Security firms profit from protests

[Earth_First]

They call when they make the Forbes 400 list. They call when annual hedge fund rankings appear, when their names are mentioned on CNBC and when their children travel abroad. And, these days, they call when protesters camped in Lower Manhattan grow uncomfortable with the idea of their existence.

The ultra-rich bankers, hedge fund managers and private equity executives of New York City have long enlisted private security firms to help safeguard them and their wealth. But as the mood on Main Street turns increasingly hostile, New York's financial titans are cranking up their security measures. For the high-end security firms that provide the moneyed elite with specialty services like around-the-clock bodyguards and elaborate home security systems, Occupy Wall Street has been a stimulus package all its own.

But the most recent round of Main Street rage has raised the risk factor. Earlier this month, when protesters picketed the homes of some of Manhattan's richest residents, they made a stop at Paulson's mansion, as well as the homes of Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, and Stephen A. Schwarzman, the billionaire co-founder of the Blackstone Group. One sign carried by protesters depicted Blankfein's severed head on a stake.

Scenes like these are causing executives to supplement their internal security teams with the services of outside specialty firms. A chief financial officer of a major bank recently called Risk Control Strategies with the news that he had received a menacing email from an anonymous sender.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20111024/MONEY/710249953

Yep, they're noticing...

[sabrina 1]

1. Good, now maybe the Police can go back to protecting the

People who pay their salaries.

[customerserviceguy]

2. I'm sure the police are loving the overtime they've been getting

for "guarding us" from relatively nonviolent people.