Paul Wysopal Named Special Agent in Charge of Tampa Division

Outgoing Director Robert S. Mueller, III named Paul Wysopal special agent in charge of the FBI’s Tampa Division. Mr. Wysopal most recently served as section chief in the Criminal Justice Information Services Division, overseeing the National Instant Criminal Background Check System in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

Mr. Wysopal began his career as a special agent with the FBI in February 1997. He first reported to the Minneapolis Division, where he investigated financial institution and securities fraud. He also assisted the Bemidji Resident Agency before transferring there to work violent crimes committed on the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

In 2002, Mr. Wysopal was promoted to supervisory special agent in the Office of Congressional Affairs at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and was a liaison with members of Congress, their staff, and oversight committees. The next year, he was assigned to the Counterterrorism Division, detailed to a CIA-led working group. He was then promoted to the Los Angeles Division to supervise the al Qaeda squad in 2004.

In 2007, Mr. Wysopal was promoted to assistant special agent in charge of the National Security Branch at the El Paso Division. Two years later, he was promoted to inspector in charge at the Criminal Investigative Division, assigned to the El Paso Intelligence Center. He served as the ranking FBI employee and performed the roles of associate deputy director and acting deputy director for the center, which consisted of 500 employees from 26 federal, state, and local agencies.

Prior to his appointment with the FBI, Mr. Wysopal was a military lawyer in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps for three years and a civilian attorney for three years.