CARMEL – A former FBI agent, retired Commissioner of Correction, former First Assistant District Attorney, retired lieutenant with the NYPD and former 23 year member of the Putnam Sheriff’s Office took their oaths of office as captains of the Putnam Sheriff’s Office on Friday administered by Sheriff Robert Langley at a brief ceremony in Carmel.
With family and friends in attendance along with state, county, town and village officials, Langley congratulated his new captains Jon Jennings, Kevin Cheverko, Lisa Ortolano, Edward Swarm and James Babcock.
(l-r) Kevin Cheverko, James Babcock, Lisa Ortolano, Edward Swarm and Jon Jennings
The quintet brings a broad range and depth of law enforcement experience from the FBI, Westchester County Department of Corrections, NYPD, Putnam District Attorney’s Office and the Putnam Sheriff’s Office.
Langley said he was pleased with his command team containing “deep and varied experience. This is an incredible team that will elevate professionalism, raise standards and improve public safety. The Sheriff’s Office is in good hands.”
Jennings served as a special agent with the FBI assigned to the White Plains office He is now captain of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Cheverko served as Westchester County’s commissioner of Corrections. He has assumed the role as captain of the Putnam Correctional Facility.
Ortolano was sworn in as captain of the Civil Division. Prior to joining the Putnam District Attorney’s office in 2009 and being elevated to the rank of first assistant DA, Ortolano served for more than two decades as a prosecutor, defense attorney and civil litigator. She served as supervisor of the Bronx County D.A.’s Criminal Court Bureau and as Deputy Bureau Chief supervising more than 60 attorneys in the prosecution of violent crimes, domestic violence and drug related crimes.
Swarm, Langley’s new captain of the Road Patrol, served for 24 years with the NYPD rising from officer to sergeant to lieutenant of Detectives. He led an impact unit rotating in high crime areas and as platoon commander, Swarm managed all operations in his precinct deploying officers in response to emergencies.
Babcock is the new captain of Communications. He was employed by the sheriff’s office for more than two decades before his retirement. In 2011, Babcock became a criminal investigator and during his tenure completed numerous training opportunities offered by the FBI as well as the State Police and NYPD.
