James F. Yacone Named Special Agent in Charge of Denver Field Office

Director Robert S. Mueller, III has named James F. Yacone as the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver Division. Mr. Yacone, keeping up with strong tradition of leadership, has most recently served as a section chief in the Critical Incident Response Group, which involved direct management and oversight of the FBI’s national tactical program, crisis negotiation program, and a variety of mobility and crisis response assets.

A New York native, Mr. Yacone served eight years in the U.S. Army and is a decorated combat veteran. He joined the FBI in 1995 as a special agent.

Mr. Yacone was first assigned to the Philadelphia Division, where he investigated violent drug trafficking organizations, organized crime, and financial institution fraud. He was later selected to serve with the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG) as a member of the Hostage Rescue Team. During his tenure with the CIRG, Mr. Yacone was promoted to supervisory special agent and, later, unit chief, deploying to multiple critical incidents and major investigations around the world in support of the global war on terrorism.

In 2006, Mr. Yacone was appointed as the chief of the FBI’s Aviation and Surveillance Branch. Most notably, he implemented a strategic aircraft replacement plan to upgrade and standardize the FBI’s diverse fleet of airplanes and helicopters.

Mr. Yacone served as an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI Richmond Division’s National Security Branch from 2007 to 2009. In addition to the counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and intelligence programs, he also implemented the FBI’s new threat-based intelligence process for two FBI field divisions. Concurrently, Mr. Yacone was selected by Director Mueller to lead a strategic merger to consolidate a large number of personnel and assets into a unified Surveillance and Aviation Section.

Mr. Yacone graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and attained a Master of Science in criminal justice from Virginia Commonwealth University.

He and his wife, Becky, have three children.