Peter Forcelli

Retired ATF Deputy Assistant Director, Former NYPD Homicide Detective, and “Operation Fast & Furious" Scandal Whistleblower

Peter J. Forcelli is a retired ATF Deputy Assistant Director and former NYPD homicide detective. He worked his way up from "beat cop" to detective, before going on to serve as a Special Agent for the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. There, he rose through the ranks of ATF, eventually becoming a Deputy Assistant Director, where he served as senior ATF official in charge of operations for the Eastern U.S. before assuming command as the head of training for the agency. He has made over 1,000 arrests and has served over 300 search warrants in his career. He is perhaps best known for his work on numerous highly successful criminal cases, including the "Sex, Money, Murder" racketeering investigation, and the investigation into the Neese Bello Organization, which led to members of the group pleading guilty to over 145 home invasion style robberies. He was also a "whistleblower," who came forward and testified in the congressional inquiry into the "Operation Fast & Furious" scandal, following the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

Over the span of his career Mr. Forcelli served in leadership positions within ATF in Phoenix, Arizona; Eastern Canada; Miami, Florida and in ATF Headquarters. While serving as the Special Agent in Charge of the Miami Field Division, he oversaw ATF’s response to several mass shootings, including those at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland Florida. He also oversaw ATF’s investigation into Omar Mateen and his acquisition of the firearms that were used in the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

Mr. Forcelli has also been involved in the exoneration of eight people who were wrongfully arrested and convicted in Bronx, New York, for murders that they did not commit, including a man that he helped arrest nearly a quarter of a century earlier when evidence of that man's innocence surfaced. Mr. Forcelli helped each of those people win their freedom, while also identifying and working to help prosecute the actual killers.
Mr. Forcelli is a survivor of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Center, and the lung cancer that he later developed because of his work in the rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero. He is a recurring guest speaker at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.