Ed Newcomer Jr.
Ed Newcomer is a former Special Agent for the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) known for his tenacity, resourcefulness, and history of successful investigations involving serious wildlife crimes. He is the recipient of six separate law enforcement awards from the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, a record not equaled by any other agent in the USFWS. During his career, he conducted numerous long and short term undercover investigations, with many of his covert and overt cases capturing national and international media attention. Joe Johns, the former Chief of Environmental Crimes for the US Attorney's Office, referred to him as "The best undercover agent I've ever worked with." Between 2015 and 2020, Newcomer served as the Wildlife Law Enforcement Attache for Southern Africa, the USFWS' most senior diplomatic representative in nine African countries. During that assignment, he developed the US Visa Ineligibility for Wildlife Traffickers, making the United States the first country in the world to deny US visas to suspected wildlife or timber traffickers.