Meet Thomas Ollen

I was born and raised in New York City as one of five boys and one girl. I graduated from Wagner College in 1981 with an Economics degree. I played Division 1 soccer and was captain of the Rugby Team. After graduation I spent one year working for a bank on Wall Street and was completely miserable. My father (former WWII Marine) suggested I investigate the Coast Guard. He said they seem to be a progressive organization as they had recently given command of a ship to a woman (a first in any service). I attended Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Yorktown, VA and was immediately sent to the Financial Planning Staff in HQs, Washington, DC. My immediate supervisor was a former icebreaking sailor and suggested I go in that direction. I was eventually assigned to the NORTHWIND.

I left the NORTHWID and the Coast Guard in 1986. After leaving, I unfortunately, married a girl I met while stationed in Washington, DC. My NORTHWIND shipmates came up to give us an Honor Guard at the wedding. I eventually divorced and started work as a Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent (SA) in NYC. I spent my time as an agent in NYC and Newark, NJ. The various work I did included: street narcotics enforcement, polygraph examiner, financial investigations (money laundering) and undercover captain on a yacht. I was promoted as a Group Supervisor in Newark, NJ and eventually became the head of the DEA Task Force. I was responsible for the performance of DEA Agents, local/state Task Force Officers as well as Intelligence Analysts consisting of more than 100 people. Since my retirement from DEA in 2011, I have been working as Department of Justice contractor specializing in anti-money laundering and crypto-currency financial investigations. I started a private investigation company in 2023 specializing in polygraph examinations and financial investigations for attorney offices and other private investigative firms.

I have a MA in Forensic Psychology from the American School of Professional Psychology, Argosy University. Some professional accreditations include: Chainalysis Reactor Certification, cryptocurrency Fundamentals Certification, Certified Cyber Crime Investigator, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, Forensic Law Enforcement Polygraph Examiner.

I am happily married for 30 years to Kathleen (nee Glennon). We have 2 daughters Caroline and Grace (17 & 21 yrs old.) We live in New Jersey 10 miles west of Newark. I enjoy playing the bagpipes and attempting to keep in shape.