Executive Team
Steve Cassell
President & CEO
Cassell founded Command Investigations in 2012, after working in the investigative and insurance claims communities for over two decades.
Prior to Command, Cassell created the National Investigative Training Academy, Inc. (NITA). NITA is an online provider of state-approved private investigator training classes, and its courses provide thorough instruction that allows students to obtain their PI license in states like Florida and Georgia.
From 2008 to 2010, Cassell was elected as a voting board member to the Florida Workers’ Compensation Fraud Task Force, which provides critical industry data, legislative recommendations and insight to the Florida Legislature and the Governor’s Office pursuant to Florida Statute 626.989(9). He had the distinct honor of being the first private investigator ever elected to the board.
In 1999, Cassell founded RSight Investigations, Inc., a licensed private investigative agency that employed approximately 120 full-time employees. RSight Investigations provided surveillance and fraud abatement services to large self-insured employers, insurance carriers, Third Party Administrators (TPA’s) and the legal defense community.
After 10 years of business operations, Cassell sold RSight Investigations, Inc. to a Philadelphia based venture capital company in July of 2009.
He is an accredited lecturer and trainer in the areas of investigative methods, fraud investigations and insurance certification classes.
Cassell’s investigative and business career has been profiled in several national, regional and local media publications.
He is also a published author, appearing in more than a dozen trade-related publications.
Rich Perri
Executive Vice President
Rich Perri has worked in the private investigative industry for over 23 years.
After receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Pittsburgh, Perri decided to pursue a career as a Private Investigator.
Perri co-founded Command Investigations, LLC in 2012.
As Executive Vice President, he leads the Sales and Marketing Department by spearheading all local, regional and national sales initiatives to major self-insured employers, insurance carriers, TPA’s and legal defense firms.
In addition, Perri manages, directs and mentors the entire Command sales team.
Prior to Command, Perri helped facilitate the opening of RSight Investigations, Inc. He served multiple roles throughout his tenure, including Investigator Trainer, Senior Investigator, Field Supervisor, Operations Manager, Senior Operations Manager, Sales Executive, Senior Sales Executive and Vice President of Marketing.
He built an impressive record working as the Vice President of Marketing for RSight Investigations, Inc as he oversaw all national, regional and local sales development.
Perri began his career at a national investigative company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He worked as an investigator for five years, conducting investigative assignments throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States.
Russ Schwalbe
Senior Vice President of Operations
Russ Schwalbe has worked in the investigative field for over 17 years.
Schwalbe’s currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Operations for Command Investigations, LLC. His primary duties include quality control and oversight of Command’s investigative products. He is also responsible for investigative compliance, policy and protocol development, recruitment and training.
Schwalbe spent over nine years at RSight Investigations before joining Command. Schwalbe began his career as a Field Investigator, and he was quickly promoted through the ranks and ultimately ended up serving as a Regional Operations Manager and Vendor Management Program Manager.
He has successfully recruited, trained and managed investigators throughout the states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and North Carolina. The territories that Schwalbe oversaw consistently exceeded the company’s performance standards, and he received several outstanding performance awards for the investigative results he produced.
Schwalbe also pioneered RSight’s social networking investigative platform, now used as a standard investigative tool for all assignments.
In 1995, Schwalbe graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice. Along with holding a valid State of Florida Private Investigator’s C license, Schwalbe has also earned his All Lines 520 Adjuster’s license from the State of Florida.
Melanie Mrozek
Vice President of Enterprise Program Sales
Melanie Mrozek has worked in the management field for over 20 years, and she has been in the investigative industry for over 17 years.
Mrozek has served in various roles during her career at Command as part of the executive team. Currently as Vice President of Enterprise Program Sales, Mrozek is responsible for overseeing national product solutions, marketing oversite and information technology.
Prior to Command Investigations, Mrozek spent over 10 years at RSight Investigations, Inc.
She served multiple roles throughout her time with RSight, including Corporate Administrative Manager, License Compliance Manager and Staff Trainer.
Before joining RSight, Mrozek worked as a Sales Support Manager for a world-renowned publishing company. She started in the Trade Text Sales Division and was promoted to the Medical Textbook Sales department, the largest division in the company.
She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Telecommunications Operations from the University of Florida.
Sandra von Eschenbach
Vice President of Corporate Administration
Sandra von Eschenbach has worked in the investigative industry for over 17 years.
As the Vice President of Corporate Administration at Command, von Eschenbach manages Command’s administrative team, overseeing daily office operations and quality assurance of all investigative assignments from start to finish.
Additionally, von Eschenbach is the co-founder and Executive Vice President of the National Investigative Training Academy (NITA), which is an online educational experience for investigative training and professional development.
Her duties with NITA include administrative oversight, compliance, marketing and curriculum development.
Before joining Command and NITA, von Eschenbach worked for RSight Investigations Inc. She served in a variety of capacities including Investigative Quality Assurance Manager, Corporate Administrative Manager, License Compliance Manager, National Vendor Manager and Marketing Coordinator.
Prior to RSight, von Eschenbach worked for a National Fortune 500 Company and covered territory across the Southeastern United States.
Von Eschenbach graduated cum laude from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing.
Larry Dodd
Vice President of SIU
Larry Dodd has worked in the private investigative and law-enforcement field for over 20 years.
Dodd currently holds the position of Vice President of SIU & Compliance and leads the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) at Command Investigations.
His duties include managing the national SIU compliance program, national regulatory reporting, on-site customer consultation, fraud assessment analysis and oversight of the Restitution Management Program™.
Dodd maintains strong relationships with various state enforcement bureaus throughout the country, including State Attorney’s offices, Attorney General’s offices, state anti-fraud departments and federal and local law-enforcement offices.
Dodd began working in the private investigative field for RSight Investigations, Inc. He was promoted through the ranks as Senior Investigator, Operations Manager and ultimately SIU Manger.
He began his career with the Somers Point Police Department in New Jersey, serving as a patrol officer for two years before being promoted to the detective bureau.
Dodd investigated various criminal matters including homicides, robberies, assaults, sex crimes and white-collar crimes during his time in the detective bureau. He also conducted crime scene and employment background investigations.
Then, he was assigned to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office’s Narcotics Task Force, where he conducted undercover narcotics investigations.
Jason Chofooklun
Regional Vice President of Operations
Jason Chofooklun has held numerous positions at Command Investigations, including SIU Investigator, Surveillance Investigator, Operations Manager and Regional Vice President of Operations.
Chofooklun’s daily responsibilities as Regional Vice President of Operations include management of a team of surveillance investigators with a focus on complex case management, client strategy, quality control and investigator training.
His other duties include the management of Command’s Vendor Management Program, national safety program, investigator corporate training program and operational oversight of large territories.
Before joining Command, Chofooklun spent over six years in the safety and security field working for a large privately held company.
In 2009, Chofooklun graduated from the University of Phoenix with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice.
Chofooklun served over four years in the United States Marine Corps and was honorably discharged in 2003. He completed boot camp at the top of his class and was meritoriously promoted twice, reaching the rank of Sergeant within two years.
Taylor Perri
Vice President of Sales - California
Taylor Perri has been in the investigative and marketing fields for over five years, and serves as our Vice President of Sales - California.
Command entered the California market in late 2015, and Perri has been instrumental in developing the area into a thriving investigative operation in just a short amount of time.
In his role, Perri's responsibilities include client sales, account management, customer expansion and account development across the entire state of California and the surrounding areas.
Prior to his promotion to Vice President of Sales - California, Perri served as a Senior Account Manager where he was responsible for introducing Command's services and overall product to the western market of the United States.
Before joining Command's sales team, Perri was an investigator in the Southwest Florida region, where he was awarded 'Outstanding Performance' and 'Rookie of the Year' awards for his efforts.
He also served as an in-house Background Investigator at Command's corporate headquarters, where he worked closely with clients to ensure they received the highest level of service and results.
Perri graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine and a minor in Business Administration.
Management
Bobby Andrews
Operations Manager
Bobby Andrews has been working in investigations for over 17 years.
Currently, Andrews is one of Command’s Operations Managers.
He is responsible for the management of a team of investigators, investigator development, working complex investigative assignments and the daily organization of surveillance operations.
Andrews began his career with The Brooksville Police and Hernando County Sheriff’s office.
During that time, he served over six years as a Patrolman and worked criminal investigations, including traffic accidents, and handled other law enforcement duties.
He later joined RSight Investigations, where he was responsible for daily investigations and SIU programming.
Later, he was promoted to Operational Manager, where he supervised a large team of investigators and produced excellent results for RSight’s clients.
Andrews graduated from Pasco-Hernando Community College and has a Law Enforcement Certification as well as his Investigator C License.
Otto Cruz
Field Investigations Manager
Otto Cruz has worked in the healthcare and insurance industries for over 12 years.
As the Field Investigations Manager at Command, Cruz is responsible for supervising the entire team of field investigators.
His duties include case management, case scheduling, quality review, recorded statements and working complex cases.
Cruz began his career with Mercy Hospital, interviewing and assessing the public for government-funded programs.
During his time with Mercy Hospital, Cruz developed interviewing and assessment techniques that were utilized to screen the public. These tools were used as counter fraud measures for persons trying to obtain benefits.
In 2011, Cruz joined Zenith Insurance as a Field Examiner and later become an Associate Claims Specialist. He specialized in recorded statements, scene investigations and claimant settlements.
James Day
Operations Manager
As an Operations Manager, James Day is responsible for the day-to-day management of a full-time investigative team. This includes complex case management, scheduling, quality assurance and all client related communications.
Before joining Command’s Operations team, Day worked as a Senior Field Investigator with Command.
He began his investigative career as a private investigator in the state of Florida.
His duties included conducting surveillance for insurance and domestic cases, criminal defense investigations, crime scene investigations and skip tracing.
Day graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Florida Atlantic University.
Molly Grace
Treasury Management
Molly Grace has worked in the investigative field for over 13 years.
As the head of Command’s Treasury Management department, Grace manages daily financial operations, including invoicing, account reconciliation, accounts payable, accounts receivable and financial compliance.
Prior to her work with Command, Grace was a member of the RSight Investigations team. She was part of more than a thousand investigations and oversaw investigative results, compliance and client reporting.
She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Niagara University.
Chip Hanley
National Sales Manager
Chip Hanley serves as National Sales Manager on Command Investigations' marketing team, and brings over 25 years of experience in account management, sales and leadership.
In this role, Hanley leverages his proven track record of account acquisition through established national relationships and business prospects from across the United States. He markets Command's diverse line of enterprise level solutions to national insurance carriers, large employers, third party administrators and risk managers.
His vast experience also allows him to mentor the sales team by providing leadership and overall strategy aimed at leveraging client relationships.
Prior to joining Command's marketing team, Hanley worked for several national workers' compensation related companies.
Most notably, he worked for the nation's leading provider of specialized solutions to the workers' compensation industry, where he held multiple positions with increasing responsibility.
Sean Garcia
Regional Account Manager
Sean Garcia brings over 20 years of sales, leadership and account management experience to our team, where he serves as a Regional Account Manager.
Garcia markets our distinct line of investigative solutions to insurance carriers, large employers, third party administrators and risk managers throughout Central and Northern California, as well as the Northwest U.S.
Prior to joining our team, he served as Regional Sales Director for a large healthcare network management company and was responsible for the Central California and Montana sales territories.
He graduated from California State University of Fresno with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a specialization in finance. He resides in Fresno, California with his wife and four children.
Angela Leason
Cyber and Background Investigations Manager
Angela Leason is the manager of Command’s Cyber & Background Investigations department, and oversees Command’s team of licensed, in-house background investigators.
Her duties include but are not limited to complex case management, technology administration and development, training, department quality assurance, client communication and client strategy.
Prior to her promotion, Leason worked in Command’s SIU and Background departments.
In this dual-role, she conducted hundreds of complex investigations, working very closely with many different state fraud and law-enforcement agencies while pursuing matters related to insurance fraud.
In her time in the investigative field, she has conducted hundreds of recorded statements, asset searches and detailed jury research dossiers as a member of a litigation support team.
Leason also worked as a Field Investigator/Field Training Officer for a federal government entity. She managed a large portfolio of background cases and provided complete and detailed reports while operating in this role.
She attended the University of Central Florida, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.
Kevin Lederer
Regional Account Manager
As a Regional Account Manager, Kevin Lederer’s sales territories include central and south Florida. His daily responsibilities include account management and development, new client sales and customer expansion.
Prior to his promotion to Regional Account Manager, Lederer served as an Operations Manager and oversaw a full-time staff of investigators in the states of Florida, Georgia and California.
Before his advancement to Operations Manager, Lederer worked as a Senior Field Investigator in the Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami areas, and was successful in conducting thousands of hours in surveillance operations. Additionally, Lederer worked a variety of scene investigations, claimant interviews and other field investigations.
Lederer began his career in private investigations with Command in 2013 as an in-house investigator for our Special Investigations Unit (SIU). He completed a variety of tasks including suspect claims investigations, claims data fraud investigations and background checks.
He graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice.
Paul Nunez
Operations Manager
As an Operations Manager, Paul Nunez is responsible for managing a full-time team of investigators within a defined geographic territory.
Nunez handles complex case management, scheduling, quality assurance and all client investigative strategy and communication.
Nunez began his career as an investigator in the field working in various areas throughout the southeast including Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
He then joined Command’s staff as an Investigator where his duties included surveillance, field investigations, human intelligence development and report writing.
Nunez graduated with an Associate of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Florida SouthWestern State College. He also holds a Florida Class C private investigator license and a certificate of completion from the National Investigative Training Academy (NITA).
Additionally, he is a member of the Florida Association of Professional Investigators.
Ashley Smith
Regional Account Manager
Ashley Smith has been in the Workers’ Compensation industry for over eight years.
As a Regional Account Manager for Command Investigations, her sales territory includes west, central and north Florida.
Her day-to-day responsibilities include new client sales, account management, customer expansion and account development.
Before joining our team, Smith worked as a Regional Sales Director for a national provider of cost containment services to the Workers’ Compensation industry. In that role, she was awarded the Pinnacle Achievement Award as a top business unit growth leader.
Smith started her career as an Insurance Adjuster, handling Workers’ Compensation claims for a regional carrier.
She graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration.
Kyle Temples
Operations Manager
As one of Command’s Operations Managers, Kyle Temples is responsible for the daily management of a dedicated investigate team, including complex case management, scheduling, quality assurance and all client-related communications.
Prior to his promotion to Operations Manager, Temples worked as an SIU Analyst in Command’s SIU department.
In that role, he conducted claim investigations to identify, investigate and report persons or organizations potentially violating established state anti-fraud laws. As part of this investigative process, time-sensitive reporting was prepared for both client and statutory reporting.
Before joining the Command team, Temples conducted hundreds of claim and surveillance investigations, oversaw a team of surveillance investigators and conducted recorded statements.
Temples received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.