2023 Annual Conference
September 12-13, 2023
Conference held at - DoubleTree by Hilton
175 Hutchinson Ave, Columbus, Ohio
9/11/2023
Golf Outing held at - Royal American Links
3300 Miller-Paul Rd, Galena, OH
Registration is $250 per attendee.
175 Hutchinson Ave, Columbus, Ohio
9/11/2023
Golf Outing held at - Royal American Links
3300 Miller-Paul Rd, Galena, OH
Registration is $250 per attendee.
Conference Sponsors
Speakers
Vinnie Montez
Vinnie Montez is a Colorado native. He grew up in Boulder and always wanted to be a police officer. As a 20 plus year veteran of law enforcement, his experiences as a cop and his Mexican heritage are the foundation for his comedy.
Vinnie got into comedy in 2007 as a means of addressing the stress and trauma of dealing with the horrible situations he encounters on the job. Since then, he has performed regularly at Denver’s Comedy Works and other national venues. His first comedy special,
Vinnie Montez:
Armed & Hilarious, debuted in 2019 on Dry Bar Comedy. Vinnie has shared the stage with nationally known comedian’s: Michelle Wolf, John Crist, Josh Blue, Paul Rodriguez, Gilbert Gottfried, Nick Guerra, Brian Posehn, Gina Brillon, Joey Medina, Caroline Rhea, Bob Marley and more.
In 2018 Vinnie was inducted as an official member of Humanizing the Badge (HTB), an organization on a mission to help forge stronger relationships between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve.
He focuses on telling funny stories about being a police officer and promoting better mental health for the men and women in blue. With everything going on in the world of law enforcement today, it’s amazing to watch Vinnie bring people together to laugh with his special blend of comedy. He is nationally known at events around the nation. Vinnie has become a favorite among law enforcement and corporate audiences alike, performing for the Special Olympics International Law Enforcement Torch Run Conference (Denver), Colorado Association of School Resource Officers, Rocky Mountain Hostage Negotiators, International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators, National Latino Peace Officers Association, Humanize the Badge, Building Warriors, Great American Comedy Festival, World Series of Comedy, Hallie’s Heroes and many more.
Vinnie got into comedy in 2007 as a means of addressing the stress and trauma of dealing with the horrible situations he encounters on the job. Since then, he has performed regularly at Denver’s Comedy Works and other national venues. His first comedy special,
Vinnie Montez:
Armed & Hilarious, debuted in 2019 on Dry Bar Comedy. Vinnie has shared the stage with nationally known comedian’s: Michelle Wolf, John Crist, Josh Blue, Paul Rodriguez, Gilbert Gottfried, Nick Guerra, Brian Posehn, Gina Brillon, Joey Medina, Caroline Rhea, Bob Marley and more.
In 2018 Vinnie was inducted as an official member of Humanizing the Badge (HTB), an organization on a mission to help forge stronger relationships between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve.
He focuses on telling funny stories about being a police officer and promoting better mental health for the men and women in blue. With everything going on in the world of law enforcement today, it’s amazing to watch Vinnie bring people together to laugh with his special blend of comedy. He is nationally known at events around the nation. Vinnie has become a favorite among law enforcement and corporate audiences alike, performing for the Special Olympics International Law Enforcement Torch Run Conference (Denver), Colorado Association of School Resource Officers, Rocky Mountain Hostage Negotiators, International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators, National Latino Peace Officers Association, Humanize the Badge, Building Warriors, Great American Comedy Festival, World Series of Comedy, Hallie’s Heroes and many more.
Derek S. Maltz
Derek S. Maltz retired from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) after 28 years of dedicated service and is currently working for Pen-Link Ltd as the Executive Director, Government Relations. Mr. Maltz is also a National Security, Public Safety Executive who appears on national news networks as a subject matter expert.
Mr. Maltz was the Special Agent in Charge of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Special Operations Division (SOD) for almost 10 years before he left the federal government. Mr. Maltz also previously held the position as the Chief of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, which is the oldest and largest drug task force in America.
As the Agent in Charge of SOD, SAC Maltz was instrumental in the growth of SOD from 9 to 30 participating agencies including personnel from the U.K., Canada, Australia and the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Mr. Maltz oversaw the operations of approximately 500 SOD personnel and was responsible for an annual budget of $100 million, while incorporating the DOJ’s priority International Organized Crime and Gang Operational programs into the center. Mr. Maltz played a vital leadership role in developing and implementing DOJ’s and Department of Homeland Security’s nationwide de-confliction program to better synchronize the criminal law enforcement efforts around the world. SOD was responsible for leading the coordination of the high-profile multi-agency efforts that resulted in the capture of Sinaloa Cartel Kingpin El Chapo Guzman. Mr. Maltz was also featured on CBS 60 Minutes, NBC and CNN in response to SOD’s role in the tremendous law enforcement success against the Sinaloa Cartel.
SAC Maltz formally established the Counter Narco-Terrorism Operations Center (CNTOC) in January 2007. Since its establishment, the CNTOC successfully coordinated several significant narco-terrorism operations, including the identification of the Lebanese Canadian Bank as a facilitator involved with an international trade-based money laundering scheme supporting Hezbollah, and a subsequent U.S. Treasury Patriot Act 311 action. This was the first time a 311 action was used in this manner in conjunction with law enforcement on a drug case. This unprecedented event ultimately led to a $150 million seizure as part of the Hezbollah drug and money laundering initiative named Project Cassandra. Mr. Maltz appeared several times on Fox News to discuss this well publicized and impactful enforcement action.
SAC Maltz also enhanced SOD’s Bi-Lateral Global Investigations Unit at SOD from 1-5 highly successful field enforcement groups. These proactive investigative groups demonstrated unparalleled success in targeting and prosecuting some of the highest level criminals in the world, such as the arrest and conviction of notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout; the arrest and conviction of arms trafficker and terrorist Monzer Al Kassar, alleged mastermind behind the Achille Lauro hijacking; the capture and conviction of Haji Juma Khan, reputedly Afghanistan’s biggest drug kingpin with ties to the Taliban and the leader of one of the largest drug trafficking organizations in the Central Asia Region; the capture and conviction of Afghan heroin kingpin Haji Bagcho; the arrest and conviction of Khan Mohammed on 21 USC 960a charges of narco-terrorism and the arrest and conviction of Global Transnational Criminal Paul Le Roux.
As a result of Mr. Maltz’ leadership, he received the Presidential Rank Award for his accomplishments. Mr. Maltz was also the recipient of numerous other prestigious awards for his accomplishments throughout his law enforcement career and has an extensive law enforcement network around the world. Mr. Maltz has been a spokesperson at Congress and on national media networks on a variety of national security topics. Mr. Maltz was also the lead spokesperson for the DEA for over 10 years on the “going dark” issues relating to advanced communications and encryption and was a member of the DOJ’s Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) briefing team on these complex issues impacting law enforcement and public safety.
SAC Maltz holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Syracuse University, is married, has three children and is part of a family of exceptional public service.
Mr. Maltz was the Special Agent in Charge of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Special Operations Division (SOD) for almost 10 years before he left the federal government. Mr. Maltz also previously held the position as the Chief of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, which is the oldest and largest drug task force in America.
As the Agent in Charge of SOD, SAC Maltz was instrumental in the growth of SOD from 9 to 30 participating agencies including personnel from the U.K., Canada, Australia and the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Mr. Maltz oversaw the operations of approximately 500 SOD personnel and was responsible for an annual budget of $100 million, while incorporating the DOJ’s priority International Organized Crime and Gang Operational programs into the center. Mr. Maltz played a vital leadership role in developing and implementing DOJ’s and Department of Homeland Security’s nationwide de-confliction program to better synchronize the criminal law enforcement efforts around the world. SOD was responsible for leading the coordination of the high-profile multi-agency efforts that resulted in the capture of Sinaloa Cartel Kingpin El Chapo Guzman. Mr. Maltz was also featured on CBS 60 Minutes, NBC and CNN in response to SOD’s role in the tremendous law enforcement success against the Sinaloa Cartel.
SAC Maltz formally established the Counter Narco-Terrorism Operations Center (CNTOC) in January 2007. Since its establishment, the CNTOC successfully coordinated several significant narco-terrorism operations, including the identification of the Lebanese Canadian Bank as a facilitator involved with an international trade-based money laundering scheme supporting Hezbollah, and a subsequent U.S. Treasury Patriot Act 311 action. This was the first time a 311 action was used in this manner in conjunction with law enforcement on a drug case. This unprecedented event ultimately led to a $150 million seizure as part of the Hezbollah drug and money laundering initiative named Project Cassandra. Mr. Maltz appeared several times on Fox News to discuss this well publicized and impactful enforcement action.
SAC Maltz also enhanced SOD’s Bi-Lateral Global Investigations Unit at SOD from 1-5 highly successful field enforcement groups. These proactive investigative groups demonstrated unparalleled success in targeting and prosecuting some of the highest level criminals in the world, such as the arrest and conviction of notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout; the arrest and conviction of arms trafficker and terrorist Monzer Al Kassar, alleged mastermind behind the Achille Lauro hijacking; the capture and conviction of Haji Juma Khan, reputedly Afghanistan’s biggest drug kingpin with ties to the Taliban and the leader of one of the largest drug trafficking organizations in the Central Asia Region; the capture and conviction of Afghan heroin kingpin Haji Bagcho; the arrest and conviction of Khan Mohammed on 21 USC 960a charges of narco-terrorism and the arrest and conviction of Global Transnational Criminal Paul Le Roux.
As a result of Mr. Maltz’ leadership, he received the Presidential Rank Award for his accomplishments. Mr. Maltz was also the recipient of numerous other prestigious awards for his accomplishments throughout his law enforcement career and has an extensive law enforcement network around the world. Mr. Maltz has been a spokesperson at Congress and on national media networks on a variety of national security topics. Mr. Maltz was also the lead spokesperson for the DEA for over 10 years on the “going dark” issues relating to advanced communications and encryption and was a member of the DOJ’s Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) briefing team on these complex issues impacting law enforcement and public safety.
SAC Maltz holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Syracuse University, is married, has three children and is part of a family of exceptional public service.
Mark Hall
I Entered On Duty, (EOD), with the U.S. Border Patrol in Yuma, Arizona in October of 1984. I attended the 167th session of the U.S. Border Patrol Academy in Glynco, Georgia.
In 1987, I transferred to the U.S. Border Patrol’s Detroit Station as a Journeyman Agent. While assigned to the Detroit Station, I worked various patrol operations. These assignments included, Highway Interdiction Team, Air Operations Helicopter Observer, Marine Operations Vessel Commander, DEA Task Force Agent, Public Information Officer, Prosecutions Agent and Recruiter. I promoted to a Supervisory Border Patrol Agent in 2003. In that position a supervised a shift of approximately 20 agents. I supervised the Station’s DISRUPT Unit (Anti-Smuggling) for approximately one year. We worked closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, (RCMP) in disrupting Transnational Criminal Organizations. I have worked extended law enforcement operational details in over 26 states, to include every state along the Mexican Border. I have been qualified as an expert witness in U.S. District Court. I served as a Public Information Officer. In the PIO position I appeared on several episodes of NatGeo’s Drugs Inc and Netflix series Dope.
During the several years I was assigned as a DEA TFA, I was co-case agent on a large-scale criminal investigation of as Transnational Criminal Organization with ties to Colombia, Mexico and the United States. The case involved 18 defendants, including State Correctional Officers, and State Social workers. After the two-year investigation, all 18 defendants accepted guilty pleas with sentences ranging from 1 year to life.
In 1999, I testified before the U.S. House of Representatives on Northern Border Law Enforcement Challenges combating illegal immigration, terrorism, and drug smuggling. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, I again highlighted Northern Border security concerns. The agency attempted to fire me, demote me, and restricted my duties. As a result, I testified before the U.S. Senate regarding security weaknesses along our Northern Border. Two independent investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel cleared me of any wrongdoing and granted me federal Whistleblower protection status.
In 2003 I assisted the U.S. Senate as a technical advisor on the creation of the new department, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In my career with the U.S. Border Patrol, I served as Acting Deputy Patrol Agent In-Charge, Acting Patrol Agent In Charge and retired in 2018 from the position of Border Patrol Watch Commander. In 2019, I was re-hired by the Border Patrol as a “Re-Hired Annuitant” serving as the Detroit Sector’s Recruiting Coordinator. I retired from the Border Patrol the second time this past February. I currently work in corporate security as a CSO in Detroit.
In 1987, I transferred to the U.S. Border Patrol’s Detroit Station as a Journeyman Agent. While assigned to the Detroit Station, I worked various patrol operations. These assignments included, Highway Interdiction Team, Air Operations Helicopter Observer, Marine Operations Vessel Commander, DEA Task Force Agent, Public Information Officer, Prosecutions Agent and Recruiter. I promoted to a Supervisory Border Patrol Agent in 2003. In that position a supervised a shift of approximately 20 agents. I supervised the Station’s DISRUPT Unit (Anti-Smuggling) for approximately one year. We worked closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, (RCMP) in disrupting Transnational Criminal Organizations. I have worked extended law enforcement operational details in over 26 states, to include every state along the Mexican Border. I have been qualified as an expert witness in U.S. District Court. I served as a Public Information Officer. In the PIO position I appeared on several episodes of NatGeo’s Drugs Inc and Netflix series Dope.
During the several years I was assigned as a DEA TFA, I was co-case agent on a large-scale criminal investigation of as Transnational Criminal Organization with ties to Colombia, Mexico and the United States. The case involved 18 defendants, including State Correctional Officers, and State Social workers. After the two-year investigation, all 18 defendants accepted guilty pleas with sentences ranging from 1 year to life.
In 1999, I testified before the U.S. House of Representatives on Northern Border Law Enforcement Challenges combating illegal immigration, terrorism, and drug smuggling. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, I again highlighted Northern Border security concerns. The agency attempted to fire me, demote me, and restricted my duties. As a result, I testified before the U.S. Senate regarding security weaknesses along our Northern Border. Two independent investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel cleared me of any wrongdoing and granted me federal Whistleblower protection status.
In 2003 I assisted the U.S. Senate as a technical advisor on the creation of the new department, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In my career with the U.S. Border Patrol, I served as Acting Deputy Patrol Agent In-Charge, Acting Patrol Agent In Charge and retired in 2018 from the position of Border Patrol Watch Commander. In 2019, I was re-hired by the Border Patrol as a “Re-Hired Annuitant” serving as the Detroit Sector’s Recruiting Coordinator. I retired from the Border Patrol the second time this past February. I currently work in corporate security as a CSO in Detroit.
Robert Almonte
Robert was appointed by President Barack Obama as the United States Marshal for the Western District of Texas in 2010 where he served for six years until 2016. Under his leadership, the Western District of Texas was one of the top Districts in the United States Marshals Service in arrests of dangerous fugitives. He had previously retired from the El Paso, Texas Police Department after 25 years and retired as a Deputy Chief. As the Deputy Chief, Robert oversaw the Major Crimes Bureau, which included the Homicide Unit, Crimes Against Persons Unit, Crimes Against Children Unit, Crime Scene Unit, as well as the gang and narcotics units.
Robert is recognized as an expert on Mexican Cartels and has been interviewed by “Good Morning America”, Fox and Friends, Jesse Watters Primetime Fox, The New York Post, as well as International News Outlets regarding the Mexican Cartels. Robert continues to conduct extensive research on the Mexican Cartels by going into Mexico and conducting ride-alongs on the border. He has traveled extensively throughout the United States training law enforcement officers on narcotics investigations. Robert has consulted for several prosecutors and law enforcement agencies regarding Mexican Cartel and Gang-related homicides in the United States.
Robert Almonte has been qualified as an expert witness in federal and state court and has testified regarding Santa Muerte and other “patron saints” related to criminal activities.
He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Park University.
Robert is recognized as an expert on Mexican Cartels and has been interviewed by “Good Morning America”, Fox and Friends, Jesse Watters Primetime Fox, The New York Post, as well as International News Outlets regarding the Mexican Cartels. Robert continues to conduct extensive research on the Mexican Cartels by going into Mexico and conducting ride-alongs on the border. He has traveled extensively throughout the United States training law enforcement officers on narcotics investigations. Robert has consulted for several prosecutors and law enforcement agencies regarding Mexican Cartel and Gang-related homicides in the United States.
Robert Almonte has been qualified as an expert witness in federal and state court and has testified regarding Santa Muerte and other “patron saints” related to criminal activities.
He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Park University.