Joseph M. Demarest, Jr. Reports as Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office's Counterterrorism Division

Washington, D.C. - Director Robert S. Mueller announced the appointment of Joseph M. Demarest, Jr., an 18 year veteran of the FBI, as the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the FBI's New York Field Office's Counterterrorism Division. In his new role, SAC Demarest will lead a diverse team of professionals assigned to fighting domestic and international terrorism in southern and eastern New York State.

Mr. Demarest began his career as a Special Agent with the FBI in 1988. He was initially assigned to the Anchorage Division where he investigated White Collar Crime, Drug, Violent Crimes, and Foreign Counter Intelligence cases. In 1990, Mr. Demarest was transferred to the New York Field Office where he was assigned to a Colombian Drug squad. In 1999, he was promoted to squad Supervisor and was selected as the Field Office's SWAT Team Leader. In 2000, he was selected and served for 18 months as the Drug Branch's Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge.

After the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, Mr. Demarest was selected as one of two Shift Commanders for the PENTTBOM investigation. In that position, he led an ad hoc task force of over 400 federal, state and local investigators from over 40 disparate agencies daily to address over 5,500 PENTTBOM related leads. In 2002, Mr. Demarest deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he served as the FBI's Agent-In-Charge of detainee operations.

In 2002, Mr. Demarest was promoted to Unit Chief at FBI Headquarters and served as a Unit Chief in the International Terrorism Operations Section (ITOS). In 2003, he was promoted to the position of Assistant Section Chief in ITOS. He was subsequently selected and served for one year as an Acting Section Chief in ITOS until his promotion in May 2005 to Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of the International Terrorism Branch of the Counterterrorism Division (CTD) in New York City. After serving seven months as ASAC, Mr. Demarest was selected as the Acting Special Agent in Charge of New York Field Office's CTD.

Mr. Demarest was employed as a Deputy Sheriff with the Hillsborough County, Florida, Sheriff's Office for five years prior to joining the FBI. He is married and has two children.