Recently retired from the Coventry, RI Police Department, detective Marcos Saenko has had a distinguished and admirable career. Since joining the Department in 1988, he has received recognition and numerous commendations. He received the United States Attorney’s Office’s 2008 Award for National Crime Victim’s Rights, and Coventry Police Officer of the Year in 1993 and 2003. In 1996, he earned the RI DARE Officer of the Year and Juvenile Officer of the Year Awards, as well as a citation from the RI Governor Lincoln Almond.

A West Warwick resident and retired detective specializing in financial crimes, he received the service award for his work in 2007 with the Secret Service on a large-scale investigation that resulted in the arrest of four men involved in an identity theft crime ring at supermarkets in several states. He also uncovered a Nigerian letter-type scam involving fake credit-card gift checks.

For these and hundreds of cases he’s solved and also, his work to alert the public of fraud schemes, Saenko received an honorable mention for the 2007 Police Officer of the Year during the International Association of Chief of Police’s annual conference held in New Orleans. He joined 10 officers nationwide also recognized for their work.

Detective Saenko holds an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice from CCRI, and has received training from various educational resources over the years, including the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Metropolitan Police Institute in Miami, the National Insurance Crime Bureau, and the National White Collar Crime Center.

Born in Venezuela, Saenko is a former lieutenant and pilot with the Venezuelan Air Force. He also flew with the U.S. Air Force as a foreign officer in an exchange program. Saenko has taught piloting and was a member of an acrobatic flying team in Venezuela. He attended the Venezuelan Air Force Academy.