Stu McArthur Named Special Agent in Charge of Springfield Division

Stu McArthur has been named special agent in charge (SAC) of the FBI’s Springfield Division. Director Robert S. Mueller, III appointed him to this position to replace SAC Karen Spangenberg, who was recently named deputy assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division. Most recently, Mr. McArthur served as an inspector in the Inspection Division at FBI Headquarters.

Mr. McArthur entered on duty as an FBI special agent in 1990. Following the completion of training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, he was assigned to the New York Division. While there, he worked on a drug enforcement task force with the New York Police Department (NYPD), investigating Colombian drug cartels. In 1998, he was promoted to supervisor in the Drug Section’s Special Operations Division at FBI Headquarters. Serving on this joint project with the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, he was responsible for the coordination of multi-division investigations targeting Colombian drug cartels.

In 2000, Mr. McArthur returned to the New York Division as a field supervisor, in charge of a drug enforcement task force with the NYPD. His team was responsible for the investigation of regional drug trafficking groups directly linked to the Mexican and Colombian cartels. In 2003, the squad led the New York Division’s Drug Branch in drug seizures, arrests, and indictments. Following the events of September 11, 2001, Mr. McArthur supervised squad efforts in the New York command post, responding to recovery efforts at Ground Zero and immediate threat response.

In 2004, Mr. McArthur was promoted to assistant special agent in charge in the Miami Division, responsible for the FBI’s fourth largest Counterterrorism Program. As chief of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force (SF JTTF), he led the efforts of over 150 investigators and analysts from 38 agencies. During his tenure, the SF JTTF conducted several major counterterrorism investigations, such as the Jose Padilla case, the Liberty City Seven case, and the investigation of the hostage taking of three U.S. contractors by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC. Under his supervision, the SF JTTF also conducted significant undercover operations targeting international terrorist organizations.

Mr. McArthur also served as the on-scene commander of the Miami SWAT Team from 2004 to 2006, overseeing high-risk arrests and hostage rescue operations. From March to June 2008, he was deployed to Afghanistan as the FBI’s on-scene commander embedded with U.S. Military and Coalition Forces. Later that year, Director Mueller appointed Mr. McArthur as an inspector at FBI Headquarters, where he oversaw the review of FBI national programs and operations, as well as the investigation of several critical shooting incidents.