CPIA BOARD MEMBERS
Don DiStefano
President
Don is a retired Detective-Sergeant from the City of Vallejo in California's San Francisco Bay Area. During his law enforcement career, he specialized in crimes against persons, with a focus on homicide and suspicious death investigations. Recognized as a subject matter expert by California POST, Don also served on several specialized teams, including the Hostage Negotiations Team, the Field Training Unit, the Solano County Sex Offender Task Force, and the Officer-Involved Fatal Incident Investigation Team.
Following his retirement, Don relocated to Connecticut and, in 2008, joined Quinnipiac University as the Director of Investigations for the Department of Public Safety. In this role, he leads the Investigations Unit and collaborates closely with Student Affairs, Human Resources, and local, state, and federal law enforcement partners. Don is a member of the University's Threat Assessment and Emergency Management Teams, an Active Assailant Awareness Instructor, a former Title IX Investigator, and currently holds the rank of Captain.
In 2011, Don founded Madison Investigative Services, LLC, providing investigative support to clients across a wide range of sensitive and complex matters. His work has included personal and workplace investigations, wrongful death and fatal accident cases, missing persons, and allegations of abuse and neglect involving individuals with developmental disabilities.
Don was featured as the Investigative Consultant for the HBO four-part documentary series Murder on Middle Beach, which premiered in November 2020. The series explores the 2010 unsolved murder of a Connecticut woman and follows the victim’s son as he seeks answers. Don played a key role in guiding the investigation and providing professional insight throughout the series.
Most recently, he appeared in This is the Zodiac Speaking, a Netflix documentary released in October 2024. Don's involvement with the Zodiac investigation began in the late 1990s when he served as a detective with the Vallejo Police Department and took on a leadership role in the Zodiac Task Force. In the series, he provides a professional and compelling analysis of the complex case, offering fresh insight into the investigation and shedding new light on suspect Arthur Leigh Allen.
A U.S. Marine Corps veteran with service in the Military Police, Don holds a bachelor’s degree in Management from Saint Mary’s College of California and a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac University.
Matthew Heim
Vice President
Matthew Heim is a Director of Digital Forensics and Investigations at Advanced Investigations and has been in the investigation industry for just under a decade. He graduated from Sacred Heart University with a B.A. in Criminal Justice in 2017 and a short time later, returned to Sacred Heart University where he obtained a M.A. in Cyber Security.
Throughout his time with Advanced Investigations, Matthew has worked on a wide variety of cases and has assisted clients from all over the country with investigations, some of which even consisted of international investigations in countries such as Ghana, England and Turkey. Matthew’s training and continuing education has also taken him from coast to coast and he currently holds certifications from leading industry companies and organizations such as Cellebrite for Mobile Phone Forensics, Research Electronics International (REI) for Technical Security Countermeasures and the National Defender Investigator Association for criminal defense investigations.
Matthew is also a current member of the National Council of Investigation and Security Services, through which he has attended multiple events and conferences where he obtained significant knowledge and expertise on how organizations such as CPIA operate and plans to use this expertise to help grow the organization.
Paul Cicarella Jr.
Past President
Paul Cicarella Jr. Is the President Founder of Advanced Investigations and has over 20 years of investigative experience. He began as a field investigator with Benmar Investigations and later started Advanced Investigations. Although in his current role at the company, he is not involved in the day-to-day investigations, he is always providing his experience, knowledge and insight to his investigators so that they can learn and provide the highest quality investigations for their clients.
Paul’s mission with Advanced Investigations was to provide a full-service investigation firm to provide solutions and answers in any situation including IT Forensics, Technical Security Countermeasures (TSCM), personal injury investigations, criminal investigations, asset investigations and domestic investigations. He pushes his investigators to adapt to any situation and encourages them to learn with continuing education to expand their knowledge and skills in the ever changing world of investigation and technology.
Paul is the Past President of CPIA as well as had sat in multiple positions on the board of the National Council of Investigation & Security Services including the Vice President position and the Region 2 Director position. He is also an active member of the World Association of Detectives, National Defender Investigator Association and Fraternal Order of Investigators. Paul’s goal through these organizations is to grow the investigation industry, share his insight and knowledge with investigators from all across the globe and ensure that there is always a professional standard in the investigation industry.
George Lemieux
Treasurer
George A. Lemieux II is the founder and President of Lemieux & Associates. His entrepreneurial vision and family values have created an energized culture that has delivered outstanding value and exceptional customer service to the insurance defense industry since 2004.
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George has been a licensed Private Investigator since 1990 and has personally worked thousands of hours on all phases of investigations ranging from insurance defense and high-profile criminal cases to locating missing persons. He has also been a defense investigator for Death Penalty cases in the State and Federal court systems.
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George has sat on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Private Investigators Association, the Connecticut Association of Licensed Private Investigators, and Samasta Health Foundation, a non-profit health foundation that provides healthcare and essential medicines in areas of need around the world. He has been a guest lecturer at UCONN School of Law and the University of New Haven - Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences.
Teresa Dornfield
Secretary
Teresa Dornfeld is a licensed Private Investigator and the co-owner/operator of Investigreat, LLC. She handles all of the behind the scenes operations for the business in Queens, Brooklyn, the New York City area and all of Connecticut. She has been interviewed in regards to her expertise as well as had articles published by various magazines and organizations. Her expertise is in deep OSINT searches, witness statements and missing persons investigations. Visit www.myinvestigreat.com to learn more.
Adam Dornfield
Director of Marketing
Adam Dornfeld is the owner/operator of Investigreat, LLC. He manages an elite team of Private Investigators in Queens NY, Brooklyn, NYC and Connecticut. Areas of expertise include but are not limited to all types of surveillance and missing person investigations. Visit www.myinvestigreat.com to learn more.
Kevin Porter
Director
In over 20 years of practice as an investigator, trainer and director of investigations serving many of the leading law firms, insurance companies, and prominent clients in the greater Connecticut area, Kevin
has managed over 15,000 cases. Kevin served on the Board of Directors of The former Connecticut Association of Licensed Private Investigators.
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He has extensive experience as an investigator, investigations operations manager, trainer, and expert witness and has been a featured speaker on surveillance and it's effective utilization.
Jon Dommel
Director of Membership
With over 25 years of valuable experience, Jon Dommel’s background includes earning a Bachelor of Science in Justice & Law Administration, serving in the military, working in the Connecticut Judicial Branch, and becoming a licensed private investigator.
His private investigation career began over 20 years ago as a field investigator for a reputable security and investigations company, later advancing to senior investigator at their corporate headquarters.
In 2008, Jon established Connecticut Investigative Solutions, LLC. He has been a guest speaker on private investigations and advocates for maintaining professional investigative practices, integrating advancements in technology, and organizational development. His formal training spans open-source intelligence, digital video evidence recovery, processing techniques, and forensic video enhancement. Jon was an active member of the former Connecticut Association of Licensed Private Investigators and is an associate member of the Connecticut Bar Association.
Rick Siena
Director of Training and Events
Rick is a retired police lieutenant / shift commander. His 26-year career involved assignments to the patrol division, community policing unit, SWAT team, fatal accident reconstruction unit, accident reduction team, detective division, major crimes division, and the crisis negotiations team commander. He has received a U.S. Presidential award for his efforts to prevent drug abuse. Also received an award from The U.S. Department of Education.
Rick achieved a bachelor’s degree with honors in criminal justice from Charter Oak State College. He also holds a master’s degree with honors in criminal justice from Walden University.
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In 2009, Rick became the owner of “Investigative Partner’s, LLC” which has offices in Connecticut and Florida. The private investigative firm specializes in criminal defense, homicide, suspicious death, all motor vehicle crashes (including fatal crashes), civil litigation, statements, backgrounds, workplace investigations, executive protection, and more.
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Rick has been recognized in both state and federal courts as an expert in police and security practices. He travels the country providing technical surveillance countermeasures (aka: bug sweeps) utilizing specialized training and equipment to locate hidden cameras and listening devices.
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Rick is also the owner of “CT. Safety and Security Training Company” providing security and emergency medical training, as well as an adjunct professor with The CT. State Community College System teaching within the criminal justice department.
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Rick has narrated national media shows (“ID Discovery” and “Finally Caught”) debuting his homicide case work.
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Visit www.investigativepartners.com to learn more.