For Immediate Release
September 14, 2007
|
Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
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Eric
Velez Named SAC of Los Angeles's Intelligence Division
Eric
Velez has been named Special Agent in Charge of the Intelligence
Division of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. Director
Robert S. Mueller, III, appointed him to this position,
which was recently created for Washington, New York, and
Los Angeles due to the increased importance of intelligence
matters within the FBI. Most recently, Mr. Velez served
as the Deputy Director of the FBI's Terrorist Screening
Center.
Mr.
Velez entered on duty with the FBI in 1985 and served as
a computer specialist until 1992, when he entered New Agents
Training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Upon
completion of training, he was assigned to the McAllen Resident
Agency of the San Antonio Division in Texas, where he worked
organized crime and drug investigations. In 1997, Mr. Velez
was transferred to the Aguadilla Resident Agency of the
San Juan Division in Puerto Rico. While there, Mr. Velez
investigated public corruption matters.
In
2000, Mr. Velez received a promotional transfer to FBI Headquarters,
where he served as a supervisory special agent in the drug
section of the Criminal Investigative Division. Mr. Velez
was detailed to the Drug Enforcement Administration, where
he served for two years coordinating major drug trafficking
investigations throughout the U.S.
In
2002, Mr. Velez was transferred to the Santa Ana Resident
Agency of the Los Angeles Division, where he served as the
organized crime and drug supervisor and later supervised
the Orange County Joint Terrorism Task Force. He was promoted
to Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of the Los Angeles
Field Office Counterterrorism Program in 2004. During his
tenure as ASAC, Mr. Velez oversaw the Orange County, Long
Beach, and Inland Empire Joint Terrorism Task Forces. Mr.
Velez was later assigned to the Long Beach Resident Agency
of the Los Angeles Division, where he had executive oversight
of the field office's Critical Infrastructure Protection
Squad, Extraterritorial Counterterrorism Squad, Counterterrorism
Threat Squad, and the Domestic Terrorism Squad.
While
in Los Angeles, Mr. Velez co-chaired the Area Maritime Security
Committee with the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port
and was responsible for helping to secure the ports of Long
Beach and Los Angeles, the nation's two largest seaports.
He also served as co-chair of the Airport Security Advisory
Committee, which is responsible for the security of Los
Angeles International Airport, as well as the airports in
Burbank, Ontario, and Van Nuys, California. In 2006, Mr.
Velez was appointed Deputy Director of the Terrorist Screening
Center, a multi-agency center responsible for the U.S. government's
consolidated approach to watchlisting aimed at preventing
known or suspected terrorists from entering the U.S.
Mr.
Velez graduated from the Interamerican University of Puerto
Rico with a Bachelor of Arts degree in management information
systems. He is married and has three children.
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