Richard C. Powers Named Special Agent in Charge of Houston Division

Richard C. Powers has been named special agent in charge (SAC) of the FBI’s Houston Division. Director Robert S. Mueller, III appointed him to this position to replace SAC Andrew Bland, III, who retired. Most recently, Mr. Powers, a 19-year veteran of the FBI, served as assistant director of the Office of Congressional Affairs at FBI Headquarters.

Mr. Powers entered on duty as an FBI special agent in 1991. Upon completion of training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, he was assigned to the Columbia Division, where he worked general criminal matters. In 1996, he was transferred to FBI Headquarters, where he was assigned to the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime/Drug Section. During that time, he coordinated interagency policy issues, international initiatives, and major investigations.

From 1998 to 2004, Mr. Powers was assigned to the Houston Division. While there, he was detailed to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to supervise a multi-agency major case squad; supervised an FBI-sponsored violent crime task force; and served as the supervisory senior resident agent of the Texas City Resident Agency, responsible for FBI efforts along the Texas Gulf Coast. He was named assistant special agent in charge of the Houston Division in 2002, with oversight responsibility for the division’s counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and cyber programs.

In 2004, Mr. Powers returned to FBI Headquarters, first serving as an inspector in the Inspection Division and then as section chief in the Office of Congressional Affairs. He was named SAC of the FBI’s Denver Division in 2005, where he provided oversight for all FBI operations in Colorado and Wyoming. In 2007, he was named assistant director of the FBI’s Office of Congressional Affairs.

Mr. Powers was a recipient of the Director’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Law Enforcement Community in 2004. He has served in special assignments related to crisis management and law enforcement hostage/crisis negotiations. He completed advanced negotiation training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and is a graduate of the National Negotiators Course at Scotland Yard, London. In addition to training state and local officers, his assignments have included terrorist kidnappings in Kashmir, India, and numerous U.S. hostage/barricade incidents.

Before beginning his career with the FBI, Mr. Powers was a police officer and drug task force supervisor in the Chicago area. He was also a college legal instructor, state prosecutor, and a civil litigation attorney in Florida. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in international studies from the University of West Florida and a Juris Doctor degree from the Florida State University College of Law. He is married and has three children.