[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 24, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E72]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO U.S. FEDERAL MARSHAL ROMOLO J. IMUNDI

                                 ______


                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 24, 1996

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Federal Marshal Romolo 
J. Imundi. At the age of 75, Marshal Imundi has completed 53 
consecutive years of Government service and retired from his post as 
U.S. marshal for the southern district in New York on October 15, 1995.
  Mr. Imundi was a highly respected marshal in New York and has 
received numerous awards and plaques during his long and distinguished 
career in law enforcement. For 13 years, Mr. Imundi's office has been 
responsible for the security of 80 Federal judges, 200 U.S. attorneys, 
80 security officers, 100 marshals and inspectors, and dozens of crime 
suspects. In recognition of his unfailing dedication to his work, I am 
inserting an article into the Record detailing his years of public 
service.
  The suspects he has escorted have been some of the most famous and 
notorious this century, Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman--found guilty of 
plotting the bombing of national monuments such as the Statue of 
Liberty--and those accused of plotting the World Trade Center bombing. 
Not a single one of his clients has been injured or harmed in any way 
during his protection, to say nothing of all the innocent lives he has 
helped to save during the course of his impeccable career.
  The southern district of New York is losing a marshal greatly 
respected by all people. He brought to his post, his 32 years of 
experience in the New York Police Force and 8 years as an investigator 
for the U.S. Veterans Administration. He was first appointed Federal 
marshal by President Ronald Reagan and served under Presidents George 
Bush and Bill Clinton, giving him the distinction of being the longest-
serving Federal marshal this century. His record in public office has 
been an inspiration to his colleagues as well as the community as a 
whole.
  Mr. Imundi's well-deserved retirement will sadden all those who 
gained so much from his time in office: not just the citizens of New 
York but all the people of the United States. On January 30, 1996, 
there will be an event honoring Mr. Imundi's years of service and 
dedication to law enforcement and justice. Mr. Speaker, I know you will 
join me in wishing Mr. Imundi well and the best of luck in his 
retirement.

            Gladiator Retires After Half-Century of Service

       Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson may have been the most famous 
     federal marshals.
       Romolo J. Imundi may be the most photographed.
       ``I'm also the longest-serving federal marshal in this 
     century,'' Imundi said.
       He retired Oct. 15 from his job as U.S. marshal for the 
     Southern District in New York after 13 years in the post. He 
     was appointed by President Reagan in 1982.
       At 75, Imundi completed 53 years of government service, 
     including 32 years as a New York City police officer and 
     detective, eight years as an investigator for the U.S. 
     veterans Administration and the past 13 as a federal marshal 
     in the Manhattan office.
       Imundi and his wife of 48 years, Rosemarie, who have four 
     grown children and eight grandchildren, have lived in the 
     Crestwood section of Yonkers the past eight years.
       ``This job is a presidential appointment,'' Imundi said. 
     ``George Washington appointed the first federal marshal in 
     New York City in 1789. He was the chief lawman for the area. 
     I'm a conservative Republican. I was appointed by Reagan and 
     reappointed by George Bush. When Bill Clinton came in, I was 
     asked to stay on the job.''
       Imundi, nicknamed the ``Roman gladiator,'' often was seen 
     in newspaper photographs and on television as he escorted 
     such suspects as Leona Helmsley, Bess Myerson, mobster ``Fat 
     Tony'' Salerno, Michael Milken, Mafia boss Paul Castellano 
     and Imelda Marcos into federal court.
       His last case was completed earlier this month when Sheik 
     Omar Abdel-Rahman was convicted of plotting the bombing of 
     the Lincoln Tunnel, the United Nations, the Holland Tunnel 
     and the Statue of Liberty.
       ``Imagine what would have happened if they blew up a 
     tunnel, and you had water cascading all over Manhattan,'' he 
     said. ``It is too horrible to even think about.''
       The sheik and his followers were moved each day from the 
     Metropolitan Corrections Center underground to the federal 
     courts for their trial. All were found guilty and will be 
     sentenced in January.
       ``I think they will all spend the rest of their natural 
     lives in jail,'' Imundi said.
       They were not subject to the death penalty. Imundi has 
     witnessed one execution, the electrocution of murderer Elmer 
     ``Trigger'' Burke in Sing Sing Correctional Facility 40 years 
     ago.
       For 13 years, Imundi's office has been responsible for the 
     security of 80 federal judges, 200 U.S. attorney, 80 security 
     officers, 100 marshals and inspectors and dozens of crime 
     suspects.
       He never had a client injured or killed in all that time, 
     although junk-bond king Milken fainted after Judge Kimba Wood 
     sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
       Former Miss America Myerson, charged with a tax violation, 
     was close to fainting when she was in a cell and was told she 
     had to be fingerprinted.
       ``I put a hand on her shoulder and steadied her,'' he said.
       Helmsley, who served three years in prison on a tax charge, 
     was one of his most difficult cases.
       ``She was so disliked that many people stood on the 
     courthouse steps and screamed obscenities at her every day of 
     the trial,'' he said.
       ``The terrorist trial was clearly the trial of the century, 
     not that thing in Los Angeles,'' he said. ``Millions of lives 
     were at stake here when these guys plotted their violence. 
     Judge Michael B. Mukasey really did a great job of handling 
     that. He had to deal daily with 15 lawyers and kept * * *.''
       Imundi, who handled the suspects in the World Trade Center 
     bombing case, said that crime really frightened him.
       ``Few people know this, but if that bomb was planted two 
     stories higher and not in the garage, that entire building 
     would have gone down,'' he said. ``It would have dwarfed the 
     bombing at Oklahoma City and thousands upon thousands of 
     lives would have been lost.''
       Now, the care and feeding of so many suspects has been 
     turned over to a new marshal--Martin Burke, a bodyguard for 
     former Gov. Mario Cuomo.
       ``Now, I'll just take it easy for a while, do some 
     painting, work around the house, tend to my garden, and enjoy 
     our family,'' Imundi said.
       Few public servants have done as much to earn a quiet, 
     peaceful retirement as Imundi has. Few have had a half-
     century of such adventures.

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