FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACTS: October 01, 2007 Office of Public Affairs (202) 307-9065   U.S. MARSHALS’ HEROES HONORED AT ATTORNEY GENERAL’S CEREMONY   Washington, DC – At a ceremony tomorrow in Washington, DC’s “Constitution Hall,” nine U.S. Marshals employees will be honored for achievements ranging from apprehending a criminal during a violent shootout in Michigan, to streamlining an international network that returns hundreds of U.S. fugitives who fled abroad to avoid prosecution. “In recent years, U.S. Marshals have been tasked with additional law enforcement responsibilities that have showcased the courage, leadership, and determination of its workforce,” says agency Director John F. Clark. “The nine individuals honored tomorrow by Acting Attorney General Peter D. Keisler achieved some of the most notable of these accomplishments.” One vastly increased Marshals mission is apprehending violent criminals sought by federal, state and local authorities. In 2006, Deputy Russell Tithof, from the Marshals’ district office in Northern Michigan, was shot twice in the chest as he helped save the lives of a mother and her children in a fugitive hostage situation. Deputy Tithof is one of the honorees at the Attorney General’s Annual Awards Ceremony. Senior Inspectors Julie Shealey, Sean Fahey, Irving Brandt, and Mark Shealey are being recognized as key members of the International Fugitive Extradition Team, which is part of the agency’s Investigative Services Division. Last year, the Team established a new record for locating and extraditing criminals, drug cartel dealers, and terrorists who had fled the U.S. Other honorees include David Dimmitt, Karen Simons, and David Harlow -- three leaders of the Marshals’ successful “OPERATION FALCON” domestic fugitive roundups in 2006, and an employee who has worked in the agency’s famed Witness Security program for 33 years.