The DEA Honor Roll

Active Det. Second Grade Thomas Weiner, Jr., who was renowned for his expertise in combating graffiti, died May 3, 2003, while fighting pancreatic cancer. The 43-year-old Detective joined the Transit Police in 1985, and along with partner Jerry Dassaro, became known by train vandals as “Tom and Jerry,” a dynamic duo who were decidedly not mousy about nabbing those who defaced and destroyed City property. The team became experts at deciphering gang messages and graffiti tags. After the Transit Police merged with the NYPD, Weiner served in the 48 Squad, Transit District Operations, the Transit Bureau’s Vandalism Task Force, and the Detective Bureau’s Transit Special Investigations Unit. He moved to the Internal Affairs Bureau in 1998, and was promoted to second grade on April 25, 2003. He was assigned to the Medical Division at the time of his death. During his 18 years on the force, he made 226 arrests, and was recognized for Excellent Police Duty. In his Transit Police days, he won that Department’s Medal for Merit. He was approved as an official NYPD line of duty death related to the attacks of September 11, 2001 in November of 2013. He was survived by his widow, his two children, and his two sisters. His sister Dolores Weiner is also a 22-year veteran of the job and retired as a second grade Detective in 2006.