house, which he shares with his wife, a college instructor.

He does wear a fedora when it's raining. And he packs heat, a 9mm pistol, when he's on private property.

At 27, he's a relatively young private investigator and one of the few who are African-American. Most P.I.'s are retired police officers who have developed contacts throughout their careers.

Greene has to rely on his wits, street smarts and professional attitude.

Example: He's interviewing a witness. He starts with a courteous greeting: ``Good morning/afternoon/evening, sir/ma'am. I'm investigator Russell Greene.'' He shows them his business card and assures them no one is in trouble.

``A lot of people say, `I don't have to talk to you,' '' he said. ``I say matter-of-factly, `You're right, but you don't want me to put you down as a hostile witness. I'll drag you into court (by delivering a subpoena) and deal with you there. But I feel there's no need for that. I can take your statement and bring it to the D.A.'s.' Being respectful and treating people with dignity is the key.''

He tailors his conversations to whom he's interviewing. If it's a gang member, he talks street slang. If it's a corporate officer, he speaks accordingly. If it's a lawyer, he'll quote the law.

Greene used to play defense and he still does. He is an independent contractor with about nine defense attorneys - some in Johnnie Cochran's firm - as clients. They hire him to canvass crime scenes, locate and interview witnesses and find information that could help their client either avoid trial or be acquitted.

``His work is just as good as major investigation companies, and he's just as thorough,'' said Mike Withem, an insurance attorney in Cochran's firm. He hired Greene to help prove a married couple conspired to defraud an insurance company of about $2 million.

Like all P.I.'s, he occasionally is called upon to follow someone. Recently, a family hired him to travel to Birmingham, Ala., and determine whether their daughter's fiance, a medical student who had come into a lot of money, was dealing drugs.

After spending less than two days in the area, he determined the student wasn't dealing drugs - but the man had met a rich girlfriend and left town with her.

His specialty is crime scenes, like one he canvassed following an attempted murder.

At the scene, Greene notices the black Ford Astro van in the driveway. Two small bullet holes, one in the upper-left corner of the driver's side window, the other in the lower right, are evident. Greene takes a ruler and measures the distance between the holes, tapes the ruler down and takes a picture with a 35mm camera.

There are puddles of blood on the seats. Greene takes more pictures, then follows the trail up the driveway, up the stairs to the porch, and into the house. He can tell by the blood splotches on the ground the victim had been running.

In the house, he sees blood on the wall. The victim stumbled and tried to balance herself against the wall, he concludes.

The trail continues through the hall and ends in a bedroom in the back of the house. Greene looks behind the headboard and finds more blood puddles in the space between the mattress and headboard. The victim sat there and hid, he concluded.

``I can't change facts and I can't distort evidence,'' he said. ``I find facts.''

There is a dirty side to his work. While investigating whether a Compton teacher who alleged students threw feces at her had filed a false police report, Greene dressed in old shorts and a T-shirt, old shoes, put plastic bags over his feet and waded into the L.A. River, taking samples of the water, the sewage and human waste.

``He keeps going like a bulldog, never leaving the trail,'' said private investigator Ashley Fauria, a retired sheriff's deputy who taught Greene much about the business. He is acting as a character reference for Greene while Greene completes the required 6,000 hours needed to be licensed by the state office of consumer affairs.

``He's tenacious,'' Fauria said. ``Those same qualities were good for football and he's carried those qualities with him into this life.''

The tenacity helped Greene as a standout linebacker at North Hollywood from 1986-88. At 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, Greene impressed everyone with his leadership and tackling skills to earn All-City 3-A honors as a senior despite the team's 4-5 record. He also won a spot in the Daily News All-Star Game and a scholarship to San Diego State.

His coach, Fred Grimes, now a Kennedy assistant, recalled a typical play: With Grant at the North Hollywood 1-yard line, Greene powered his way past the line and hit Grant's fullback, knocking him back into the tailback. The ball carrier fumbled and North Hollywood recovered.

``Without a doubt, he was our leader on a team that wasn't very good,'' Grimes said. ``He was a no-nonsense guy. He worked hard. He was a very mature young man who was very motivated.''

In the all-star game, Greene broke his leg in two places. San Diego State pulled its scholarship.

Following the surgery, Greene complained of chest pains. An examination revealed he had an enlarged heart.

Subsequent tests revealed Greene wasn't in danger, so he played at Santa Monica College and finished at Humboldt State, graduating in 1993 with degrees in sociology and criminology.

He wanted to work in law enforcement and become a detective, but it was Fauria who gave him a break in the P.I. field in 1993. Greene said he has completed the hours and passed the written test to earn his investigator's license. A spokesman in the department of consumer affairs in Sacramento said Greene's application is pending.

Other P.I.'s are aware of Greene because he has talked about his cases at California Association of Licensed Investigators meetings. Many object that an unlicensed investigator is getting so much work.

John Grogan, a senior writer at P.I. Magazine and an investigator, said independent contractors must be licensed. However, Greene said he's on Fauria's payroll and thus within the law. Nevertheless, Grogan is impressed by his work.

``This guy jumped the gun,'' Grogan said. ``He seems very thorough in his case work. I'd love to add him on staff whether he's licensed or not.''

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Photo

Photo: Russell Greene, a former football player at North Hollywood High, is becoming a successful private investigator.

David Sprague / Daily News