Employee Biographies

John received his BA in Criminal Justice in 1989 from Southeastern Louisiana University.  After graduating he joined the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1991 and attended the DEA Basic Agent Academy in Quantico, VA.  Upon completion, John was stationed at the DEA Brownsville Resident Office, Brownsville, TX. John worked in the Brownsville RO from 1992 through 2010. During his time at the DEA Brownsville RO, he worked on numerous cases involving Drug Trafficking Organizations that coordinated the importation, transportation and distribution of significant amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine throughout the United States. John also traveled overseas to the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica to further several of these investigations.  John was also the designated Security Officer for the DEA Brownsville Office for numerous years. In 2010, he was selected and transferred to the DEA Austin Resident Office where he assisted in starting the DEA Tactical Diversion Squad, which investigated the illegal diversion of pharmaceutical drugs. John was also the designated Security Officer for the DEA Austin RO for several years.  In 2021, he retired from the DEA after serving 30 years. During his time with DEA, John conducted hundreds of interviews with defendants and witnesses throughout the United States. John has also testified in numerous Federal Courts in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Minnesota. For 30 years John has conducted and participated in various types of surveillance from stationary to rolling surveillance.     

After receiving a BS in Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement from Stephen F. Austin State University (where he was the quarterback, of course.) Tony joined the United States Marine Corp, where he was assigned to the Military Police (MP) for five years. He is a combat veteran, and has been deployed to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. He became a member of the Naval Investigative Services (currently known as NCIS) specializing in narcotics investigations.  While in the service Tony received MA in Business Administration & Management. 

Upon his honorable discharge from the Marines, Tony went to work for the Los Angeles Police Department.  Tony worked in LAPD’s elite Metropolitan Division, where they planned and executed high-risk arrest warrants and provided executive protection for dignitaries and government leaders.

After six years with LAPD, Tony joined DEA, where he graduated number one in his class and was assigned to the Austin Resident Office.  After that, Tony became an Instructor in DEA’s International Training Division, a Senior Criminal Investigator in Cartagena, Colombia, a Group Supervisor in the Foreign-Deployed and Support Team (FAST), where he was assigned to DEA Headquarters, Afghanistan, Peru, and Honduras. His career continued with him becoming the Acting Section Chief, FAST Unit, a Group Supervisor in the New Orleans Field Division, Assistant Regional Director, Africa Region, Cape Town, South Africa, and finally, Senior Executive Service (SES) Deputy Special Agent in Charge, Houston Field Division. 

Tony’s honors and awards include Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Land Interdiction Awards (two), DEA Administrator’s Awards (two), International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association Special Award of Honor, Texas 100 Club Award, Employer Support of the Guard & Reserve Award, and since 2014 was a member of DEA’s Trauma Team (Executive Member since 2018) 

Tony has 36 years of professional law enforcement experience and SIC is proud to have him on staff.