Agent Responsible for MS-13 Bust Among Law Enforcement Awards Finalists

The winners of the 17th annual Service to America Medals (commonly known as “the Sammies”) have been announced by the Partnership for Public Service, with the organization slated to recognize eight “standout federal employees” selected from the 28 announced finalists. 

Winners include Dr. Daniel Kastner, a geneticist at the National Institutes of Health, who is said to have “uncovered the genetic causes of seven rare, debilitating illnesses he categorized as auto inflammatory diseases, alleviating suffering for thousands of patients in the United States and around the world.” Dr. Kastner will receive the top honor during the ceremony, being recognized as Federal Employee of the Year.

Also included among the finalists are several members of the federal law enforcement community, including Jeffrey Elliot Wood, Jr. of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who was selected for his involvement in busting a Boston chapter of the violent MS-13 gang.

“After a dramatic and sometimes harrowing three-year undercover investigation led by FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jeffrey Wood, a federal, state and local law enforcement task force in 2016 made 61 arrests in the largest takedown of MS-13 gang members in the United States,” according to the Service to America Medals website. “As of April 2018, 43 of those arrested, including key leaders, either plead guilty or were convicted at trial.”
Also being honored are Karen D. Dodge and Margaret Moeser, as well as their legal teams. Moeser and Dodge are attorneys for the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, respectively, and are credited with securing a decision from Western Union to forfeit $586 million “after admitting to federal authorities that it turned a blind eye as criminals used its service to defraud hundreds of thousands of consumers worldwide” and to “make the forfeited money available to reimburse fraud victims.”

The winners of the Service to America Medals will be recognized at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. that will also include a “fireside chat” featuring author Michael Lewis and Amazon.com CEO and founder Jeff Bezos, who will also be recognized with the newly-created “Spirit of Service Award,” which the Partnership says will henceforth “go to individuals outside of government who make a key contribution to public service.”