For Immediate Release
November 10, 1999

Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office

FBI Director Louis J. Freeh today announced that Assistant Director Thomas J. Pickard has been named Deputy Director of the FBI, effective December 1, 1999. The Deputy Director is the second highest ranking position in the FBI.

Director Freeh said, "Tom Pickard brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the position of Deputy Director of the FBI. He has proven to be a man of uncompromising integrity and unswerving dedication in the service of the FBI and the American people. Tom brings to the position a long history of exemplary performance that has become his trademark. Significant accomplishments in a broad range of areas have defined his career with the FBI and will serve him well in this important position."

"I am so pleased that Tom Pickard has been chosen to become the Deputy Director of the FBI team as we head into the new millennium." said Attorney General Janet Reno. "As Deputy Director, Tom's expertise in crime fighting, combined with his strong financial management background, will further enhance his record of dedicated, high-caliber service."

Mr. Pickard was born in Woodside, Queens, New York, in 1950, where he also received his early education. He graduated from St. Francis College, Brooklyn, New York, in 1972 with a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Accounting. Mr Pickard received his Masters of Business Administration Degree in Taxation from St. John's University, Jamaica, New York, in 1974. He is a Certified Public Accountant, licenced by the state of New York.

Mr. Pickard began his career as a Special Agent of the FBI on January 13, 1975, and, after a period of training, initially was assigned to the New York Field Office. Mr. Pickard later was assigned to the Committee on Appropriations, Surveys, and Investigative Staff, U.S. House of Representatives.

In April, 1979, Mr Pickard was transferred to the Washington, D.C., Field Office where he worked in an undercover capacity on the case code named "ABSCAM." In July, 1980, he was promoted to FBI Headquarters, serving in the Inspection and Criminal Investigative Divisions.

In October, 1984, Mr Pickard reported to the New York Field Office as a Supervisor in the White Collar Crime Section. In 1987, he was appointed to be the Assistant Special Agent in Charge for all White Collar Crime investigations in the New York Field Office, and in 1989 for all Violent Crimes matters.

Later in 1989, Mr. Pickard was selected for the FBI's Senior Executive Service and was transferred to FBI Headquarters, where he oversaw the FBI's finance operations and, subsequently, its personnel operations. In 1993, Mr. Pickard was promoted to the New York Field Office once again to serve as the Special Agent in Charge of its National Security Division, supervising such matters as the trials of the World Trade Center bombing defendants, the trial of Sheik Omar Ahmed Ali Abdel Rahman and his co-conspirators, the conviction of Ramzi Youssef and his associates for plotting to blow up U. S. Airliners, and the day-to-day supervision of the investigation into the explosion of TWA 800.

On September 10, 1996, FBI Director Louis Freeh named Mr. Pickard to the position of Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office. In that capacity, Mr. Pickard oversaw such matters as the investigation of the Pitts espionage case, the overseas capture of convicted CIA killer Mir Aimal Kasi, and the Al Hayat letter bomb case.

On February 2, 1998, Mr. Pickard assumed the position of Assistant Director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters where he presided over such investigations as the capture of Top Ten Fugitives Rafael Resendez-Ramirez and Martin Frankel, the Operation Sudden Stop cargo/vehicle theft initiative, and the initial investigation of the East Africa Embassy bombings.