McParland was a rival to Wilson S. Swain, northwestern manager of the Thiel Detective Agency. During the Stuenenberg investigation, Swain set up shop in Caldwell, Idaho, intimating to county authorities and to the governor that he'd been hired by the mine owners to investigate the crime. When he later presented his bill to the Canyon County Commissioners, they felt that they had been conned. Meanwhile, McParland was interviewed for the investigation by the governor. McParland sought to further undermine the competition: