Meet the Marshals

Commander / Chief Inspector
U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force

Commander Lenny DePaul joined the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) in 1989 and has been in the fugitive programme since 1991. Lenny enlisted in the U.S. Navy at 17 and was assigned to the "Gator Navy," an elite amphibious assault group. He also spent five years with the Secret Service serving in the Reagan White House. He has literally been around the world and back with the U.S. government.

Over the course of his career, Lenny has been involved in thousands of arrests, including the DC Snipers and several Top 15 Most Wanted cases. Lenny is one of two supervisors to start the NY / NJ RFTF in 2002. A native New Yorker, Lenny is now the Chief Inspector and Commanding Officer of the U.S. Marshals New York / New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Senior Inspector / US Marshal
U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force

Senior Inspector Greg Holmes joined the USMS in 1996 as a Deputy U.S. Marshal and began working in fugitive operations in 1999. In 2002, he became an inspector assigned to the Fugitive Task Force and was promoted to Senior Inspector in 2008. Over the course of the past six years, Greg has investigated and arrested hundreds of violent felony fugitives, including a USMS Top 15 Most Wanted case, many more high profile cases, and over 50 fugitives wanted for homicide including several cop killers.

Born and raised in New York City in the borough of Queens, Greg says that he absolutely loves his job and takes pride in his work ethic and reputation. He enjoys "making the community a safer place by taking violent criminals off the street and helping victims' families get closure."

Deputised U.S. Marshal
U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force
ICE / DRO (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) / (Detention and Removal Operations)

Deputised U.S. Marshal Tommy Kilbride is a 17-year veteran of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, assigned as the Supervisor of their Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) unit. Before joining ICE, Tommy spent four and a half years with the U.S. Border Patrol in San Diego. Tommy is an original member of the NY / NJ RFTF, joining at its inception, in 2002.

Tommy is also a retired U.S. Marine with 24 years of global service under his belt. Most recently, he served in Iraq. A native Brooklynite, Tommy is an early riser who gets into the office each day before most people ever wake up. Why does he do it? Tommy says he wants to make the world a safer place to live.

Deputised U.S. Marshal
U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force
Spring Valley, New York Police Department

Detective Roxanne Lopez says she wanted to be a cop ever since she was in her mother's womb! She started her career in law enforcement in 1997 with the Newburgh NY Police Department. In 2000 she joined the Spring Valley NY Police Department and since then she has held many roles. She worked a patrol beat, served on Spring Valley's SWAT team for three years, spent time going undercover working prostitution cases, did detective work, and most recently joined the Special Investigations Unit.

Roxanne loves fugitive work because it allows her to put the paperwork aside and "just go get the guy." She first worked with the NY / NJ RFTF in 2003 on a major murder case and since then has turned to the Task Force whenever a Spring Valley suspect has proven difficult to apprehend. Looking towards the future, Roxanne aspires to be a police department chief or run her own unit.

If there is one thing she is most known for - even among criminals - it is her interrogation skills. On several occasions, she has entered the interrogation room, only to hear "I know I'm doing time, because you are interviewing me!"

Roxanne is a proven athlete who participates in sprint triathlons, and recently did a half marathon. She also loves to salsa dance.

Deputy U.S. Marshal
U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force

Michelle 'Michy' Mendez was recruited by the USMS while an undergraduate, studying criminal justice. Her love for law enforcement came while growing up in the Bronx where she saw how crime affected her community and she wanted to give back to the neighbourhood. Joining the Task Force in June 2007, Michy is one of the newest members of the team. A workout nut, she's also a fitness coordinator and recruiter for the USMS. Additionally, she's a coordinator for Continuity of Operations - a plan for evacuation and the continued function of the USMS during an emergency like 9/11. Prior to joining the Task Force, Michy worked Judicial Protection Detail for US District Court Chief Judge Michael Mukasey, who was recently promoted to U.S. Attorney General.

Michy's favourite on-the-job story? Michy and four Marshals arrived at their target location only to find their suspect, a mentally ill man with a black belt in martial arts, assuming a fighting pose, knives in hands. While Michy and the four officers drew their guns, she and the entire team were able to slowly talk the man down, convincing him to lay down his weapons, take his medication, and go into custody peacefully.

Deputy U.S. Marshal / Sex Offender Investigation Coordinator
U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force

Brooklyn native Mike Romani says that he has wanted to work in law enforcement ever since he read a book about police officers as a 7 year old. For the past 15 years, that is exactly what he has been doing. He spent five years in U.S. Customs and held the position of Senior Inspector with their Aviation Security Team. He's been a deputy with the USMS for ten years, working the first four in judicial protection and the last six on the warrant squad. Mike was one of the original founding members of the NY / NJ RFTF.

For Mike, the job gives him a sense of accomplishment; "You really feel like you make an impact by getting the sex offenders off the street and possibly avoiding another attack on a child."

Deputised U.S. Marshal
U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force
New York State Division of Parole

Long Island native Vinny Senzamici stumbled into his career in law enforcement. When Vinny was working on his master's degree in community and mental health counseling, he saw a recruiting advertisement for the New York State Division of Parole. Growing up, Vinny looked up to his father, an NYPD Police Officer. Parole seemed a logical combination of counseling and law enforcement. He joined the division in 1980.

From 1980 to 1987, Vinny worked as a mental health and recreation therapist with the Office of Mental Health. In 1988 he joined the Division of Parole's Absconder Search Unit, a task force that unites parole officers and members of the NYPD. Vinny describes his investigative style simply as "hard nosed."

In May, 2002 he became one of the original members of the NY / NJ RFTF. "I'm going to stay with the Task Force until they kick me out and I have to retire."

Deputised U.S. Marshal
U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force
New Jersey Department of Corrections Special Investigations Division/Fugitive Unit

Deputised U.S. Marshal Ali McBride Jr. has been employed by the New Jersey Department of Corrections since 1995. A Newark native, Ali started working for NJDOC shortly after graduating from Johnson C. Smith University with a BA in English.  Ali was part of the dynamic team of officers at Northern State Prison responsible for the implementation of the Security Threat Management Group Unit, a gang deterrent unit and the first of its kind in NJ. He worked for Investigations at East Jersey State Prison and was selected to work with the NJDOC Fugitive Unit. Ali became a part of the Task Force in 2006.

In addition to fugitive work, he serves as a fellow with Leadership Newark, a judiciary volunteer for the Newark Alliance for Compliance program in Essex County, Vice President of the Board for the Career Visions Ambassadors programme, and he is a member of the Shakil School of Martial Arts. Ali traveled to Haiti to promote a model city initiative with the Haiti Support Project and a high profile delegation that included Congressman John Conyers.

Ali is currently attending Fairleigh Dickinson University, finishing up his Masters in Administrative Science, with a concentration in Global Leadership/International Studies, which has led him to study in various countries, most recently in Argentina at the University of Mendoza.

Deputised U.S. Marshal
U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force
Port Authority Police Dept. of NY/NJ

Richie comes from a family of law enforcement. His father retired after serving 25 years and his brother is currently a detective heading into his 14th year. Richie has been with the Port Authority Police Dept. since 1994 and has worked at numerous commands up until 2002. In 2002, he took a transfer to the PATH Command. Here he worked with his partner, where they were involved in numerous arrests in both a uniform and a plain clothes capacity. PATH was, and still is, his favourite command, the one that holds a special place in his heart. A lot of his close friends, guys that broke him in as a 'rookie, made the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives in 9/11.

In October 2007, Richie took a transfer to the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force and was sworn in as a Deputised U.S. Marshal. Since that time he has assisted in numerous fugitive arrests with the other members of his team. He enjoys his job and most of all he enjoys taking fugitives off the street.

When he is not at work, Richie enjoys going to the gym, watching all kinds of sports, and spending time with his family and friends.

Inspector / U.S. Marshal
U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force

Inspector Danny Potucek joined the United States Marshals Service in 1990, starting his career in Brooklyn and later being transferred to the Newark Office in 1996. Danny has been a Fugitive Investigator since 1996 and graduated Magna Cum Laude from John Jay College of Criminal Justice with a B.S. in Criminal Justice. Danny is responsible for thousands of arrests and at least 150 of them are homicides. Danny has been on the Task Force since its inception in May of 2002. He is one of four Team Leaders in the Newark Office and was directly involved in the apprehension of Robert Ellis, who was responsible for the murder of New York Police Officer Russel Timoshenko.

When Danny is not at work, he enjoys sports and most importantly watching his kids play sports. Family and friends come first and foremost in his life and he is quick to emphasise that his main goal is that all members of his team go home at the end of the day.

Deputised U.S. Marshal
U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force
New Jersey State Parole

Investigator Matt Testa joined New Jersey State Parole in 1997 and is currently assigned to the Fugitive Unit. In 2003 he joined the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force and works out of their Newark office. Matt received his Masters Degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and went into law enforcement to help less fortunate people by having a direct involvement and interaction in their lives. Matt takes great satisfaction in removing New Jersey’s most violent criminals off the street.

When Matt is not hunting down fugitives, he works out so that he can keep up with the physical demands of the job. An avid NY Rangers fan, he attends all the hockey team’s home games.