After graduating from Bishop Eustace Preparatory High School in Pennsauken Township, NJ and receiving the prestigious Jack Bristow Memorial Scholar Athlete Award, Nicole Cusanelli attended St. Joseph’s University on an NCAA Division 1 Cross-Country and Track Scholarship.

Nicole graduated from St. Joseph’s University with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and went on to work as an Educational Coordinator with Cornell-Abraxas Group at the Bensalem Youth Development Correctional Facility, a secure detention facility for troubled youth.

Before becoming a member of the New Jersey State Police, she worked several years for the city of Philadelphia Probation and Parole Department where she was responsible for maintaining and supervising caseloads of between 100 and 400 probationers in several units including the Government Fraud Unit, the Alcohol/ Highway Safety Unit, the Accelerated Rehabilitation Unit, and the General Supervision Unit.

As a New Jersey State Trooper, Nicole was active for many years as a general road trooper assigned to several stations throughout Southern New Jersey where she conducted hundreds of criminal and accident investigations.  

During her patrol of the New Jersey Turnpike, she was responsible for the capture and investigation of three wanted homicide suspects who fled from Seminole County, Florida. The capture and investigation led to the successful prosecution off all three individuals for murder. During her assignments to the various patrol stations, Nicole was handpicked by the Division to be assigned to several units including the Camden NJ Anti-Crime Partnership, the Applicant Investigation Unit, and as an instructor at the New Jersey State Police Academy.

Nicole was also appointed to serve on the Elite Executive Protection Unit responsible providing personal security for New Jersey Governor, John S. Corzine and was also assigned to the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton, which included details statewide.

Nicole’s training and certifications include Critical Incident Command System, Advanced Firearms Combat, Instructor Training, and Interview and Interrogation.

While working as a trooper, Nicole attained her Master of Arts Degree in Human Resources Training and Development at Seton Hall University and was inducted into the National Honor Society in Education, KAPPA DELTA PI in 2008.  In the same year Nicole was also honored by being inducted into the Hall of Fame for Bishop Eustace Prep High School where she earned eleven varsity letters, was named MVP four times, was the New Jersey State Champion in the 3200 meters, held several school records, and was named the 1988 Female Scholar Athlete of The Year.

After her career with the New Jersey State Police, Nicole briefly managed AC Collections, a company responsible for locating and managing debt recovery.  Nicole was also responsible for overseeing the civil complaint cases research and data collection project conducted at the Camden Superior Court of New Jersey for LexisNexis.

Nicole also served as Executive Administrator for the New Jersey Licensed Private Investigators Association for several years.  In addition to publishing PI Magazine, Nicole is the owner of PI Gear at PIgear.com an online store for Surveillance Equipment & Books and PIdirectory.com and online directory for professional investigators.  

When Nicole is not running PI Magazine and PI Gear, she loves to spend her free time with family, working out, rescuing animals, and doting on her four dogs and two cats.   

 Nicole Cusanelli