Fortress Global Investigations Partners With Martin Tankleff and Jay Salpeter to Launch First National Wrongful Convictions Investigations Company

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - October 27, 2008) - Fortress Global Investigations, a leading nationally known private investigations firm, today announced through its CEO, former Manhattan prosecutor Robert Seiden, a partnership with well-known exoneree Martin Tankleff and renowned investigator Jay Salpeter to launch the Fortress Innocence Group ("FIG") -- the first high-quality national investigative company focused on working with lawyers to secure evidence to overturn wrongful conviction cases. New York State Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, Senator Eric Schneiderman, and exonerees, including Alan Newton, Dave Sheppard and Dr. Ruben "Hurricane" Carter, attended the launch event today.

The Fortress Innocence Group's investigative team will be lead by Jay Salpeter and Robert Seiden, President of FIG and a licensed investigator. Jay Salpeter, an investigator for more than three decades uncovered the pivotal new evidence which resulted in the recent overturning of Tankleff's conviction for the 1988 murder of his parents, Seymour and Arlene. Tankleff served 17 years in prison before he was finally exonerated and the indictment dismissed for a crime he did not commit.

"This is an unprecedented event in the history of the American criminal justice system. The assemblage of some of the most experienced and skilled U.S. private investigators who have the expertise, drive and sole mission to help those who have been wrongfully convicted, under one roof will undoubtedly have an impact on the lives of innocent people wrongly convicted and may well shed much needed light on some of the inherent flaws in the criminal justice system," said Robert Seiden, CEO of Fortress Global Investigations and President and co-founder of Fortress Innocence Group. "As evidenced by the recent increase in the number of exonorees publicized, the need for the services of the Fortress Innocence Group to help exonerate the unjustly convicted is long overdue."

Through a stringent vetting process, the Fortress Innocence Group will carefully select all new cases based on strict criteria that include the administering of a polygraph, a strenuous questionnaire, the existence of real evidence and a lawyer willing to take the case to court. The Fortress Innocence Group team includes hundreds of investigative experts, located throughout the United States. In addition, it will draw on the Fortress Global Investigations team, with forensic experts, along with former prosecutors and leaders of the FBI and various police departments. For more information on the Fortress Innocence Group, visit www.fortressinnocence.com, call 866-791-2061 or contact by mail at The Fortress Innocence Group, 98 Cutter Mill Road, Suite 410N, Great Neck, N.Y. 11021.

"When innocent individuals are wrongly convicted of crimes that others have committed, the true perpetrators remain at large. This is a tragedy for the individual and society. There are thousands of wrongly convicted individuals now serving time in prisons nationwide who don't belong there and need the help of an experienced investigative team like ours," said Martin Tankleff. "These wrongful convictions profoundly impact individual's lives and entire communities."

According to a recent report by the Innocence Project, throughout New York State, 23 people (combined, they served 260 years in prison) have been exonerated through DNA testing, and many more through other means, after being convicted of crimes they didn't commit. "Each one was arrested, jailed and convicted and served time in prison, before the magical science of DNA or hard nosed field work proved their innocence," said Jay Salpeter.

About Fortress Global Investigations

Fortress Global Investigations and Security (www.FortressGlobal.com) is the only international private investigations firm, led and managed by former leaders of the FBI, CIA, Interpol and various federal and local prosecutors' offices. Founded in 2002, Fortress Global Investigations was recognized in 2008 as an INC. 5000 fastest growing company in America. Headquartered in New York City, Fortress Global has handled hundreds of high-profile and sensitive investigations, and is the investigative joint venture partner in the Integrity Monitorship appointed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for the building of the Freedom Tower in New York City. Fortress Global provides investigative services to law firms, corporations and municipalities. For more information on Fortress Global Investigations, call 212-725-7500.

Contact Information: For more media information, contact: Lisa Hendrickson 516-643-1642