Before Mentat Recon had a name, Rafael Martinez spent two decades operating at the sharp end of federal law enforcement — the kind of work that doesn't make press releases.
He entered service through the United States Marine Corps, then transitioned to the U.S. Border Patrol before being selected as a Federal Air Marshal with the Transportation Security Administration in the immediate aftermath of September 11th. From there, he was appointed Special Agent with U.S. Customs — which became Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the largest federal reorganization in American history, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Rafael was there on Day One. A founding member of DHS.
As a Special Agent, he was assigned to the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), serving as Lead Case Agent on Operation Arctic Dragon — a multi-agency investigation targeting transnational narcotics trafficking organizations. He served on the DEA Task Force and Interdiction Task Force, conducting complex narcotics investigations with international scope. He was later assigned to the Federal Financial Crimes Task Force, investigating money laundering, bulk cash smuggling, and trade-based financial schemes.
His FLETC Cyber Crimes Investigation training sets him apart from career field agents. Rafael bridges physical and digital investigation — equally comfortable executing a search warrant or tracing cryptocurrency through blockchain analysis. His C-TPAT (Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) supply chain security specialization adds a dimension few private investigators possess.
Additional credentials include Pinkerton armed agent experience in executive protection, undercover PI operations dismantling drug trafficking and theft rings, NRA Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor certification, Spanish fluency, and six active Florida licenses: M, C, D, DI, G, and W.
Rafael doesn't investigate cases. He runs operations.
Before "deep dive" was a buzzword and "the dark web" had a name, Nancy Planeta was already there.
In the mid-1990s, while working multiple jobs as a single mother, Nancy spent her rare quiet hours hunting declassified DARPA documents, cross-referencing government research, and pulling threads on topics mainstream culture wouldn't touch for another decade. No tutorials. No roadmap. Just a dial-up connection and a mind that refused to take anything at face value. She was conducting open-source intelligence research before the intelligence community had a name for it.
She formalized her instincts academically, earning a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, Major in Cybersecurity, Minor in Digital Crime — then stacked two of the most demanding credentials in the industry.
In a field full of people who learned the rules, Nancy is one of the few who helped write them.
What makes Mentat Recon different isn't just credentials — it's the combination.
Rafael brings two decades of federal operational experience: running multi-agency task forces, managing confidential sources, executing complex investigations from inception to prosecution. He knows how cases are built because he built them at the highest level of federal law enforcement.
Nancy brings the technical depth that most investigators lack entirely: certified ethical hacking, enterprise-grade cybersecurity architecture, and OSINT methodology at the highest tier of practice. She sees the digital landscape the way Rafael sees a physical surveillance environment — every angle, every vulnerability, every opportunity.
The call you make before the problem becomes a crisis is worth ten times the call you make after.
Initial consultations are complimentary. Response within 24 hours.