Posted on 03/30/2007 5:58:53 AM PDT by radar101
Daniel R. Dzwilewski Age: 53
Job title: Special agent in charge, FBI, San Diego Division
Education: Bachelor's degree in English, University of Notre Dame; law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich.
Hometown: Springfield, Mass.
Family: Married, no children
Years as chief of San Diego office: 4 years
Years with FBI: 27
Special awards: 2006 Presidential Rank Award, for sustained meritorious service, presented last month
Last day: April 30
New job: Director of security, Sempra Energy
San Diego FBI chief Dan Dzwilewski, who became embroiled in the national controversy over U.S. attorney firings when he publicly defended Carol Lam and was admonished for it, has announced his retirement.
Dzwilewski said yesterday his departure is not related to the ongoing debate over the firing of Lam, the former U.S. attorney in San Diego. He said the hunt for a second career, after 27 years with the bureau, began long before his comments on Lam were published in The San Diego Union-Tribune on Jan. 13.
Dzwilewski plans to take a post as director of security at Sempra Energy. His last day will be April 30.
“I want to assure you that I am leaving the FBI on my own volition,” he said. “Opportunities like this, being offered the position of director of security at Sempra, don't come along every day. ... Any inference that I'm retiring in any way in connection with statements connected to the U.S. attorney is just inaccurate.”
Still, some colleagues found the timing of the announcement curious. On Tuesday, FBI Director Robert Mueller acknowledged during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee that one of his subordinates, John Pistole, told Dzwilewski his statements on Lam were inappropriate and that he should keep quiet. Dzwilewski had told the Union-Tribune he “guaranteed” Lam's firing was political, and that her continued employment as U.S. attorney was crucial to the success of multiple ongoing investigations.
And yesterday, Kyle Sampson, former chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, testified before the same committee that he complained to FBI headquarters about Dzwilewski's comments.
“I did, I called Lisa Monaco, who serves as a special assistant to the director of the FBI, and asked her why an FBI employee was commenting on that issue,” Sampson testified.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., then asked: “And why would you think that the special agent in charge in the area should not comment on whether her termination was going to affect cases?”
Sampson: “I understood that Carol Lam was a political appointee and that a decision had been made in the executive branch to ask her to resign so that others could serve.”
Dzwilewski, who has been at the helm of the San Diego office since July 2003, disputed that he was rebuked over the Lam brouhaha.
“I wasn't chastised,” he said yesterday. “I don't like that characterization. I characterize it as a conversation regarding the fact that the issue is primarily a personnel issue with DOJ (the Department of Justice) and not with the FBI.”
“There was a discussion we had about my comments and it was understood that the comments were made, and they didn't chastise me at all. I have a right to speak my own mind. I have a right to my opinion. They understood that. We defend First Amendment rights; we don't take them away from people. . . . I said what I had to say about Carol. I stand by what I said,” Dzwilewski said.
Lam, who announced her resignation Jan. 16 and left office Feb. 15, did not return calls yesterday seeking comment.
Some people familiar with Dzwilewski's plans confirmed that he had been job hunting for months. Dzwilewski, who worked numerous assignments in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., San Diego and Honolulu, had made it clear he planned to retire in San Diego and no longer wished to climb the FBI career ladder by moving to other locations.
Dzwilewski is 53, married, with no children. He was born in Massachusetts and raised mostly in Grand Rapids, Mich. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame and a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich. He was a prosecutor briefly, then began his FBI career in 1980 in the Chicago bureau.
From there, he went to headquarters in Washington, D.C., then to Los Angeles. As a young, single agent, he did a stint at the Redondo Beach office, where he rode a motorcycle, dressed well and, because of his perpetual tan, was nicknamed “Get-a-tan-Dan.” Dzwilewski said he wasn't aware of that moniker.
He became an assistant special agent in charge in San Diego in 1998, where he said he helped establish the Joint Terrorism Task Force, one of the first in the nation. He was promoted to headquarters again as special assistant to the deputy director of the FBI, then became chief of the Honolulu FBI in 2000. He eventually returned to San Diego as special agent in charge in 2003.
During Dzwilewski's tenure as San Diego chief, agents investigated the bribery scandal involving then-Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Rancho Santa Fe, and its spinoff cases, as well as the corruption investigation involving San Diego city councilmen, and pending drug cases involving the Mexican Mafia and the Arellano Félix cartel.
Dzwilewski was honored in February by Gonzales and Mueller for increasing participation on the San Diego Joint Terrorism Task Force by more than 300 percent, and for his work to increase communication between U.S. and Mexican officials to stop terrorist groups, drug cartels and smuggling operations.
Gonzales and Mueller also recognized him for helping to create the San Diego Regional Intelligence Network, which collects and shares terrorism-related information with local law enforcement, other government agencies and the private sector.
The award is evidence that he was not penalized for his statements on Lam, Dzwilewski said.
“This (award) was presented to me by the attorney general and the director of the FBI on February 23, after my statements were out. If they had any problems, certainly I would not have received that award,” he said.
Reaction among his own troops was mixed. Some criticized Dzwilewski as an unapproachable “absentee landlord” who attends a lot of out-of-town conferences and Notre Dame football games.
Some of Dzwilewski's law enforcement colleagues praised him and wished him well.
“I think he's done a lot of good things here in working in collaboration with local law enforcement, particularly expanding the work of the Joint Terrorism Task Force,” said Dzwilewski's predecessor and former boss, Bill Gore, who is now San Diego County's undersheriff.
Alan Poleszak, acting chief of the San Diego Drug Enforcement Administration, said the DEA and FBI have worked well together under Dzwilewski.
“Dan has been a committed and able partner in numerous successful past and ongoing joint investigations. These successes reflect the commitment of FBI San Diego's leadership to the dismantling of drug trafficking organizations in this region.”
The next Republican president, if there is one, should take a lesson from all this; You will have no friends from the "other side," so give em notice on the day you're elected. All of them.
It would seem that Agent Dzwileski took a few parting shots on his way out the door. If he had his new position already lined up, why burn this particular bridge? Why is this even an issue at all? Bill O'Reilly has highlighted the fact that Mz. Lam was incompetent in her job performance, twice now. I don't recall whether she is the US Attorney who refused to prosecute any drug case under 500 lbs. or whether she is the one who refused to try illegal aliens until there had been six criminal cases previous, or if she was the one...
Why aren't the reporters reporting on the work histories of these people?
These people are ill.
Well put. I guess we all can learn something from this, and hopefully move forward and not worry about those supporting our efforts. The FBI has too many agents like this guy, poor leadership at the top, total mismanagement at some of the local levels, too much paperwork, too much general B.S., yet we expect miracles from them but tie their feet to the ground. Give me a crusty, no nonsense, no a$$kissin' agent and I'll give you results you wouldn't believe if we will just let him do his job. What is so hard about that the brass at the FBI doesn't understand?
He will be sorely missed
Adios mf-er!
Dzwilewski? Is that pronounced just like it's spelled?
Good riddance to bad trash. Disloyalty and insolence cannot be tolerated in a public official.
Love that FReeper name! (while liberals are shaking their heads)
ping
Well thank you! And hubby Russ drives a F-150 as well, so I can even relate to your name!!
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