Frank Tarentino, a longtime Drug Enforcement Administration special agent and senior leader, has taken on a new role as Associate Chief of Operations for the DEA’s Northeast Region. Tarentino brings nearly three decades of operational, international, and executive experience to one of the agency’s most complex areas of responsibility.
Tarentino assumed the role after being appointed by DEA Administrator Terry Cole as part of the agency’s new regional operations management framework. The restructuring is designed to strengthen unity of command, improve resource alignment, and enhance coordination across field divisions as drug trafficking networks become more interconnected and geographically fluid.
In his new position, Tarentino oversees operational priorities across six divisions — New England, New York Enforcement, New York Task Force, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. — covering one of the nation’s most densely populated and operationally demanding regions.
Tarentino joined the DEA in 1998 following military service in the United States Army, where he achieved the rank of Captain and was assigned to 1st Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, United States Army Special Operations Command, and the 25th Infantry Division.
Over the next 27 years, Tarentino held a wide range of domestic and overseas assignments. From 2005 to 2010, he served on the DEA’s Foreign-deployed Advisory and Support Team (FAST), deploying six times to Afghanistan. There, he led teams conducting counternarcotics and counterterrorism operations alongside U.S. Special Operations Forces, coalition military partners, and international counterparts.
After returning stateside, Tarentino advanced through supervisory and executive roles, including Assistant Special Agent in Charge in New Jersey, where he managed more than 160 personnel, and Special Agent in Charge of the Seattle Field Division, overseeing operations across four states. In 2022, he was selected to lead the DEA’s New York Division, the agency’s largest at the time, with responsibility for nearly 800 personnel and multiple offices statewide.
Across those roles, Tarentino directed investigations targeting large-scale drug trafficking organizations, managed complex budgets and workforce operations, and coordinated multi-jurisdictional enforcement efforts tied to fentanyl trafficking and overdose prevention.
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