Shoshanna Utchenik

Former FBI agent Norbert Dembinski served under J. Edgar Hoover from 1950-53, and conducted interviews in Russian and Polish.

At a recent ceremony honoring his service he recalled, “It seems I was always at the right place at the right time.”

W. Al Bostdorff, President of the Society of Former Special Agents presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Dembinski last month, at a luncheon at St. Mary’s Villa Residence in Elmhurst, PA, reports the Moscow Villager.

The former agent remembered meeting Hoover and receiving a letter of congratulations when he got married. Dembinski recalled that Hoover “was deeply concerned about the welfare of every agent in the Bureau. He did everything possible to make our lives more comfortable. The FBI was one of the most wonderful organizations to work for.”

Dembinski has been a member of the Society of Former Special Agents for 58 years.

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Shoshanna Utchenik

Bank robber Charles Estell, 38, of Illinois, spent the night trapped in a duct before police cut him free and arrested him, reports CBS News.

Estell must have watched all the right movies to help plan his weekend bank heist. Problem is, he was more Charlie Chaplin than Sean Connery in his execution.

The FBI alleges that Estell dropped into the suburban Chicago bank through the roof Saturday by cutting through 6 inches of concrete, says CBS. He then tied up bank employees at gun point, and stuffed his backpack with 100,000 bucks.

He then ran to a roof of a neighboring office building, broke a window and cut his hand. Investigators spent hours looking for the aspiring 007, who  left  trail drops of blood.

The thief, wearing a wig of dreadlocks, had stuffed himself into a tight duct and become immobilized.

Michael Kaufmann, division chief of the Oak Lawn Police, notes Estell was lucky to get caught, “because if they’d never found him, he could’ve died in there.”

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Shoshanna Utchenik

The U.S.  feds met with Italian law enforcement counterparts in Italy last week to make sure everyone was on the same page on organized crime.

The summit gave the FBI and several federal prosecutors from the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s office a chance to connect the dots with Italian officials on current investigations and operational matters, reports the NY Daily News.

All five New York crime families maintain ties to the old country, but the Gambinos are the most actively linked. Italian police were essential to the 2008 takedown of 62 Gambino members. They also played an important part in the 2011 roundup of more than 100 mobsters in the U.S., says the Daily News.

The NY Feds took the opportunity while abroad to attend Italian Judge Giovanni Falcone’s anniversary memorial service. Falcone was assassinated 20 years ago by a roadside bomb planted by the mob.

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