James A. Gagliano is the 29th mayor of the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York. A nationally recognized law enforcement analyst and policing methodology subject matter expert, he occasionally provides on-air analyses of complex law enforcement and counterterror matters. An adjunct assistant professor and doctoral candidate at St. John’s University in Queens, NY, he is a sought-after speaker on criminal justice, homeland security and organizational leadership matters, and delivers keynote addresses for corporate clients and in academic settings. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF).
A 1987 West Point graduate, Gagliano served 25 years in the FBI and was appointed to a variety of investigative, tactical resolution, crisis management, undercover, mid-level and senior management positions, including assignment to FBI’s elite counterterror unit, the Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), and as Senior Team Leader of FBI New York Field Division’s SWAT Team. During the Global War on Terrorism, between 2002 and 2003, he deployed to Afghanistan three separate times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was awarded FBI’s second highest award for valor, the Medal of Bravery, for his SWAT Team’s actions in June of 1993. Between 2008 and 2012, he created and supervised Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force, a multi-agency federal task force that disrupted and dismantled violent street gangs in upstate New York. In one of his final FBI assignments, he studied Spanish language at the US State Department, then served as deputy legal attaché and acting legal attaché at the United States Embassy in México City, México, prior to retiring in 2016.
A 1987 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and US Army veteran, he was commissioned as an Infantry Officer, serving as a light infantry platoon leader and company executive officer in the 10th Mountain Division, while stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia and Fort Drum, New York between 1988 and 1991. His military awards include the Airborne, Air Assault, Jungle Expert and Expert Infantryman’s badges, as well as the Ranger tab.
Jim joins The CopDoc Podcast on December 6th, 2022.
Comments