Director Robert S. Mueller, III has named Jeffrey C. Mazanec special agent in charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division. Mr. Mazanec most recently served as the deputy assistant director of the Office of Public Affairs at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Mazanec began his career as a special agent with the FBI in 1988. He first reported to the Washington Field Office, where he worked white-collar crime, government fraud, counterintelligence, counterterrorism, and special inquiry investigations. In 1995, he was promoted to the Counterterrorism Section at FBI Headquarters. While there, he was involved with several high-profile investigations, including the Oklahoma City bombing, the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, and the 1996 Olympics bombing.
He was transferred to the Atlanta Division in 1997 to lead the Joint Terrorism Task Force, where he oversaw the investigation of two bombings for which Eric Rudolph was later convicted and sentenced. He also supervised the Evidence Response Team and managed weapons of mass destruction, HAZMAT, and bomb responses.
In 2001, Mr. Mazanec was detailed to the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center to help coordinate the intelligence and law enforcement efforts in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. In 2005, he was promoted to assistant section chief in the Counterterrorism Division, overseeing all overseas counterterrorism investigations, to include providing assistance to the British authorities following the London bombings.
Mr. Mazanec was selected to serve as assistant special agent in charge of the Security Branch at the Washington Field Office in 2006, where he oversaw the protective detail programs, crisis management, and the construction of the new Manassas Resident Agency. In 2007, he served as the first FBI chair at the National Defense University, teaching graduate-level national security courses on strategy, policy, interagency cooperation, law enforcement, terrorism, and intelligence to the senior-level interagency community.
In 2008, he was promoted to section chief in the Training Division, where he helped establish the FBI School of Intelligence at Quantico, Virginia. He also served as the acting deputy assistant director of the division until he was named deputy assistant director of the Office of Public Affairs in 2010. In this role, he worked to communicate the mission of the FBI and oversaw the FBI’s community outreach program and other strategic public engagement programs.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and history from Liberty University, a Juris Doctorate from the College of William and Mary, and a Master of Science degree in national security strategy from the National War College. He also has a license to practice law in Virginia.
Mr. Mazanec is married and has two children.