PERG Bestows Award on NYPD DetectivesAn audience of roughly 185 industry professionals applauded as ESTA's Production Equipment Rental Group (PERG) honored two New York City Police detectives from the major case squad, Martin Pastor and Anthony Diaz, who have recovered more than $700,000 worth of stolen equipment over the past nine months. The award was given at PERG's annual general membership meeting on Tuesday, April 19th at NAB in Las Vegas. Pastor and Diaz have traveled to Spain, France, and Argentina to track down leads. The two detectives have developed confidential informants, convinced law enforcement in other cities to pursue cases, advised companies on what to do to recover equipment, and presented at industry forums to help raise awareness about equipment theft. The detective's efforts were facilitated in part by Rental Guard, PERG's website that provides theft reporting and alert features for free to our industry. In addition, Rental Guard provides professional rental houses with advanced alert capabilities that warn members about questionable customers and help them vet new customers. Presenting the award were PERG council chair, Paul Royalty (of Litegear), and David Wells (of Moving Picture Rental). The award of recognition was presented to detectives Pastor and Diaz for their dedication to combating fraud and theft in the motion picture and TV production industry. After receiving the award, the detectives screened a video captured from security cameras on a New York City street. The video shows two men following and then breaking into a rented truck. When the PA parks the truck, the two men check the parking receipt on the vehicle to see how much time has been bought on the parking meter, and then proceed to break in and empty the truck in broad daylight on a busy sidewalk. The detectives were later able to track down and arrest the thieves, one of who was responsible for nearly 30 similar truck robberies in NYC. With information gained from that arrest, detectives Diaz and Pastor traveled to Argentina to question the person who had bought the stolen goods. The next time that suspect sets foot in the US, the FBI will notify the NYPD. At the NAB meeting, PERG raised $2,400 to seed a new tip fund to be used by law enforcement for information that directly leads to the recovery of stolen equipment. Tip money has proved an effective strategy for getting to the criminals behind the thefts, and not just the foot soldiers carrying them out. Pastor and Diaz attended NAB with the blessing of NYPD and partially funded by PERG. During the show, PERG members took turns to escort the detectives around the show floor, enabling Pastor and Diaz to make valuable contacts with rental companies and equipment manufacturers and learn more about production equipment. PERG is a group of ESTA-member companies that operate in the motion picture and television markets. The core membership includes the premier lighting and camera rental companies. PERG's mission is to focus attention on industry issues that affect everyone. The PERG general membership meeting was sponsored by PERG's 2016 annual sponsors: Allianz, ARRI Rental, Chubb, Panasonic, Panavision, Taylor & Taylor Associates, Inc., Vitec Videocom, and by event sponsors: Abel Cine, Bluebird Express, The Camera House, Chroma-Q by A.C. Lighting, NFP, and Orion Software. 
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