Kings Park’s very own Man Hunter and National TV star, John Picciano talks about his career, family and new found stardom before the premier of Hunted on CBS.
We’re all ready for some football this coming weekend… but for one King Park native and his family, it’s all about the Televised Premiere after the game. On Sunday, January 22, former NYPD Detective and Kings Park resident, John Picciano will celebrate with friends and family as the CBS hit series, Hunted premieres after the AFC Championships. The highly anticipated competition reality show documents the ultimate game of cat and mouse, similar to action movies like The Fugitive and Enemy of the State. Hunted follows nine teams of ordinary people on the run as Fugitives. Each team of two will attempt to evade capture for 28 days across 100,000-square miles to win $250,000. The “hunted” will be tracked by teams made up of the Country’s most elite law enforcement teams, both on the ground and in the central command control.
The now retired NYPD detective is known by his peers and those he has helped as one of the unsung heroes in the region. He is the guy who hunts down the most dangerous and elusive criminals, only to head back out for the next one, without accolades or press recognition. Picciano’s 25 years “on the job” includes being deputized by the U.S. Marshal Service as an elite member of the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force. John’s reputation as the best of the best includes serving on the NYPD’s Queens warrants & violent felony squad, where he apprehended the City’s worst of the worst (also known as WOW) felons, wanted for homicide, first degree assault, rape, armed robbery/burglary, weapons related crime etc.
Smithtown Today sat down with John Picciano for an in depth scoop on the hot new CBS show and a look at the man behind the badge before his Nationally televised debut.
So you are the Hunter? What tools are at your disposal to catch the hunted?
Well, we have a great team of intelligence officers in the “command control” and they have all kinds of gadgets and tracking equipment. But, a great detective looks for patterns in behavior. You know… it’s not just about turning your cell phone off. I’ll still find you. Every human being has a daily pattern they follow religiously, whether it’s something small like going out for morning coffee or calling your mother each day. We identify those patterns and Hunt the fugitives down.
Are you working alone or with a group of hunters?
We are paired up in teams of two. Each team of Hunters on the ground works together to canvas neighborhoods, talk to relatives, shop owners and bystanders in the area where the fugitives have been spotted or are potentially hiding out.
How much of your own experience as a New York City Cop were you able to use to catch the fugitives?
All of it! You know, the NYPD is the finest police department in the world. Our training is unrivaled, our dedication to protecting all living or just visiting the five boroughs is a higher calling. That being said, the expertise, trade-craft and previous encounters, chasing down offenders and fugitives as a member of the NYPD was a huge asset here.
How long were you away from family for the filming of Hunted? What keeps you going while being apart?
That was the longest I’ve ever been away from my family. I’m a big family man and it was difficult not seeing them for a whole month. You think about your kids and what they are up to or a funny memory to keep you smiling. But at the end of the day, it’s knowing that my wife, three daughters and my son are so supportive of what I’m doing. They are my biggest fan club and that love is what gets you through the time apart.
Was it difficult having a camera on you 24/7?
Not really. You know, being on the job… I’m used to having my every move documented by camera. So it wasn’t a big deal. Plus the Camera crew was awesome. I have a lot of respect for them… they’ve been in the line of fire filming for real life shows like Cops and embedded in violent parts of the globe. They were just a great group of individuals and that made the camera feel invisible.
What do your former colleagues think about your big TV debut?
They are really pleased. You know, it’s so rare that you get to see the kindness, services and actual legwork the average police officer does on a daily basis. Too often, you only see the one negative thing that happens on the news, out of a force made up of 30,000 – 40,000 men and women on the job. So to put a spotlight on all the good work and the caliber of training that goes into being a member of the NYPD and fellow law enforcement agencies, like CBS is doing with Hunted… the feedback has been nothing but positive.
Who was the most dangerous fugitive you chased down as a US Marshal?
There’s been so many… from having dogs sicced at you to stand offs. I tracked down a guy who tried to rob a cabby who had picked him up as a fare. The offender ends up shooting the Cab driver instead, puts him in the trunk of the cab and proceeded to drive around for 2 days, before he abandoned the car. We caught the guy one month later in Queens, at his workplace.
But, one of the most dangerous felons I chased down was wanted for Homicide and two assault shootings, that started in Brooklyn, then to Staten Island but was caught out of state.
Do you have a funny or wild story from your years on the job you can share?
Oh god… I’ve got plenty. One guy was hiding in fridge but got caught because he ran out of oxygen while we were searching the kitchen. Another was hiding in his mother’s attic and his legs literally fell through the ceiling. The best part about that time was his mother pretending to be in shock. She lied to us every time we’d come to the home but when he fell through the ceiling, kicking his legs for us to help him no less… She faked a heart palpitations or something that resembled a heart condition. We all just started laughing. You have to have a sense of humor, chasing down felons and fugitives. Otherwise, the job will eat at you.
My all time favorite story though was a really clever one. We had chased this one guy for something like 6 to 8 months and couldn’t find him. We kept getting calls from neighbor that he was held up in this old house, but every time we searched the place, we would come up empty. Finally one day we just got lucky… the guy was literally sitting on the front steps. He didn’t put up any fight. In fact, he was extremely cool about the whole getting caught thing. I had to ask him, where the heck did he hide for all those months. He took us inside and showed us a faux wall that led to stairs. When we would go through one side of the house, he’d run up the hidden stairs and away from us and vice versa.
Any sneak previews you’re allowed to tell us?
Honestly, I don’t even know… our every move was filmed over the course of a month plus, all the fugitive teams, the command control center and our fellow hunters on the ground. I do know that this was the ultimate game of hide and seek. It’s the real deal… we used our specialized skill sets, Intel and all kinds of tools of the trade to find the teams of fugitives. I can promise you that the show Hunted will entertain you in ways you could never imagine… and make you think twice about your day to day patterns, digital footprints and just how impossible it is to really live off the grid. You don’t want to miss this show!
After the Premiere on Sunday, Hunted moves to Wednesdays with a two-hour special episode on January 25 from 8-10 PM. After the 25th, Hunted airs regularly on Wednesdays From 8-9 PM. Follow John Picciano on Twitter or via Facebook for all the latest news @HuntedJP