By Damien Gayle PUBLISHED: 15:50 EST, 25 May 2012 | UPDATED: 15:57 EST, 25 May 2012 Rich: Top U.S. financier Robert Agostinelli was the subject of a blag by Steve Whittamore, a private detective working for News International A private detective working for Rupert Murdoch's newspapers used a legally questionable tactic to blag a hotel bill run up by a top New York financier at one of London's swankiest hotels, records show. Private investigator Steve Whittamore, or someone working for him, tricked Claridge's in Mayfair, central London, to get a copy of a bill belonging to Robert Agostinelli. The Whittamore database entry on Mr Agostinelli is one of the few pieces of evidence to surface so far that Americans were targeted by operatives working for Murdoch's British newspapers.
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One of the few pieces of evidence to show Murdoch papers have invaded the privacy of U.S. citizens
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Revelation was discovered in the database of work done by convicted data thief Steve Whittamore
Allegations have surfaced that journalists or investigators working for Murdoch may have used similar tactics on celebrities visiting the @placeholder, but so far those allegations relate to journalists and targets based in Britain.