News Release [printer friendly page]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 27, 2004

DEA Survivors Benefit Fund Supports Families of Our Heroes with Scholarships and Grants

Left to right: Dr. Sam Torres, Mrs. Margie Montoya, Mr. John Montoya, SAC Steve Delgado and DEASBF Board Member Brian Wammack.

Los Angeles, CA- On August 25, 2004, on behalf of the DEA Survivors Benefit Fund, Special Agent in Charge Steve Delgado of the Los Angeles Field Division presented a check for $25,000 to the California State University Long Beach School of Criminal Justice. The endowment was presented to the DEA Special Agent George Montoya Scholarship Fund. The check was accepted by Special Agent Montoya’s parents, John and Margie, and Dr. Samuel Torres, Chairman of the Criminal Justice Program.

The funds will be used to help qualified criminal justice students in need of financial assistance to pursue a criminal justice degree. California State Long Beach is the alma mater of Special Agent Montoya who graduated in 1976. S/A Montoya was killed in the line of duty on February 5th, 1988 while conducting an undercover operation in Los Angeles. In addition to the George Montoya Scholarship, the DEA Survivors Benefit Fund has provided financial assistance to scholarship funds in the name of Special Agents Rick Finley, Meredith Thompson, Becky Dwojeski and Frank Wallace.

To date, the DEA survivors Benefit Fund has expended over $857,000 on behalf of DEA employees worldwide to support the memory of our employees killed in the line of duty, provide line of duty death benefits within 24 hours and provide higher education assistance to the family members of those employees killed in the line of duty. In addition to supporting college scholarships, the DEA Survivors Benefit Fund has also been able to provide substantial education assistance to the children of Special Agents William Ramos, Enrique Camarena, Everett Hatcher, Alan Winn and Richard Fass. At the present time, there are thirty-one (31) children of employees killed in the line who will potentially be in need of educational assistance in the future. The DEA Survivors Benefit Fund, on behalf of DEA employees, has committed to provide any needed educational assistance to these children. Some of these children are only one year old and won’t enter college until 2021. With the generous support of DEA employees, the Survivors Benefit Fund will assure that our heroes and their families are “Never to be Forgotten.”