By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
Frank Montoya Jr., the head of the FBI office in Seattle, announced Thursday he’s retiring.
He will be succeeded by Jay S. Tabb Jr., a former Marine who served as deputy assistant director in the Counterterrorism Division at FBI headquarters, the Seattle Times reports.
Montoya had served as the special agent in charge in Honolulu before he took over the Seattle office in 2014.
“The FBI’s exceptional mission is near to my heart, and I’ve been immensely proud to contribute to our law enforcement and national security efforts,” Montoya said in an FBI news release. “I am honored to have spent the final years of my FBI career with the exceptional agents and professional staff of the Seattle Division, and the extraordinary law enforcement leaders in Washington state.”
Montoya came under fire after he allowed one of his agents to use a fake Associated Press story to capture a bomb-hoax suspect.
Tabb was first assigned to the Dallas office when he joined the FBI in 1997. He has focused on violent crime, counterterrorism and drug-trafficking.
