EXCLUSIVE: Manhattan and Hamptons' wealthiest are hiring armed guards for their luxury properties, fearing a coronavirus 'zombie apocalype' with desperate criminals trying to break down their doors

New York's 'one percent' are hiring armed guards to protect them from a feared 'zombie apocalypse' - stationing former cops outside their luxury properties in Manhattan and the Hamptons in preparation for a coronavirus doomsday where criminals come breaking down their doors. 

Two leading private investigative agencies in Manhattan, Sage Intelligence and Beau Dietl & Associates, tell the DailyMail.com that business is booming from rich New Yorkers who worry they'll become prime targets if the coronavirus spirals out of control. 

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An executive who was traveling for business asked  Herman Weisberg of Sage intelligence to send guards to protect his wife and kids, who were holed up in their luxury townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan

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In the Hampton, an energy tycoon called Weisberg to report that he'd flown his family in from overseas to wait out the crisis in his palatial estate. 'If I was a bad guy picking a house to rob, I'd pick mine,' the client told him

Clients are citing potential red flags - thousands of police officers are getting sick, stores are running out of basic supplies, millions of families are losing their livelihoods, and hundreds of potentially violent inmates are being released from Rikers Island and other jails - all due to the pandemic. 

'These people are fearful of anarchy, that crime is going to spike and that people will get desperate and steal to feed their families,' said Mike Ciravolo, a retired NYPD detective who serves as president of Dietl. 

'They fear they will become targets if this thing really ramps up. These are very affluent people, with very, very expensive units.' Ciravolo said he's assigned guards, round-the-clock, to secure an upscale co-op in Soho and two luxury apartment buildings on the Upper East Side, and is getting more calls every day. 

Herman Weisberg, of Sage, said he started receiving Covid-19 business two weeks ago. 

At first, it was clients who wanted security guards to accompany them on errands to their banks, so they could withdraw stockpiles of cash in the event of a run on banks. 

Another client, a business executive in Soho, called him in a panic, saying he was seeking to acquire a firearm to protect himself, but couldn't find one because all the stores he contacted were sold out.

'That moved up his decision to hire me,' Weisberg said. 

Another Manhattan power couple called Weisberg from their summer home in the Hamptons, where they were hunkered down with their kids. 'They got on the phone and explained they have an alarm system that they almost never turned on,' Weisberg said. 

'Now they're turning it on, but the husband was still stressed, saying, 'What good is an alarm if nobody's around to respond?' 

The husband was insistent on hiring 24-7 security, despite his wife's hesitation and the fact the East Hampton police department is still fully operational, with just one officer reportedly testing positive for the coronavirus.

Even Weisberg, a former NYPD detective who also worked with the U.S. Secret Service on dignitary protection details, tried talking him out of it before offering a suggestion - why not split the cost with a neighbor? The husband got on the phone with a neighbor and received a green light.

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Herman Weisberg of Sage Intelligence, seen here escorting Harvey Weinstein during his trial, said he started receiving Covid-19 business two weeks ago

'Ok, let's get this going!' the husband exclaimed. 

Two armed guards are now watching over the two houses, working 12-hour shifts. The retired police officers sit in unmarked cars, wearing business casual attire so they don't stand out so much. 

They're also abiding by the latest CDC guidelines, to avoid spreading or catching Covid-19 from the family. 'They're letting us use their vacant pool house for bathroom breaks,' he noted. 

Elsewhere in East Hampton, an energy tycoon called Weisberg to report that he'd flown his family in from overseas to wait out the crisis in his palatial estate.

'If I was a bad guy picking a house to rob, I'd pick mine,' the client told him.

'He was particularly afraid after reading that the government was considering releasing violent inmates because of the coronavirus,' Weisberg said. 'That certainly wasn't making him feel more comfortable.'

Weisberg said he advises clients not to worry, but understands why they're nervous.

'They're fearful because they live in these jaw-dropping houses, with 14 to 20 bedrooms, art collections, lots of stuff,' Weisberg explained. 'While it's great to have a gigantic home, they are creepy places to stay in a time like this. People with that kind of money, they're willing to pay a lot to sleep at night.' 

Another executive who was traveling for business asked Weisberg to send guards to protect his wife and kids, who were holed up in their luxury townhouse on the Upper East Side.

'He normally doesn't have security, but this is different,' Weisberg said. 'He compared this to the zombie apocalypse, and he predicted the police manpower would be cut in half due to the virus. He felt badly leaving his wife and children alone. I think zombie apocalypse is a stretch, but I went along with it.'Herman Weisberg, of Sage, said he started receiving Covid-19 business two weeks ago.

The fact is the streets are virtually empty and crime overall is down from March 12, when the city declared a state of emergency, through March 31. There was a 25 percent drop in murders and 10 percent decrease in robberies during that period. But there has also been a 16.8 percent spike in burglaries compared to the same period last year.

Luxury retailers around New York such as Louis Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbana have boarded up their storefronts to prevent break-ins.

For New York's wealthiest, there's a fear that the situation could deteriorate and, if it does, that police will not be equipped to handle all of the emergency calls. More than 1,400 cops have tested positive for the virus, and nearly 6,500 NYPD officers called in sick Thursday, 18 percent of the force.

'I tell clients that there's really no reason to be fearful at this point,' Ciravolo said. 'But there are certain clients that are adamant that they want to get ahead of the curve and then want to be ready in the event that there is anarchy.'