Chicago FBI boss Douglas S. DePodesta will leave his job after the Fourth of July holiday, an unexpected move causing further tumult in the city’s federal law enforcement community, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
His last day on the job will be Monday, according to a law enforcement source.
DePodesta led the agency’s Chicago Field Office for nearly two years, taking the helm in August 2024. He’s been with the FBI since 2002, and over the course of his career he’s worked investigations involving drugs, corruption, terrorism and foreign counterintelligence. He’s repeatedly touted the value of partnerships between federal, state and local law enforcement while serving as the FBI’s special agent in charge.
During his tenure, the FBI saw the culmination of its long-running corruption investigation that ended with the conviction and sentencing of former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, now serving a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence in West Virginia. The FBI also led counter-terrorism efforts, leading in part to the conviction of a former Navy Sailor who helped plan an attack on the Naval Station Great Lakes.
On Wednesday, it touted the arrest of an alleged member of the criminal cyber hacking group Scattered Spider.
“Thanks to our international partnerships and cross-agency collaboration, the FBI successfully identified a known Scattered Spider actor alleged to have targeted hardworking Americans and critical infrastructure,” DePodesta said in a press release Wednesday.
However, the FBI did not comment on the reason for DePodesta’s sudden departure, and he could not be reached Wednesday.
His unexplained exit comes in the midst of a credibility crisis for U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros, who appeared at a Washington, D.C., press conference Wednesday with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel. It all started with the May 21 collapse of the “Broadview Six” prosecution, brought against a group of Operation Midway Blitz protesters.
The case imploded over allegations of prosecutor misconduct before a grand jury that have led to calls not only for Boutros’ resignation, but for a special counsel to investigate Boutros and others. Nancy DePodesta, an attorney for one of the defendants in the “Broadview Six” case, is Douglas DePodesta’s sister-in-law. She did not comment Wednesday.
Boutros has promised “sweeping” grand jury reforms and a review of nearly 20 years of work by Sheri Mecklenburg, the veteran federal prosecutor accused of misconduct before the grand jury. But that hasn’t stopped judges from questioning the work of the feds in the six weeks since the “Broadview Six” case collapsed.
For example, U.S. Magistrate Judge Keri Holleb Hotaling has promised to hold a hearing to consider sanctions against the feds tied to the attempted robbery of undercover federal officers in Country Club Hills. Boutros’ office dropped charges related to the robbery, at least temporarily, after a video raised doubts about the accuracy of claims in a sworn affidavit.
Prosecutors argued this week that Holleb Hotaling did not have authority to conduct the hearing, originally set for Thursday. The judge on Wednesday agreed to a “brief” delay of that hearing and sought input from defense attorneys.
That prosecution is not directly related to the “Broadview Six,” but Holleb Hotaling told lawyers June 18, “this court is very concerned that I cannot rely on the information that is provided to me either from the U.S. Attorney’s Office or from agents … when I’m swearing out an affidavit now, right?”
Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland asked a prosecutor from Boutros’ office on Wednesday whether he stood by the representations he made when he declined to oppose the compassionate release from prison of convicted fraud defendant Yale Schiff.
He is represented by Christopher Parente, another “Broadview Six” defense attorney who has now raised questions about the grand jury proceedings in Schiff’s case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Minje Shin said the decision not to oppose Schiff’s release from prison had nothing to do with questions about the grand jury. Shin stood by that claim Wednesday when reminded by Rowland of his “duty of candor” and role as an “officer of the court.” Rowland clearly was not convinced, especially given how rare it is for federal prosecutors to agree to a defendant’s compassionate release.
But it’s just as rare for a judge to question the credibility of a federal prosecutor. And Wednesday, Rowland said Shin’s position “concerns me.”