Broward CEO of ‘panic button’ company charged with bribery

FORT LAUDERDALE — A South Florida CEO whose panic button company has contracts with Broward Public Schools and the Broward Sheriff’s Office is charged with bribing a former high-ranking official in the New York Police Department as he sought to sell panic buttons to the city’s public schools and police.

In an indictment Thursday, federal prosecutors said Geno Roefaro, 39, the Pompano Beach-based founder of the company SaferWatch, showered the commanding officer of the NYPD’s School Safety Division with luxury hotels, airfare to the Bahamas, a helicopter tour of Las Vegas, tickets to Broadway musicals and a “medieval-themed dinner theater” — along with multiple cash payments.

In exchange, Kevin Taylor attempted to steer an $11 million contract towards SaferWatch, which offers a mobile app that serves as a panic button in the case of mass shootings and other emergencies. The company, which is offered in all U.S. states, also sells a cellphone-based tipline used by law enforcement agencies.

Roefaro is charged with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to solicit and receive a bribe by an agent of an organization receiving federal funds and bribery of an agent of an organization receiving federal funds. He appeared in Fort Lauderdale federal court Thursday, where a judge set a $500,000 bond before transferring the case to the Southern District of New York. He has not yet entered a plea.

Roefaro referred the South Florida Sun Sentinel to his New York-based attorney, Scott Hartman, for comment when reached Saturday.

“It is puzzling and deeply concerning that the United States Attorney’s Office has chosen to pursue charges against Geno, while at the very same time, alleging — and seeking to prove — that he was the victim of an extortionate shakedown,” Hartman said in a statement, adding that his client “played a direct role in stopping a potential attack against President Trump.”

Taylor pleaded not guilty to bribery and wire fraud charges on Thursday. An emailed inquiry to his attorney was not returned.

The investigation into SaferWatch first emerged in September 2024 as part of a federal probe into the administration of former New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Roefaro had begun attempting to sell SaferWatch’s services to New York City schools in 2022, according to the indictment. In 2023, he withdrew $20,000 from a bank in New York and then gave it to Taylor. A little over a week later, he withdrew $15,000 and did the same.

Meanwhile, Taylor began using his influence to try to request that the NYPD purchase millions of dollars’ worth of services from SaferWatch. Less than a month later, he helped secure a no-bid contract to pilot Roefaro’s products within the command center of the NYPD’s school safety division.

Over the next few months, Roefaro continued to pay Taylor in cash as well as sponsor luxury vacations for him and his romantic partner in Las Vegas and the Bahamas. Meanwhile, the police official attempted to expand the program. But Roefaro grew frustrated as his efforts failed to come to fruition, at times describing himself as a “sugar daddy” who had “made a MAJOR investment and zero return,” according to the indictment.

He would text Taylor over Signal, the encrypted messaging app.

“I’ve got nothing from you brother and I’m already in for hundreds [of thousands of dollars],” Roefaro allegedly texted Taylor in late 2023.

“You got nothing from me??” Taylor said in part of his response, adding, “you can’t play with the big boys and piss like a puppy.”

Days later, Taylor tried to put together a press conference to announce his division would be procuring a tip line from Roefaro’s company, prosecutors said. But that event was later cancelled.

Roefaro’s company has had longstanding contracts with school districts and law enforcement agencies across Florida. The app launched in 2018, six months after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas exactly eight years ago. Many school districts entered into contracts with SaferWatch to comply with Alyssa’s Law, which was passed by the state legislature in response to the shooting and requires local school districts to have a panic button system. The program is free to districts as long as they use an approved vendor.

The Broward School District was the first school district to enter into a contract with SaferWatch for its tipline services back in 2019. The district then entered a contract for the panic button app in 2021, but only about 20% of employees downloaded the app onto their phones, officials said at the time. In 2025, the district entered into a contract with a different company for physical panic buttons. Still, the district continues to contract with SaferWatch as well, according to spokesperson John Sullivan.

“We believe the two systems together provide the most comprehensive system in the market today,” Roefaro told the Sun Sentinel at the time.

The indictment of Roefaro “has no impact on our contract,” Sullivan said Saturday, adding that the allegations are a “law enforcement matter.”

Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County schools also began using SaferWatch around 2021 and maintain active pages on its website.

Local law enforcement agencies also use SaferWatch for its tipline services. The Broward Sheriff’s Office began using SaferWatch in 2018 and still does, according to a page on the company’s website, which features a video of Sheriff Gregory Tony.

“The SaferWatch app is an important tool that allows us to connect directly with the community we serve,” he says in the video, concluding with, “if you see something, send something with SaferWatch.”

The Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to questions about its use of the app Saturday.

Other law enforcement agencies also use the app, including Fort Lauderdale Police. But, like in the Broward school district, some agencies have struggled with low use. The West Palm Beach police department ended its relationship with SaferWatch in December of last year, citing a lack of engagement in the community.

“Following a review of user engagement and reporting trends, the department determined that only a limited number of community members utilized the platform to submit tips or report incidents,” the police department said in a news release. Instead, officials encouraged residents to call 911 or use its non-emergency line.

Information from the Associated Press was used to supplement this story.