On the evening of October 12, 1972, 25-year-old Special Agent Frank Tummillo of the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs was killed during an undercover cocaine buy in a Manhattan West Side hotel. Tummillo had been negotiating the purchase of ten kilograms of cocaine and had shown two traffickers $160,000 in cash. After the traffickers left the room to fetch the drugs, Tummillo stepped out to consult with nearby agents and was ambushed, forced back into the room at gunpoint and held while the other assailant searched for the money.

Group Supervisor Thomas Devine entered the room unaware of the ambush and was confronted by the armed traffickers. A struggle followed; Devine was shot and the second trafficker fatally shot Tummillo. The two assailants were killed as they attempted to flee by surveillance agents. Devine survived the initial attack but was left paralyzed and died ten years later from related complications.

Are there any witnesses, relatives or former colleagues who can share memories of Tummillo or details about the operation?