Frank Terreri is Senior Associate Criminal Defense Attorney at the Matian firm. He has previously worked as an Associate in the Labor & Employment Department of Mastagni Holstedt, APC, representing public sector employees in disciplinary investigations, administrative hearings, use of force investigations and critical incident investigations to include death in custody and officer involved shooting investigations. Mr. Terreri continued his legal career in public service as a Deputy District Attorney for Tuolumne County, where he handled countless criminal cases from filing to trial.
Mr. Terreri is a retired Supervisory Federal Air Marshal (FAM) with over 32 years of law enforcement experience and 27 years in union and association leadership, dedicating equal time to union/associational representational activities and law enforcement. After serving 4 years as a NCO Infantry Squad Leader in the 24th Infantry Division, Mr. Terreri commenced his law enforcement career as a New York State Correctional Officer in Sing Sing Correctional Facility. He then became a Border Patrol Agent, where he began his union activity serving as National Border Patrol Council Local 1613 President in San Diego.
During his service as a law enforcement officer, he has been involved in large scale investigations on the Federal level that have resulted in significant arrests, convictions and dismantling of criminal enterprise organizations. In his capacity as a union official, Mr. Terreri has represented hundreds federal agents in Grievance Procedures, Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs), Arbitrations, filing disclosures with the Office of Special Counsel and filing appeals with the Merit System Protection Board to promote an effective federal workforce free of prohibited personnel practices.
Following the horrific attacks of 9/11, Mr. Terreri was one of the first Federal Air Marshals hired to be deployed on US Flights to deter, detect, and defend against any future terrorist attacks. He served as the Lead Training Officer overseeing Firearms, Defensive Measures, and Mission Tactics for the San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco Offices. During the majority of his tenure of Supervisory Federal Air Marshal, he served as the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) National FAM President, where he vigorously fought for the rights and safety of thousands of FAMs and the passengers they swore to protect. Mr. Terreri also served as FLEOA National Legislative Director, representing 28,000 federal law enforcement officers from over 65 federal agencies, drafting and presenting legislation to members of Congress, earning buy-in from both sides with finesse, balancing union and workers’ rights with law enforcement support by rationally explaining position to elicit buy-in for membership concerns.
As the Federal Air Marshal Service Agency President for the FLEOA, Mr. Terreri attempted to work within the system to change Homeland Security policies putting Federal Air Marshals and the travelling public at risk. After being removed from duty and exonerated of multiple internal investigations for his outspoken Union activism, the ACLU of Southern California represented Mr. Terreri and filed a successful Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief against Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. This complaint was regarding speech-restrictive regulations implemented and enforced against Federal Air Marshals by the United States government that violated Mr. Terreri’s right to free expression and to petition the government as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and his right to equal protection as guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The victory brought a change in Homeland Security policy and procedure to ensure Federal Air Marshals could maintain their covert status required to best safeguard the public.