Our speaker today was Joe Vertone, Joe is a 24 year veteran and currently assigned to a Federal task force with the DEA.  Joe talked about his work disrupting drug availability in Chicago and suburbs and how the task force operates with suburban, state and federal officials.
 
 
Our speaker today was Joe Vertone, Joe is a 24 year veteran and currently assigned to a Federal task force with the DEA.  Joe talked about his work disrupting drug availability in Chicago and suburbs and how the task force operates with suburban, state and federal officials.
 
Joe is a Mount Prospect native and was among the first officers hired by the Prospect Heights Police Department.  He excels in teaching, having worked with both children (as "Officer Friendly") and adults through various workshops through Western Illinois University.  In addition to his DEA work, he is also a member of the area's MCAT - Major Case Assistance Team.  The MCAT is comprised of officers from thirty communities who cooperate and work together when major (and thankfully rare) crimes happen and the local department doesn't have the expertise or resources to investigate it. 
 
The DEA task force Joe works with is similar in nature - representatives from area departments work with federal agents on drug crimes.  Over the years, the focus of the task force has shifted from seizing drugs to seizing actual cash and prosecuting those who launder the money.  It involves lots of travel - some agents spend lots of time overseas - and undercover work.  Joe often works making drug purchases and money deals as well as listening to phone taps and wires 
 
For each seizure of cash Joe's task force makes, the Prospect Heights Police Department receives a share of the proceeds. To date, the City's participation in the program over the past eight years has resulted in nearly six million dollars coming into the department's coffers. 
 
Prospect Heights receives a percentage of the cash seized through Joe's work