ANTHONY P. PLACIDO, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR AND CHIEF OF INTELLIGENCE

Mr. Placido leads the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA)
intelligence program, including development of the agency’s global
intelligence collection enterprise. His responsibilities include service as DEA’s Senior Officer for the United States Intelligence Community (SOIC); management of a number of classified projects; executive leadership for the headquarters based Intelligence Division, the OCDETF Fusion Center and the El Paso Intelligence Center; information sharing and exchange protocols; and developing policy for 800 Intelligence Analysts assigned around the world.

Mr. Placido began his law enforcement career in 1979 with the U.S. Customs Service. The following year he joined DEA and was assigned to the Office of Intelligence, receiving an appointment as a DEA Special Agent in 1982. Mr. Placido served in multiple domestic and foreign postings, has extensive experience in foreign affairs and the management of public sector organizations as well as in developing policy and leading counter-drug programs. His management assignments include: Team Leader for the Tactical Intelligence Unit in Peru; Supervisor for an enforcement group in Florida; Senior Inspector with the Office of Professional Responsibility (internal affairs); and Executive Assistant to the DEA’s Deputy Administrator.

In 1998, Mr. Placido was promoted into the Senior Executive Service and was assigned as the Country Attaché for Bolivia where he oversaw an unprecedented reduction in the availability of cocaine. From 2000-2002, Mr. Placido was assigned as the Regional Director of the Mexico-Central America Division and was responsible for leading operations in eight countries throughout the region. During his tenure, major drug trafficking organizations such as the Arellano-Felix Organization, Carillo-Fuentes Organization, Sonora and Gulf Cartels were disrupted and/or dismantled. In 2002, Mr. Placido was selected as the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division. In this capacity, Mr. Placido led the effort to establish the New York Strike Force, a multi-agency endeavor featuring innovative financing, co-mingled interagency staffing, shared management and a common reporting system.

In 2005, Deputy Attorney General James Comey appointed Mr. Placido to lead the Organized
Crime Drug Enforcement Fusion Center, which utilizes an interagency workforce, a fused multiagency database, sophisticated computer systems and advanced analytics. Contemporaneously, DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy appointed Mr. Placido to serve as Assistant Administrator and Chief of Intelligence. In this capacity, Mr. Placido led successful efforts to have DEA readmitted as a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and to take a staff position at the National Security Council. During his tenure, he has also reinvigorated the El Paso Intelligence Center and expanded information sharing programs.

A native of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Mr. Placido earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University and a Master of Public Administration degree from Golden Gate University. He also completed Post Graduate work in Legislative Studies at Georgetown University and is the recipient of many awards, including the Presidential Rank of “Distinguished Executive.” Mr. Placido is married and has two teenage children.