FBI Chief’s Departure Raises Questions Over L.A. Office Leadership

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When Richard Garcia announced that he would retire from the FBI after serving the top post in Los Angeles for 16 months, he cited family reasons.


He also admitted that the pay wasn’t all that great.


“I was a special agent in charge in Houston when I was sent to L.A., in a promotion where I actually lost money,” said Garcia, who plans to head back to the Texas city to find a job in the private sector.


Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, an increasing number of top-level FBI supervisors and agents have retired early to join private security firms, which can pay around $250,000 an amount that only a handful of the very highest ranking FBI managers can command under government salary guidelines.


It’s a particular problem in Los Angeles, where housing prices and the cost of living have skyrocketed, making it more challenging for the FBI to retain both agents and managers.


The office is one of the biggest in the United States, with 800 agents and a jurisdiction ranging from Santa Barbara to Palm Springs. Only a handful of managers are qualified to run it, and they’re the ones often close to retirement.


The result has been a revolving door of assistant directors in charge, the highest position at the bureau in Los Angeles. Since 1999, the local office has had three chiefs, all of whom retired in two years or less and were replaced by acting directors on a temporary basis. Also, about 20 percent of the supervisors are serving on an interim basis.


“The problem with the L.A. office is because it’s a large office the guys who are assigned to it are at the twilight of their career,” said one retired Los Angeles FBI manager, who contends that turnover has lowered morale in the office.



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The full story

is available in the June 20 issue of the Los Angeles Business Journal.

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