A Faith-Based Script from Ray Romano's Older Brother

When indie drama The Investigator debuts later this year, the major media hook will no doubt be the fact that it was written by Ray Romano's older brother Richard A. Based on his real-life experiences in New York and Long Island, it's about a long-serving NYPD detective who gets bounced from the force, deals with some personal tragedy and winds up coaching a Christian high school baseball team.

The movie was shot in South Florida at the beginning of the year under the production guidance of Nicole Abisinio, who created a new company – Gabriel's Messenger's Films – for which The Investigator will hopefully be but the first of a number of family-friendly spiritual tales. A portion of any proceeds from the movie will be donated to charity.

From cop to coach

Romano was a technical advisor on Everybody Loves Raymond, also popping up in the odd episode of the long-running CBS series (“Golf For It,” Just a Formality,” “The Toaster”). He also had a small role in his younger brother's 2004 feature comedy Welcome to Mooseport.

Now, in his mid-50s, Richard A. has his first official screenwriting credit. Equally intriguing is the fact that the actor playing his Investigator namesake – Sergeant James Buanacore – is Wade Williams (pictured), a long-time LA musician and composer making his lead debut in the film. Romano has a small cameo in the film, and there is also a younger brother character portrayed by an actor who actually looks remarkably like a younger Ray. Watch the trailer here.

[The Investigator]