Phila. FBI chief promoted to NYC post

The agent in charge of the FBI in Philadelphia, Janice Fedarcyk, was promoted Friday to head the FBI field office in New York City, the largest in the nation.

Fedarcyk was named to the post of assistant director of the agency by FBI director Robert S. Mueller 3d.

Fedarcyk was posted to Philadelphia two years ago. She has wide experience in terrorism investigations, and oversaw inquiries into the exploitation of children, Mueller said in a statement. "She is well-prepared to lead our largest office."

In an interview, Fedarcyk praised the work of this region's agents, and added, "I'm just thrilled" to take over the New York office, where she will oversee the "full spectrum" of FBI work.

She became an agent in 1987 and was assigned to Los Angeles. In 1996, Fedarcyk was promoted to FBI headquarters, where she coordinated reaction to domestic and international crises. In 2003, she was selected as the assistant section chief of the Terrorist Financing Operations Section of the Counterterrorism Division.

In 2005, she became the FBI's representative to the National Counterterrorism Center, Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning.

In Philadelphia, FBI agents under Fedarcyk have investigated several terrorism-related cases, including alleged attempted arms-smuggling by Hezbollah. Most famously, a Bucks County woman, Colleen LaRose, or "JihadJane," was charged in connection with an alleged plot to kill a Swedish artist whose drawing of the head of Muhammad on a dog's body generated numerous death threats.

Fedarcyk, 52, will start work in New York in August.