DATE: 03/09/10

A&E kicks off the original real-life series “Runaway Squad,” following former NYPD detective Joe Mazzilli and his team of private investigators, who track, rescue and reunite runaways with their families. The seven episode series will feature a special one-hour premiere on Monday, April 5 at 10 PM ET/PT on A&E followed by back-to-back half-hour episodes each week.

“Joe Mazzilli is a true New York character and a real-life superhero,” said Robert Sharenow, Senior Vice President, Nonfiction and Alternative Programming, A&E. “The extraordinary passion and commitment that he and his team display on a daily basis is incredibly inspiring and something we believe our viewers will truly connect with.”

Each year in the US, more than 1.6 million youths run away from home. Although thousands of runaways are killed or die out in the streets, most overburdened police departments don’t have the resources to meet the parents’ pleas to find them. That’s where former NYPD detective Joe Mazzilli and his team step in. On an on-going, pro bono basis, this dedicated squad tracks and rescues runaways – often extracting them from dangerous situations – and brings them back to their families. With a combination of investigative techniques and connections, street smarts and dogged manhunt experience, the “Runaway Squad” works hard to find these young adults before it’s too late. Each search begins with the parents, as Mazzilli carefully evaluates them to be sure the squad is returning the runaway to a safe and loving home. Whether the runaway is in danger due to drugs, sexual assaults or prostitution, the team is under intense pressure to find these young adults as quickly as possible and mend the damaged emotional ties between the runaways and their loved ones.

In the one-hour series premiere, Mazzilli and his team are contacted by the mother of a 15-year-old runaway who has been missing for nine months. Tayvela may have felt trapped in her Long Island home by her over-protective, but well-meaning, mother. When the team discovers that a gang may be holding her against her will, they turn up the heat and do all they can to find her.

Mazzilli, a former NYPD detective, worked for years undercover infiltrating the mob, and headed the efforts of the NYPD’s Pimp Squad during the dark days of the 1970s. It was while arresting pimps that he witnessed first-hand the fate of many runaways, who ended up abused, exploited, addicted to drugs, and sometimes dead. After retiring from the force, he dedicated a large portion of his private investigation firm’s time and resources pro-bono to saving runaway teenagers and helping them reconcile with their distraught families. Mazzilli also started a not-for-profit organization, the Runaways Assistance Program (R.A.P.), which aims to enlist retired law enforcement or private investigators on a pro-bono basis to volunteer their investigative services to find runaways. The program will also offer ongoing support for the runaways after they are found. R.A.P hopes to enact laws to better serve and assist juveniles in the system and ensure that a recovered runaway can receive the appropriate evaluation and treatment for drug or behavioral problems in a secure facility.

“Runaway Squad” is produced by ITV Studios (formerly Granada America) for A&E Network. John X. Kim is Executive Producer and Alexis Robie and Mira Chang serve as series producers for ITV Studios. Executive Producers for A&E are Robert Sharenow and Laura Fleury.

POL PUSHES HI-TECH COP CAMS By JOE MOLLICA

NEW YORK POST, June 8, 2009

Posted: 3:01 AM, June 8, 2009
A cop-turned-lawmaker wants panoramic cameras placed in police cars to investigate incidents like the friendly-fire killing of Officer Omar Edwards.

State Sen. Eric Adams (D-Brooklyn) said the AV360’s high-tech digital video and mirror system, housed in the car’s rear-view mirror, would help take the NYPD “out of the eight-track age and into the iPod age.”

Contact: Edward Salzano
Protect All Security
212.244.2074
esalzano@protectallsecurity.com

NEW YORK, NY—(27 April 2007) An amazing new surveillance device, developed by former New York City undercover detective Joe Mazzilli, would quickly resolve cases where police or suspect activities are questioned by providing a 100 percent accurate eyewitness account. If the device was installed in the New York City Police Department’s fleet, it would save the city millions of dollars in a short period of time by giving the NYPD a reliable “silent witness” for many police matters, and it would pay for itself the first year.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly recently stated on WABC’s “Up Close,” “We want to improve our ability to use technology. We’re still a little bit behind the power curve as far as that goes.” According to Joe Mazzilli, Protect-All Security’s AV360º™ is the technological advancement the police force needs because it will improve the efficiency of investigations, reduce no-witness “blame game” settlements against city employees, operate “24/7” to provide a greater level of security against domestic crime and international terrorism and present accurate information of police and civilian conduct.

The AV360º is a newly-designed, patented 360-degree digital video camera within an automobile’s rearview mirror. To install the innovative surveillance device, the stock rearview mirror is replaced with the AV360º, which views and records activity inside and outside the vehicle from almost every conceivable angle. The “Overt” model is designed for marked police cars and the “Covert” model is for unmarked cars and undercover vehicles. The AV360º features zoom lenses, 2-channel audio and optional GPS. The system does not reduce driver visibility and operates using a very small amount of power provided by the automobile. The real-time system records the images on a “ruggedized” digital video recorder which is small enough to install in the vehicle’s trunk or under the front seat. The encrypted video recordings and the system hardware are tamper proof. The police officer can view the video on the squad car’s monitor or computer screen and transfer the information to a DVD or upload to a computer anywhere via a cell phone data-link. The image can appear as four quadrants: left, right, front, back, or the camera can zoom in and out of specific quadrants as directed.

The AV360º was developed and patented by surveillance expert Joe Mazzilli, a highly-decorated former New York City police detective. Mr. Mazzilli is now a licensed private investigator, president of Assist International, a sought-after multi-million dollar private security and investigative firm in Manhattan and president of Protect-All Security Products, Inc., the company that manufactures the AV360º.

Though Joe Mazzilli still has close working connections to the NYPD, his efforts to help police officers have been halted by the city’s short-sighted spending policies. “As soon as the New York Police Department starts using the AV-360º, it will save them money by improving the efficiency of investigations, corroborating testimony and other evidence, augmenting the city’s counter terrorism program and resolving erroneous claims against the department before settlements are paid out,” claims Mazzilli. “This is the kind of technology Commissioner Kelly is talking about.”

“That’s what is frustrating,” says Mazzilli. “I’ve shown AV360º to a lot of cops, especially technical people, and they all love it because they see it is a great system. The AV360º has even received the endorsement of the Office of Law Enforcement Technology under the Federal Justice Department, but the NYPD is saying, ‘We love it, but we don’t have any money for it.’ Mayor Bloomberg’s report this morning that the city has a $4.4 billion budget surplus means the city actually has the funds to allocate for this long term cost saving and lifesaving system. This should be in every police vehicle.”

“This system won’t just save money and lives, it will save the good reputation of the force,” explains Mazzilli. “With the AV360°, the events around the Sean Bell shooting would have been documented—plain and simple. The actions leading up to the police firing on the vehicle would have been available for investigators and the public to determine if the correct course of action was taken. Between the conflicting witness statements, the media and the outraged community, the AV360º video would have helped the mayor manage the situation too. It is my belief that 99 percent of officers are hardworking, honest individuals. For the other 1 percent who is bad or potentially bad, this will keep them in check and make them aware that Big Brother is watching. All people, police and citizens alike, should be accountable for their actions and documentation is the answer.  The AV360º will help our city avoid the chaos of demonstrations against its own police officers, which would also reduce overtime, and help maintain the public’s confidence in the department. I’ve sent information about the system to many community activists so they can see how this would help the city.”

On a recent episode of “Up Close with Diana Williams,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly went on record citing the need to bring technology to the force and “to see police officers appropriately and fairly compensated for the work they do in this city” as “issues that still remain for this administration to address.” Mazzilli explains, “If the NYPD gets a better surveillance system, then the city reduces legal payouts. The police commission would then have the funds to increase starting salaries for new police officers. With higher salaries comes a larger pool of applicants, hence, making them New York’s Finest.”

Mazzilli states, “The city paid out $40 million in civil settlements against police officers last year. I could outfit the NYPD active fleet of 3,000 vehicles for approximately $10 million and potentially save them the rest. For example, when the police have a detainee in their vehicle, they activate the internal camera and microphone. This will end criminals saying they haven’t been read their rights when a video recording shows it was done properly.

Kelly also stated the city must continue its effort to refine its counter-terrorism program. Mazzilli explains further, “In today’s world the police are the front line against terrorism as well as crime. Having an AV360º in a police vehicle will prove invaluable to criminal investigations and will be a great aid in the war on terror. If an officer drives down 42 nd Street, leaves the area in his vehicle, and moments later, God forbid, a bomb explodes on 42 nd Street, the officer could immediately view the 360-degree video footage from his police cruiser because the system is on 24/7. The officer would look for activity in the area of the incident, thus have some leads, which will enhance the investigation by identifying individuals and documenting vehicles in the area prior to the explosion.”

“As the product evolved, it became clear that the AV360º has a much broader range of application and can be used by the military, public transportation, and government agencies. In fact, it is currently being used by our government in Iraq,” states Mazzilli, “and by Federal Express in New York City.”

Because the AV360º is revolutionary in its design, Mazzilli was able to secure several worldwide patents and patents pending for the surveillance system. “We put a lot of time, energy and resources into the research, development and sourcing for this product,” says Mazzilli. “The AV360º is actually less expensive and easier to install than traditional surveillance camera systems, and quite frankly, the best system on the market today. The Commissioner is talking about this very topic when he says we need to improve the force’s ability to use technology. Mayor Bloomberg needs to make it happen now for the citizens of New York City. He just announced a $4.4 billion surplus for the current fiscal year. There is no reason not to buy this system for the protection of our police and citizens.”

“This city, and all cities concerned about crime and terrorism, needs the AV360º for the public’s safety and security. I’ll be happy to meet with or speak with whoever I need to from the mayor’s office to help keep our streets safer for everybody involved,” vows Mazzilli. “With this amazing new product and all that it can do to help fight crime, combat terrorism and protect its police force and its citizens from harm or legal action, the city must allocate the money to start using it. The fact that the AV360º could save the city money over time makes the argument even more compelling.”

Joe Mazzilli is a graduate of the New York Institute of Technology with a degree in Criminal Justice and Behavioral Science. Mazzilli is a member of the New York City Police Detective Endowment Association, the New York City Police Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, World Association of Detectives, American Society Industrial Security and The Fraternal Order of Police.

Interviews of Mr. Mazzilli and demonstrations of the AV360º can be scheduled for the media. To set up an interview or to experience 360-degree surveillance firsthand, please contact Edward Salzano at 212.244.2074.

For sales inquiries, please contact:
Protect-All Security Products, Inc.
212 W 29 th Street
New York , NY 10001
212.244.2074