ANTHONY P. PLACIDO, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR AND CHIEF OF INTELLIGENCE

Mr. Placido leads the Drug Enforcement Administration’s intelligence program, including the global collection enterprise. His responsibilities include service as Senior Officer for the United States Intelligence Community; executive leadership for the headquarters based Intelligence Division, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Fusion Center and the El Paso Intelligence Center; information sharing and exchange protocols; managing a budget of approximately $100 million and developing policy for a staff of approximately 1,300, including more than 900 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 received an appointment as a Special Agent in 1982. Mr. Placido served in multiple domestic and foreign posts, has extensive experience in foreign affairs and 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 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 for 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 and Carillo-Fuentes organizations and the Sonora and Gulf Cartels were disrupted and/or dismantled. In 2002, Mr. Placido was appointed as the Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s New York Field Division. In this capacity, he led the effort to establish the first Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force in the nation, 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 as the founding Director of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Fusion Center, which utilizes an interagency workforce, a fused multi-agency database, sophisticated computer systems and advanced analytics to support investigations against transnational criminal organizations. Contemporaneously, DEA Administrator Karen Tandy appointed Mr. Placido to serve as Assistant Administrator and Chief of Intelligence. In this capacity, he 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. He serves as co-chair of the Anti-Drug Intelligence Community Team, which is the defacto issue manager for the counter-drug portfolio within the U.S. Intelligence Community. During his tenure, he also reinvigorated the El Paso Intelligence Center and significantly 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 children.