Connecticut U.S. Attorney's Office Celebrates Annual U.S. Attorney's Awards

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut hosted its annual United States Attorney’s Office Law Enforcement Awards Ceremony yesterday in New Haven.  The ceremony at the City of New Haven’s aldermanic chambers recognized more than 160 individuals for their investigative efforts and other contributions to 31 significant federal criminal prosecutions and civil cases in Connecticut.  Approximately 60 of the award recipients are members of local police departments from across Connecticut.

“We in the U.S. Attorney’s Office are persistently mindful that our work and success are dependent on the dedicated efforts of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners,” said U.S. Attorney John H. Durham.  “On behalf of everyone in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, my sincere congratulations to all of our award recipients.”

In addition to the criminal and civil case awards, U.S. Attorney Durham presented several special awards during the ceremony.

The U.S. Attorney’s Award for Outstanding Investigator was presented to Special Agent Maria Papageorgiou of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, for her expertise in complex financial fraud and tax investigations during her 17-year career in Connecticut.

The U.S. Attorney’s Award for Outstanding Partnership was presented to Tammy Sneed, Director of Gender Responsive Adolescent Services for the Connecticut Department of Children and Families.  Ms. Sneed has been essential in coordinating services for human trafficking victims and assisting with local, state and federal investigations involving the sex trafficking of children.

The U.S. Attorney’s Outstanding Citizen Award was presented to Jose Casanova, Marvin Dixon and Jacqueline Marciano, whose quick thinking and disregard for their own safety helped to save the life of Hartford Police Officer Jill Kidik, the victim of a stabbing attack, on May 17, 2018.

The National Security and Major Crimes Unit Award was presented to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Allison Haimila for her dedicated investigative work in child exploitation cases.

The Financial Fraud and Public Corruption Unit Award was presented to a team of FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation special agents that investigated an extensive “pump-and-dump” securities fraud scheme that resulted in more than $20 million in losses to thousands of investors.

The Violent Crimes and Narcotics Unit Award was presented to The Justice Education Center, Inc., a West Hartford-based non-profit organization.  For more than a decade, the Justice Education Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have worked cooperatively on a number of initiatives, including Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a federal initiative to reduce violence in inner cities and develop prevention and early intervention programs to curb juvenile crime.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is charged with enforcing federal criminal laws in Connecticut and representing the federal government in civil litigation.  The Office is composed of approximately 68 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and 57 staff members at offices in New Haven, Bridgeport and Hartford.