Investigators of the Year
Vincent Minecci
Postal Inspector, United States Postal Inspection Service
On November 15, 2005, the James E. Davis Post Office, located in Brooklyn, NY was robbed at gunpoint by three suspects. All three suspects wore hoods, masks, and gloves. Five employees inside the facility were handcuffed with plastic ties and ordered to lie on the floor. The Station Manager was forced at gunpoint to surrender the remittance containing thousands of dollars in currency. As the suspects exited the building, one of the suspects physically assaulted a Postal Supervisor as she was entering the building. Postal Inspector Vincent Minecci responded to the scene of the robbery and assumed the leading role in the investigation. He used a variety of investigative tools to further his investigation including the development of a confidential informant, debriefing cooperating defendants, electronic surveillance, the review of thousands of paper documents and the execution of search warrants. Through his keen investigative skills he identified and linked six suspects to the crime, including USPS employee Derrek Pannell and Darren Rucker. His investigation revealed Rucker and Pannell entered the post office with a third accomplice and committed the armed robbery. The other three suspects were only involved in the planning of the robbery and were charged as co-conspirators. In April 2007, Darren Rucker entered a plea of guilty for his involvement in the Post Office Robbery. He is scheduled to be sentenced in September 2008. USPS Clerk, Derrek Pannell, was convicted by a federal Jury in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York and was sentenced in April 2008 to twenty-five years incarceration. The third accomplice was recently convicted on an unrelated murder charge and was sentenced to life in prison.
James J. DeStefano and Gary J. Pontecorvo
Special Agents, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Newark Division
On May 26,1999, WILLIAM "Wild Bill" CUTOLO, Underboss of the COLOMBO La Cosa Nostra (LCN) Family was murdered. To recount the events of that day, it was determined that CUTOLO was driven by a civilian to a drop off location in Brooklyn where he believed he was going to be picked up for a meeting with the Administration of the COLOMBO Family. CUTOLO expected to meet Acting Boss ALPHONSE "ALLIE BOY" PERSICO, Consigliere JOEL CACACE, and others regarding PERSICO's pending incarceration. CUTOLO expected to become the Acting Boss of the COLOMBO while PERSICO was incarcerated. To date, no source information provided any details or leads as to the identity of the co-conspirators and/or the methods of the murder. Even more difficult, CUTOLO's body was never recovered. Initial investigative efforts recruited CUTOLO's son as a CW. CUTOLO's son conducted consensual recordings of former Members and Associates of CUTOLO's crew, including JOHN "JACKIE" DEROSS, the new Underboss. In 2001, these recordings and other investigative techniques resulted in the conviction of PERSICO, DEROSS and Associates of CUTOLO's crew on Racketeering charges. At that time, an investigative plan was devised which targeted the believed co-conspirators. The execution of this plan included, Title Ill's, search warrants and other investigative techniques. Eventually, three Soldiers and two Associates of the COLOMBO Family were convicted. A high- ranking Soldier and a few Associates cooperated which lead to the indictment of PERSICO and DEROSS in 2004 for CUTOLO's murder (Title 18 USC Section 1959) and Witness Tampering. In the Fall of 2007, the trial commenced against PERSICO and DEROSS in front of the honorable Judge Sterling Johnson in Brooklyn. After six weeks, the trial concluded in a mistrial with a 10 to 2 to convict ratio for all counts. At that time, it was determined that the case should be retried because it was so strong and the ramifications a conviction would have on the PERSICO's reign. In the Fall of 2008, the re-trial commenced in front of the honorable Judge Seybert in Central Islip. After nine weeks and approximately 50 witnesses, the jury returned a guilty verdict against PERSICO and DEROSS for the murder of CUTOLO and the witness tampering of CUTOLO's wife, daughter and son. All defense motions have been rebuffed and sentencing is scheduled for later this year at which time PERSICO and DEROSS are facing LIFE for the murder conviction and up to 25 years incarceration for witness tampering. The conviction of PERSICO and DEROSS encompassed five trials and eight years of investigation. Their convictions significantly disrupted the COLOMBO Family and ends the PERSICO's reign in the COLOMBO LCN Family. SA's Pontecorvo and DeStefano persistence and steely resolve are duly noted throughout this long-term investigation. As a result, I highly recommend SA's DeStefano and Pontecorvo for the Investigator of the Year Award.
Michael Doyle and Jennifer Schick
Special Agents, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Newark Division
During the past year, FBI Special Agents Michael Doyle and Jennifer Schick were case agents on one of the FBI Newark Division's largest and most high profile public corruption investigations. SAs Doyle and Schick worked jointly with the state of New Jersey and the IRS to unmasked an unduly public corruption scheme facilitated by former Newark Mayor/State Senator Sharpe James and coconspirator Tamika Riley which centered around program fraud, wire/mail fraud, and tax violations. The investigation determined that James used his position to allocate property owned by the city of Newark to Tamika Riley with whom he had an affair. Further investigation revealed that James misused official city government credit cards for his personal use. In an effort to corroborate the allegations, SAs Doyle and Schick conducted a myriad of interviews, served over one thousand subpoenas, and executed search warrants on facilities used by James and Riley. Their meticulous approach and attention to detail exposed unprecedented avenues to explore which culminated into the successful conviction of James and Riley subsequent to a long and arduous trial. Former Mayor Sharpe James and Tamika Riley were sentenced to 27 months and 15 months confinement respectively.