Byron J. San Marco

Senior Special Agent, ATF (Ret.)
Investigations, Security, and International Program Management

Byron J. San Marco has spent his career at the point where investigations, security, and international operations meet. He retired from the U.S. Department of Justice as a Senior Special Agent and Program Manager with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, then spent five years advising justice-sector development programs overseas, and went on to lead a security team supporting U.S. Army Futures Command. He now consults independently across all three.

Over twenty years with ATF, Mr. San Marco initiated, organized, and directed complex investigations, specializing in transnational organized crime, money laundering, counterterrorism, and public corruption. He served as a key member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force and was accountable for the budgets, personnel, and equipment allocation behind his case strategies. As a Program Manager at the GS-14 level, he directed and coordinated business and operational functions within the Department of Justice.

His work was rarely confined to one country. Mr. San Marco directed domestic and international training missions and logistical operations across Central and South America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East, living and operating in austere environments including Iraq and Pakistan. He coordinated with the Department of State and the Department of Defense, developed training for law enforcement and military personnel in the international arena, created policy guidelines for domestic and international missions, and served as a member of the State Department’s Civilian Response Corps within the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization. He was also detailed to the U.S. Secret Service and the State Department for dignitary protection.

After retiring from federal service in 2015, Mr. San Marco spent five years with PAE, formerly SAIC and Engility Corporation, on the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program. He served as Assistant Program Manager and Chief of Operations in the Philippines, Complex Crimes Advisor in Serbia, and Senior Mission Advisor in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Working as a contractor with the Department of Justice in support of the State Department’s foreign assistance policy, he drafted country work plans for INL approval, supervised American and local national staff, managed operations and budgets, coordinated with USAID, and represented DOJ at the U.S. Embassy. His subject-matter work spanned capacity building, security cooperation, monitoring and evaluation, financial fraud and corruption investigations, counter-narcotics, counter-transnational organized crime, and combating terrorism.

From July 2021 to April 2024, Mr. San Marco served as Senior Security Specialist, Analyst, and Team Lead with SPS Inc. in Austin, managing security functions within U.S. Army Futures Command. He coordinated and managed physical security for five stand-alone facilities and security for command structure personnel, with concentrations spanning special event security planning and vulnerability assessments, the Emergency Operations Center, operations security, anti-terrorism and force protection, and continuity of operations. He served as administrator of the command’s mass warning and notification system.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Business Administration, St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, TX

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENSES

• Commercial Pilot: Airplane, Single and Multi-Engine Land (Instrument), and Rotorcraft (Helicopter)
• Certified Explosives Specialist and Instructor (CES)
• Certified Firearms Instructor
• Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), Federal Acquisition Institute
• Advanced Peace Officer Certification (Instructor), Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, active license
• Antiterrorism Officer, U.S. Army
• Private Investigator License, State of Texas

SELECTED SPECIALIZED TRAINING

• Criminal Investigator Training Program, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Brunswick, GA
• Law Enforcement Instructor Training Program, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Brunswick, GA
• Whole-of-Government Planning for Reconstruction and Stabilization, National Defense University, College of International Security Affairs, Washington, D.C.
• Sec/Non-Traditional Operating Environments (OT401), U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service
• Specialized Department of Justice training in emergency management, operational and physical security, loss prevention, dignitary and executive protection, advanced and analytic interviewing, asset forfeiture, financial fraud, money laundering, and complex conspiracy investigations

SELECTED AWARDS AND HONORS

• Sustained Superior Performance Awards, U.S. Department of Justice, ATF
• Foreign Service Medals, U.S. Department of Justice, ATF
• Director’s Awards (2), Texas Department of Public Safety

CLEARANCE

Held Top Secret/SCI clearance