Making a Difference

The FBI Miami CAAA Board of Directors and guest met via Zoom to discuss and plan the many programs and happenings in the coming months of 2021. Members were excited to get the ball rolling and kick off what we think will an exciting year.

This presentation reviewed the evolution of foreign to domestic terrorism as the primary threat to America today. Many of the most publicized groups were discussed and the FBI programs used to counter these groups. Additionally, Dr. Leiberman shared the difficulties in investigating domestic groups because of First Amendment conflicts, and the possible trends for these terror groups in the future.

Participants were able to learn about the nature, magnitude, and targets of China's economic, intellectual, and academic espionage programs. The speaker discussed the surreptitious use of Confucius Institutes, the Chinese Student and Scholar's Association, and the Thousand Talents Plan to serve as covers for China's espionage program. Five representative cases of human espionage were discussed and how the FBI and CIA discovered the spies and brought them to justice. Dr. Leiberman compared  the difference between the goals of Chinese and Russian espionage.

Over the years, Frank has responded to a wide variety of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, school shootings, and youth suicide clusters.  He has intervened in crises and/ or provided training in 40 states and 11 countries.  Frank has provided congressional briefings on two occasions on the topics of threat assessment and youth suicide prevention, and has written dozens of articles regarding his areas of expertise. He also completed the FBI Citizens Academy Program in 2019.  

During his presentation, Frank also discussed some of his crisis response experiences, talked about the impact of trauma on youth, and explored with us strategies for helping children and teenagers navigate the grieving process.

During this informative speakers session, participants learned that disinformation is not limited to election politics, additionally it is also being used to create discord about the COVID vaccine, and other social issues in our country. The FBI is the lead federal agency responsible for foreign influence operations and we reviewed some of the programs that have been created to combat this ongoing threat.

On Monday, April 19th, students from Bethune Cookman and Florida Memorial Universities took part in an Community Awareness Presentation (CAP) provided by the FBI Miami Division.

Students gained insight on career opportunities that exist with the FBI, conflict resolution, and techniques on developing good interview skills.

The Citizens Academy Alumni Association and the Community Relation Police Foundation supported this group by hosting a reception dinner and by  covering their hotel accommodations.

The FBI Miami Diversity Education Committee invited Mr. Klasner to present to the agents at the Miami Division  a general holocaust education overview including definitions and policy as to why Florida Mandates Holocaust education in K-12.

He defined what makes a hero and gave examples of those who were up-standers who saved many lives during the Holocaust  (just like the FBI in their everyday work).

He discussed the moral and ethical decisions made by non-jews who had choices to act to help, the moral and ethical decisions made by jews that made choice-less choices to survive.

Mr. Klasner shared personal stories of survivors and how they coped with the horrors, and the re-birth of their lives after the war. 

Operation Las Tapas, a multi-agency money laundering investigation, completely dismantles “Los Miami”, a violent, Spain based, multi-national narcotics trafficking syndicate which transported tens of thousands of kilograms of cocaine from South America to Spain for distribution throughout Europe. While none of the cocaine was sent to the US, Alvaro Lopez Tardon, the head of Los Miami, laundered over $15,000,000 in narcotics proceeds in Miami by buying high-end real estate, exotic automobiles, luxury jewelry and other other high-end items.

On May 18th, Special Agent Gaitan, one of the brilliant case agents of ”Operation Las Tapas” presented an informative and exciting presentation of how this criminal was brought to justice.

On Friday, May 21, 2021, the Miami Division hosted their annual Teen Night Out event.  This event affords high school students with an inside look at the FBI.  This year, 30 students took part in a mock crime scene activity provided by the Division’s Evidence Response Team.  Students were selected from 8 local high schools and had expressed an interest in learning more about career opportunities that exist in law enforcement agencies. The Alumni Association provided a pizza dinner and Teen Night T-shirts. Board members also assisted durning the event.  A special thank you to Al Eskanazy, though the Community Police Relations Foundation, donated 30 - $25 gift cards and 30 drawstring backpacks and Brian Asarnow donated 2-14 in chrome notebooks for raffle. in addition, he donated multiple items including lighted footballs, laptop bags and entry level sports watches.

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May 27, 2021: 

What a fun and informative evening! The Class #31 tested their skills at the range, learned many new and interesting things from the FBI Miami Swat teams followed by a live demonstration of the Swat teams in action. Unforgettable!!

The Alumni Association provided a pizza dinner and drinks for our newly graduating class.

June 3rd:

 Its in the books!! Spring Citizens Academy Class #31 graduates! A very lovely evening at the beautiful Jacaranda Golf and Country Club. COS Jeff Green welcomed the graduates, our Alumni President Bruce Klasner spoke on behalf of the chapter and the many opportunities to be involved. The guest speaker for the evening was  Special Agent in Charge United States Secret Service Miami Division Brian A. Swain.

FBI Miami Division SAC George Piro spoke with graduates and presented each with their graduation certificate. 

On Tuesday, June 8th, 2021, Dr. Alan Leiberman, FBI Miami CAAA Director Emeritus and Speakers Bureau Director, with BTC Congregant, presented and informative presentation on the Terrorist Threat to the Homeland  with an emphasis on Domestic Terror groups.

Dr. Lieberman is a practicing cardiologist in the Boca Raton/Delray Beach area  who also has a Master's Degree in Strategic Intelligence and National Security. If you would like to book the Speakers Bureau please email: 

[email protected]