Joe Ralston

Joe Ralston is a veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office and an expert witness on drug trafficking, surveillance and other narcotics-related issues. At the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Ralston handled complex drug cases that required him to develop special expertise in several areas. “I’ve testified in hundreds of court cases in several areas,” he says. “I am an expert in drug jargon, working with informants, organized crime, undercover operations and wiretaps.”

Working with wiretaps proved to be the most difficult, yet most rewarding, part of Ralston’s work with the Attorney General’s office. “A wiretap can be an investigator’s biggest tool, but you have to show a judge that you’ve exhausted all of the other tools available,” he said. Ralston was responsible for writing wiretap affidavits to provide judges with justification for a wiretap. “Only about 10% of agents have ever filed a wiretap affidavit,” he said, “because it requires a high level of expertise. The process is tedious, but necessary, to build the case for probable cause to justify obtaining a wiretap.”

Ralston’s narcotics investigations removed dangerous criminals off the streets, including members of a cartel who were responsible for using tractor trailers to move hundreds of kilos of cocaine from Arizona to Philadelphia every month.

In addition to wiretapping cases, Ralston has testified in federal, state and municipal courts over 500 times, on subjects ranging from organized crime and bookmaking to gangs and surveillance techniques. He has also provided private security for Sylvester Stallone, the National Football League, CBS Nightly News, the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and various business executives. Ralston’s street experience makes him a successful and knowledgeable part of the Kolins Security team.