Behind the Screens: Conversations with Background Screening Pros hosted by Les Rosen

Episode 24: General Counsel on Day One: How Vince Pascarella Picked His Title and Ran With It

• Les Rosen • Season 1 • Episode 24

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What does it take to lead in one of the most complex, fast-evolving, and compliance-heavy industries around—while wearing multiple hats and still managing to stay grounded? In this episode, I sit down with my longtime friend and background screening veteran, Vince Pascarella. Vince isn’t just a compliance guru—he’s worn every hat in the business, from general counsel to sales leader to the brains behind custom-built risk mitigation tools. We cover it all: his early days at HR Plus, his journey through industry-defining mergers, and the big ideas that are pushing screening forward. But we also go deeper—into fatherhood, personal reinvention, and the lasting impact of integrity. Vince’s story is equal parts insightful and inspiring, packed with moments that will make you think—and make you laugh. 

He had his bar results for an hour… and a business card by lunch. Trust me, this is one you’ll want to hear from start to finish.

Pro Conversation You don’t want to miss!

  • From Colored Folders to General Counsel — Vince's Entry into Screening
  • Wearing Every Hat — From Sales to Compliance to Technology
  • Evolving With the Industry — Leadership, Innovation & Lessons Learned
  • Reputation, Family, and a Life Outside Screening

This episode is a masterclass in how to evolve, lead, and thrive in the background screening industry. Vince Pascarella’s story is a reminder that the most powerful tools in your career aren't just technical expertise—they're trust, teamwork, and relentless curiosity.

🎧 If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate, follow, and leave a review. It helps others discover the show and keeps these great stories coming. Thanks for tuning in to Behind the Screens!

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SPEAKER_03:

I remember when I walked into HR Plus for that interview, they had colored files. like adorning the office. Like they were all like yellow, blue, green, you know, whatever. And I remember asking one of the first things I asked in the interview was like, what's up with the colored Manila folder? You know, like the Manila folders, but all different colors. And they're like, oh, those are due dates. I said, what do you mean those are due dates? And like, well, we promise our customers, you know, a two to three day turnaround time. And yellow means it's due on Monday. Blue means it's due on Tuesday. And then there were like orange folders everywhere. And I said, what are the orange folders? And they're like, oh, that's U-Haul. Which is like one of their largest customers at the time, right? So they have their own folders. And I'm like, so how come they're not, you know, by date? And they're like, we get the U-Haul folders out as quickly as we can.

SPEAKER_00:

That's amazing. We all have those stories from the early days. We used to have files by the date the order came in. So Monday was blue because it's Blue Monday. And, you know, if a Monday file is still sitting there Wednesday, I mean, someone better pay attention to it. That's right.

UNKNOWN:

That's right.

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to Behind the Screens, conversations with background screening pros. I'm Les Rosen, your host, and I'm excited to have you here. On this podcast, we chat with the people who know the background screening world inside and out. Executives, industry experts, legal pros, and more. We dive into their personal stories and insights to give you a real look at what's happening behind the scenes. Whether you work in the screening industry or are just curious, Behind the screens bring you the real, unfiltered conversations from the people who make it all happen. Stick around for stories you won't hear anywhere else. And ladies and gentlemen, Les Rosen here. Welcome to another episode of Behind the Screens, conversations with background screening pros, the people who actually make it happen and the people in the know. And talk about someone who's in the know is one of my favorite people in the screening industry, the gentleman who I can best describe as a guy who has been there and done that. Mr. Vince Pascarella has, one time or another, has had his fingers involved, I think, in every aspect of the screening industry. He's a compliance guru, but he's done sales and marketing and production and criminal records, and I'm sure he's fooled around with technology. And everything else there is to do is one of the star words of the screening industry. My pleasure to introduce Mr. Vince Pascarella. Vince, welcome. Thanks, Les. Happy to be here. I've known you for years, and I finally had trouble with your name, and I finally figured out Pascarella. In my brain, I finally got through that, so I failed to say Pascarella, and here we go. Most

SPEAKER_03:

phonetically perfect names are a challenge for folks. All

SPEAKER_00:

right. So, Vince, for those who don't know you, I think everyone does, but for those who may not, tell us about what you currently do. So today

SPEAKER_03:

I am Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer for Informedata. Informedata has been in existence under that brand for about three and a half years. We were the result of the merger between Wholesale Screening Solutions and SJV and Associates, which happened in late 2021.

SPEAKER_00:

And you started off with which one of those again? With

SPEAKER_03:

Wholesale Screening Solutions as part of the Lowers Risk Group. Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

And so how long have you been with Lowers Risk Group, wholesale screening, and now Informed Data altogether?

SPEAKER_03:

You know, at the risk of revealing my advanced age, about 13 years, believe it or not.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, the fact that you can remember means your age isn't that advanced, so that's pretty good. I've always liked you, Mike. So what's your current position there? What are you currently doing at Informed Data?

SPEAKER_03:

I run our internal compliance function with a small team, and then I run our internal legal in general function with a hybrid team, a small team inside, and then I use outside counsel for various matters and manage all those relationships.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, considering the length and breadth of service offerings, that's probably going to keep you pretty busy. What areas do you really focus on among others?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I mean, I joke internally that I, you know, I'm doing three or four people's jobs, but we have a pretty robust compliance infrastructure internally. So that entails like all of our internal policies and procedures, all of our contractual obligations to both vendors and customers. And then of course, consumer disputes, everyone in this industry's favorite topic. So that all falls under our compliance function. We have some overlap with our quality department as well. On the legal side, I do everything from, you to, you know, managing. I'm not a litigator. I don't do litigation directly, but I manage outside counsel and do litigation support for them when we occasionally find ourselves in the uncomfortable position of defending ourselves and our customers in a litigation environment.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, and Pam Davato was on the show recently. She basically said it's no longer an issue of if a firm will be sued, it's just when. You know, that's just part of the territory.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, and unfortunately, too, it's like it happens once. The likelihood of it happening a second time is greater than the likelihood of it happening the first time, right? Like once you're squarely in the radar of the litigants, the plaintiff's bar, it's hard to get out of these sites, you know?

SPEAKER_00:

I have a flash to the third Godfather movie where Michael Corleone, they just made an attempt on his life and people are saying, oh boy, this is terrible. And Michael says, no, this is the life we chose.

SPEAKER_01:

That's right. That's

SPEAKER_00:

right. So that was just part and parcel of, you know, if you're in the screening industry, you know, that's just another cost of doing business, I guess, right?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I'm going to say this real quick story just because it's fresh in my head, right? Like the argument of the plaintiff bar is always like, you know, the background screening industry, they're the evil empire, you know, they're only interested in making money. They cut corners you know, it's like, you know, sloppy data, et cetera, et cetera. And then you read one of their complaints and it's like a cut and paste from their last lawsuit. They're calling us like, another company's name and they got their client's name wrong in the document. It's quite a cynical. I'm like, who's the sloppy out for money cut and paste guys here? Like, I'm pretty sure it's you.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I mean, that's the world we live in. So obviously, I mean, you must find it interesting because it sounds like you're kind of the Swiss army knife person when it comes to the number of different things that you're confronted with.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, absolutely. But, you know, no man is an island, right? We have a very solid team here at Informed, and I rely on the expertise of, you know, those on my teams and those leaders in the other functions in our company. You know, robust quality program helps a lot. I mean, that keeps my job to, you know, a bare minimum, right? Quality first and, you know, legal last. You know, like fund them, and then you don't have to fund me, right?

SPEAKER_00:

That's worth repeating. Quality first, legal last. I love that phrase. Yeah, I hadn't heard that before. That's a great way of putting it. That's good. What was your career path that got you to inform data and doing all the things you're doing?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, absolutely. Well, when I was in seventh grade, I started with a paper route in my neighborhood, me and a buddy. Just kidding. Just kidding. I actually got into the space in 1998. I think it was when everyone was riding around in horse-drawn buggies, and we were communicating via Morse code, I believe is the way we did that, if I recall correctly back then. But I was a young lawyer, a new law school graduate who had sat for the bar exam, but was waiting on results. When I answered an advertisement in a small mountain town in Colorado I was living in, because I to eat while I waited for my bar exam results. And it was actually for a fast-growing background check company. Some of the old-timers in this industry were called HR Plus, now part of the First Advantage Sterling Empire. But we were a family-owned company, started in a small mountain town, Evergreen, Colorado, just above Denver. And they were looking for help. They were growing rapidly and had a lot of administrative needs internally. So I answered a non-legal job advertisement, got the interview to my and came in, interviewed, met the husband and wife team, Doug and Janet Han, fantastic people. And they told me a lot about their company, their industry, their growth trajectory, what they were projecting for growth. Sounded really interesting to me. They indicated a need for essentially like almost a general manager role, and they needed help with all their internal sort of compliance functions, things like writing an employee handbook, putting together employment policies, documenting their existing operating procedures and policies, reviewing their contracts and rewriting those. And I think the thing that tipped it over for me in terms of getting an offer there was the fact that the FCRA had been amended something like three times in the preceding four years. And they were using some mountain town general legal practitioner to do all of their corporate matters, including their FCRA compliance. And let's just say it was a little bit of a challenge for the guy who when he hung up the phone with Doug going over like a fair credit reporting act amendment, picked up the phone and called his DUI clients, right? Like, you know, as a general practitioner, one man law office they were using. So they said, you know, we'll take a risk on you if you'll take a risk on us, you know, had a very general role there, not strictly legal. I hadn't passed the bar exam yet, or at least hadn't had the results yet. Fast forward a few months, I get the bar exam results. And this is my really funny story. Doug Hahn slides business cards are across his desk and I look at them one at a time and they're all corporate counsel for other background check industry companies. And I'm like, what's this for? This is the day I'm getting sworn into the Colorado bar. And he says, well, pick your title. And I'm like, what? He's like, which one of these titles do you like? Like, congratulations, you passed the bar. I'm going to order your business cards today. You know, we want to offer you a council role in our organization if we're busted up for you to stay here after you pass the bar. And I looked at all the cards. I wish I could remember the names because I'm sure some of these folks are still in the industry. And I remember looking at the cards and I said, any of these titles? And he said, yes. And I literally had my license for about an hour at this point, right? And hadn't even been sworn in yet. So I guess they technically didn't have it at all. And I said, I kind of like this one right here. He said, general counsel. And I'm like, yeah. And he said, okay, we'll do that. And so my first job in the industry and my first job as a licensed attorney was general counsel for a rapidly growing family owned CRA in the mountain town of Evergreen, Colorado.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, and for those of you that are maybe new to the industry, I mean, if you're not familiar with HR Plus and Doug Hahn and that organization, I mean, they were, that's really the ground floor. They were, that was a happening firm that was back in the late, mid, late 90s. And I mean, that was quite an organization, as I recall. Yeah,

SPEAKER_03:

really well run, you know, quality, accuracy, compliance first, you know, built a great reputation, you know, high touch, high quality, much like ESR was.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't think so. Yeah. I remember talking to Doug. I thought he was a great guy. And that must have been really exciting. So you were there on the ground floor writing the first procedure manuals and quality control and just basically doing it all,

SPEAKER_03:

right? Yes. Yeah. As we all did in the small startup organizations, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Oh, that's amazing. And then at some point they sold and then you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

So, you know, late in my role there, you know, again, I was general counsel, but really we were small enough where I was really just the general executive. And the part of the job that I really came to enjoy the most was supporting this, the sales team. Right. So we had quite a quiet client list. You know, we were a larger CRA at the time and we had a marquee customer list. And most of the organizations that we went after, you know, we hunted elephants was really what we did. And, you know, I got into helping the sales leadership write and respond to RFPs. And I really enjoyed that. And then when we would, you know, make it to the presentation round of the RFP process, they often would ask me to help, believe it or not, in the face-to-face presentation aspect of the RFP process, right? I mean, poor judgment on their part, but hey, you know, slim pickings in Evergreen, Colorado, you know what I'm saying? So anyway, I started to do that, you know, right the RFPs with the sales teams, present the RFPs and our capabilities to prospective customers in the later rounds of the RFP process. And I really enjoyed that. And, you know, found myself sort of rethinking my career path, right? Did I want to just be an attorney, you know, in this space that I just want to be, you know, corporate counsel, that sort of thing? Or did I want to do something broader, you know, in the industry? And so I started myself down that path with them. And then the person I came to know and trust and respect in the industry through the founding of of NAPBS reached out to me when I found myself as a free agent after HR Plus sold the private equity. And I went to work for this delightful gentleman in Northern California for a little while. He took a chance on me doing a hybrid compliance and sales role. And then based on his faith and trust, I think others in the industry later took a similar chance on me as I, you know, kind of grew from, you know, people used to think of me as a lawyer only, you know, compliance first person into like a broader executive in the screening industry. And that segued itself into a role running software provider to the background check industry. One of the largest software providers. third party platforms. Did that for a little while. And then about 13 years ago, landed at Lowers Risk Group. At the time we had a CRA called Proforma. And then we had wholesale screening solutions amongst several other businesses outside of the screening space. So I came in there in a, like a full VP of sales role across all of the operating entities. Did that for a number of years. And then I joked that I grew myself out of a sales leadership role, right? Like I did a good enough job where we could afford to hire a true, you know, expert sales leader. And they were nice enough to decide to keep me on in a legal leadership role. So, you know, that's my full path back and forth between compliance and sales. And then obviously in some of the, you know, some of these organizations were small enough where I also had, you know, more of a broad operations and technology role.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, that's fascinating. And just out of curiosity, the gentleman you mentioned in Northern California, that guy remembers like incredibly good looking, incredibly smart.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, I think some consider him, you know, an icon in the industry and perhaps the only reason PBSA exists today. For those of you unfamiliar with this gentleman, his name is Les Rosen.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, that's me. I knew it sounded familiar, but I'd just been diagnosed with a medical condition called CRS. I can't remember stuff. And so I knew what you said sounded familiar, but, oh, that was me who was a gentleman in Northern California. Okay. I appreciate that. Yes, yes. Oh, that was great. Those were great times. Definitely. Good stuff. So basically, I mean, it's just a fascinating journey you've had. And also just the length and breadth and depth of the things you've done is really amazing. You know, based on that, one of my standard questions, and I'll put it to you. Is there a lesson that you learned early in your career or at some point in your career that stuck with you and that kind of stands out as something that, oh yeah, that's good to know?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. Well, it's funny, you know, you've been in this space long enough to know this as well, less than I think some of the other old timers like you and I are familiar with this as well. You know, this industry, like many industries at the end of the day, you know, when you kind of understand it and spend enough time in it is a very small industry, right? It's, you know, everyone knows, you know, each other knows of each other. If you don't know somebody, you know, somebody who does, right? And early in my career, I met, I think, the Hans being examples of this, yourself being example of this. You know, I met people, I was fortunate enough to have people around me in this space who were, who had built reputations based on trust and integrity, who knew the importance of their reputation. And I think one of the early lessons I learned is, you know, even in an industry where you have some anonymity, the importance of, you know, integrity and the importance of, and the value of your reputation is perhaps the most valuable thing that you have and something that you can lose easily and gain back with a great deal of difficulty. So for the younger people out there just starting their careers in this space, not just because of its size, but because it's the right thing to do, be mindful of your reputation and your integrity and how you operate, whether that's with your colleagues, your vendors, your customers, or the person holding the door for you at the PVSA conference hotel as you enter. mentor, right? Being a, you know, a person who's respectful to others and somebody thinks of when they think of trust and integrity is really core to your success.

SPEAKER_00:

Boy, that's such a great observation. And I really love the fact that, you know, the way you say it extends not just to your co-workers, your employer, but your competitors, your friends, customers, applicants, consumers, waiters and waitresses and restaurants, just everybody. The lesson to be learned is to treat everybody right. I think that's just such a great observation. I appreciate that. What do you enjoy most about the background screening industry? I mean, you obviously were a talented guy, and you could be in any industry you wanted to. What keeps you in the background industry? What attracts you, or what do you find interesting about it?

SPEAKER_03:

It's actually funny. I have a 14-year-old son who's, you know, a bit of a nerd. He's actually in a STEM program out here in Virginia. And the path he's on that he wants to stay on is computer science. And so we were having a conversation the other day about like what in that area does, you know, does he want to do? And, you know, he was explaining it to me and I knew what he was talking about shockingly to him, I think. And we had a, you know, he's 14, right? Turning 15. So we're in the dad's an idiot stage of our relationship, right? So, and oh yeah, sure, dad, you did things like this too, what back in the stone age right so you know i figure i got 10 years more of that and then i realized you know that there is actually some wisdom in his father but anyway we were talking about that and i think he was surprised that sort of my fluency if you will with respect to you know things tech right and just to be clear i'm not a coder you know i'm not to that level but i do know how all the pieces fit together fairly well and you know i was saying to him that what I've liked about what I do today. Don't get me wrong. I like some of the lawyer stuff, too. But what I really like about what I do today and where this industry has evolved over time is, you know, like that intersection or that crossroads between like legal compliance, policy compliance and technology, you know, like like being able to get with a development team and spec and then, you know, test and use, you know, a piece of software that helps, you know, inform data, be more compliance, helps our customers and their customers stay in compliance, like that's pretty exciting to me. We built a couple of tools, you know, without revealing a lot of detail in our IP here, but we built two tools here that I'm particularly proud of that are just examples of that sort of crossroads. We call one heightened risk. And so this stems from There was a lawsuit back a few years ago. I'll leave the names of the guilty out of the equation, but there was a lawsuit several years ago, probably a decade or more ago now, where a larger CRA in our space had made the same repeated mistake on the same consumer across multiple employers over a relatively short period of time. They would correct it. in instance one and then repeated in instance two, corrected in instance two, repeated in instance three. This happened at least four times. It might have been six, I can't recall, but over a relatively short period of time. Well, you know, the guy was willing to be, you know, forgiving the first couple of times. Eventually he got fed up, filed a lawsuit, and there was a pretty significant seven, low seven figure settlement. And I remember that happened, I believe, around when I started at Lauer's Risk Group Wholesale Screening Solutions. And I said to the leadership there, like, hey, we need to prevent this from occurring. And if we do this at wholesale, You know, this benefits all of our CRM customers, you know, from, you know, having a repeat occurrence of a defect. Right. And so we built a tool, we call it heightened risk. And basically what it does is it controls that. So we have various settings where we can set it broadly. And we say like, oh, anytime Vince Pasquarelli comes across, he's a problem child. We're going to do like a third or fourth round of quality assurance, right? It comes into a special queue managed by like, you know, our senior most teammates that do like quality review and they make sure that, you know, based on, you know, details we have about the initial defect that we don't repeat that defect. And we can dial that up or down, you know, we could talk about a specific case in a specific court for a specific consumer, or we can say this consumer in general, you know, is a concern because of the complexity of the issue the first time or for some other reason, right? Heightened scrutiny is a tool we built here at Informed Data, which is essentially intended to, so the two most common sort of defects, if you will, if you're a wholesaler like us or a CRA, right, are, you know, a mismatch on identifiers or calling someone a felon when they're not, right? They're arrested for a felony, but it gets amended to a misdemeanor. And so, you know, we have addressed the latter common defect. I mean, not common like it happens a lot, but common like when a defect happens, it's often this type of a defect, right? Just because the way dockets are structured and all of that. But we built the tool that says, you know, hey, what do we know about felonies or what do we know about misdemeanors that are unique to felonies or unique to misdemeanors that can't be you know, are there aspects of this case detail that means it must be a felony or it can't be a felony, right? And so we're rolling this out, you know, jurisdiction by jurisdiction, because there are uniquenesses, you know, in the dockets that are specific to, you know, either a whole state in a consolidated court system or in an individual court for a non-consolidated jurisdiction. And we say like, hey, if it hits on this and there's an abnormality where we're calling it a felony, but it can't be a felony based on these rules we've created, it goes into a special Right. So you could

SPEAKER_00:

raise a red flag based upon any number of factors. You know, you and I are both lawyers, so we don't need to go into all the poor people, all the details. But yeah, when you dig into it, you could find what those flags are. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Right. Yeah. Yeah. But building that stuff is the fun part, right? Like thinking it through and figuring out like, Hey, you know, you can build it this way and it'll cost like a million dollars and take 10 years to do, or you can build it, you know, slowly this way and it costs you like, you know, a thousand dollars a month for a year. And, you know, what's the system capable of and, you know, how do I get priority in the development queue for this, you know, based on how you kind of structure it. And that part's just fascinating to me and super interesting.

UNKNOWN:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, what you described is the journey that we're all familiar with. I mean, trying to do things and competing for development time and, you know, the cost benefits. So, yeah, I mean, intellectually, it is very interesting. It's always a challenge. So it keeps you busy, right? Definitely. Yeah, yeah. That's why when I knew you, you used to have a full head of hair. And I think, no, I'm just kidding. That's right. Like I'm one to talk, right? Well,

SPEAKER_03:

it's funny. I mean, I was actually thinking about when prepping for this conversation, you know, like how this industry has evolved, right? And we're talking about development time and technical specifications and quality testing of new software and all of that. But back when you and I started, I mean, gosh, I remember when I walked into HR Plus for that interview, they had colored files like adorning the office. Like they were all like yellow, blue, green, you know, whatever. And I remember asking, one of the first things I asked in the interview was like, what's up with the colored Manila folder? You know, like the Manila folders, but all different colors. And they're like, oh, those are due dates. I said, what do you mean those are due dates? And like, well, we promise our customers, you know, a two to three day turnaround time. And yellow means it's due on Monday. Blue means it's due on Tuesday. And then there were like orange folders everywhere. And I said, what are the orange folders? And they're like, oh, that's U-Haul. Which is like one of their largest customers at the time, right? So they have their own folders. And I'm like, so how come they're not by date? And they're like, we get the U-Haul folders out as quickly as we can.

SPEAKER_00:

That's amazing. We all have those stories from the early days. We used to have files by the date the order came in. So Monday was blue because it's Blue Monday. And if a Monday file was still sitting there Wednesday, I mean, someone better pay attention to it. That's right. And people in the industry now, particularly with the data back, are like, what are you people talking about? How is it even possible to build million dollar firms with blue folders? And we did it. When I

SPEAKER_03:

first got there, everything was faxed, right? You would fax the court. Like SJV was, you know, one of my vendors at HR Plus back in like 1999, right? Scott Vanek, when he was a startup wholesaler in the industry, we were one of his, you know, early accounts or whatever. And, you know, we would fax him orders. He would fax us results back, right? Like literally like paper would come out of the fax machine with the results. Somebody would pay pick it up, put it in a folder, bring it over for data entry, right? And I remember when we installed WriteFax, like it was like 1999 or, you know, 2000, I'd been there for like a year, you know, maybe two or whatever. And we installed WriteFax and for those youngins on the, watching the podcast today, WriteFax basically digitized the fax. So it would still come in via fax, but it would digitize the paper. So you didn't have to like pick up a piece of paper and move it into a folder. You could pick up the piece of paper, but what we used to do, we use WriteFax, you could print it at your desk. Instead of having to walk over to the FC, put it back in the folder, right? At the time, that

SPEAKER_00:

was a leap.

SPEAKER_01:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And it's interesting. You were in the HR plus. The FCRA was amended substantially for employment purposes in 96, effective 97. It was just a total, huge, shattering, earth-changing changes in how it all handled. And then some changes since. You really were there from the beginning. And that makes it really interesting, that type of perspective. Back to that. Do you remember the, you were the

SPEAKER_03:

pocket constitutions less, you know, the little constitutions. So we had a pocket FCRA at HR Plus.

SPEAKER_00:

All right. And those were the days, and again, a lot of people go, what are you talking about? When we all read and studied and looked at the tea leaves that were contained in the FTC staff opinion letters. And those were the signs that we would look at to figure out what to do. I mean, interesting. And, you know, sometimes I ask about changes and challenges, but I think you've covered that, right? Yeah. So- Looking back at your career in the background screening industry, what actually do you look back and say to yourself, God, that was cool? I mean, it brings a smile to your face as an accomplishment or a challengement or something that you go, yeah, that was a good one.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I think two things really stand out to me. You know, one's personal and one's more like sort of team oriented, right? So I'll do the personal one first. So I think it was like around 2005 or something, you know, you know, found myself, you know, at this sort of like crossroads in my career where I was like, do I want to stay in the industry? You know, do I want to leave? Do I want to do something on my own? Do I want to work for someone else again? Like that sort of a thing. And I remember, you know, mentally setting a goal for myself. I want to lead a company in the role of like president or CEO within the next five years, whether that's my own thing or whether I, you know, do that for someone else who, you know, is it where there's an impact on the industry was if I was going to do it for somebody else, I wanted it to be, you know, an interesting role that was like different and new. And that was like, you know, somewhere in the center of the industry that would have, you know, more of an impact on, you know, an impact on more than just one organization. Right. And lo and behold, exactly five years later, I joined Clearstar as president. And I just remember like, you know, when I hung up the phone with Bob Vail and, you know, knew that offer was coming, I just said to him, I always smiled at myself, you know, like, like you said to yourself five years, you know, and you wanted something like this and here it is. Right. And so, you know, Thanks, Bob, for that opportunity and for filling up a personal goal of mine. I, you know, definitely forever grateful for that opportunity.

SPEAKER_00:

That's great. And what was the second one? You said there was two of them.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, yeah, yeah. The second one was honestly just the trajectory and the path of what is today informed data. You know, when I joined wholesale screening in, you know, early 2012, you know, we were a relatively small company. I think if I had an employee number, it would be 34 or something like that. And that's across, you know, pro forma wholesale in the remainder of Lauer's Risk Group, right? So we went from there to where we are today in a relatively short timeframe. I'm like forever proud of that accomplishment. I mean, the team The team we had at Wholesale, the team we had and have at Informedata, you know, current and past teams at both places were truly amazing. I mean, I used to talk about this whenever anybody would ask, like, how did you guys do it? And quite honestly, you know, back to like an earlier tenant I was talking about, I mean, trust and integrity. I mean, we trusted each other, you know, we knew we could rely on the word of one another and it was just, you know, it is and remains a really fun ride, you know, with a lot of great people. You know, people have come and gone, but I think the one core trait of, you know, both I think legacy organizations, SJV and wholesale and, you know, what is today informed data has been the quality and the caliber of the people from a competency standpoint, but also from a character integrity perspective as well. Just a lot of great people.

SPEAKER_00:

That's fantastic. And your ride there continues. I mean, you're still involved in all the things that are happening and transforming and all the new things that are occurring. So that must be fun as well.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah, it's great. And that, you know, the evolution of technology in general in this space has been fascinating to watch and, you know, like the new frontier now is AI, right? And then, you know, adopting the use of that throughout our organization for the betterment of ourselves and the betterment of our customers and their customer customers, and ultimately the consumer doing really exciting and interesting things, you know, along those lines, it's never a dull moment, right? It's been an opportunity to kind of grow, you know, from my own sort of knowledge set every year is a little bit different. There's something new, interesting and challenging and and new things to learn and discover and play around with. And it's definitely still an exciting industry.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, the story you told earlier about your son being impressed that you actually knew about some of this stuff, it just reminded me of the old story that you get smarter as your kids get older. That's all right. That's right. That's right. They get to a stage where, you're not as dumb as I thought. That's all right. But you have to live through that

SPEAKER_03:

stage.

SPEAKER_00:

All right.

SPEAKER_03:

You're a hero until they're like 12, and then you're an idiot until they're 24, right? You're

SPEAKER_00:

right. And then at 24, they become interesting, and you become interesting, too. them again. But like they said in The Lion King, it's the cycle of life. What are you going to do? So you mentioned PBSA, and I appreciate your comments about PBSA and my role in that and so forth. But let's talk about your role in PSA, because I remember you and PBSA from the very beginning and at conferences and presenting. Tell us what the role of PBSA has been in your career.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah. It's been really instrumental, I think, in my career path. I mean, first got involved in PBSA before it was even NAPVS, right? Like there was a small group of folks, you recall, you were the leader amongst them, you know, who decided that this was a need in the industry. We were approached, HR Plus was approached by that core group that I think at the Clearwater Pre-Employment Screeners Conference had originally come up with like this idea, this concept. And we were approached and initially we were a little skeptical, like, you Like, is this something we want to do? Does this have legs? You know, is this a good idea for us? Is this going to be good for the industry or not? And so we were a little bit slow to kind of adopt that. So we weren't directly involved in sort of like the formation of it, but we did wisen up in time to make the first actual conference that was held in Scottsdale in 2003. I think that was, that's right. And so we were a founding member. I think we were like a very late round, like just under the whistle founding member, but we did, we had We were able to put that moniker on our marketing materials. So we made it to the dance. And just from the moment, you know, that I walked into that really tiny hotel in Scottsdale. And obviously I knew you already. I recall we may have been supporting you with your drug testing at some point. And I think we met that way originally.

SPEAKER_01:

Right, exactly. That's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. And then I knew of you more than I knew you. I think we had emailed and talked on the phone, but I don't think we'd ever met in person. And, you know, from the moment we walked into that space, I mean, I still have relationships from that first day. you know, in this industry, you know, obviously you amongst them, but the caliber and the quality of the people in that room was so high, you know, at that conference and the energy level was so exciting that, you know, we knew we made the right decision in doing that, you know, the Hans and I, right? So I was the only non-Han present at the early NAPBS events, which was great because it allowed me to meet everybody because they would go out for family dinners and I would be left alone, not knowing anyone and, you know, looking for friends, right? So got involved early, I think the first two years that NAPBS, the predecessor that PBSA existed. I was fortunate enough to co-chair what is now Industry Practices. I think it was called Best Practices or Compliance and Best Practices or something like that back then.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I don't remember. I just remember the night before it started, I just made up some committees. I said, yeah, well, here's some committees. Let's see how that works. And that was one of them. That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Right, right. Yeah, because you were probably up all night with it. You had three, four hours of sleep, right? Yeah. For those of you that don't know, Les does more work between midnight and 6 a.m. than most of us do in a week. Like, it's insane. So probably still tenetic, I think this is true. I don't know how he does it, but it was impressive to see the amount of work. and the quality of it that comes into my inbox at three in the morning. But yeah, like, so that was the beginning of, you know, my involvement with any PBS, PBSA and, you know, every company that I, you know, moved to in this industry was a result of the relationships I built through, you know, my involvement with PBSA. A lot of my, you know, leadership experiences were through that organization. It's really just a great organization, particularly for people that are new to the industry or earlier career. You know, I got to do things like government relations that I never would have gotten an opportunity to do without, you know, my involvement with PBSA. You know, I got to do things outside of really like what my core function happened to be at the time. A lot of opportunities to learn new things and really understand how all the pieces fit together, whether that's like the vendors or, you know, the softwares or, you know, the technology or, you know, all the ins and outs of the industry. Just a great place to learn.

SPEAKER_00:

And I know you presented it. You and I were on Tony and the Time Bomb together, right? Yes, yes. Art Cohen's concoction. Yes. Putting together mock trials with Tony the Time Bomb being the bad guy. Can we get away with that

SPEAKER_03:

today? That seems like not politically correct to call the job applicant Tony Time Bomb. I think that was

SPEAKER_00:

a real simple times list. Yeah, different world. We probably wouldn't do that today. We'd be like, Tony, give him a chance. I mean, today would be second chance, Tony. You're right. But that's right. I guess it was in Tennessee. It was at Nashville. We put together like a three-hour trial or something. And you were, I can't remember what all the roles were.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, I do. I remember. And here's why I remember. There were, I think everybody involved was a lawyer, except only three of us could be the lawyers in the room, right? So Art Cohen was the judge. And so the three litigators they chose, right, were Les Rosen, Pam Davada, and Vince Pascarella. Let me tell you a little bit of something about the caliber of the litigation experience. So Les is like a career litigator, right? Like for those of you that don't know, right, he cut his teeth, you know, as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney, like a lot of trial room experience. Pam Devada speaks for herself. I don't need to say much there. And then me. So I got to go. And I was representing the CRA. So I'm litigation counsel for the Consumer Reporting Agency. I don't know who came up with this idea, Art Cohen, but I'm pretty sure it was you. And then I have to go up against Pam Devada and Les Rosen. Let me tell you something. That was a really intimidating experience. And then Art Cohen acted like an actual judge. He appropriately harummed from the bench. Oh, God. Right. And then Art's also a very experienced litigator. So it was good time for Vince. I'm pretty sure the CRA lost their, didn't they go out of business as a result of their litigation counsel?

SPEAKER_00:

I'm not sure, but Jason Morris brought Tony the Time Bomb back a couple years ago. We did it again, and I can't remember who, but there's a whole cast of lawyers who were involved in that. Yes, I attended that.

SPEAKER_03:

That was great.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You managed to keep a low profile and not get picked as one of the attorneys this time. Yeah, I actually, I told Jason, no way. Yeah, really. And I said, I don't want to do any work. I'm going to be the judge. That's right. I'm not going to actually prepare anything. It was a great group of people. That was really fun. So let's move away from background screening and PBSA. Mr. Vince Pasquarello, tell us a little bit about yourself outside of background screening and some of your hobbies and interests and things you like to do for fun. Well, my interests include breakdancing. Just kidding. Yeah, I don't mean you broke a leg dancing. That's what it

SPEAKER_03:

sounds like.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think that's coming for

SPEAKER_03:

sure. But I actually dabble in the sport. I'm like the woman in the Olympics there. Did you see that at all? Like the

SPEAKER_00:

dancer from Australia, right?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, exactly. That's about my speed, my style there. But I'm like a fitness person. I work out regularly. I do some road cycling, enjoy snowboarding and hiking, although I do miss living in Colorado where it's a heck of a lot easier to do that than it is here on the East Coast. And I recently got remarried, so I went from being a single dad of two to a father of six with a ginormous family of cousins and aunts and uncles, all locals. So it's been a really fun change on a personal level from spending a lot of time alone or just with my two children to now my six children and their cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents all locally. So that's been fun over the last five years.

SPEAKER_00:

Good for you. Congratulations. That's fantastic. How old is your daughter?

SPEAKER_03:

My daughter is a sophomore in college. She just turned 20 a little while ago, but now I have three daughters, 23, 20, 20, and three sons, 22, 18.

SPEAKER_00:

Daughter that I knew as like a two or three-year-old, like a little tyke, is now a sophomore in college.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, she's studying Italian, actually. Yeah, she's going to do a summer program in Italy, and then she's looking at a master's program that will put her back in Italy for a whole year. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I mean, it's not like you're making me feel old, but I can remember when she could barely walk, and now she's doing a summer program in Italy, and it's like, okay,

SPEAKER_03:

right.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, if I'm remembering

SPEAKER_03:

right, didn't your daughter babysit her once?

SPEAKER_00:

It could be. Wow. Boy, that puts life in perspective. It really does. Well, okay. I guess I didn't realize that you had that big of a family going. That's fantastic. So in addition to everything else, to the Informed Data family that takes up a lot of time, you have your family family.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, yeah. And it's funny. They're super close. So when we get together, there's literally 30 of us. And so it's like a small wedding, like a Sunday, roughly every other month, right? And then we do a big beach house rental every summer with the 30 of us. And now the older cousins, of course, are all starting to date. So you get like boyfriends and girlfriends making like appearances and Sometimes it's a house of 40, so it's fun.

SPEAKER_00:

And you're sitting on top of all that going, oh, my word. Yes, my life was so simple when it was me and my two, right? Yeah, right. Well, I really appreciate your time here. I can do this all day, but let me wrap it up with a couple final questions. Time to play Fun Facts. Tell us something about yourself that people may not know or realize, completely unrelated to background screening. Vince Pasquarello, what's your secret? My

SPEAKER_03:

secret? I have no secrets. I'm an open book, as everyone in this space knows. But a little known fact, I guess, would be I started my college career as a fine arts major, drawing and painting specifically. Chose my undergraduate college based on the strength of the fine arts program. And when I got there and saw the talent around me, I got really scared and decided I was, you know, the starving artist was not a good look and shifted gears into political science, which led me to law school eventually. So All right. I mean,

SPEAKER_00:

that is so funny. I mean, I know a lot of lawyers who started off as something different. It's like, I think law school.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I played with Sommelier, actually. I went to undergrad in the Hamptons and worked in like three and four star restaurants and, you know, enjoy wine and everything that comes with it. And I took the hangover, I suppose. And I literally, you know, I took a year, I took a gap year in between undergrad and law school and worked in a restaurant out there known for its wine list. And we had a Sommelier and and we became friends and I, you know, was this close. You know, when it was time to leave for Boulder, Colorado, for U.S. Colorado Law School, I almost didn't do it, like, because I was, this close to going down the path of sommelier, master sommelier. Wow, did you start the sommelier program? I didn't, but there's a program, I think it's on Netflix or something, that all of my restaurant friends say is an absolute must. So I think it would scare me off, honestly. It's probably a harder path than law school.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, no, becoming a sommelier is insane. And, you know, all the, you know, tasting. You know, I've always loved those James Bond novels where he would taste a wine and say, oh... a 43 something or other from the upper field of this vineyard or something or other. Like, really? Right, right, right. Sounds good. I forgot about that because I remember talking to you about your near career as a sommelier. And I think we talked about that once. You took me out for like one of the best dinners I ever remember to an Italian steakhouse in Chicago. I remember that. Yeah, we ordered the left side of the menu. That's right. Yeah, the SHRM conference I remember. Yeah, exactly. And I think what happened was you said, well, you're paying. I said, Okay, left side of the menu, please. And he's like, more food than I knew existed. It's like, oh my God, that was great. But you're awesome. Weren't you originally from Syracuse or someplace that got 25 feet of snow during the winter?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. Yeah. I grew up in Syracuse, went to college on Eastern Long Island and I kind of lived all over though. I've been with tumbleweed after high school and you know, lived on and off. So I, my kids are impressed by this statistic. I think I've lived in like something like 19 addresses in. You know, 14 cities and seven states in my lifetime, so. Been kicked out of. I'm not sure I follow. Oh, I see. Well, it's funny. People are always like, military family or witness protection, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Closer to witness protection is the answer. Oh, all right. Well, this, I could keep doing this forever. This is like a lot of fun. And there's so many things. Here, I've known you a long time. I thought I knew all about you. And there's just, it's just, you know, the insights and the stories are just fantastic. This has been really fun. So before we sign off, a couple of Last questions. You kind of hit a little bit, but let me just put it right to you directly. If someone came to you and they were thinking about entering the screening profession or they've been in it for a couple of years or wondering if they should continue, what's your advice for someone who's new or newish? Run.

SPEAKER_03:

Run.

SPEAKER_00:

No,

SPEAKER_03:

no, no. I kid. I kid. I mean, back to some of the things we talked about today. I mean, you know, build a network. Right.

SPEAKER_02:

Like

SPEAKER_03:

the way the puzzle pieces fit together in this industry is fascinating by its own right. But there is a lot that is opaque. I think to most people in the industry, you know, there are a lot of connections between like where the data originates, you know, what the data is, who has the data, what data is overlapping or the same, you know, like all that stuff is really fascinating. And then how all like the technology pieces fit together in the space, whether it's the screening space or the drug testing space is also just like fascinating you know, puzzle when you understand and see how all those pieces fit together. You know, the people part of that network is, you know, really important. There are a lot of really great people, really smart people in this space. Listen to them, learn from them. And then, you know, remember, you don't get your reputation back once it's lost. So, you know, operate above board and do the right thing and, you know, be a good person, right? For a variety of reasons, both, you know, self-interest and otherwise, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, this has been a great conversation. I really appreciated it. And let me just ask you before we sign off to give you, as sometimes I say on TV, let me give you the last word and we'll close it out. I'll make

SPEAKER_03:

my last word simple. Thank you, Les. Thank you for your industry leadership. Thank you for your example of integrity. And foremost, thank you for your friendship.

SPEAKER_00:

Vince, it's been a pleasure. And ladies and gentlemen, this has been a really fun episode of Behind the Screens, conversations with background pros. And today's pro is a longtime friend and a fantastic resource in the screening industry, an extremely accomplished attorney. You heard about it here, pretty much the tip of the iceberg. There's a lot more to know, but I think this has been a great introduction. It has been our pleasure to hear from Mr. Vince Pascarella. Thanks, Vince. Thanks, Les. All right, that was yet another wonderful conversation with a background screening pro. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to hit subscribe so you never miss an update. And hey, if you got a moment, we'd love for you to leave us a review. It really helps get the word out. For more info or to catch up on past episodes or to make suggestions or to suggest possible future guests, head over to our website. Once again, this is your host, Les Rosen, and it's been a pleasure to bring you another episode. See you on the next episode. Thanks.

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