Italian Prosecutors and Police Visit the FBI in New York
| New York December 14, 2009 |
Today, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) David Shafer of New York’s Criminal Division hosted prosecutors and police from Palermo, Italy. The Italian officials were here to meet with the FBI’s organized crime branch to share information about investigations that affected Italy and the United States.
|
Left to Right: Licia Ilardo, Clerk, Prosecutor's Office of Palermo; Marcello |
Dott. Antonio Ingroia, Deputy Chief Prosecutor from Palermo declared the meetings a success and said, “We have a long standing relationship with the FBI in New York. Many of our organized crime investigations have a nexus in the United States and opportunities such as this to share information face to face help both agencies. We know that these meetings will continue in the future and continue to pay dividends for us all.”
Dott. Stefano Sorrentino, Assistant Chief of Police, Anti Drug Division - Mobile Squad of Palermo is an FBI National Academy Graduate and was pleased to renew his ties with the FBI. He said, “During my time at the National Academy in Quantico, I developed valuable relationships among many different agencies around the world. Working closely with the FBI has always been a pleasure and today’s meetings were very productive. It is the close working relationship that we have established over the years that allow us to battle organized crime both here and in Italy.”
ASAC David Shafer of New York’s Criminal Division served as the host for the team from Italy and added, “Today I renewed friendships and made new ones. We both have to fight organized crime in our cities. Without a doubt, working this closely with the prosecutors and police from Palermo helps our team of FBI agents and task force members combat this problem. Not only was today successful, but I know we will continue these meetings in the future and continue to share information with our partners in Italy.”
Also in attendance today was Dott. Marcello Viola, Assistant Prosecutor, Prosecutor's Office of Palermo; Dott. Licia Ilardo, Clerk, Prosecutor's Office of Palermo; and Francesco Peluso, Chief-Inspector, Judicial Police, Prosecutor's Office of Palermo.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge (ADIC) Joseph Demarest added to the above statements by saying, “We work with our Italian partners every day on all types of national security and criminal matters. These visits fortify our relationships with international intelligence and law enforcement members who share our common goal of protecting both of our nation’s most valuable resources.”