A firm built on two decades in law enforcement.
Founded in 2015, TB Defense is a licensed Illinois private investigation and private security contractor agency providing executive protection, corporate security, protective intelligence, and investigative services.
Michael Basile, CEO and Founder
Michael Basile founded TB Defense in 2015 and leads it today. The name is deliberate. The firm carries his father's initials, for Tony Basile, a man who taught him that your name is only worth the standard you hold it to. Michael brings more than twenty years of investigative and protective intelligence experience to private clients, every year of it earned in the field.
His career with the Chicago Police Department has spanned the full range of the work. In the Bureau of Organized Crime he worked alongside a federal task force on complex investigations built on electronic surveillance, covert operations, and multi-agency enforcement. He was promoted to Homicide Detective, investigating major felony cases across the city. He went on to the Counterterrorism Division, where he conducted protective intelligence investigations and threat assessments protecting public officials, identifying and mitigating threats from extremists, stalkers, and other actors. He currently serves on the Investigative Response Team, investigating shootings and other crimes committed against police officers.
That work, from organized crime and homicide to counterterrorism, runs on the same skills that protect a private client: threat assessment, investigation, and steady judgment under pressure. Michael built TB Defense to bring that discipline to executives, families, and companies.
He holds a Master's degree in Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Administration and is licensed in Illinois as both a Private Investigator and a Private Security Contractor. He completed the Threat Evaluation and Reporting course offered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service. He serves as the Law Enforcement Liaison on the Executive Protection Community Steering Committee of ASIS International and is a member of the World Association of Detectives, working with industry peers to advance standards in the field.
Affiliations
Memberships and committees that hold the standard we work to.
Our team
A deep bench of vetted professionals, drawn from law enforcement, the military, and protective intelligence.
James Browne
James spent more than 26 years with the Chicago Police Department, most of it as a detective, and qualified as a Lead Homicide Investigator in the State of Illinois. His career spanned cold case homicide, special investigations, and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with deep expertise in criminal investigations, digital and cellphone forensics, and interview and interrogation. He keeps the firm's operations disciplined and its work squarely within Illinois law.
Joseph Cappello IV
A fourth-generation police officer and Chicago Police detective on the Area 4 homicide investigation support team, Joseph brings a decade of executive protection experience guarding executives, celebrities, and dignitaries across the country and overseas. He is a U.S. Army combat veteran who served as an infantryman in Afghanistan's Kunar Province, a SWAT-trained operator, and a certified firearms instructor, and he holds a Master's degree in Public Safety Administration.
Executive protection
SWAT and tactical
Investigative units
Dignitary protection
Intelligence operations
Federal task forces
TB Defense maintains a large network of experienced security professionals, primarily active and retired law enforcement officers, military veterans, and specialized protection agents. The bench runs deep, with backgrounds in executive protection, SWAT, investigative units, dignitary protection, intelligence operations, and federal task forces. That depth lets the firm scale quickly and assemble the right team for each assignment, while holding a consistent standard of professionalism and discretion.
Our agents train continually. Personnel have completed programs with respected schools including LaSorsa & Associates and the Executive Protection Institute, keeping their skills current with industry best practices.
TB Defense is headquartered in Chicago and maintains national and global capability through trusted partners and vetted professionals, supporting assignments across the United States and internationally when a client needs protection beyond a single city or region.
From a single-agent protective assignment to a larger coordinated security operation, our professionals are built to operate in dynamic environments where discretion, judgment, and reliability are not optional.
How we work
Three principles run through every engagement.
Planning that prevents problems
Protection starts long before a client walks into a venue or steps into a vehicle. We build each assignment on intelligence, advance work, route and venue analysis, and scenario planning that reduces uncertainty. When something develops, we are executing a plan instead of improvising under stress.
Privacy and controlled access
Our role is to protect both the client and the space around them. That means managing who gets close, what information circulates, and how the client moves, without disrupting their work or their experience. We do not trade on our clients' profiles or relationships, and we do not publish names or details about the people we protect.
Quiet, competent presence
We staff with disciplined, trained agents who match the setting and the expectations of the clients we serve. They operate with a low profile, communicate clearly, and handle issues without drama or intimidation. The focus stays on the client, the event, and the mission, not on the security team.
Protect what matters most.
Tell us who or what you need protected. We will give you a direct assessment of what the situation calls for. All consultations are confidential.