Charles F. McGonigal, a former FBI Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office, has been arrested on charges of accepting $225,000 in cash from a foreign individual who had business interests in Europe, while serving as the head of FBI counterintelligence efforts in the New York office. He retired from the FBI in September 2018.
The indictment, unsealed today, states that from August 2017 to his retirement in September 2018, McGonigal concealed his relationship with a former foreign intelligence officer and businessperson, who had ongoing interests abroad, and requested and received at least $225,000 in cash from the individual, while traveling and meeting with foreign nationals. The individual later served as an FBI source in a criminal investigation that McGonigal had official supervisory responsibility over. He is also accused of engaging in conduct in his official capacity as an FBI Special Agent in Charge that he believed would financially benefit the businessperson.
McGonigal has been charged with concealing material facts, six counts of making false statements, and two counts of falsification of records and documents. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years and twenty years of imprisonment respectively. McGonigal’s initial appearance in the District of Columbia has not yet been scheduled.
