A financially distressed former Dallas FBI agent was arrested Wednesday on charges of plotting to kill his estranged wife, who is also an FBI employee, as well as the special agent in charge of the Dallas FBI field office.
Carlos Ortiz, 48, of Red Oak, who performed technical functions for the bureau, was fired Wednesday before being taken into custody at the FBI offices in Dallas. He is being held at the Dallas County Jail until a scheduled appearance today in federal court on charges of threatening to assault or murder a federal law-enforcement officer.
Ortiz allegedly told a friend recently that he was planning to kill his wife, an FBI analyst whom he is divorcing, and Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Casey Jr., according to those familiar with the investigation.
Casey had placed Ortiz on leave earlier this year pending an investigation into allegations of domestic violence. Ortiz, a 21-year veteran of the bureau, was summoned to the FBI offices Wednesday and fired.
"Due to the pending criminal matter it is inappropriate for the FBI to comment any further on this issue," the bureau said in a statement Wednesday. "Any release of additional information concerning the criminal charges and other associated activity will be provided through the United States attorney's office, as appropriate."
After Ortiz allegedly told the friend about his homicidal plans a few days ago, that friend alerted the bureau. Agents launched an investigation and gathered evidence to show Ortiz had violent intentions.
Authorities recently assigned security to Ortiz's wife while they investigated the threat. She could not be reached for comment, and her divorce lawyer, Mike Dickey, declined to comment.
Ortiz could not be reached. As federal agents searched his Red Oak home Wednesday night, his family and friends there told reporters that he was not a violent man.
"He's being treated like a criminal," said Ortiz's girlfriend, Rosa Martinez, 39. "He's given his life to the United States government."
Martinez said Ortiz did not assault his wife.
"They suspended him without pay because of something she said," Martinez said. "They've never heard his side."
Ortiz's father, Carlos Ortiz Valles, who lives with him in Red Oak, said he and his son could barely afford to feed themselves while Ortiz was on unpaid leave from his job, which paid him more than $100,000 annually, according court records.
"He was retiring next year," Valles said. "He's not going to throw away his career" by making threats.
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SOURCE: Dallas Morning News - Jason Trahan
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