Tommy Ontko has been presented with the GLIGIC Special Recognition Award for the month of April 2001 for his outstanding efforts, which have resulted in the arrest of a suspect wanted for murder. Through his own personal motivation and self-initiated work ethic, the efforts of Tommy Ontko have led to the arrest of a suspect wanted for the murder of a 13 yr. old girl in England.

Although, there is much more to this story and subsequent investigation, I would like to briefly highlight Tommy’s involvement. Recently, Tommy happened to pick-up a London Times newspaper and read an article about the murder of a 13 year old girl in which the suspect was still wanted. Tommy, on this own, decided to check though his sources and discovered that the suspect had traveled to the United States on several occasions. Further investigation by Tommy revealed that this same subject happened to be under arrest in the Miami area for an unrelated crime. Tommy then made contact with the authorities overseas and with his contacts in the Miami area, relaying the information he had uncovered. After an intensive investigation to positively identify the subject, it was discovered that the suspect in custody in Miami was, in fact, the suspect wanted for the murder of the young girl in England.

I would like to extend my sincere praise for the self-initiated investigation undertaken by Tommy Ontko. Although Tommy is very humble about his leadership in the investigation that resulted in the arrest of a violent homicide suspect, this was a great job and I am proud to say Tommy is a friend and a member of GLIGIC. His selfless dedication brings great honor upon himself, the INS, and the law enforcement community as a whole. This is exactly the kind of dedication and professionalism our organization strives for by working together and sharing information.