Joseph Demarest, the head of New York FBI, who had been under internal investigation in connection with an affair he’d had with a supervisor in his office, will become the new Assistant Director of the International Operations Division at headquarters in Washington, ticklethewire.com has learned.
FBI agent Richard Kolko, a spokesman for the New York office, confirmed that Demarest was getting the headquarters job, but referred any other questions to headquarters.
Demarest, whose title was assistant director in charge of the N.Y. FBI, had been temporarily reassigned to headquarters during the internal probe.
No permanent replacement has been named for Demarest in New York. In the interim, special agent in charge George Venizelos will head the office.
A number of names have surfaced in the rumor mill including Andy Arena, the head of the Detroit FBI.
Back in March, ticklethewire.com reported that Demarest had been temporarily reassigned to headquarters while an internal probe looked into whether he’d been truthful to investigators looking into an affair with another agent. His story reportedly conflicted with the agent’s version.
The press office at headquarters did not immediately respond to questions about the reassignment and what the outcome was of the internal probe.
UPDATE: Late Wednesday afternoon the FBI announced the appointment. Here’s the press release.
