Lynn District Court Probation Officers Track Down “Deadbeat Dad”
Who Absconded Eight Years Ago

The Lynn District Court Apprehension Team poses on a city street corner. Left to right are Probation Officer Amy Simione, Assistant Chief Probation Officer Brian Orlandella, and Probation Officers Kim Garbarino, Jeffrey January, and Michael Forbes.

Lynn District Court Probation Officers Kim Garbarino, Amy Simione, and William McDonald never gave up their search for a probationer who left town and had been placed on warrant status since 2002. Garbarino and Simione even managed to trace the offender’s whereabouts to St. Louis, Missouri.

Their big break came several days ago when the offender, Mark Moore, who now owes more than $60,000 in child support payments, was apprehended by St. Louis Police and held on the Lynn District Court’s probation warrant. The offender will be brought back to Massachusetts for a probation violation hearing, according to Brian Orlandella, Assistant Chief Probation Officer at Lynn District Court.

“This recent arrest exemplifies the hard work and dedication of our court’s Warrant Apprehension Unit. This small unit, consisting of five Probation Officers, is responsible for well over 1,000 arrests of probationers over the past five years,” said Orlandella. “Some of these arrests consist of very dangerous probationers who are currently incarcerated due to this unit’s efforts.”

Over the years, the Probation Officers did extensive research and followed leads which placed the offender in St. Louis. Orlandella said Garabino and Simione were able to trace Moore to St. Louis based on several interviews with the victim. The Probation Officers then provided the St. Louis Police with the addresses.

“Additional information was provided at some of the addresses that the police went to and one thing led to another until he was captured,” Orlandella said.

McDonald, who was Moore’s supervising Probation Officer at the time he absconded, recalled, “I never forgot how frustrated the victim was at the probationer’s continued non-compliance.”

He initiated the investigation and then passed it on to Garbarino who teamed with Simione to track Moore down, according to Orlandella.

Garabino said, “When I talked to the victim in this case, she told me he was somewhere in the country, maybe Missouri and she told me we would probably never find him. When I called her back 28 days later and told her he was in custody, there was complete silence. She was speechless.”

After the initial shock, the victim stated, “I still cannot believe you guys caught him. Thank you.”

Lynn District Court’s Apprehension Team, which has developed a reputation for bringing absconders before the court, was featured on America’s Most Wanted a year ago when team members helped track down an offender featured on the national television show.

Simione added, “All warrants should be worked on. Public safety is paramount.”

It is one of the most aggressive Probation Warrant Apprehension teams in the state. Since January 2009, the Warrant Apprehension Team has tracked down 351 absconders and brought them back before the court.

“It was a group effort and through the constant communication between the police with Kim and Amy, the information finally paid off,” Orlandella said of the most recent apprehension.