By Steve Neavling
James A. Tarasca, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, is retiring, ending a 24-year career with the agency, the FBI announced Friday.
Tarasca was appointed to lead the Detroit Field Office in April 2022. In a little over a year, his office disrupted financial sextortion, hate crimes, and hoax threats to schools and businesses, responded to the mass shooting at Michigan State University, and oversaw the successful prosecutions of 10 men involved in the plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Tarasca’s career with the FBI began in 1999. Since then, he has held numerous leadership positions, from serving as assistant special agent in charge of the Counterterrorism Division of the New York Field Office to serving as deputy assistant director of operations in the Counterterrorism Division at headquarters.
Tarasca is the recipient of the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence in Leadership, two FBI Shields of Bravery, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner’s Commendation for Bravery
He received a bachelor’s degree in management from Eastern University and was a Pennsylvania state trooper before joining the FBI.
