INTERVIEW
Chasing
the Money:
Celebrating 25 years of Homeland Security
Investigations El Dorado Task Force
A
midst the legions of buildings in Midtown Manhattan, New York City,
sits an expansive, nondescript, yet historic redbrick building. From the
outside, one would never guess that the 30 different agencies operating
within the building comprise the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El
Dorado Task Force (EDTF). HSI EDTF has been crime fighting for the last 25
years. They have cracked some notorious cases and brought down some infa-
mous criminals. This year commemorates 25 years of fighting crime and many
successes. ACAMS Today was fortunate enough to spend the day with HSI
EDTF and to catch a glimpse of their fascinating crime-fighting world. What
follows is a transcript of recollections, impressions and interviews from my day
with what I consider some of the real heroes of New York City.
As we approached the building in his vehi-
cle, Erik Rosenblatt, HSI EDTF’s assistant
special agent in charge, pointed out that
the parking level where we drove up was
used in 2001 as the U.S. government’s
World Trade Center central command after
the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The building
covers an entire city block and back then
there were not a lot of neighbors in the
neighborhood. Things have definitely
changed since then. Now, storefronts for
numerous famous designers and brands
such as Ralph Lauren and Martha Stewart
line the block.
When we entered the building, I quickly
realized how huge an entire New York City
block really is. As we walked into the HSI
EDTF headquarters, Erik told me, “Well,
the first thing we need to do is get you a
pass.” We approached what I imagine was
a bulletproof window and I was asked to
turn over my driver’s license. By the way, it
did not matter that the person in charge of
the HSI EDTF was standing right next to
me; the gentleman at the window looked at
my driver’s license picture to make sure I
was the same person standing in front of
him. He then filed my driver’s license and
slipped my pass through the glass compart-
ment. I was now an official guest of the HSI
EDTF.
Erik Rosenblatt, HSI EDTF assistant special agent in charge
40
ACAMS TODAY | SEPTEMBER–NOVEMBER 2017 | ACAMS.ORG | ACAMSTODAY.ORG
As the tour continued, Erik pointed to dif-
ferent hallways and explained where each
one led. We went around a corner and