Steven M. Martinez Named Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office

Washington, D.C. – Steven M. Martinez, a 19-year veteran of the FBI, was recently named Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III announced. Mr. Martinez has been serving in the Cyber Division at FBI Headquarters since 2003 — most recently as the Division’s Acting Assistant Director. He replaces Ellen Knowlton who has retired from FBI service.

Director Mueller said, “Throughout his career, Mr. Martinez has served in many key positions and assignments. His diverse range of experience uniquely qualifies him to lead the FBI’s Las Vegas office through complex challenges in confronting today’s criminal and terrorist threats.”

Prior to his assignment with the FBI’s Cyber Division, Mr. Martinez served as the FBI’s first On-scene Commander at Central Command (CENTCOM), Doha, Qatar, and in Baghdad during the staging and commencement of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In this role, he was in charge of all deployed FBI personnel and managed the FBI’s Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence efforts spanning the initial combat phase of the war.

Mr. Martinez also previously served as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) in the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office where he managed the Organized Crime/Drug Branch and the Cyber Branch. He has also served in FBI offices in Phoenix, Arizona, Washington D.C., and El Paso, Texas where he worked drug and violent crimes cases.

Mr. Martinez entered on duty with the FBI in January 1987. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from St. Mary’s College of California in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government and in 1986 received a Master’s Degree in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley.