Lieutenant John C. Fitzpatrick, MEM
State Environmental Conservation Officer – Assigned to New York City
Died on May 7, 2014
The NYS DEC Division of Law Enforcement lost one of their brightest and most dedicated this May.
Lieutenant John C. Fitzpatrick graduated the DLE’s Basic Academy in 1996 and served for the past seventeen years in New York’s Region 2, which encompasses New York City. He served as a uniformed officer, an Investigator, a Uniformed Lieutenant, and finally as an Investigative Lieutenant for the past four years. He was considered to be the Department’s foremost expert on the illegal endangered species trade and has made a myriad of important cases in significant environmental crimes and wildlife trafficking.
His particular passion was the black market elephant ivory trade and he recently concluded a successful investigation and prosecution of several prominent retail stores in Manhattan’s swanky Fifth Avenue district. One case involved the seizure of over 2,000 pounds of ivory worth 2.4 million dollars. These investigations highlighted New York City’s significant role in the world’s illegal elephant ivory trade. As a result, John was asked to testify before the NY State Assembly in January where he outlined loopholes in state law governing ivory sales and suggested improvements to cut down on the illegal trade. (information on that piece can be found by clicking this link). Due in part to John’s work and subsequent testimony New York is contemplating upgrading penalties for violating wildlife crimes and rewriting their ivory regulations to further restrict the sale of elephant ivory.
John was known among his many friends and colleagues as a brilliant, utterly dedicated and skillful investigator, as well as an inveterate prankster and wonderful friend. The loss of his expertise, enthusiasm, and experience will be felt by the Department for years to come. John is survived by his loving wife Elizabeth and their 3-month old daughter, Danielle, who was the light of his life and the first person who could distract him from the passion that was his career.
