Lt. Colonel Fred Snellings, Deputy Commissioner (Biography)
Lieutenant Colonel Fred Snellings was appointed and confirmed by the Georgia Board of Public Safety on February 14, 2008.
Lt. Colonel Snellings has served more than 37 years in public service. He served four years in the United States Marine Corps (USMC). After 18 months in the USMC, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant meritoriously in Vietnam. After serving his country in the military, he joined the Georgia State patrol where he served from 1972 to 1983 attaining the rank of Sergeant.
In May 1983, Lt. Colonel Snellings entered on duty with the FBI as a Special Agent and upon completion of New Agents' Training, was assigned to Atlanta, GA, FBI Field Office. In June 1984, he was transferred to Alexandria, VA where he served until April 1986, when he was transferred to Cleveland, OH, FBI Field Office. In August 1991, Lt. Colonel Snellings was promoted to a Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) position in the Special Detail Unit, Administrative Services Division, at FBI Headquarters (FBIHQ), Washington D.C. In April 1994, he was transferred to an SSA position in the Violent Crime/Fugitive Unit, Criminal Investigative Division at FBIHQ. In April 1995, he was promoted to the Supervisory Senior Resident Agent of the Youngtown, OH office. In this capacity, he oversaw 13 months of Title III intercepts which resulted in the convictions of over 75 high profile individuals. In April 1999, Lt. Colonel Snellings was promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of the Atlanta, GA FBI Field Office where he functioned as the second-in-command of all the FBI's Criminal Operations in Georgia. He coordinated, managed and directed investigative programs focused on financial crime, violent crime, organized crime, violation of individual civil rights, drug related crimes and informant matters associated with these investigative areas.
After serving as ASAC of the Atlanta Field Office, Lt. Colonel Snellings was appointed in April 2002 by FBI Director Robert Mueller to the New York FBI Field Office as Special Agent in Charge. He served as Executive Manager responsible for all criminal operations in New York, the FBI's largest field office. His scope of aggregate responsibilities included oversight, organization and planning of several million dollars annual budget, as well as several hundred employees. He maintained continuous and direct liaison with local Police Commissioners and other senior local, state and federal law enforcement executives regarding criminal investigative issues in the New York City metropolitan area. He also cultivated senior contacts in the domestic and international intelligence/law enforcement communities.
Lt. Colonel Snellings retired from the FBI in 2005. Prior to his most recent appointment, he was the Senior Manager for an international security company in charge of the Atlanta, GA branch. His responsibilities included oversight of direct operations for all financial, administrative, training, security operations, sales and maintaining customer relationships directly related to security services for the state of GA.
Lt. Colonel Snellings holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Morehouse College and a Master's degree in Public Administration from Brenau University. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy, Session 128, Quantico VA, the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL., and the Executive Leadership Program, Georgia Leadership Institute, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.
Lt. Colonel Snellings and his wife Evelyn have two adult children and live in Peachtree City.