Media & Consulting Projects
Don DiStefano’s cold-case and homicide investigation background — and his standing in the private investigation profession — has made him a trusted consultant and a recurring voice in industry and true-crime media.
Panel Presentation: Transition From Badge to the Private Sector
Don joins a panel of fellow investigators at the National Association of Legal Investigators’ Region I Conference in Atlantic City, NJ, discussing the transition from law enforcement and public safety careers into private investigation.
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The National Association of Legal Investigators (NALI) is holding its 2026 Region I Conference October 15–16 at the Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ. On the conference’s second day, Don joins fellow investigators Paul Italiano, Jennifer Sirois, David Brien, and Luis Munoz for “Transition From Badge to the Private Sector: A Professional Panel Q&A,” a panel discussion on moving from a law enforcement or public safety career into private investigation, following a related presentation by Paul Italiano, “Badge to Boardroom: Transitioning from Public Service to the Private Sector.”
The conference is accredited for continuing education credit and draws legal investigators from across the NALI Region I footprint.
Bolster Your Campus Investigation Skills with Mediation-Informed Interviews
A certified mediator, Don explains how blending traditional investigative interviewing with mediation techniques — neutrality, active listening, and reframing — builds trust and improves the quality of information gathered in sensitive campus investigations.
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The feature draws on Don’s dual background as a higher-education public safety administrator and a trained mediator, showing how principles like interest-based questioning and structured neutrality translate directly into better outcomes for Title IX cases, student conduct hearings, and internal affairs matters on college campuses.
This Is the Zodiac Speaking
Don appears in episodes two and three of this Netflix documentary series, providing professional analysis of the Zodiac Killer case and primary suspect Arthur Leigh Allen.
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This Is the Zodiac Speaking is a Netflix documentary series exploring the unsolved Zodiac Killer case. Don appears in episodes two and three, providing professional analysis of the case and primary suspect Arthur Leigh Allen. His involvement traces back to the late 1990s, when he served on the multi-agency Zodiac Task Force, which included law enforcement agencies with confirmed Zodiac homicide investigations, re-evaluating case records using modern forensic technology. Don visited Ample Entertainment’s studios twice to contribute insights. Following its October 2024 release, the series reached Netflix’s Top 10.
Interview: Today Extra, Nine News Australia
Don joined Nine News Australia’s Today Extra live from Connecticut to discuss his firsthand investigation of the Zodiac Killer case and primary suspect Arthur Leigh Allen.
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Timed to the release of Netflix’s This Is the Zodiac Speaking, Australia’s Channel 9 brought Don on Today Extra live via video call to speak firsthand about the Zodiac Killer investigation. He discussed his work on the Vallejo Police Department’s Zodiac Task Force, his direct involvement with primary suspect Arthur Leigh Allen, and how the case still resonates with audiences worldwide decades later.
Interview: The Connecticut Private Investigators Association
An article examining the Connecticut Private Investigators Association’s history, its role in the industry, and the resources it offers members — featuring Don in his role as CPIA President.
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PI Magazine interviewed Don DiStefano of Madison Investigative Services to discuss the Connecticut Private Investigators Association (CPIA) — where the organization stands today, and Don’s own path into the private investigation profession.
CPIA Today. “CPIA is actively recruiting new members and building a new website with a member portal, automated payment processing, legal and legislative updates, training opportunities, meeting announcements, and a searchable investigator database,” Don explained. The association’s goal is to make it easier than ever for Connecticut’s licensed investigators to connect, stay current on the issues affecting the profession, and be found by the public and attorneys who need their services.
About Don. Don DiStefano is a retired Detective Sergeant from the San Francisco Bay Area who relocated to Connecticut in 2005 to become Director of Investigations at Quinnipiac University’s Department of Public Safety. Licensed as a private investigator since 2011, he is the owner of Madison Investigative Services, LLC, and a Team ADAM member with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Murder on Middle Beach
Director Madison Hamburg’s four-part HBO documentary examines the unsolved 2010 murder of his mother, Barbara Hamburg, in Connecticut.
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Murder on Middle Beach is a four-part documentary by director Madison Hamburg about the unsolved 2010 murder of his mother, Barbara Hamburg. Don was hired as the project’s investigator and appeared in all four episodes, working closely with the director and staff on locating witnesses, crime scene reconstruction, determining possible motive, victimology analysis, suspect development, meeting with law enforcement, reviewing records and evidence, and using the Freedom of Information Act to obtain official documents. The documentary aired on November 15, 2020, on HBO.
Murder on Middle Beach
Investigator/Self · 2017–2020
Zodiac (Phoenix Pictures / Sony)
This feature film, released in 2007, depicts the manhunt for the Zodiac Killer during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
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Zodiac, released in 2007 by Phoenix Pictures and Sony Pictures, depicts the manhunt for the Zodiac Killer during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Don served as liaison to the Vallejo Police Department during production, providing reports and records and escorting researchers to significant crime scene locations throughout Vallejo — work that grew out of the same multi-agency Zodiac Task Force he served on in the late 1990s, which included law enforcement agencies with confirmed Zodiac homicide investigations.