Investigators of the Year
George Solano
Detective, The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor
Patrick Glynn
Senior Special Agent, U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
James McCausland
Special Agent, Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office
Investigators from the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, DHS immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office used a collaborative effort to dismantle a criminal organization that provided hundreds of Pennsylvania drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens who wanted to obtain false identities. On August 4, 2004, detectives from the Waterfront Commission received information that a truck driver at Global Terminal was attempting to use suspected fraudulent credentials. The subsequent investigation revealed that the truck drivers’ credentials were indeed fraudulent. A year long investigation involving both physical and electronic surveillance uncovered a fraudulent document ring run by a woman named Altagracia “Grace” Rosario. Investigators determined that Rosario operated by cither obtaining or manufacturing fraudulent identity documents including non-immigrant visa passports. These documents were then provided to the clients to be presented at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation office when they applied for driver’s licenses. It was also revealed that Pennsylvania DOT worker Ronald Henry was working with Rosario from inside the Department of Transportation by falsifying records indicating that individuals had taken both a written and road test to obtain their license. The organization was charging $2,000 to $5,000 depending on type of license the individual wanted a large number of licenses issued were commercial driver’s licenses. The unified effort of the agencies involved provided vast recourses to defeat this organization that was providing individuals with new identities and in the case of issuing commercial driver’s licenses, affording individuals access to high sensitive areas. This investigation highlights a situation where multi-agency teamwork thwarted a serious threat to national security.
Dennis W. Farrell
Detective Lieutenant, Nassau County Police Department Commanding Officer, Homicide Squad
Detective Lieutenant Dennis W. Farrell has proudly served the Nassau County Police Department for thirty-seven years, most recently as the Commanding Officer, Homicide Squad. Under his dedicated leadership, the Nassau County Police Homicide Squad achieved clearance rates for homicides exceeding 90 % for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005, far surpassing the national average of 62 %. As the Homicide Commanding Officer, Det. Lt. Farrell has consistently demonstrated the highest standards of initiative, tenacity and determination. He regularly coordinated multi-jurisdictional investigations with local, state and federal agencies, was one of the first on the east coast to utilize Crash Data Retrieval software to assist in the investigation of fatal motor vehicle accidents, and led two major cold case murder investigations to a successful conclusion with the arrest of a subject in each case even though the murders occurred over twenty years ago! In his prior assignments in the Department as he moved through the ranks, Det. Lt. Farrell always exemplified the same dedication to duty he displayed as the Commanding Officer of the Homicide Squad. He previously had been Commanding Officer of the Special Victims Squad and the Cold Case Squad. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Social Sciences and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, where his fellow associates of the 188th Session elected him as the equivalent of the class president. He is the Chairman of the Terry Farrell Marrow Fund, which conducts semi-annual marrow donor drives in an effort to match those in need with potential donors. This fund was established in memory of Dennis’s brother Terry, himself a marrow donor, who gave his life in service as a Firefighter at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11th, 2001. Det. Lt. Farrell personifies the highest professional standards, which are the hallmark of the Nassau County Police Department.
Thomas G. Hauck
Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Special Agent Thomas G. Hauck was the lead investigator into the activities of a sophisticated nationwide network of thieves, licensed brokers, wholesalers, pharmacists and doctors who were conspiring to introduce stolen, diverted, and counterfeit medicines into the domestic pharmaceutical distribution system. These medications were often mishandled and improperly stored under conditions not suitable for pharmaceutical drugs, resulting in a major risk to the general population. Special Agent Hauck set up an undercover licensed pharmaceutical wholesale business with undercover operatives comprising the sales force. The sales force infiltrated the identified criminal network through the establishment of a broker-type business relationship with the subjects in order to obtain tracking information and samples of products offered for sale. Products recovered by Hauck’s team during the operation were provided to their respective manufactures for analysis of product chemical content and package/label tampering. The undercover operatives negotiated the numerous purchases of large volumes of prescription drugs including one particular event where the team engaged 12 subjects in ten transactions involving 28 different prescription drugs valued at over $1 million. Special Agent Hauck’s initiative and expertise in this investigation has lead to the arrest of 60 subjects for various pharmaceutical, theft and conspiracy charges over the past four years.