Dan Gordon, 73, ex-FBI supervisor in Cleveland
by Grant Segall
Sunday September 06, 2009, 7:07 PM
Dan Gordon
NORTH OLMSTED -- Other supervisors might have stayed at their desks.
The FBI's Dan Gordon, acting on a tip in 1986, chased a local bank robbery suspect from Cleveland to suburban Buffalo and confronted the man, who was carrying a briefcase with 12 sticks of dynamite.
The robber wriggled free and shouted that he would "push the button." Gordon shot him. The bomb fell to the pavement without exploding. The robber recovered, only to hang himself in jail.
Gordon won the FBI Medal of Valor and lived another 23 years. He died Aug. 26 from pancreatic cancer at Hospice of the Western Reserve at the Renaissance. He was 73.
"I came to admire, respect, idolize, fear and love the man who now symbolized what I had always hoped the FBI would be," said retired agent Jim Larkin, now a detective with the Lorain County sheriff's drug task force.
"Dan was a leader rather than an administrator," said FBI retiree Dick Wrenn. "He was out working all the time, making decisions, and they were the right decisions."
Gordon was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduated from St. John's University. He worked as an accountant in New York before joining the FBI in 1966.
He was assigned to Columbia, S.C., that year and Cleveland the next. He lived in North Olmsted for the rest of his life.
In 1980, driving back from a search for a missing woman -- Debra Sue Vine in Toledo -- Gordon spotted a scrap of material in a ditch and pulled over. Depending on who's telling the story, the scrap either vanished or turned out to be someone else's. But Gordon happened to find clothing of Vine's nearby, which helped in eventually finding her body.
In 1985, he helped capture Oranetta Mays and rescue her four hostages at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. He won a certificate of appreciation from Mayor George Voinovich.
Gordon organized the Committee in Support of Robert Friedrick, a colleague charged with lying to higher-ups about Jackie Presser, informer and Teamsters leader. On their own time, he assembled some 60 agents who applauded Friedrick on federal courthouse steps in Washington, D.C. Friedrick was eventually dismissed, but so were the charges.
Gordon was supervisor of the "reactive squad," which responded to bank robberies, kidnappings and other crimes. He demanded long hours. If a suspect's picture appeared on the 11 p.m. news, he wanted agents on duty afterward to take calls with leads. But he found willing workers and shielded them from bureau politics whenever necessary.
Retiree Larkin said Gordon had a great memory. He solved some cases by recognizing a suspect's face or modus operandi from as long as 15 years ago.
Gordon was working on young Amy Mihaljevic's murder case in 1989 when he retired to become chief of security for National City Bank. The case remains unsolved.
"Whenever I went to a bank robbery at National City, Dan was there, and he was still telling me what to do," said retired agent Bob Friedman. "I did what he told me."
Gordon later worked for International Research Group, a private investigative firm in Rocky River.
On the side, he liked to read, golf and play Scrabble.
Daniel Andrew Gordon 1935-2009 Survivors: Wife, the former Christa Dunninger; children, Vic toria of Olmsted Falls, Christa of Olmsted Falls, Daniel B. of Nor wood, Ohio, and Monika of Lake wood; three grandchildren; and a sister Funeral: Held Contributions: Pancreatic Can cer Action Network, 2141 Rose crans Ave., Suite 7000, El Se gundo, CA 90245, www.pancan.org, or Hospice of the Western Reserve, 300 East 185th St., Cleveland OH 44119, www.hospicewr.org Arrangements: Dostal Funeral Services
by Grant Segall
Sunday September 06, 2009, 7:07 PM
Dan Gordon
NORTH OLMSTED -- Other supervisors might have stayed at their desks.
The FBI's Dan Gordon, acting on a tip in 1986, chased a local bank robbery suspect from Cleveland to suburban Buffalo and confronted the man, who was carrying a briefcase with 12 sticks of dynamite.
The robber wriggled free and shouted that he would "push the button." Gordon shot him. The bomb fell to the pavement without exploding. The robber recovered, only to hang himself in jail.
Gordon won the FBI Medal of Valor and lived another 23 years. He died Aug. 26 from pancreatic cancer at Hospice of the Western Reserve at the Renaissance. He was 73.
"I came to admire, respect, idolize, fear and love the man who now symbolized what I had always hoped the FBI would be," said retired agent Jim Larkin, now a detective with the Lorain County sheriff's drug task force.
"Dan was a leader rather than an administrator," said FBI retiree Dick Wrenn. "He was out working all the time, making decisions, and they were the right decisions."
Gordon was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduated from St. John's University. He worked as an accountant in New York before joining the FBI in 1966.
He was assigned to Columbia, S.C., that year and Cleveland the next. He lived in North Olmsted for the rest of his life.
In 1980, driving back from a search for a missing woman -- Debra Sue Vine in Toledo -- Gordon spotted a scrap of material in a ditch and pulled over. Depending on who's telling the story, the scrap either vanished or turned out to be someone else's. But Gordon happened to find clothing of Vine's nearby, which helped in eventually finding her body.
In 1985, he helped capture Oranetta Mays and rescue her four hostages at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. He won a certificate of appreciation from Mayor George Voinovich.
Gordon organized the Committee in Support of Robert Friedrick, a colleague charged with lying to higher-ups about Jackie Presser, informer and Teamsters leader. On their own time, he assembled some 60 agents who applauded Friedrick on federal courthouse steps in Washington, D.C. Friedrick was eventually dismissed, but so were the charges.
Gordon was supervisor of the "reactive squad," which responded to bank robberies, kidnappings and other crimes. He demanded long hours. If a suspect's picture appeared on the 11 p.m. news, he wanted agents on duty afterward to take calls with leads. But he found willing workers and shielded them from bureau politics whenever necessary.
Retiree Larkin said Gordon had a great memory. He solved some cases by recognizing a suspect's face or modus operandi from as long as 15 years ago.
Gordon was working on young Amy Mihaljevic's murder case in 1989 when he retired to become chief of security for National City Bank. The case remains unsolved.
"Whenever I went to a bank robbery at National City, Dan was there, and he was still telling me what to do," said retired agent Bob Friedman. "I did what he told me."
Gordon later worked for International Research Group, a private investigative firm in Rocky River.
On the side, he liked to read, golf and play Scrabble.
Daniel Andrew Gordon 1935-2009 Survivors: Wife, the former Christa Dunninger; children, Vic toria of Olmsted Falls, Christa of Olmsted Falls, Daniel B. of Nor wood, Ohio, and Monika of Lake wood; three grandchildren; and a sister Funeral: Held Contributions: Pancreatic Can cer Action Network, 2141 Rose crans Ave., Suite 7000, El Se gundo, CA 90245, www.pancan.org, or Hospice of the Western Reserve, 300 East 185th St., Cleveland OH 44119, www.hospicewr.org Arrangements: Dostal Funeral Services
Dan Gordon, 73, ex-FBI supervisor in Cleveland
by Grant Segall
Sunday September 06, 2009, 7:07 PM
Dan Gordon
NORTH OLMSTED -- Other supervisors might have stayed at their desks.
The FBI's Dan Gordon, acting on a tip in 1986, chased a local bank robbery suspect from Cleveland to suburban Buffalo and confronted the man, who was carrying a briefcase with 12 sticks of dynamite.
The robber wriggled free and shouted that he would "push the button." Gordon shot him. The bomb fell to the pavement without exploding. The robber recovered, only to hang himself in jail.
Gordon won the FBI Medal of Valor and lived another 23 years. He died Aug. 26 from pancreatic cancer at Hospice of the Western Reserve at the Renaissance. He was 73.
"I came to admire, respect, idolize, fear and love the man who now symbolized what I had always hoped the FBI would be," said retired agent Jim Larkin, now a detective with the Lorain County sheriff's drug task force.
"Dan was a leader rather than an administrator," said FBI retiree Dick Wrenn. "He was out working all the time, making decisions, and they were the right decisions."
Gordon was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduated from St. John's University. He worked as an accountant in New York before joining the FBI in 1966.
He was assigned to Columbia, S.C., that year and Cleveland the next. He lived in North Olmsted for the rest of his life.
In 1980, driving back from a search for a missing woman -- Debra Sue Vine in Toledo -- Gordon spotted a scrap of material in a ditch and pulled over. Depending on who's telling the story, the scrap either vanished or turned out to be someone else's. But Gordon happened to find clothing of Vine's nearby, which helped in eventually finding her body.
In 1985, he helped capture Oranetta Mays and rescue her four hostages at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. He won a certificate of appreciation from Mayor George Voinovich.
Gordon organized the Committee in Support of Robert Friedrick, a colleague charged with lying to higher-ups about Jackie Presser, informer and Teamsters leader. On their own time, he assembled some 60 agents who applauded Friedrick on federal courthouse steps in Washington, D.C. Friedrick was eventually dismissed, but so were the charges.
Gordon was supervisor of the "reactive squad," which responded to bank robberies, kidnappings and other crimes. He demanded long hours. If a suspect's picture appeared on the 11 p.m. news, he wanted agents on duty afterward to take calls with leads. But he found willing workers and shielded them from bureau politics whenever necessary.
Retiree Larkin said Gordon had a great memory. He solved some cases by recognizing a suspect's face or modus operandi from as long as 15 years ago.
Gordon was working on young Amy Mihaljevic's murder case in 1989 when he retired to become chief of security for National City Bank. The case remains unsolved.
"Whenever I went to a bank robbery at National City, Dan was there, and he was still telling me what to do," said retired agent Bob Friedman. "I did what he told me."
Gordon later worked for International Research Group, a private investigative firm in Rocky River.
On the side, he liked to read, golf and play Scrabble.
Daniel Andrew Gordon 1935-2009 Survivors: Wife, the former Christa Dunninger; children, Vic toria of Olmsted Falls, Christa of Olmsted Falls, Daniel B. of Nor wood, Ohio, and Monika of Lake wood; three grandchildren; and a sister Funeral: Held Contributions: Pancreatic Can cer Action Network, 2141 Rose crans Ave., Suite 7000, El Se gundo, CA 90245, www.pancan.org, or Hospice of the Western Reserve, 300 East 185th St., Cleveland OH 44119, www.hospicewr.org Arrangements: Dostal Funeral Services
by Grant Segall
Sunday September 06, 2009, 7:07 PM
Dan Gordon
NORTH OLMSTED -- Other supervisors might have stayed at their desks.
The FBI's Dan Gordon, acting on a tip in 1986, chased a local bank robbery suspect from Cleveland to suburban Buffalo and confronted the man, who was carrying a briefcase with 12 sticks of dynamite.
The robber wriggled free and shouted that he would "push the button." Gordon shot him. The bomb fell to the pavement without exploding. The robber recovered, only to hang himself in jail.
Gordon won the FBI Medal of Valor and lived another 23 years. He died Aug. 26 from pancreatic cancer at Hospice of the Western Reserve at the Renaissance. He was 73.
"I came to admire, respect, idolize, fear and love the man who now symbolized what I had always hoped the FBI would be," said retired agent Jim Larkin, now a detective with the Lorain County sheriff's drug task force.
"Dan was a leader rather than an administrator," said FBI retiree Dick Wrenn. "He was out working all the time, making decisions, and they were the right decisions."
Gordon was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduated from St. John's University. He worked as an accountant in New York before joining the FBI in 1966.
He was assigned to Columbia, S.C., that year and Cleveland the next. He lived in North Olmsted for the rest of his life.
In 1980, driving back from a search for a missing woman -- Debra Sue Vine in Toledo -- Gordon spotted a scrap of material in a ditch and pulled over. Depending on who's telling the story, the scrap either vanished or turned out to be someone else's. But Gordon happened to find clothing of Vine's nearby, which helped in eventually finding her body.
In 1985, he helped capture Oranetta Mays and rescue her four hostages at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. He won a certificate of appreciation from Mayor George Voinovich.
Gordon organized the Committee in Support of Robert Friedrick, a colleague charged with lying to higher-ups about Jackie Presser, informer and Teamsters leader. On their own time, he assembled some 60 agents who applauded Friedrick on federal courthouse steps in Washington, D.C. Friedrick was eventually dismissed, but so were the charges.
Gordon was supervisor of the "reactive squad," which responded to bank robberies, kidnappings and other crimes. He demanded long hours. If a suspect's picture appeared on the 11 p.m. news, he wanted agents on duty afterward to take calls with leads. But he found willing workers and shielded them from bureau politics whenever necessary.
Retiree Larkin said Gordon had a great memory. He solved some cases by recognizing a suspect's face or modus operandi from as long as 15 years ago.
Gordon was working on young Amy Mihaljevic's murder case in 1989 when he retired to become chief of security for National City Bank. The case remains unsolved.
"Whenever I went to a bank robbery at National City, Dan was there, and he was still telling me what to do," said retired agent Bob Friedman. "I did what he told me."
Gordon later worked for International Research Group, a private investigative firm in Rocky River.
On the side, he liked to read, golf and play Scrabble.
Daniel Andrew Gordon 1935-2009 Survivors: Wife, the former Christa Dunninger; children, Vic toria of Olmsted Falls, Christa of Olmsted Falls, Daniel B. of Nor wood, Ohio, and Monika of Lake wood; three grandchildren; and a sister Funeral: Held Contributions: Pancreatic Can cer Action Network, 2141 Rose crans Ave., Suite 7000, El Se gundo, CA 90245, www.pancan.org, or Hospice of the Western Reserve, 300 East 185th St., Cleveland OH 44119, www.hospicewr.org Arrangements: Dostal Funeral Services
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