Repost: Stun Guns Catch On Slowly With New Jersey Police

More than 500 stun guns, or Tasers, have been distributed recently to New Jersey police officers. Instead of bullets, the weapons release a high-voltage electric current that temporarily paralyzes the target. Law enforcers believe that this technology is particularly helpful in subduing violent suspects without causing injury. The following article has the details:

Image Source: northjersey.com

Englewood Officer Adolfo Gutierrez testing a Taser X2. The city has trained 27 officers to use stun guns.

Police departments in New Jersey have issued more than 500 stun guns to officers in the last two years, as the least stun-gun-friendly state in the country slowly embraces the device.

So far, 42 of New Jersey’s 550 departments have the weapons, and many more departments have lined up to get them.

Seven of Bergen County’s 72 police departments have issued stun guns in the past year, and they have been used in seven incidents, officials said.

In June, Teaneck police used a stun gun to subdue an emotionally disturbed man, officials said. Englewood police pulled over a driver this year and used a stun gun on him when he refused to get out of his car. In another Englewood incident, officers used a stun gun on a man inside a police station who became combative. Details of the other stun-gun incidents by police in Bergen County were unavailable.

Eighteen departments in the county have trained officers on how to use the guns, but have not yet issued them.

Stun guns — better known as Tasers, named after their manufacturer, Taser International — shoot two darts connected to wires. Once the darts hit their target, they release a high-voltage electric current that temporarily freezes communication between a person’s brain and muscles, causing a few seconds of paralysis.

Police officers and stun-gun advocates have argued that the devices come in handy in situations where it would be too risky to subdue a violent suspect with a baton or pepper spray, yet the suspect may not pose a threat serious enough to use a firearm.

Tasers have been used 2.28 million times in the United States since the devices were introduced in 1998 and have been issued to officers in every major city except Boston and San Francisco, said Steve Tuttle, a spokesman for Taser International.

In New Jersey, stun guns have been used rarely, said Peter Aseltine, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office. Police officers have used them 28 times, he said. There have been no incidents in Passaic County, and officers in Camden County have used stun guns 14 times, he said.

The debate over the use of stun guns has centered on whether the devices reduce deadly shootings and serious injuries or simply provide police officers with an opportunity to use excessive force.

Image Source: northjersey.com

Englewood Officer Adolfo Gutierrez using a Taser in a garage at police headquarters.

Cost is also a concern in New Jersey. As the only state to require that stun guns be equipped with cameras, the price tag puts them out of reach of most departments.

New Jersey introduced a policy on the use of stun guns in 2006, but it was so restrictive that no department made an effort to obtain them.

The policy was revised in 2009, but law enforcement officials said they did not like it. Officers would not have been able to use stun guns even in situations where they would have been justified in using a firearm.

With feedback from police and county prosecutors, the policy was revised in October 2010 with changes that made stun-gun use more practical.

Aseltine said it was too early to analyze the impact of stun guns in the state.

“But the experience thus far is that officers are responsibly deploying these devices as an alternative to deadly force,” he said. “They have enabled officers to avoid shooting subjects, and, therefore, have likely saved lives.”

In the Teaneck incident, officers were called to an address on Queen Anne Road and, based on a doctor’s request, determined that the man should be taken to the hospital, the department said. When the man refused and became combative, an officer shot him with a stun gun. He was taken to Bergen Regional Medical Center, police said.

Teaneck police Capt. Glenn O’Reilly said his department issued stun guns to officers in March, and all patrol officers on the road carry them. He declined to give the exact number in use. Teaneck officers have used stun guns in three incidents so far, he said.

Englewood Police Chief Lawrence Suffern said his department first issued stun guns in January. Fifteen are now being used by officers, and 27 patrol officers have been trained in using them, he said.

Officers have used stun guns three times since they were deployed, he said.

In the incident involving the traffic stop, the driver who refused to get out of his car reached for something that the officers believed was a weapon, Suffern said. The driver was shot with a stun gun and taken into custody, Lawrence said.

In the incident inside police headquarters, a suspect started fighting with officers and was shot with a stun gun, he said.

“We have only had very few Taser deployments, and they have been very effective,” he said.

The Fort Lee Police Department has purchased 58 stun guns and has so far trained about 50 officers to use them, Officer Justin Wanco of the department’s training division said.

The guns are not yet being used because the department is finalizing technical issues, such as setting up charging stations at police headquarters, he said.

Officers should start carrying stun guns within the next few weeks, he said.

“A Taser is a useful tool as it offers law enforcement officers another alternative in often potentially lethal situations,” Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said.

Some officials in New Jersey have remained deeply skeptical of stun guns. When the device was first introduced in 1998, there were 46 states that permitted their use right away, said Tuttle, the spokesman for Taser International.

New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan and Hawaii were the only ones that did not permit the use of stun guns. Hawaii legalized their use in 2001, followed by Michigan in 2002 and Massachusetts followed in 2004, Tuttle said.

New Jersey remained the last holdout until it approved the weapons in 2009, but stun guns did not end up in the hands of officers until two years ago, after state officials drew up guidelines and protocols on their use, training requirements and methods of reporting instances when they are used.

The state’s rules on the use of stun guns remain among the most restrictive in the country, Tuttle said. The rules require that officers be trained at least once a year. Every incident that involves the use of a stun gun must be reported to the state Attorney General’s Office.

It is the high cost of stun guns, however, that has discouraged police departments from using them, according to the state Attorney General’s Office. A camera-equipped Taser costs about $1,200. With accessories and other related equipment, a state-approved model costs about $2,500.

This year, the office announced it would provide $1 million in forfeiture funds to help police departments buy stun guns. County prosecutors have been given until Dec. 31 to submit requests for funding.

Based on population, the funding for Bergen County — with a population of more than 925,000 — is capped at $60,000. Funding for Passaic County — whose population is nearly 506,000 — is capped at $50,000, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

Thomas Anthony Zampetti has served the New Jersey Police Department before running his own detective agency. More stories on law enforcement can be found here.

Nurturing the young: The benefits of gifting kids with detective toys

Children love to play, and they enjoy it more with toys. With mass production and consumerism, toys of various forms and functions have become more available in the market. Among these are interactive detective toys.

Image Source: betterthaneden.com

Playing a detective or spy is one the play activities that children enjoy. Thus, acquiring spy gadgets will make their playtime even more exciting. These toys can be categorized according to their purpose: some toys are for viewing, while others are for listening, visual recording, communicating, or defense. And despite concerns of some groups on the ill-effects of playing such toys, and on being more expensive than regular items, parents and kids alike still continue to patronize them. Below are some of the reasons why:

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• On problem-solving and thinking skills: Children learn how to make use of the gadget and become knowledgeable in gathering information.

• On language and communication skills: Young boys and girls develop a richer vocabulary as they interact with each other. Some even create their own “spy language” to make their playtime more realistic.

On physical and sensory development: Detective toys allow for mobility and keen observation. Children are not stuck in front of a TV or playing games on a smartphone or tablet all day. The wide variety of detective toys enable children to interact with their friends and the environment.

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• On social and emotional skills: Detective toys encourage interaction among children. Working as team, children learn about each other’s skills and abilities. They also learn about respect and camaraderie as they work together in solving a clue or a puzzle.

• On imagination and creativity: Detective toys hone further a child’s imagination. As children play with such tools, they create their own “story” and learn about being resourceful as they maximize the use of their gadgets and tools.

Children are innately curious and their exposure to detective toys can further sharpen their curiosity and creativity. Subscribe to this Thomas Anthony Zampetti blog for similar articles and discussions.

REPOST: World's first space detective agency launched

To be clear, a space detective agency will investigate neither Martian crime scenes nor suspicious activity among the stars. Air & Space Evidence Ltd of London, a company launched at University College London, specializes in space imagery for use as admissible evidence in court or in ongoing investigations. Think of this tool as a more high-resolution and reliable Google Earth. Details below:

Image Source: newscientist.com

IN THE middle of a boundary squabble with your neighbour? Want to find out who is dumping waste near your house? You need to call the space detectives.

Satellite imaging specialist Raymond Harris and space lawyer Raymond Purdy – both at University College London – have just launched Air & Space Evidence Ltd of London, the world's first space detective agency.

The pair intend to use their combined experience of space-based photographic databases and Earth observation privacy law to ensure that people can wield authentic imagery that stands up in court.

They want everyone to have the chance to use space imagery to settle legal disputes, from homeowners disputing garden boundaries to businesses fighting vehicle theft. Insurers might find it useful in investigating fraud and councils in tackling environmental assaults such as waste incineration or illegal logging and quarrying. And it won't cost much more than having your house surveyed, Harris says.

It might seem a simple matter for someone to use Google Earth, say, or Microsoft's Bing images to obtain evidence to support their case. Why would they need space detectives? But it is not so simple. Finding the right pictures means trawling through huge databases of historical satellite data, and lawsuits involving such approaches frequently fail.

"Trials have been collapsing because courts cannot be convinced of the authenticity of image data," says Purdy. For instance, people cannot be sure a given satellite was working on the day in question, or that the area of land imaged is actually the land at issue.

The space detectives will use their expertise in commissioning space images to order, and their familiarity with the databases of space image suppliers like Digital Globe of Longmont, Colorado. "We can make a difference by ensuring space images have audit trails that stand up," says Purdy.

"Because it is always possible to modify a digital image, you need strong archiving procedures plus information on when it was captured and what happened to it subsequently," says Harris. "We know how to do that."

The pair have a track record as expert witnesses in satellite imaging cases. Purdy, for instance, advised on a case in which illegal waste incineration had ruined a large chunk of pristine land. "When I showed space imagery to the judge and they saw the extent of the damage it gave them a new perspective. That led to a harsher sentence," he says.

In cases where images with greater resolution are needed, the pair plan to use aerial imagery from drones, provided local aviation and privacy laws permit. Such cases might include a suspicious spouse checking licence plates to see if a car belongs to their partner, or an insurer checking a car is parked off-road as claimed.

But most of the work will involve images taken by orbiting satellites, especially as recent earth observation start-ups like Planet Labs and Skybox Imaging make inexpensive space imagery more widely available.

Paul Champion, a private investigator based in Cardiff, UK, and a governor of the Association of British Investigators, says the notion of space-based detection is fascinating. "It's an innovative idea. Investigators will really welcome the ability to identify when an incident occurred using before and after satellite or aerial images."

"There is a need for space detectives," says Joanne Wheeler, a space lawyer at Bird & Bird in London, because finding the right pictures takes a lot of work. "If you are looking for imagery in the past it is difficult to find exactly what you are looking for," she says.

Wheeler has sought satellite imagery as evidence in three cases – a murder, assessing the progress of a bridge build, and checking on the completion of a mine. For the murder case it was impossible to find images that covered the few hours she needed. Her team had similar problems on the bridge case, but Wheeler says someone with more specialised knowledge might have done better. "If you know what you might want, a space detective agency would be a great service."

This Thomas Anthony Zampetti blog contains features on criminal investigation, crime fiction, and other information about detective work.

REPOST: 10 notable movies about the Vietnam War

Murder, drugs and narcotics trafficking, homicide, fraud – you name it, they’ve done it. This article lists the most notorious names in the history of organized crime, giving Don Vito Corleone a run for his dirty money.

Semion Mogilevich

Image Source: time.com

One of the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives, Semion Mogilevich cuts a frightening figure. Called the "Brainy Don" (he has an economics degree), the Ukrainian-born mobster's gang has a multinational reach, with his hands allegedly in everything from a Pennsylvania-based company that defrauded investors of $150 million to the East European gas trade. His other reputed crimes include murders, arms dealing and drug trafficking. Mogilevich was arrested in Moscow in 2008 for tax evasion, but, brainy and crafty as he is, was released the following year.

Al Capone

Image Source: time.com

You can't have a list of mobsters without mentioning the man who sticks in the minds of most people: Al Capone. It seemed for years as if law enforcement couldn't touch him. As head of the Chicago-based Italian-American empire known as the Outfit, Capone was guilty of any number of sins, from gambling and prostitution to bootlegging and narcotics trafficking to robbery, bribery and murder. Though his record is long, Capone gained the most notoriety for the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre in which seven high-ranking members of a rival gang were shot dead. Though Capone himself had arranged to conveniently be vacationing at the time, there was little doubt the job didn't have the boss's approval. But what finally brought the mobster down was one of his most minor offenses: tax evasion. The lesser crime — and lighter sentence it carried — meant one of the most notorious crooks of all time served just seven years, six months and 15 days behind bars.

Charles 'Lucky' Luciano

Image Source: time.com

Charles "Lucky" Luciano organized organized crime. The New York City boss built the now legendary Mafia model, turning petty criminal activity into a smoothly operating enterprise that turned serious profits. Along with his associate Meyer Lansky, Luciano even instituted a board of directors. The Genovese family crime boss set up shop in the Lower East Side and palled around with the likes of Frank Sinatra until U.S. special prosecutor Thomas Dewey charged Luciano with 62 counts of compulsory prosecution. He was deported to Italy in 1946 and then appeared in Cuba a year later. But he never regained the status and cachet his former life of crime had afforded him and died in 1962.

Click here to view the rest of the list.

Thomas Anthony Zampetti is a veteran of the US Marine Corps who later served as a narcotics and organized crime investigator with the New Jersey State Police. Follow this Twitter account for updates on crime scene investigation, private investigation, and other topics of interest to Mr. Zampetti.

REPOST: 20 People You Didn’t Know Were United States Marines

Serving in the US Marine Corps is a character-enriching experience one carries throughout his or her lifetime. This article enumerates various celebrities and public figures who were enlisted US Marines at some point in their youth.

The Marine Corps bills itself as a career-building experience, and we've found lots of successful people who confirm this.

You probably had no idea that these men served, but you know their other work.

Image Source: businessinsider.com

Drew Carey

Drew Carey enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in 1980 and served for six years. Since then, he's had his own successful sitcom, hosted the improv show Who's Line Is It Anyway? and currently is the host of The Price Is Right.

Montel Williams

Montel Williams joined the Marines and went to boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina right after high school. He was groomed for leadership and sent to the Naval Academy Preparatory School and went to the Naval Academy. Williams spent several years aboard submarines and working in the intelligence sphere.

He started the successful talk show The Montel Williams Show in 1991.

Rob Riggle

Daily Show Corespondent Rob Riggle served in Kosovo, Liberia and Afghanistan

Rob Riggle is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. He's a public affairs officer with the NYC unit, and has received the Combat Action ribbon.

Right now, he's an active comedian, he's been in multiple comedies, and he remains a corespondent for the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Shaggy

Orville Burrell served in Operation Desert Storm before he became rapper Shaggy.

Shaggy — best known for his 2000 hit single "It Wasn't Me" — is originally from Kingston, Jamaica. He joined the Marine Corps as a Field Artillery Cannon Crewmember

Image Source: businessinsider.com

Glen Bell

Businessman Glen Bell served in the Marines in the second world war. After, he opened his first restaurant, a hot dog stand. He later sold tacos for 19 cents each, and opened his first Taco Bell in 1962. He sold the 868-restaurant chain to Pepsi in 1978 for $125 million in stock.

James Carville

James Carville served two years in the Marines after graduating from Louisiana State University. He would later go on to work as a political consultant, eventually successfully running Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton's campaign for President.

Bob Parsons

Self-made businessman Bob Parsons enlisted in the Marines and served as a rifleman in the Delta Company of the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines in the Quang Nam Province of Vietnam.

He was wounded and spent two months recovering. He received the combat action ribbon, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross, and the Purple Heart.

He would go on to found GoDaddy.com, a major domain registrar.

Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman left home at sixteen and signed up for the Marine Corps, serving more than four years as a Field radio operator.

Hackman would go on to star in dozens of films, playing Lex Luthor in the Superman films as well as sustaining a forty year career.

Harvey Keitel

Harvey Keitel joined the Marines at sixteen and served during Operation Blue Bat in Lebanon in 1958.

He's since been an iconic and prolific actor, working multiple times with directors Martin Scorsese, Paul Auster, and Quentin Tarantino.

Image Source: businessinsider.com

Rev. Jeremiah Wright

The Reverend Jeremiah Wright, whose remarks proved a complex and controversial event in the 2008 presidential campaign, served in the Marine Corps in the 2nd Marine Division from 1961 to 1963. He later served in the Navy as a cardiopulmonary technician.

He's currently the Pastor Emeritus of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.


Click here to view the list

Thomas Anthony Zampetti is a US Marine Corps veteran who served from 1968 to 1970 and during the Vietnam War. Learn more about Mr. Zampetti’s professional background and career by subscribing to this Facebook page.

Five private detective must-haves for successful sleuthing

Private investigation requires expertise, intuition, and wit, not to mention a toolkit of spy essentials. Here are some of the most important devices a private eye should never be without.

Tiny video camera

A high-resolution covert digital video camera that can easily be concealed in one’s clothing or personal worn accessories or planted in a clever location in a vehicle or room is vital for surveillance in the event that some hard evidence incriminating a suspect presents itself.

Minuscule audio recorder

Image Source: gizmodo.com

A high quality, high sensitivity digital audio recorder for hiding in strategic areas such as the folds of a coat or the space between couch pillows helps a private detective gather pertinent spoken information or aural proof for nudging a case along.

GPS tracking device

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A global positioning system (GPS) tracking unit clipped to a desired subject provides the subject’s exact, real-time location. Being near watching or eavesdropping distance of a subject, or knowing his or her whereabouts can provide material that can shed light on a case.

Surveillance sunglasses

Wire-frame surveillance sunnies keep the sun’s strong glare away while providing the view from behind the wearer via keenly installed mirrors on the inside corners of the lenses.

Binoculars

Image Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Every private investigator must have a pair of high-powered, compact binoculars on his or her person at all times. These allow one to see people and events from a distance, an ability necessary for conducting surveillance.

Following a sixteen-year career in the Narcotics and Organized Crime unit of the New Jersey State Police, Thomas Anthony Zampetti founded and ran a private investigation agency called TAZ, where, as a licensed detective, he carried out and supervised numerous criminal investigations successfully. For more information and resources on surveillance and investigation, follow this Google+ page.

Safe sandblasting matters: Measures to protect workers from risks at the workplace

There is no denying that abrasive blasting is a useful process for certain industries. It cleans sand and irregularities from foundry castings, removes paint from ship hulls and other metal surfaces, and polishes tombstones and glass frostings.

Image Source: harrisonsandblasting.co.uk

However, inhaling large amounts of dust from silica and other abrasive materials used in the blasting process poses a great health risk to abrasive blasters. The most common diseases acquired by sandblasters are silicosis and tuberculosis, lung conditions that result in difficulty in breathing, scarring on and blocking of air passages, and death.

Responsible owners of sandblasting companies know there are measures to ensure health and safety in the workplace, such as the following:

Image Source: marco.us

Provide PPEs. Require workers to wear protective gear such as the following at the site:

- Open- and close-circuit self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA)
- Airline respirator
- Protective coveralls
- Face shield
- Gloves that fully cover the forearm

Also, post signs to warn workers about the hazards to encourage them to wear protective equipment.
Have engineering controls in place. The best thing employers can do to reduce the exposure risk is putting engineering controls, which address the hazards at the source. Some of the controls that can prevent silica exposure include the following:

- Wet abrasive blasting or wet cutting
- Dust control additives
- Installation of dust collection system and local ventilation hoods; and
- Usage of alternative equipment like vacuums or dry sweeping to remove dust and debris

Image Source: oteco-eg.com

Maintain safe levels of exposure. Keep exposure as close to zero as possible. Better yet, use alternative abrasive media such as glass beads, pumice, sawdust, steel grit, and walnut shells, that do the job as effectively.

Retired entrepreneur Thomas Anthony Zampetti ensured workplace safety as a former owner of a professional abrasive blasting business. Visit this Facebook page for more information about Mr. Zampetti and the sandblasting industry.

REPOST: Wanted: white-collar crime fighters

At present, there is a huge demand for investigators specializing in finding and exposing white-collar criminals. Gayle Bryant of The Age writes about the rising demand for corporate crime fighters as the prevalence for white-collar crime increases.

Breach of trust: Research shows white-collar criminals are frequently highly placed, experienced staff members.
Image source: theage.com.au

The incidence of white-collar crime is on the rise and as schemes become increasingly sophisticated, companies need to adopt more stringent controls to prevent themselves from becoming victims.

Traditional white-collar crimes include embezzlement, bribery, insider trading, money laundering and accounting fraud. Financial services firm KPMG publishes a bi-annual report into fraud, bribery and corruption and in its most recent survey - released in 2012 - it found $373 million had been stolen over the previous two years in Australia and New Zealand. But figures around white-collar crime vary widely, largely because much of it goes unreported, especially among smaller businesses.

University of NSW professor Clinton Free teaches and researches in the area of fraud and corporate governance. He says asset misappropriation is the most common of the white-collar crimes but the least costly to the organisation. "But financial statement crime, where the incidences are small, is the most costly," he says.

Free says white-collar crimes are very difficult to detect and can take up to three years to investigate. "They occur for different reasons," he says. "Within small to medium businesses, you find that they just haven't got the right internal controls, such as separation of duties, and this opens up opportunities for fraudulent behaviour."

Fraud squad: coporate crime expert Professor Clinton Free of the University of New South Wales.

Fraud squad: coporate crime expert Professor Clinton Free of the University of New South Wales.
Image source: theage.com.au

Within large organisations, he says, crimes often depend on collusion among senior employees and this makes them difficult to uncover.

Free warns against relying on standard audit procedures. "Audits are predictable," he says. "And auditors are not experienced in detecting fraud so it can be easy to work outside the parameters of an audit to keep a fraud undetected.''

Generally, financial offences only come to light through whistleblowers, Free says.

"Crimes get found out when someone in an organisation provides a tip-off or calls a fraud "Crimes get found out when someone in an organisation provides a tip-off or calls a fraud hotline," he says. "This is actually the most effective way of discovering fraud."

But there are tools businesses can use to deter criminally inclined employees. Free says that, as the crimes within SMEs are usually unsophisticated - for example, people transferring company money into their own accounts - internal controls are the easiest form of pre-emption.

"This could involve segregating duties, so that a person who is receiving money is different to the one who is recording it. Jobs can be rotated so no one person is continuously responsible for the same role. And surprise audits that are dedicated to fraud detection should be held," Free says.

But these measures have costs, whether in time or training, and lacking resources, SMEs tend to let them slide. Free says this is a mistake. He says research into white-collar crime shows that it is most often committed by highly-placed, experienced staff members.

"They are not people who have been there for five minutes," he says. "The frauds being conducted are by trusted personnel and you find that in the SME sector, people are more trusting of their employees. So, while putting in controls has costs, so does blind faith.''

In larger companies, fraudulent schemes tend to be more sophisticated and difficult to unpick, especially when they involve different jurisdictions. ''The two entities that are set up to fight this type of crime, ASIC and the Australian Federal Police, have constraints and the complexity makes it difficult to investigate,'' Free says. ''They have limited resources and any prosecutions depend on the quality of the investigation.'' ''

Beyond standard embezzlement, organisations need to be aware of the emerging threat posed by cyber crime, data theft and identity fraud.

KPMG director of forensic technology Stan Gallo says theft of intellectual property (IP) is a growth area. ''Employees might leave a company and start their own business or go to a competitor's and they take tranches of IP,'' he says. ''They just copy it to a thumb drive or save it in the cloud. It's easy for them to do because they've always had access to this information.''

Gallo says data-related crimes are a concern because of the value of the data. ''Management can't be complacent. If technology needs change, for example, if employees are given tablets, then management need to rethink policies on access to information. The line between what is private and what is business becomes blurred when people start using the same mobile phones and tablets at work and home.''

Working to defeat white-collar crime is garnering more attention around the world. For example, the US-based Association of Certified Fraud Examiners is the largest anti-fraud body in the world, with 70,000 members.

Gallo says the growing awareness among companies is good news. ''Organisations are seeing the ramifications of ignoring white-collar crime, especially around IP theft,'' he says. ''This is bringing it out of the IT department and to the attention of management and board executives so company-wide decisions can be made. It's a recognition that [it's] more than just an IT issue.''

Thomas Anthony Zampetti has been a Marine, a New Jersey State Trooper, and a private detective.  Visit this Twitter page for more updates on the private investigator career.

Case closed: Life after a detective's career

After years of fighting crime, solving mysteries, and being involved in the legal process, what’s it like when a detective calls it a career?

Image Source: intothewoods.tv

A detective enjoys numerous opportunities at the conclusion of his or her service. With a life’s work solving crime, former detectives often turn to careers related to their old jobs.

Becoming a crime journalist, novelist, or screenwriter is a natural career path for a former detective. Examples of detectives-turned-writers include Ed Burns, a screenwriter for the television series “The Wire,” and Mark Fuhrman, author of several non-fiction books.

Image Source: theguardian.com

Some have found jobs acting in films and television. Gil Hill, a former detective in Detroit, landed a role in the “Beverly Hills Cop” series, where he played Inspector Todd, the boss of Eddie Murphy’s character, Alex Foley.

Other former detectives started private businesses in connection to their old occupation. Dave Toschi, the chief investigator of the Zodiac Killer case, is currently the vice president of North Star Security Services in Daly City, Calif.

Image Source: zodiackillertruth.com

Still, others had success in completely different livelihoods. Thomas Zampetti was a former narcotics detective in New Jersey when he opened a sand blasting business. His company met success for being one of the first to introduce portable sand blasting in the industry.  

Thomas Anthony Zampetti served in the New Jersey State Police for 16 years before becoming a successful detective and businessman. To find more information about Mr. Zampetti, subscribe to this Google Plus page.

After semper fi: Thomas Anthony Zampetti’s post-Marine career

Having served in the U.S. Marine Corps until 1970, Thomas Anthony Zampetti embarked on a range of successful career moves. Not long after his retirement from the Marines, Zampetti took up accounting at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey, finishing in 1974.

Image Source: www.ohio.com

He would later set off on a career in law enforcement, serving as a New Jersey state trooper fighting organized crime and narcotics trafficking. He would later use his experience in police work to become a licensed private detective. For a time, he worked closely with a high profile attorney, focusing mainly on criminal investigation, before starting an agency on his own, which he would later name TAZ Detective Agency. His time as a detective was shared with his day job, managing a sandblasting company, American Sand Blasting.

Image Source: www.ntctroopers.com

His venture into the sandblasting industry was marked by a pioneering streak in the way sandblasting was applied in restoration, cleaning, and artisan crafts. His company invented the very first portable sand blasters, and was among the first sandblasting companies to be allowed to sandblast inside buildings, paving the way for its foray into designing glass windows for residential and commercial structures.

Image Source: www.miningindustrialphotographer.com

His company was also renowned for its work in restoration, which focused on historical and commercial projects. Among the most lauded works the company performed was in removing graffiti from school walls.

For more updates on Thomas Anthony Zampetti, follow this Twitter page.