Una Riley our USA Correspondent is back in Los Angeles talking to security professionals there. This month: Maureen O’Connell former FBI Agent (Retired), private security businesswoman and media executive.
As soon as I arrived in LA I contacted my former FBI source. I wanted to meet a WiS (Woman in Security) that had been an FBI agent who was now out in the private security industry. I was told the woman to meet was Maureen O’Connell, CEO and President of MOA; Maureen O’Connell Associates. A company specialising in risk mitigation, TSCM (Technical Surveillance Counter-Measures, the original United States federal government abbreviation denoting the process of bug-sweeping or electronic counter surveillance), and Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) training. The company deals with ‘Adversary Threat Assessment’ which equates to critical infrastructure protection, physical or digital. O’Connell was highly referenced as a former FBI Agent (Retired). Over here they like to be referred to as FBI Agent (Retired) because it is an indication that the agent has worked the full term and not just joined the FBI for a couple of years. There are a lot of former FBI Agents that have not served their full stint. It is one of those internal bugbears that the people working within the organisation consider important. It works as an indicator to others.
I was aware of this fact prior to the interview. The venue for the meeting was one of the luxury hotels, on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. The sun was shining as I made my way to the meeting and I compared it with the weather in the UK having recently received pictures from my next-door neighbours showing my home covered in snow! I arrived in the lobby and O’Connell came over to greet me. Although we had never met, she said: “I guess you’re Una … I have a nice table arranged.” Sure enough, that was the case and we immediately ordered tea and started to chat and get to know each other. We decided to move to a quieter location in the hotel to start the interview. Strangely enough, the pool area was the quietest space, there was no music being piped through and the hustle and bustle of a busy hotel lounge had been abandoned for the tranquillity of the serene and zen pool area. We had positioned ourselves in a shaded corner of the terrace.
I began by asking her to tell me about her background and when she came into the wider world of security. O’Connell replied: “I began my career with the FBI in 1991. I then spent the next 25 years constantly learning and growing as an investigator. My areas of expertise are forensics, gangs, narcotics and Critical Infrastructure Resiliency.” We then started to chat about the gang situation in Los Angeles and I informed O’Connell of my interview with the LAPD Gang specialist officers and the interview with ‘Spanky Ramirez’ a major LA gang member. We talked for ages about the gang subject. We then moved from talking about gangs to crime in general. O’Connell talked about her former ‘jobs’ and arrests.
She stressed she would only discuss work that was already public record and made it quite clear that she would not discuss clients, or any information deemed inappropriate from a security perspective. Having agreed, she talked about one of her previous cases that resonated with me due to the character having been second on the FBI ‘Ten Most Wanted Fugitives‘ list … number two with Osama bin Laden at the top. When bin Laden was caught James Joseph ‘Whitey’ Bulger Junior moved to number one. It’s a fascinating story; the infamous Bulger was a former organised crime boss. Federal prosecutors indicted ‘Whitey’ Bulger for nineteen murders based on grand jury testimony.
‘Whitey’ Bulger is the brother of William Michael “Billy” Bulger) a retired American Democratic politician and lawyer from South Boston, Massachusetts, whose 18-year tenure as President of the Massachusetts Senate is the longest in history. He was also president of the University of Massachusetts, where he was forced to resign from after he refused to testify in a 2003 Congressional hearing about communications he had with his then-fugitive brother. On December 23, 1994, ‘Whitey’ Bulger fled Boston and went into hiding for 16 years, where he remained at large … hence the FBI’s most wanted list. On June 22, 2011, after a painstaking investigation, O’Connell and her team moved in and arrested Bulger outside an apartment in Santa Monica, California. Bulger was 81 at the time but unrepentant. When arrested one of the FBI agents enquired if he felt better knowing he would never have to be looking over his shoulder again. ‘Whitey’s response was. “Are you F***** kidding me!” In 2013 ‘Whitey’ Bulger went on trial for 32 counts of racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and weapons charges, including complicity in 19 murders. On November 14, 2013 he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.
We moved from talking about her former FBI experiences to that of her involvement with the media as an expert on security and being a member of a well-known media group. But I wanted to find out more about her company MOA Defence – O’Connell Associates. I asked what attracted her to a career in the private security sector. O’Connell replied: “My back ground in the FBI drew me to a second career in the security field.” She went on to explain about a public/private organisation that she had been involved with both as an FBI officer and now as a security professional working in the private sector. O’Connell explained that ‘InfraGard’ is a partnership of individuals representing businesses, academic institutions, state and local law enforcement agencies, and communities who are dedicated to collaborating and sharing information to prevent hostile acts against the United States. There are 45,000-plus members in over 80 local chapters represented nationally by the InfraGard National Members Alliance. The members work with the FBI to help protect the nation’s critical infrastructure from computer intrusions, physical security breaches, and other attacks. Each FBI field office works with at least one chapter to discuss threats and share experiences and best practices. Only American citizens can be members.
The application process is strict, and applicants must consent to a security risk assessment and to periodic re-confirmation of the security risk assessments. I asked what the vetting consisted of and O’Connell explained that the risk assessment is a membership vetting process completed by the FBI which includes local, state, and federal criminal history and driver’s license, citizenship, and other security-related database checks. However, after all that, the companies are made aware that under no circumstances do the checks equate to a security clearance by the FBI. The vetting process is only in relation to InfraGard membership. O’Connell continued: “During my time as the InfraGard Coordinator, helping critical infrastructure become more resilient, and providing training, I became aware of the multitude of vulnerabilities our key resources were exposed to, and I sought innovative solutions for our partners.” She continued to explain about the wealth of skills that she was able to accrue and transfer from her experience working on both sides of the coin as far as public and private security service is concerned. She explained that her business is made up of people who are experts in their field. O’Connell said: “I created a team whose strengths rival any I have ever come across. We work extremely hard to mitigate any threat our clients might experience. Our skillset is strong and deep, as is our bench of experts. We provide our clients with the best Technical Security Counter Measures (TSCM), also known as Electronic Counter Measures (ECM), using the finest instruments to sweep for unauthorized listening/monitoring devices. What sets us apart from the rest, is our ability to examine the interoperability of all the systems within a home or business. Often, most people attach a new camera system to an existing system, or they add devices that are connected via Wi-Fi, and in doing so, significantly increase vulnerability. We look at every aspect of the systems and lock them down on every front.”
We talked at length about this type of work. It might seem a bit much to have such a large domestic market for these services, but this is LA and the executive homes have a need for this type of service from the movie business, to industrialists and entrepreneurs. O’Connell explained that her company do not advertise. I asked, if she does not advertise how does she generate business? She replied: “My business is generated purely by word of mouth, and referrals.”
Having stayed in Los Angeles on and off for almost ten years I have seen some changes and the worst one (from a security perspective) is the so called ‘Sanctuary City’ policy. California has declared itself a ‘Sanctuary State’. Although this plays out as a political issue by making out that it is an immigration issue and not a criminal issue. We have the state challenging existing Federal Law … that’s how the Civil War started over here! It just seems like madness to a security professional … it’s reminiscent of the old wild west and places like Dodge City! I was interested to find out what O’Connell thought as a non-political person but as a former law enforcement officer. I asked her thoughts about ‘Sanctuary Cities’. She replied: “I am not a fan of Sanctuary Cities, nor do I care for the use of the word Sanctuary in this particular instance. I am, however a supporter of immigration, as I am the granddaughter of immigrants. What I don’t care for is illegal immigration, or any illegal activity for that matter. When I hear stories of people being in any country for 25-plus years, and never becoming a citizen, it begs the question why?”
The reason is simple, but no one wants to face the reality? Moving swiftly on we resumed discussing O’Connell and Associates – MOA Defence. Having broken out on her own into the security industry has she found being female has had any advantages or disadvantages in the private sector? O’Connell smiled and replied: “I had heard that being a female could help, but I haven’t noticed any uptick in work based on my gender thus far.” We expanded on the subject and then I said that in the UK we are still struggling with the issue of gender pay gaps … a recent forum estimated that it will take 200 years to achieve parity. She responded: “Within law enforcement within the United States, we do not have any pay gap between males and females. My husband is a Police Lieutenant here in Los Angeles, and he and I have discussed this at length. The concept of paying a man more for the same work as a woman seems foreign to us, and we can’t understand why it still happens elsewhere? Women and men get the same pay every step of the way, without exception within the FBI. This has never been an issue in my 25 years of experience with the organisation.” Staying with Women in Security we discussed the PSM-WiS Awards at length and I mentioned that USA security professionals had won it on a couple of occasions. I asked if there are any such awards here in the USA other than the individual industry awards such as ASIS that are made as recognition specifically for female security professionals? O’Connell thought about it and said: “As far as I know, there is no such award given in America. I would like to explore the possibilities of such an award and see if perhaps we could work together to make that happen?”
