Francisco “Frank” Gonzalez
U.S. Army Weapons Instructor
80th Ordinance Corp.
Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD. 1959-1961
U.S. Army Weapons Instructor
80th Ordinance Corp.
Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD. 1959-1961
Frank Gonzalez was born on December 31, 1941 in Puerto Rico. Frank spent his summers in New York City with his grandmother, grandfather and uncles. Frank came from a big family that moved to the Manhattan area from Puerto Rico. At the age of 15 Frank and his family moved to New York City and lived on 103rd St and Madison Ave in Manhattan. Money was always tight, and Frank shined shoes and sold fruit to make extra money which he dutifully turned over to his Grandmother. Every Sunday the entire extended family gathered at his grandmothers for Sunday dinner.
Frank came from a family of military service. His father and 15 of his relatives served in the U.S. Military. Frank left Harren High School early and enlisted in the Army. At the encouragement of the Army, he earned his GED before he entered the military. He was inducted at Whitehall Street in lower Manhattan and went through basic training at Fort Dix in New Jersey. Frank recalls basic training as being hard, but he had prepared for it. “We learned to work as a unit and help each other out.” After basic training and Advanced Individual Training Frank was assigned to the 80th Ordinance Corp in Aberdeen, MD. This unit was developing new weapons. Gonzo, as his friends called him, was a weapons instructor teaching new Lieutenants how to use the various weapons.
Two years into his 6 year enlistment Frank recalls his unit being required to camp outside despite the temperature registering near zero degrees. The Officer-in-Charge would not permit the men to build fires to keep warm. 52 of the soldiers were sent to the hospital for hypothermia. Initially, Frank did not go to the hospital but several days later he tried to get up from a chair and found he couldn’t move. Frank was sent to the hospital and then transferred to Walter Reed. Frank was very physically fit and could run five miles without much effort but now he found himself winded after just a few steps. Frank was honorably discharged before his enlistment was up.
Frank enrolled in City College of New York (CCNY) studying Criminal Justice. Frank also needed to find a job. With a little help from his uncle and his veteran’s status, he landed a job as a New York City Postal Worker. His first assignment was to go to Brooklyn with a letter that required the recipient’s signature. He knocked on the door and a very scantily clad women answered the door and asked for help changing a light bulb. Frank was convinced this was a test, and he was being setup by his supervisors. He quickly got the signature, and he headed back to the post office. He relayed his experience and learned it wasn’t a set up. Soon, Frank had his own postal route and delivered mail during the day and went to CCNY in the evenings.
Frank’s boss was a Marine and he was looking for someone for a special assignment. He noticed Frank’s uniform was always looking sharp and his shoes were aways shined and he thought Frank wouldn’t embarrass him. He called Frank into his office. “There is a Postal unit looking for someone to help them with drugs coming into the United States. Go over and see them.” Frank went to see his new boss. Frank was told that the Postal Service has been intercepting packages with drugs, and they wanted him to take one of these packages to the address and hand deliver it. The plan was, when Frank handed the package to the recipient, the armed members of the Postal Service would move in and make an arrest.
On Frank’s first day he took the package to the door and knocked. A man answered the door and rather than simply hand him the package, Frank engaged the man in conversation gathering valuable information. Having exhausted his small-talk Frank handed him the package and headed back to his truck. He regrouped with the other postal inspectors who thought Frank had handled the entire situation far better than they had hoped. They told Frank, “now wait ten minutes, go back, knock on the door and tell him he forgot to sign for the package.”
Frank knocked on the door but the man inside wouldn’t open the door. Frank yelled through the door, “You forgot to sign and if you don’t sign it now, someone else will be back tomorrow.” Slowly the door opens, Frank steps out of the way and the postal agent’s storm through the door. The operation was a big success and they offered Frank a position in the newly formed unit dedicated to the Postal Inspection Group. Frank took the position and headed to Oklahoma for six months of training.
Frank performed well and advanced to the rank of Lieutenant. In 1973 Frank was offered a position as a plain cloth’s detective for the US Postal Police which he accepted. Frank worked out of The Bronx and he recalled making numerous arrests. An opportunity arose for Frank to take an undercover assignment in his native Puerto Rico. There was an organized crime ring using phony drivers’ licenses, obtained from someone inside the DMV, to cash fraudulent money orders at the post office. Nine local police officers working on the case were killed but a big break came in the case when they arrested someone who was willing to talk. Once the postal authorities converted him into an informant, the informant introduced Frank as his cousin from New York. Frank made himself liked and was offered a job as a driver. “I was scared shitless. I was living with these people.”
After four months the time came to make arrests and that included Frank as a member of the group. The police made the arrests and put Frank in jail. Shortly after he was arrested “two guys in suits carrying my photo” came into the jail, cuffed him and led him from the cell to another room where they returned his badge and gun and escorted him to a US Air Force plane waiting at the airport. “An hour and fifteen minutes later I was at Fort Dix.” Left in 1977.
Along the way Frank finished his degree at John Jay College and he ran into a “gorgeous girl in a yellow outfit” named Sylvia Ramos. One day Frank said, “Hey you, come over here.” Sylvia came over to talk to Frank and told him, ‘you’re an obnoxious man and don’t talk that way to me again’. 47 years later they are still happily married with three sons. Two served in the Army and one is a sniper in the New York City Police Force.
In another undercover operation Frank formed a team with members from Homeland Security, the FBI and the IRS. Over the course of 5 years the team gathered information on a company run by the Irish mob that had contracts with the Port Authority of NY to install equipment. The company was smuggling Hispanic workers into the country and placing them in jobs where the group would receive $55/hour but they would only pay the workers $8/hr. The Hispanics were illegal aliens with no training, no path to citizenship, no benefits, no maximum work hours and they worked seven days a week. The illegal labor ring came to light when the equipment installed started to fail at an alarming rate because the workers performing the installation had no training.
Frank and his team would follow the workers home and attempt to question them. The workers were initially reluctant to speak with Frank’s team because of their illegal status and their families back in their native country were counting on the money they sent. It took some time for them to develop a relationship, trust and convince them they would not be deported. Eventually they had enough evidence and arrests were made and convictions obtained. Frank said the government was able to take the personal residences of the men convicted along with their money and a hotel owned by one of them.
Frank recalled sitting in his car on the Westside Highway in Manhattan when the second plane flew into The World Trade Center. Frank was able to get out of Manhattan and get home to call a high-ranking military member he knew in Albany. He told Frank to get to Ground Zero ASAP. When he reached Ground Zero, he and another man pulled a woman in her 60’s from the rubble. After a while Frank was sent to help at the Armory in Queens to organize personnel for assignment to various areas of New York City. He was sent back to Ground Zero and then to the Armory in Brooklyn where he organized the distribution of gas to police and military vehicles.
Frank retired on September 30, 2019, after almost 50 years with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Marshal Service and the Port Authority Police. Today Frank and Sylvia devoted their time to their church and spend time with their three sons.
Frank believes that many of the strong relationships he developed throughout his career were important and helped him advance through the ranks.
Thank you, Frank, for your service to your country and your long career in law enforcement. The Big Apple was a safe place when Gonzo was on the beat.
Frank came from a family of military service. His father and 15 of his relatives served in the U.S. Military. Frank left Harren High School early and enlisted in the Army. At the encouragement of the Army, he earned his GED before he entered the military. He was inducted at Whitehall Street in lower Manhattan and went through basic training at Fort Dix in New Jersey. Frank recalls basic training as being hard, but he had prepared for it. “We learned to work as a unit and help each other out.” After basic training and Advanced Individual Training Frank was assigned to the 80th Ordinance Corp in Aberdeen, MD. This unit was developing new weapons. Gonzo, as his friends called him, was a weapons instructor teaching new Lieutenants how to use the various weapons.
Two years into his 6 year enlistment Frank recalls his unit being required to camp outside despite the temperature registering near zero degrees. The Officer-in-Charge would not permit the men to build fires to keep warm. 52 of the soldiers were sent to the hospital for hypothermia. Initially, Frank did not go to the hospital but several days later he tried to get up from a chair and found he couldn’t move. Frank was sent to the hospital and then transferred to Walter Reed. Frank was very physically fit and could run five miles without much effort but now he found himself winded after just a few steps. Frank was honorably discharged before his enlistment was up.
Frank enrolled in City College of New York (CCNY) studying Criminal Justice. Frank also needed to find a job. With a little help from his uncle and his veteran’s status, he landed a job as a New York City Postal Worker. His first assignment was to go to Brooklyn with a letter that required the recipient’s signature. He knocked on the door and a very scantily clad women answered the door and asked for help changing a light bulb. Frank was convinced this was a test, and he was being setup by his supervisors. He quickly got the signature, and he headed back to the post office. He relayed his experience and learned it wasn’t a set up. Soon, Frank had his own postal route and delivered mail during the day and went to CCNY in the evenings.
Frank’s boss was a Marine and he was looking for someone for a special assignment. He noticed Frank’s uniform was always looking sharp and his shoes were aways shined and he thought Frank wouldn’t embarrass him. He called Frank into his office. “There is a Postal unit looking for someone to help them with drugs coming into the United States. Go over and see them.” Frank went to see his new boss. Frank was told that the Postal Service has been intercepting packages with drugs, and they wanted him to take one of these packages to the address and hand deliver it. The plan was, when Frank handed the package to the recipient, the armed members of the Postal Service would move in and make an arrest.
On Frank’s first day he took the package to the door and knocked. A man answered the door and rather than simply hand him the package, Frank engaged the man in conversation gathering valuable information. Having exhausted his small-talk Frank handed him the package and headed back to his truck. He regrouped with the other postal inspectors who thought Frank had handled the entire situation far better than they had hoped. They told Frank, “now wait ten minutes, go back, knock on the door and tell him he forgot to sign for the package.”
Frank knocked on the door but the man inside wouldn’t open the door. Frank yelled through the door, “You forgot to sign and if you don’t sign it now, someone else will be back tomorrow.” Slowly the door opens, Frank steps out of the way and the postal agent’s storm through the door. The operation was a big success and they offered Frank a position in the newly formed unit dedicated to the Postal Inspection Group. Frank took the position and headed to Oklahoma for six months of training.
Frank performed well and advanced to the rank of Lieutenant. In 1973 Frank was offered a position as a plain cloth’s detective for the US Postal Police which he accepted. Frank worked out of The Bronx and he recalled making numerous arrests. An opportunity arose for Frank to take an undercover assignment in his native Puerto Rico. There was an organized crime ring using phony drivers’ licenses, obtained from someone inside the DMV, to cash fraudulent money orders at the post office. Nine local police officers working on the case were killed but a big break came in the case when they arrested someone who was willing to talk. Once the postal authorities converted him into an informant, the informant introduced Frank as his cousin from New York. Frank made himself liked and was offered a job as a driver. “I was scared shitless. I was living with these people.”
After four months the time came to make arrests and that included Frank as a member of the group. The police made the arrests and put Frank in jail. Shortly after he was arrested “two guys in suits carrying my photo” came into the jail, cuffed him and led him from the cell to another room where they returned his badge and gun and escorted him to a US Air Force plane waiting at the airport. “An hour and fifteen minutes later I was at Fort Dix.” Left in 1977.
Along the way Frank finished his degree at John Jay College and he ran into a “gorgeous girl in a yellow outfit” named Sylvia Ramos. One day Frank said, “Hey you, come over here.” Sylvia came over to talk to Frank and told him, ‘you’re an obnoxious man and don’t talk that way to me again’. 47 years later they are still happily married with three sons. Two served in the Army and one is a sniper in the New York City Police Force.
In another undercover operation Frank formed a team with members from Homeland Security, the FBI and the IRS. Over the course of 5 years the team gathered information on a company run by the Irish mob that had contracts with the Port Authority of NY to install equipment. The company was smuggling Hispanic workers into the country and placing them in jobs where the group would receive $55/hour but they would only pay the workers $8/hr. The Hispanics were illegal aliens with no training, no path to citizenship, no benefits, no maximum work hours and they worked seven days a week. The illegal labor ring came to light when the equipment installed started to fail at an alarming rate because the workers performing the installation had no training.
Frank and his team would follow the workers home and attempt to question them. The workers were initially reluctant to speak with Frank’s team because of their illegal status and their families back in their native country were counting on the money they sent. It took some time for them to develop a relationship, trust and convince them they would not be deported. Eventually they had enough evidence and arrests were made and convictions obtained. Frank said the government was able to take the personal residences of the men convicted along with their money and a hotel owned by one of them.
Frank recalled sitting in his car on the Westside Highway in Manhattan when the second plane flew into The World Trade Center. Frank was able to get out of Manhattan and get home to call a high-ranking military member he knew in Albany. He told Frank to get to Ground Zero ASAP. When he reached Ground Zero, he and another man pulled a woman in her 60’s from the rubble. After a while Frank was sent to help at the Armory in Queens to organize personnel for assignment to various areas of New York City. He was sent back to Ground Zero and then to the Armory in Brooklyn where he organized the distribution of gas to police and military vehicles.
Frank retired on September 30, 2019, after almost 50 years with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Marshal Service and the Port Authority Police. Today Frank and Sylvia devoted their time to their church and spend time with their three sons.
Frank believes that many of the strong relationships he developed throughout his career were important and helped him advance through the ranks.
Thank you, Frank, for your service to your country and your long career in law enforcement. The Big Apple was a safe place when Gonzo was on the beat.