Rotary Log: January 10, 2013 (private eye)

Happy Birthday!  Portsmouth Rotary club is 90 years old this year, announced Cliff Taylor, and to celebrate our birthday, we will have a dinner dance on March 28, 2013.  Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information later.

Aileen Dugan has been elected to the Finance Committee for our Rotary District for a three year term.  Thank you, Aileen, for your service, past, present and future!

Janice Ream sponsored our club's newest member, Barbara Miller.  Barbara was a member from 2007 to 2009 and is re-joining after being out of state for the past few years.  Barbara is in charge of business development at Centrix Bank.  Welcome Barbara!

The Rotary Auction is set for February 21 and Joanie is in need of five items with a value in excess of $1000 each, and 50 to 60 silent auction items, in addition to table sponsorships.  Please see Joanie for more details.  Johnnie would also like you to bring in six packs of Orange crush because the high school kids are raising money for Valentine's Day and they want to use the cans of Orange crush as a fundraiser.

The Salvation Army needs you!  Volunteers are needed between to serve dinners on middle Street.  The 2013 dates for the soup kitchen are: Jan 30, Feb 25, April 29, June 5, Sept 17 and Oct 22. Contact Sara at: saratreacy@comcast.net

THE PROGRAM

One of the more interesting programs we have had was hearing from private investigator, Thomas P. Shamshak.  Ted Alex, as part of the search for his son, found Tom.  Tom check took a real interest in the search for Jeremy Alex and he and Ted became good friends in the process.

Mr. Shamshak has been part of the investigative and security fields for thirty four years. He was a law enforcement professional for twenty one years, serving as a Police Chief in two municipal police departments for nine years. Since 1999, he has been operating his own private investigation and security consulting business. Given his many years of professional experience, Mr. Shamshak has developed a vast network of public and private investigative and security contacts throughout the nation and the world.


During his law enforcement career, Mr. Shamshak served as a sworn officer in three police departments. He began his career in 1978, in the city of his birthplace, Somerville, Massachusetts. He was a member of the Somerville Police Department for twelve years. As a member of the SPD, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant, and served as Night Patrol Commander for two years. While holding the rank of Sergeant, he served as Supervisor of the Night Detective Unit for four years. He also acquired experience as the Director of the Somerville Police Academy. In 1990, he left Somerville to become Police Chief in the Town of Spencer, Massachusetts. He was Chief of the Spencer Police Department for five years. In 1995, he was appointed Police Chief in the Town of Winthrop, Massachusetts. He served as Chief of the Winthrop Police Department for four years, and during his tenure, the agency attained national recognition for leadership in crime prevention and community policing initiatives.

Mr. Shamshak is a graduate of Suffolk University. In 1976, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology. In 1980, he earned a Master of Science degree at the Graduate School of Criminal Justice, at Northeastern University. In the early 1980s, he matriculated at Boston College as a sociology doctoral student.

Mr. Shamshak received his basic police recruit training at the Boston Police Academy. He graduated at the top of his recruit class, and served as class president. During his career, he attended a variety of specialized law enforcement and professional development training programs. He received specialized training in the areas of crime prevention, crime scene investigation, domestic violence, homicide investigation, interviewing and interrogation techniques, internal affairs investigation, law enforcement instructor development, organized crime, sexual assault investigation, and white collar crime, to mention but a few. Also, he attended the Command Training Program at the New England Institute of Law Enforcement Management, and the Law Enforcement Executive Development Program, conducted by the Fede ral Bureau of Investigation. In addition, he has attended specialized and executive training programs conducted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Police Executive Research Forum.

Mr. Shamshak has taught criminal justice courses at Middlesex Community College, in Bedford, MA, and at Anna Maria College, in Paxton, MA. He has taught Criminal Investigation, Interpersonal Communication, Patrol Operations, and Public Administration. As a graduate teaching assistant at Boston College, he taught Criminology and Juvenile Delinquency. He has been a guest lecturer at Suffolk University Law School. He has lectured on the subject of investigative techniques used by law enforcement personnel and criminal defense investigators.

Since 1980, Mr. Shamshak has served as a Police Trainer for numerous police agencies, and he is the Program Director and Lead Instructor of the BU Certificate in Professional Investigation. (www.bu.edu/professional) Mr. Shamshak teaches PI 101- Foundations of Professional Investigation, and PI 104-Investigative Interviewing.
Mr. Shamshak maintains a strong affiliation with law enforcement. He is a Life Member of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association.

Mr. Shamshak is affiliated with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. (www.missingkids.com) He is a Project ALERT representative. NCMEC Project ALERT representatives are available to assist local police agencies in need of- Immediate Assistance, Long-Term Case Review, Surveillance, Witness Interviews, A Family Liaison, and A Public Speaker. Mr. Shamshak is the Public Safety Consultant for the Molly Bish Lifeguard Foundation. (www.MollyBish.org)

Mr. Shamshak is affiliated with a number of professional investigator organizations. He is a past president of the Licensed Private Detectives Association of Massachusetts.

As police chief of the town of Spencer, Massachusetts, and Jim check ran across a gentleman named John Bish.  Years later, when John’s daughter Molly went missing at Kingston State Park, the two joined forces to try and locate Molly.  Molly's father stressed that she was not a runaway.  The difficulty with a search for missing people is that many times they are missing by choice and, as such, no crime has been committed.  If no crime appears to have been committed, police resources cannot be used.  Molly's remains were found in 2003 and the investigation into her death continues.

Recognizing this limitation on law enforcement, and recognizing the lack of resources available to someone who has a missing person, Tom decided to act.  While he was president of the Licensed Private Detective Association of Massachusetts, Tom tried to unite private investigators to be a resource for individuals suffering the pain of a lost loved one.  The private investigators responded enthusiastically and formed an organization hat seeks to put individuals with teams of private investigators so that missing persons cases can be finally resolved.  Time, he pointed out, is actually a good thing.  Witnesses who may have been reluctant to talk before, may be willing to talk after thinking about it.  Additionally, DNA evidence has also gotten much better than over the last few years.

Ted Alex was so impressed with Tom's professionalism and dedication to the truth, that had ended the program with the presentation of a Paul Harris Fellowship to P I Shamshak.  Thank you Ted.  Tom seems most worthy of the honor.