ethos

Ed Cotilla, President

Ed Cotilla is the founder and President of Ethos Investigative Services. With 20 years of experience as a licensed private investigator, Ed has acquired an extremely diverse background as a professional investigator. He has performed high profile undercover investigations and has extensive experience in domestic investigations, surveillance, statements, audits, background and financial investigations, national and international auto fraud rings, and missing person investigations. Ed worked as the lead undercover operative in connection with the Tampa police department in the investigation of a check kiting scheme for a large Florida department store. The investigation resulted in several high-profile arrests in one of the largest attempted employee embezzlement cases in the state of Florida. Most recently, Ed was the Vice President of a large national investigative firm and directed one of the largest investigative staffs in the industry. Over the past two decades, Ed has developed an exceptional background in investigative operations, risk mitigation, fraud awareness training, and legal issues relating to investigations. Ed is a published author, speaker, and a recognized leader in the investigative community. In addition, he holds a Fraud Claims Law Specialist designation and has been a licensed insurance adjuster. Ed is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He currently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife Lisa and their four children, Brittni, Timothy, Gabrielle, and Quinn. In his spare time, Ed coaches Little League baseball and volunteers for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Todd Petrie, Vice President

Todd has been a licensed private investigator for over 12 years. After spending several years working as a top Field Investigator and Operations Manager overseeing a staff of 25-30 field employees, he worked as Director of Recruiting & Training for one of the nation's largest investigative staffs. In this capacity, Todd provided the initial foundation for all incoming investigative personnel, instructing a 60-hour course on Investigative Techniques to an estimated 500 employees during his tenure. He also provided supplemental training to a nationwide team of investigators, traveling the country lecturing on various investigative topics. As Director of SIU of a nationwide global risk mitigation provider, Todd played a key role in the formation of a Special Investigations Unit. In this capacity, Todd directed a team of SIU professionals, managed several key nationwide SIU accounts, and drafted Anti-Fraud Plans on behalf of several top tier insurance companies. Todd is fully licensed and accredited to conduct Fraud Awareness and Ethics training to Insurance Adjusters for CEU credits. Todd is a graduate of The University of South Florida and resides in Clearwater with his wife Carla and three young sons Aiden, Myles and Colin.