Deep Roots In Georgia

Gerard Easley, originally from Buffalo, New York, always aspired to help people as a public servant. At 21, he graduated from the 57th Georgia State Patrol Trooper school in Atlanta as a State Trooper and began Fulton County.

Five years later, Gerard was recruited by a prosecutor at the Fulton County Solicitor’s Office to be a criminal investigator in the Fulton County government. He spent his first year as an undercover operative for the former Metro Drug and Vice Squad—a multi-jurisdictional drug enforcement task force led by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Shortly thereafter, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Atlanta recruited him to work as a task force agent for six years. Gerard wrote historical crime cases, operated in an undercover capacity to infiltrate criminal organizations that were involved in major drug trafficking operations, and was assigned a collateral duty as a Narcotic’s Canine (K-9) Handler.

After ten years with Fulton County, Gerard was recruited by the U.S. Federal Protective Service while they were conducting operations in Atlanta and preparing for the subsequent Olympic event activities that were scheduled to occur in Atlanta. Thirteen months later, Gerard was promoted to Supervisory Federal Police Officer in Atlanta and supervised investigations for the Federal Protective Service for multiple states in the southern United States.

Gerard is one of 35,000 world-wide members of “ASIS International” (formerly known as the American Society for Industrial Security), the largest security educational organization in the world. As a part of ASIS International, Gerard has held various leadership roles, most recently as an Assistant Regional Vice President for Savannah, G.A., Bluffton, S.C., Brunswick G.A. and Charleston, S.C. He is currently serving as a member of the ASIS National Security Steering Committee.

After work as a federal office Gerard spent five years in the private sector before relocating to Washington, D.C. to serve as a Security Specialist/Facility Security Officer for both the Bush and Obama administrations. He was then selected by the U.S. Department of Justice, ATF in Washington D.C. as a GS-13. He held three primary roles with ATF; Operations Security Specialist (Threat Assessment Branch), Personnel Security Specialist (Adjudicator) and Intelligence Research Specialist within a Crime Gun Intelligence Center and Field Operations. He cross-trained in investigations, criminal intelligence, physical security, personnel security, Federal Law Enforcement instruction, emergency management and threat/risk assessment.

Introduced by colleagues from ASIS International, Gerard applied and was accepted into the U.S. State Department’s, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Antiterrorism Assistance Program (ATA) as a “Staff Instructor”. The ATA program helps its partner nations deal with security challenges within their borders to defend against national and regional stability to deter terrorist recruiting and terrorist operations.

In the fall of 2020, Gerard decided to bring his wealth of experience back to the private sector, and opened ESA Investigations & Security, LLC, an armed security, armed private investigator, and security consulting company.

Carla Easley began her career in the travel industry, joining Delta Air Lines in Atlanta in 2000. As a Group Premium Sales Specialist, she coordinated travel for high-revenue premium travel agencies, negotiated business decisions in support of Delta’s sales strategy, and guided clients through destination routing, fare rules, and contract terms—building a reputation for first-class customer service. She retired from Delta in 2017 after seventeen years.

After relocating to the Greater Savannah area, Carla joined the Chatham County Government Juvenile Court as a Deputy Court Clerk, where she organized and processed court documents, notarized and authenticated court records, and worked daily with the JCATS and CPRS case management systems. It was her first exposure to the legal and investigative environment that would come to define her work.

That same year, Carla entered the security profession with Securitas Security Services USA, assigned to the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Global Security Program in Savannah. As a Customer Service Associate, she conducted security screenings, operated security cameras and electronic access control systems, responded to alarm activations, and prepared written security reports. She completed the basic 24-hour security officer course required by the Georgia Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies.

Over the next several years, Carla advanced within the same Gulfstream Aerospace security program through its successive contractors—G4S Security Solutions and, later, Allied Universal Security—serving as a Customer Service Liaison from 2020 through 2024. In that role she was the first point of contact for customers and guests, issued security badges granting facility access, monitored security systems, and provided security escorts throughout Gulfstream’s facilities and the airport where its jets are staged.

In 2019, Carla joined ASIS International, the largest security educational organization in the world, as a member of its Savannah Low Country Chapter (#283), where she continues to participate in ongoing security education and professional development.

Today, Carla is a state-licensed Private Investigator in Georgia and South Carolina and a state-licensed Armed Security professional in Georgia. Her areas of expertise include security consulting, account sales and management, and Technical Surveillance Counter-Measures (TSCM) as an electronic bug sweeper.

As Managing Director and Co-Owner of ESA Investigations & Security, LLC, Carla delivers investigative and security solutions locally, regionally, state-wide, nationally, and internationally. She specializes in litigation support for attorneys and law firms—locating and interviewing witnesses, obtaining recorded statements, process service, background and personal injury investigations, surveillance, threat and risk assessments, and executive protection—bringing a proven record across a wide array of law enforcement and security disciplines to every client she serves.