By Steve Neavling
James A. Tarasca, who was serving as deputy assistant director in the Counterterrorism Division at FBI headquarters, has been named special agent in charge of the Detroit Field Office, the bureau announced.
Tarasca’s career with the FBI began in 1999, when he was assigned to the Orlando Resident Agency of the Tampa Field Office in Florida to investigate white-collar crime. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he began investigating counterterrorism throughout Central Florida. He also served as a firearms instructor and a member of the Tampa SWAT team.
In 2003, Tarasca joined the Hostage Rescue Team, based at Quantico, Va. In addition to participating in numerous domestic operations, he was deployed internationally, including to Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2008, he became supervisory special agent and team leader.
In 2011, Tarasca transferred to the Philadelphia Field Office, where he served on the Violent Crimes Task Force. In 2013, he became supervisory special agent of the task force before returning to Afghanistan in 2016 to work counterterrorism and kidnapping matters.
In 2017, Tarasca was named assistant special agent in charge of the Counterterrorism Division of the New York Field Office and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
In 2018, Tarasca was promoted to section chief in the International Operations Division, where he oversaw FBI operations in Europe and Eurasia and the Global Readiness Unit. In 2019, he returned to the New York Field Office, serving as special agent in charge of the Counterterrorism Division and JTTF.
In 2021, he was named deputy assistant director of operations in the Counterterrorism Division at headquarters in 2021.
Tarasca received 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 has a bachelor’s degree in management from Eastern University and was a Pennsylvania state trooper before joining the FBI.
