FBI Chief for Md. Faces Balancing Act

Chase Sees Need To Bolster Fight On Crime, Terror

After running down fugitives in the District and pursuing one of the nation's most storied fugitives, William D. Chase is settling in as the head of the FBI's Baltimore office.

Chase, 50, who assumed the job in June, says that while counterterrorism remains the bureau's top priority, he also wants to dedicate more resources to fighting crime, the bureau's traditional role.

"I'm hoping to make some changes to firm up resources to better address the criminal program," Chase said.

Since the terrorist attacks of 2001, the bureau's top priority has been fighting terrorism, and that is more the case in the Washington area, with its preponderance of government facilities, than elsewhere. The majority of Chase's agents necessarily are assigned to that central responsibility; his agents must follow tips and possible leads of all kinds, even hoaxes, often simply to eliminate them.

Still, he said, he hopes to work more closely with state and local authorities, particularly to address the gang activity that has increasingly taken root in Maryland's Washington suburbs. The Baltimore FBI office covers Maryland and Delaware.

The FBI announced in February that Kevin L. Perkins, then the special agent in charge of the bureau's Baltimore office, was being appointed assistant director in charge of the FBI's finance division.

Chase replaced him during the summer. Federal law enforcement officials, including U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein, spoke highly of Chase in recent interviews.

Rosenstein, the top federal prosecutor in Maryland, said he and Chase agree that the Baltimore division must be appropriately mindful of the need to balance counterterrorism activities with the bureau's more traditional crime-fighting role.

"I think he's a very experienced and very responsible leader, and I think we're going to work very effectively together," Rosenstein said.

Clare Weber, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said her agency has worked well with the bureau under Chase. "It's just a good partnership," she said. "Everything is all glowing."

Chase comes to the position with an unusual résumé, having started his professional career as a corporate attorney specializing in environmental law. It was "very unfulfilling," said Chase, a graduate of Vermont Law School and a self-described environmentalist.

But Chase had an uncle who was an agent, and over dinner that uncle told stories that intrigued the young lawyer more than a little bit. Chase applied to the bureau "kind of on a whim."