Tracing their Belturbet roots were Eugene, Cecelia and Rita Fitzpatrick pictured in Belturbet with Brendan Fay..JPG

FBI agents investigate Belturbet roots

Tracing ancestral roots can present a protracted investigation, but if anyone's up to the task it’s the Fitzpatrick sisters with their FBI background.

The New York-based Fitzpatrick sisters, one a current FBI agent, the other a retired agent, were in Belturbet together with their brother Eugene last week in quest of their ancestral roots.
Rita has retired from the agency, while her sister Cecelia has one more year to serve.
The Fitzpatricks have a few solid clues in their background checks. Their great-grandfather was Thomas Fitzpatrick who was born in the Belturbet area around 1854 to Patrick Fitzpatrick and Rose Leddy.
Thomas emigrated to New York in 1878 and four years later he married Ellen Drumm who had only arrived in the Big Apple. Thomas Fitzpatrick worked in marble, and three of his sons followed in the trade - they did the breathtaking marble flooring in the Rockefeller Centre and other landmark New York buildings.
Thomas's wife Ellen was born around 1856 in Enniskillen to James Drumm and Kate - the couple had two other children, who they named after themseles, and who also travelled to America with Ellen.
If any readers have any information about these emmigrants, please drop the information into Brendan Fay Widow’s Bar in Belturbet or email widowsbar@yahoo.ie.
 

Dangerous

Rita became an FBI Agent in 1980 and she was then the 365th woman hired by the FBI and worked as an agent for 25 years, up until 2005.
“I was assigned to New York City and worked mostly on organised crime and most of my work involved the Gambino family, and I met a lot of mobsters. I had a wonderful career and met a lot of great people,” Rita enthused.
Prior to joining the FBI Rita was a Kindergarden teacher, and she laughed when it was suggested that it was a big change to dealing with the mob.
Asked if it was very dangerous work, Rita Fitzpatrick explained that arrests are well planned in advance:
“You go out with an army of people,” she said.
“I would arrest organised crime figures and normally you would knock on their door at 5am in the morning and wake them up – they are kind of expecting you, so they are often very friendly. They don’t ever want you to see them sweat, they want to be cool 100pc of the time, so they will invite you in and make you a cup of coffee,” said Rita.
Did Rita ever learn what motivates mobsters to live such a life?
“One of the mobsters who ended up co-operating, Vincent ‘The Fish’ Cafaro, I asked him one time. I said, 'Fish, you have a ton of money and you have never left your Bronx neighbourhood – why don’t you travel the world and go to Paris?'
“He said, 'When I walk down the street in Paris, nobody knows who I am'. That’s what it’s all about, the respect and the ego.”
She agreed that it was a mixture of fear and respect.
“They are absolutely into the sale of drugs, anything to make money... they are into everything.”
“Since I’ve retired 12 years ago, the Russian mob were becoming more of a problem, than the Italian mob, because they are the most recent immigrants. T
“he recent immigrants are the ones that are really hungry – the ones that come from poverty can be very vicious,” said Rita.
Rita says she still misses the career, but they have a very active society of former FBI Agents.
“We are in contact with each other all the time and have regular conventions around the country”.
 

Proud

Her sister Cecelia who is one of 1,000 FBI agents active in the New York division, and has been working as a special agent for almost 27 years - carrying on the family tradition as their father Eugene was also a member of the FBI up to his retirement in 1978.
Cecelia has worked mostly in the Manhattan area and is also a member of a taskforce which works alongside the police. She has also worked in the investment fraud section, including the so-called Wolf of Wall Street case made famous by the Oscar award winning film.   
She is looking forward to her mandatory retirement next year.
“I have worked hard and many long hours, and I’m proud of what I’ve done. I’m looking forward to not doing that anymore!”
Their brother Eugene worked in the postal service for over 43 years, doing maintenance firstly in Tallman and then in the mail processing centre in Monsphy. This was Eugene’s second time in Ireland and he’s enjoying the search for his heritage.