Investigators of the Year
Special Agent Kenneth P. Kovac
Newark Field Office of the United States Secret Service
Special Agent Kenneth P. Kovac, assigned to the Newark Field Office Counterfeit Squad, coordinated a large counterfeit investigation along with the New York Field Office of the Secret Service. Special Agent Kovac obtained valuable intelligence from a confidential informant who identified multiple suspects involved in the manufacturing and distribution of large amounts of counterfeit currency in the tri-state area. Utilizing innovative investigative techniques, to include surveillance, consensual telephone calls, and additional confidential sources SA Kovac was able to collect enough information to obtain two search warrants. These searches yielded the seizure of approximately $3.5 million in counterfeit $100 FRN’s, multiple federal arrests, and the suppression of an offset printing plant. SA Kovac’s diligence and hard work resulted in the successful suppression of this particular counterfeit.
Detective James Mihalik
Homicide Squad, Suffolk County Police, New York
Detective James Mihalik, assigned to the Suffolk County Police Department Homicide Squad, was the lead detective in an investigation into the shooting death of a teenage girl. On April 8, 2006, 14 year-old Danielle Baker and approximately fifty partygoers were dancing at a house party when shots were fired through a rear window. Danielle was struck in the neck and died at the scene. Many of the guests at the party fled. Witnesses remaining at the scene were uncooperative. Over the next month, Detective Mihalik was able to identify the guests from the party. As it became clear that the shooting was the result of a conflict between rival violent street gangs, cooperation was not forthcoming. Detective Mihalik worked tirelessly to overcome the fear in the community and develop a rapport with potential witnesses and persons in possession of information. On May 10, 2006, Terrel Gray, a member of the Blood street gang, was arrested and charged with Murder in the 2nd Degree in Danielle’s death. (The defendant stated to detectives the reason he fired into the party was that his gang was disrespected by a song being played.) Detective Mihalik’s perseverance and dogged investigative initiative resulted in the apprehension of the person responsible for this reprehensible crime. He did an outstanding job and is to be commended for an extraordinary investigative effort.
Postal Inspectors Andre Esannason
and Steve Korinko
SA Patrick Kane
New York Field Office of the Secret Service
Over the past two years the United States Postal Inspection Service and United States Secret Service New York field offices have been inundated with complaints regarding the theft of high denomination checks addressed to the J. P. Morgan Chase Lock Box operation. In April 2005, Chase investigators contacted the Postal Inspection Service and requested assistance regarding the theft of checks from their lockbox operation. Postal Inspectors Andre Esannason and Steve Korinko worked closely with Chase investigators and identified several possible suspects, vulnerabilities, and compromise points within their lockbox operation. In December 2005, Postal Inspectors and United States Secret Service Agents initiated a task force to jointly investigate the theft of checks from the Chase lockbox operation. In December 2005, SA Patrick Kane of the New York Field Office of the Secret Service obtained information linking defendant Kenny Ola Labbe to the aboved mentioned investigation. Through their investigation, Inspector Esannason and Agent Kane were able to identify twenty eight individuals who were receiving altered checks stolen from the J.P. Morgan Chase facility. Through their efforts they were able to seize over one million dollars in stolen/altered checks. Approximately six weeks into the operation, Inspector Korinko, Esannason and Special Agent Kane’s efforts paid off with the identification of a Chase employee who was stealing mail containing business checks. On April 21, 2006, the agents arrested the employee as he left the lockbox facility. The employee had approximately 40 checks on his person, totaling over $4 million dollars. Additional information developed by these agents led to the arrest of a second individual and the recovery of 100 additional stolen checks totaling more than $7 million dollars. The investigation was overseen by Assistant United States Attorney’s Michael Levy and Seetha Ramachandran, Southern Distrct of New York. Their efforts and those of Inspectors Korinko, Esannason and Special Agent Kane have resulted in the identification and arrest of several members of a criminal organization responsible for the theft of more than one hundred million dollars in stolen checks and diminished further losses to several Fortune Five Hundred Companies located in the New York Metropolitan Area.