TO:  ALL ICE EMPLOYEES

FROM:  OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

ICE BROADCAST ANNOUNCEMENT

AUG. 9, 2005

Passing of Bonni Tischler

It is with deep regret and sadness that I must inform you that Bonni Tischler succumbed to complications arising from her long battle with cancer this morning.  Bonni was a prominent and respected leader in law enforcement.  While the highlights of her career were remarkable in their own right, she will be best remembered for her pioneering spirit that opened the doors for all women working in federal law enforcement - including mine.

Early in her 30-year career in Customs, she served as a Sky Marshal, Special Agent, Financial Investigations Branch Chief, and Special Assistant to the Assistant Commissioner for Enforcement.  Later, she became the Director for Financial Investigations Division and then was selected as the Director of the Smuggling Investigations Division, as her former division was reorganized into her new assignment.  In 1987, Bonni was selected for the position of Special Agent in Charge for North Florida (Tampa) and, in 1995, became the Special Agent in Charge for South Florida (Miami).  In 1997, she became the first woman to serve as Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Investigations.  In 2000, she was appointed to the position of Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Field Operations.  Beyond her professional achievements, Bonni will be fondly remembered for the qualities she exhibited as a person:  intellect, humor, drive and her undeniable ability to move an organization forward.

In sum, Bonni could be best characterized by her favorite words, as written by Robert Frost in his poem, “The Road Less Traveled”:

“I shall be telling this with a sigh,
somewhere, ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

Please remember Bonni and her surviving family in your thoughts and prayers.

Marcy M. Forman
Director
Office of Investigations