Thomas R. Metz Named Special Agent in Charge of Omaha Division

Director Robert S. Mueller, III today named Thomas R. Metz special agent in charge of the FBI’s Omaha Division. In this position, he will oversee FBI operations in Nebraska and Iowa. Mr. Metz most recently served as section chief in the FBI’s Organized Crime Section at FBI Headquarters, a role he held since 2009.

Mr. Metz began his career as an FBI agent in 1989. His first assignment was to the New Orleans Field Office, where he served as the case agent of the HARDCRUST investigation. This investigation targeted the La Cosa Nostra (LCN) infiltration of the video poker industry in the state of Louisiana and led to the indictments and convictions of over 60 members and associates of the Gambino, Genovese, and Marcello crime families. In 1996, Mr. Metz was awarded the Louisiana Metropolitan Crime Commission Agent of the Year and received a certificate of appreciation from the New Orleans U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In 1997, Mr. Metz was promoted to supervisory special agent of the LCN Unit of Criminal Investigative Division (CID) at FBI Headquarters. In 1999, he was appointed supervisory special agent of the Criminal Enterprise Squad, Kansas City Division, where he managed the criminal enterprise program, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) task force, and the Kansas City Division applicant program. In 2002, his squad participated in a court-authorized surveillance operation targeting John Gotti at the Springfield, Missouri Medical Center.

In 2005, Mr. Metz was promoted to assistant section chief of the Organized Crime Section (OCS) of CID at FBI Headquarters. In this capacity, Mr. Metz was responsible for the administrative, financial, and investigative matters of the OCS. Mr. Metz provided executive management of the OCS program, to include the implementation of the OCS Middle Eastern Criminal Enterprise program. Mr. Metz also served as acting section chief of the OCS from May to November 2006.

In June 2007, Mr. Metz transferred to the Columbia Division to serve as assistant special agent in charge. In this role, he was responsible for all criminal investigative and administrative programs in the division’s jurisdiction, to include eight resident agencies throughout South Carolina. In November 2009, Mr. Metz was appointed section chief of the Organized Crime Section of the Criminal Investigative Division, where he oversaw both domestic and international investigations, as well as the largest LCN takedown in history.

Mr. Metz is a native of New Albany, Mississippi. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi in 1985 and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Mississippi Law School in Oxford, Mississippi in 1989. He was subsequently employed with Byrd and Associates law firm until he entered into duty as a special agent. He most recently resided in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and three children.