Matt Kazlauskas didn’t always know that he wanted to join the Federal Bureau of Investigations, but he does credit his father, retired Owensboro Police Chief John Kazlauskas, with his interest in law enforcement.
“His involvement with the Owensboro Police Department was something that I grew up with,” Matt said. “I grew up around police officers so I was familiar and comfortable with the law enforcement environment.”
John’s 42-year career was an example for Matt, who after graduating from Owensboro Catholic High School in 1997 went on to Eastern Kentucky University and eventually obtained a law degree from the University of Kentucky.
Matt practiced law in Lexington before joining the FBI in 2008. He entered the Baltimore division in the violent crime unit, where he worked cases of kidnapping, extortion and bank robbery. He did that for six years, until he landed his current role of weapons of mass destruction coordinator.
According to Matt, his department deals with any biological, chemical, radiological, nuclear or explosive hazards. Since the 2001 anthrax case, Matt said the main thing his department deals with is white powder letters.
“That sort of thing hasn’t really stopped,” he said.
While he says his position involves a lot of outreach in academic communities, government work and in the private sector, he has worked some recent high-profile cases.
Most recently, Matt’s department had a role in the case of Christopher Paul Hasson, the coast guard officer suspected of targeting members of Congress and media figures as well as the case of Cesar Sayoc who was accused of sending pipe bombs in the mail to critics of the president.
“But most white powder letters we deal with now are hoaxes and threat letters,” Matt said.
With almost all governmental mail facilities housed in Maryland, Matt said his department is well positioned.
“From the perspective of being busy, Baltimore is a good place to be because, based on our proximity to D.C., we see a whole lot of work,” he said.
With offices all over the country and internationally, the FBI offers a lot of opportunities for growth and job diversity.
“The breadth of things you can do with your career is incredibly broad,” Matt said.
Although he enjoys his job and current position, the fact that he is not tied to the Baltimore area means he may want to work internationally or change departments again in the future.
For those interested in the FBI, Matt said a background in law enforcement is not required.
“A lot of people come in with the preconceived notion that to join the Bureau you have to have prior law enforcement or military experience, but that’s not the case,” he said. “As far as our overall personnel we have people from lots of different academic and professional backgrounds as well as geographic and demographic.”
And while it may seem rare that someone from Owensboro works at the FBI, Matt said it isn’t as rare as you would think.
Earlier this year, Matt said he met someone from the Oklahoma City field office at a training course and through casual conversation learned he was a Kentucky Wesleyan College graduate. A supervisor of the FBI bomb tech program in Washington D.C. grew up in Owensboro as well as another agent at the Louisville field office.
“I run into people from Kentucky all the time,” he said. “It’s kind of crazy that you run into people that you have that connection with, a lot more often than you would expect to.”
