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It is reported that the parents of one of the five people who died in a recent house fire in Rhode Island have asked a judge to allow a private investigator they have hired access to the property. They also requested the documents associated with the blaze and copies of the 911 recordings.

A lawyer is reported as saying that private investigations often differ in “scope” to public investigations. Fire officials are investigating the cause of the early morning fire they have said started in the space between the first-floor ceiling and the second floor. It could be weeks before a cause is determined, though they do not think the blaze was suspicious.

La Stampa
15/12/2009 – INTERVISTA
Maurizio Molinari
CORRISPONDENTE DA NEW YORK

L’aggressione a Silvio Berlusconi è avvenuta perché il servizio di sicurezza ha commesso tre errori». Ad analizzare quanto avvenuto in piazza Duomo è Joseph LaSorsa, che era nel servizio segreto del presidente degli Stati Uniti ai tempi dell’attentato a Ronald Reagan ed oggi guida in Florida l’omonima agenzia di consulenza per la sicurezza.

Quali sono i tre errori?
«Il più grave è la carenza di controllo della folla che si trovava nella piazza. Quando un leader è in posti affollati devono esserci attorno a lui spazi e corridoi che consentono agli agenti di tenere a debita distanza le persone. Lì invece la gente era a ridosso del leader, quasi attaccata».

E il secondo?
«L’assenza di un percorso protetto verso l’auto del premier. Quando il presidente degli Stati Uniti si muove il servizio segreto sa che una delle maggiori vulnerabilità è nel momento in cui sale o scende dall’auto. Per proteggerlo si posiziona l’auto in un posto sicuro, come ad esempio dietro un palazzo o, meglio ancora, sotto un tendone per impedire alla gente di vedere dove si trova la macchina. Il presidente sale a bordo della limousine senza che nessuno possa vederlo. Quando si muove è già nell’auto».

Tanto il controllo della folla come la protezione dell’auto non possono comunque impedire che qualcuno lanci un oggetto contro il leader…
«Certo ma il servizio segreto può limitare il tipo di oggetti che possono essere lanciati contro il leader. E qui sta il terzo errore commesso a Milano: non c’erano controlli, perquisizioni o metal detector attraverso cui filtrare le persone che si avvicinavano a Berlusconi. Anche contro George W. Bush venne lanciata una scarpa a Baghdad, ma poiché i giornalisti entrati in quella sala erano passati attraverso i controlli di sicurezza non potevano avere con sé oggetti contundenti, di ferro, marmo o materiali simili».

Insomma, lei sta dicendo che non si può impedire il lancio di oggetti in sé, ma si possono limitare gli oggetti da lanciare.
«Esatto. Non si può togliere ogni oggetto a chi si avvicina al leader. Ma se si tratta di penne, matite, orologi, scarpe, cinte o anche lampade da tavolino i danni sono destinati ad essere limitati. I metal detector servono a questo. Il problema è che in piazza Duomo non c’erano affatto».

Quali dei tre errori è a suo avviso il più grave?
«Non c’è mai un errore più grave degli altri: è la concanetazione di sbagli differenti, la sovrapposizione fra molteplici carenze, che è sempre all’origine di un vulnus grave nel sistema di sicurezza che protegge un leader. Credo che i reponsabili della scorta di Berlusconi passeranno ora un periodo lungo e difficile di riesame delle procedure. Come facemmo noi dopo l’attentato a Reagan del marzo 1981».

WHY A VALUE TOPICS PACKED (3) DAY COURSE INSTEAD OF (5) OR (7) DAY COURSES FOR THOUSANDS OF $$$ ?:
J.A. LaSorsa & Associates attempts to keep course costs and fees low in order to afford entry level security personnel an opportunity to obtain quality EP training at an affordable price. We intentionally omit firearms training; CPR and Defensive/Evasive Driver Training from our (3) Day Executive Protection Agent Training Course BECAUSE:

1. Firearms Training can be obtained LESS EXPENSIVIELY on your own, at local firearms ranges with certified firearms instructors.
2. CPR AND Emergency First Aid Training can also be obtained LESS EXPENSIVIELY on your own (consider the Red Cross).

Once an individual is certain he/she wishes to continue in the EP field, then pursuing other courses like CQB (Close Quarters Combat) and Defensive/Evasive Driver Training, as an adjunct to the academics of the concepts and procedures of Protective Operations.

Additionally, those of you who believe prior law enforcement, military or Martial Arts experience alone are necessarily solid experience and background as a basis to operate as Executive Protection Agents – NOT TRUE – unless you have undergone prior specific Executive Protection/VIP training provided by a law enforcement, military or reputable private school/agency.

Click here for our Bodyguard / Executive Protection Training Course Schedule

In the private sector world, EP Agents typically operate with limited personnel and may have to immediately respond to protectees to quickly move/evacuate them. In that protective scenario, Close Quarters Combat and Martial Arts experience will likely be the least beneficial skills sets working for you! In the millions of hours the Secret Service has been involved with Protection since 1901, there has never been a situation where an Agent has fired his/her firearm in defense during a Protective assignment! It is a highly unlikely scenario where you might be simultaneously evacuating your client and firing your weapon at the same time!

Bottom line, if you’re serious about operating as an EP Agent and understanding what to do and how to do it, consider attending one of my courses or a similar course offered elsewhere with similar academic topics for a similar fee, so you will understand the concepts and procedures of:

HOW to conduct 1) Threat Assessments, 2) Protective Security Advances and 3) setting up Protective Details for various private sector scenarios and situations!

3 Day Executive Protection Agent Training Course Executive Protective Agent / Bodyguard Training Course Content

Course Content – Topics:

• Executive Protection – Principles & Concepts
• Residence, Travel and Office Security
• Assassination Attempts – Types of Assassins
• Threat and Vulnerability Assessments (definition and the differences between them)
• (4 live working Protective Detail exercises)
• Advance Concepts – Domestic & Foreign Procedures & Guidelines
• Duties of the Advance Agent
• Firearm/Weapon Response and Takeaway Procedures (practical exercise)
• Formations (practical exercise)
• Protective Detail – Construction
• Inner, Middle and Outer Perimeter Security – Concepts and Procedures
• Site Advance (practical exercise)
• Emergency/Contingency- Planning and Response Procedures
• Motorcade Operations & Security (practical exercise – location permitting)
• Armored Vehicle – History & Operations
• Vehicular Bomb Detection & Sweeps
• State Licensing Requirements for Executive Protection Services
• How to get E.P. Jobs
• How to Successfully Market E.P. Services

The (3) Day Agent Training Course is designed for the novice and is also a great refresher for the seasoned agent. There are (4) live, simulated Protection Detail practical exercises. Training material is provided.

A certificate of attendance is awarded to attendees upon completion.

Click here for our Executive Protection / Bodyguard Training Class Schedule

Besides Executive Protection and Bodyguard Training, J. A. LaSorsa also provides: Security Expert Witness, Anti-Wiretap and Audio Countermeasures, Consulting, Investigative, Polygraph, Executive Protection Estate & Yacht Security Systems & Consulting, Workplace Violence Training & Intervention.

Most Services also available in Europe, Central and South America.

As Seen and Featured: CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Daily Business Journal; Millionaires, Robb Report, DuPont Registry Magazines

Allan Lengel
Contributor

WASHINGTON – The Salahis were hardly the first to embarrass the Secret Service by crashing presidential security. And it will probably happen again.

One man did it twice. The Rev. Rich C. Weber shook hands with President Clinton at his second inauguration, then was back four years later in 2001, welcoming President George W. Bush with a brief conversation. There were also more frightening incidents — a man who hopped the White House gate with a .38-caliber revolver and got within 50 feet of the residence. Another man crashed a plane into the White House.

But until Tareq and Michaele Salahi attended a state dinner uninvited last week, even posing for pictures, maybe none of the intruders displayed quite the aplomb that Robert Latta did on Jan. 20, 1985.

RELATED: List: Notable Breaches of Presidential Security

Latta, a 45-year-old water meter reader from Denver, sneaked into the East Entrance of the White House with the Marine Band about two hours before President Reagan was sworn in for his second term.

Then Latta walked around the White House unchallenged for almost 15 minutes. At one point, he wandered into the State Dining Room and sat at a chair at the president’s table. Reagan was not in the White House at the time.

And the meter reader didn’t even have to dress up like the Salahis did. The band members were in uniform. Latta was not. Band members carried their instruments. Latta carried a bag.

Reagan spokesman Larry Speakes at the time said the Secret Service Sentries thought Latta was with the band. The band leader thought he was a “staff member.”

“Obviously we made a mistake,” Speakes told the Chicago Tribune.

Ex-Secret Service Agent Joe LaSorsa was on the Reagan protection detail at the time of that security breach in 1985, but was not involved in the incident. He knows the challenges involved with protecting the president and the White House in a bustling urban area filled with tourists and in close proximity to Reagan National Airport.

Plus, he said, the White House requires “immeasurable access.”

“People need access. Reporters need access, government officials need access. You have employees,” said LaSorsa, who runs a private security consulting firm in south Florida called JA LaSorsa & Associates. “It’s an access control dilemma.”

LaSorsa declined to comment on the latest breach involving the Salahis. But he acknowledged that Latta’s intrusion was painful for the agency.

“None of us had positive feelings,” he said.

For every breach, however, he said an examination follows and security improves. Some improvements are discreet. Others are more blatant, like the decision by Clinton in May 1995 to close Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to all but pedestrian traffic. That move, which the Secret Service had pushed for, came several weeks after the truck bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City and several months after a man crashed a plane into the White House.

Still, “there is no such thing as perfect security,” James G. Huse Jr., retired assistant director of the U.S. Secret Service, noted in a column this week.

“Any security system for public dignitaries that depends on the discretionary judgments of humans has to accept the risk of human error as a variable. Indeed, in this incident the failure of these controls at a critical checkpoint allowed the Salahis their uninvited access,” he wrote.

“Nevertheless, what is not clearly reported,” he wrote of the latest incident, “is that other concurrent security operations were successfully performed at the state dinner that assured the safety of the President and his distinguished Head of Government guest.”

Huse also recalled a troublesome moment when he was a special agent.

“I remember the state arrival ceremonies on the South Grounds of the White House, in 1979 for the Chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping, that were disrupted by an unruly individual in the press pool who screamed out unflattering epithets at the visiting dignitary during his speech,” he wrote.

An investigation revealed that impostor had claimed affiliation with a nonexistent publication to gain the press credentials. “Neither President Carter or Leader Deng Xiaoping were endangered in any way,” Huse noted.

As an assistant director, he was also the chief investigator for the White House security review that followed the September 1994 small-plane crash on the South Grounds of the White House, and for the October 1994 incident when Francisco Duran fired semiautomatic weapons at people on the North Grounds of the White House.

Current Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan took full responsibility for the breach by the Salahis at a congressional hearing this week. But the agency feels the criticism has overshadowed the good work it has done.

“In spite of last week’s incident, the safety of those we protect has been and remains the agency’s highest priority,” Secret Service spokesman Malcolm D. Wiley Sr. said in a statement issued Thursday night. “In the last year alone, we safely cleared 1.2 million visitors through the White House without incident. However, we clearly understand that there is absolutely no margin for error, and we will take whatever steps necessary to ensure that this type of failure is not repeated.

“We as an agency are constantly in a state of self-assessment. We do not have the luxury of celebrating the successes we have had, but rather we have always scrutinized, studied and adjusted to mistakes and emerging threats.”

Author Ronald Kessler doesn’t think the agency is doing enough. He was highly critical of the Secret Service in his book “In the President’s Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect.” He also wrote an unflattering column on the security breach by the Salahis for Newsmax.com.

“The fact the couple was allowed in in this dangerous age is a disgrace and is symptomatic of lax standards at the Secret Service since it was absorbed by the Department of Homeland Security in 2003,” Kessler wrote. “What is needed is a shakeup of Secret Service management, including replacement of Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan with a director from the outside who will change the management culture.”

As for Robert Latta, he was charged with a misdemeanor but apparently never prosecuted. He had his brief moment of fame as a recurring gag by comedian Rich Hall on “Saturday Night Live.”

The Salahis certainly seem like an “SNL” skit waiting to happen.

Austin, Texas, is No. 2 on the list of cities where Americans are relocating. © Brandon Seidel/Shutterstock

• In pictures: 10 cities where Americans are relocating
• America’s top 25 towns for living well
• America’s most dangerous cities

Unemployment is on the rise, credit is tight and consumers aren’t spending — which means they aren’t picking up and moving much, either. Very few places in America saw significant population growth in 2008.

Despite the overall economic slowdown, some parts of the country keep on moving ahead, attracting more and more newcomers — even if it’s at a slower pace than in more sound economic times. These places still offer a semblance of stability, as well as great weather, cultural life and, in many cases, affordability. Behind the numbers To determine the fastest-growing metro areas in the country, Forbes used 2008 population estimates for metropolitan statistical areas with a population of more than 1 million, released March 19, 2009, by the U.S. Census Bureau. MSAs are geographic entities defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal agencies in collecting, tabulating and publishing federal statistics. Read: America’s downsized cities Forbes then compared the 2008 population estimates to the previous year’s data to see which areas had grown the most, percentagewise.

The cities that made the list share similar qualities: more business opportunities, better weather and more affordable housing. The top three areas according to the data are Raleigh, N.C., ranking first, which jumped 4.29% to nearly 1.9 million; Austin, Texas, which came in second, with a 3.77% increase to almost 1.7 million; and Charlotte, N.C., which moved up 3.36% to 1.7 million.

All these areas’ increases were smaller in 2008 than they were in 2007 (Raleigh increased by 4.7% in 2007, Austin by 4.29% and Charlotte by 4.2%), but a slight slowdown is not necessarily a bad thing, says William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, an independent research and policy group based in Washington, D.C. “Part of the story here is the rapid rise in growth in the middle of decade,” he says. “That growth was unnatural.”

The in-migration that happened in the middle of this decade certainly had a lot to do with the housing boom. When that went bust, so did those crazy population balloons. But these particular places are still growing because instead of building an economy that relies heavily on one industry, most of the metro areas on Forbes’ list serve as headquarters for a diverse range of companies.

• Twitter users: Get the latest updates from MSN Real Estate

For example, Austin’s biggest employers include the University of Texas, Advanced Micro Devices and Dell. That wide range might have something to do with the area’s relatively low January 2009 unemployment rate of 6.4%.

This is the opposite of what happened in true housing boom-and-bust towns like Las Vegas. In 2004, Las Vegas — a foreclosure mecca — saw a population increase of 4.6%, followed by 3.66% in 2005, 3.98% in 2006 and 3.22% in 2007. In 2008, that number fell to 2%.

The power of business
When it comes down to it, a buzzing business community is a metro area’s most important characteristic, says Sean C. Safford, a professor at the University of Chicago and author of “Why the Garden Club Couldn’t Save Youngstown: The Transformation of the Rust Belt.” He studies the social economics of U.S. cities and metro areas.

“Perception is driven by the vibrancy of the companies in an area,” he says.

However, that doesn’t mean that these metros won’t suffer from a slowdown in population growth when 2009’s numbers are released next year. Charlotte, for example, reported a 10.5% unemployment rate for January 2009, likely related to the fact that Bank of America is headquartered there. That high unemployment rate almost guarantees stunted growth in 2009.

“We don’t quite yet know what the impact (of the ongoing recession) will be for 2009 populations,” Frey says. “But we do know it’s not going to get any better.”

Indeed, where Americans are relocating today has little to do with where they’ll be moving tomorrow.

Top 5 cities where Americans are relocating

1. Raleigh, N.C.

2. Austin, Texas

3. Charlotte, N.C.

4. Phoenix

5. Dallas

Click here for the full slide show of 10 cities where Americans are relocating.

This article was written by Lauren Sherman for Forbes.

Friday, April 10, 2009

CEOs Face Growing Threats at Home and Abroad

It is the information age. Information has become valuable in society today. The right piece of information can make or break a business or a marriage. The goal of private investigation is to track down information and people are more than willing to pay a good sum to get what they need. Information is why private investigation is a booming business and is why the internet has grown at such an amazing rate – information has become one of the most profitable commodities in the world today.

Because the demand for information is so high, agencies have been popping up all over to cash in. So that leaves you in the situation of making sure you find a reliable and reputable agency to work with if you ever need to hire one. What criteria can you use to judge a private investigation agency?

Availability of Resources

A private investigation agency is only as powerful as its resources. Actually, the resources are the only reason you actually need an investigation agency anyway. You need their access to private databases. You need their high tech surveillance and forensic equipment. You need their contacts on the street and those in high places. Besides fancy equipment and contacts, one of the most valuable resources of a private investigation agency is its people. A good agency has the manpower to work on your case around the clock until your case is solved. So it is important to consider the extent of resources the private investigation agency has to put to work on your case.

Expertise

Not all Private investigators are competent and experienced in all areas of the private investigative spectrum. So when choosing an agency to work with, make sure they are experienced in dealing with your type of case. Some agencies only specialize in certain type cases. You will certainly want an agency that has a lot of experience in the type of work you need. That way the chance of a positive outcome is higher and the work will probably be completed sooner which means you will have to pay less money.

Price

You probably already know that a good private investigation agency won’t come cheap. Still, there is no need to pay more than you have to. It is a good idea to shop around among different agencies and compare their qualifications against their rates so you can determine the best match for your situation and your pocketbook.

You should take your time when evaluating private investigation agencies. No matter what your case entails, it will probably be a big expense for you. The more complicated the case, the higher the expense. You might have lot at stake if your case involves your business or family so finding a highly qualified agency is imperative.

J. A. LASORSA & ASSOCIATES (www.lasorsa.com) , FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT, Presidential Protection – the White House, providing worldwide discreet Executive Protection, Bodyguard, Bodyguards, Physical Security Services and Training to corporate executives, dignitaries, the public, and celebrities. Operating out of our home base in South Florida, our firm’s Security Services include, but are not limited to: Estate & Yacht Security, Systems and Safe Room – Design and & Construction, Corporate Security Consulting, Workplace Violence, School Violence, School Security Expert Consultant & Training and Debugging, Anti Wiretapping, Industrial Counter Espionage & general Audio Counter-Measures.

We provide Confidential Private Investigator Services to insurance companies, businesses, financial institutions, andprivate citizens. Our team of highly experienced private investigators can provide law firms of any size with the Litigation Support Resources necessary to secure the evidence they need for any case. We provide both domestic andinternational services, to include: Antigua, Anguilla, Aruba, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominica, St. John, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Grenada, Montserrat, Netherland Antilles, Nevis, St. Vincent, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Turks & Caicos and Trinidad & Tobago, Bermuda, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, New York, Los Angeles, U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Trinidad, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Mexico, El Salvador,Venezuela and South America, Europe, Italy, Rome, Milan, Paris, Geneva, Zurich, Asia, China, the Far East, India, etc.

We also specifically provide Security Expert Witness and Litigation Support Services to the legal profession, as it relates to Premises Security, Security Negligence & Foreseeability. Negligence Security cases routinely involve: Parking Lot, Hotel, Restaurant, Bar, Night Club, Community, Sub-division, Condominium and Office Building. Additionally, our team has recently joined forces with one of the nations cutting edge Information Technologies companies to meet your Computer and Network Security needs.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Matt Egan

FOXBusiness

Whether it’s a souped-up BlackBerry, the most fearsome Cadillac on the planet or a suit that stops speeding bullets, the businesses behind protecting the world’s most powerful person have received widespread attention from an international audience in recent weeks.

Waterloo, Ontario-based Research in Motion (RIMM: 59, -0.17, -0.29%) landed an endorsement beyond its wildest dreams when President Barack Obama refused to enter the White House without his BlackBerry device.

Detroit’s recently-bailed out General Motors (GM: 2.83, -0.01, -0.35%) scored some badly needed positive PR when the president’s new tank-like Cadillac was unveiled last month.

And a Colombian fashion designer whose bullet-resistant line of clothing has been dubbed the “Armani of Armor,” drew international attention after Obama reportedly wore a bullet-resistant suit at last month’s Inauguration.

“I can assure you there is no more difficult challenge in the world than to protect the president of the United States. It was the biggest challenge I was ever involved in,” said Joseph LaSorsa, who drove former President Ronald Reagan as part of a 20-year career at the Secret Service and owns security consulting firm J.A. LaSorsa & Associates.

RIM has easily scored the biggest marketing coup, given the intense publicity Obama’s fight to hold onto his BlackBerry received since the election.

“In just the first few weeks, I’ve had to engage in some of the toughest diplomacy of my life. And that was just to keep my Blackberry,” Obama joked last week, according to AFP.

“You can’t buy that kind of coverage in an advertising campaign,” said Kevin Restivo, senior software analyst at IDC. “A company typically has to spend tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. In this case, RIM has done nothing other than produce something that it’s already been producing.”

Obama’s insistence on keeping his BlackBerry underscores not just his own tech savvy, but also the ubiquitous nature of the device.

“I like the fact that we have a president who uses information technology to his benefit. It means we actually have the first information-age president,” said Bruce Schneier, a security technologist and author.

But the move doesn’t come without risks as Obama’s communications are potentially subject to illegal access from hackers and spies as well as unwanted legal access from subpoenas. To combat the illegal threat, Obama’s messages have been restricted to a tight circle of friends and will likely be re-routed to avoid RIM’s headquarters in Canada.

“Nothing is hacker-proof,” said Kevin Mitnick, a security consultant and formerly one of the world’s most famous hackers. “The National Security Agency probably put in a crypto add-on so that even if the communications were intercepted, they would be unintelligible.”

Of course there are perks included in Obama’s BlackBerry usage that most Americans live without.

“There are a lot of benefits. For example, he will never lose it. You and I have to worry about the NSA eavesdropping. The president can call the NSA and say, ‘Don’t do that,’” said Schneier.

Auto aficionados have also drooled over “The Beast,” the president’s new fortress-like Cadillac limousine. GM, which was rescued from collapse by the Bush Administration last year and reported a 51% sales drop in January, had the honor of designing and manufacturing the Obamamobile.

“Although many of the vehicle’s security enhancements cannot be discussed, it is safe to say that this car’s security and coded communications systems make it the most technologically advanced protection vehicle in the world,” Nicholas Trotta, an assistant director at the Secret Service, said in a statement.

The new presidential limo likely rides on a medium-truck GM chassis, is encased in several inches of military-grade armor, has a floor blanket made of Kevlar, ballistic-resistant windows and tires and a sealed air-circulation system to defend against gas attacks, according to an LA Times analysis.

“There’s no way to know for sure” exactly what kind of attacks it can withstand, “unless you start firing mortars at it and hopefully that never happens,” said Karl Brauer, editor-in-chief of Edmunds.com, who spotted a prototype of the vehicle in Colorado in July.

There was no guarantee that GM would land this high-profile deal as Mercedes and BMW already specialize in armored vehicles, said Brauer.

“It’s nice to see a very clearly American brand serving a very clearly American role like this. Obviously General Motors wanted the visibility they would get from this,” said Brauer.

Meanwhile, speculation has swirled that Obama was wearing a bullet-resistant coat or suit when he took the oath of office last month. Officials haven’t confirmed the reports but experts said they wouldn’t be surprised if it were the case.

True or not, the speculation has been a boon for Colombian designer Miguel Caballero, whose garments offer three levels of ballistic protection and are seven times more flexible than Kevlar vests. Caballero’s clothing can protect against anything from a 9mm pistol to fire from a Mini Uzi or an MP5 submachine gun.

In an interview with FOX Business last month, Caballero said the bullet-resistant fabrics costs $2,000 to $6,000 and are designed to “absorb the energy of the bullet.” He also said his line of clothing is catching on as they have dealers in 28 countries and have been worn by Alvaro Uribe, the president of Colombia, and Rafael Correa, the president of Ecuador.

“Protective garments are used all of the time,” said LaSorsa. “Everything in the world of protection has changed since 9/11. The protection of the president has probably been the most dramatic change.”