Joseph F. King is a former senior United States Customs agent and criminal justice academic.
Education
King graduated in history from Saint Francis College, Brooklyn, in 1968, and gained an Master of Arts from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 1975. He later gained an Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy from the City University of New York City University of New York Graduate Center (1990 and 1999).
Career
He served for 33 years as a Special Agent in the United States Customs Service"s New York office. He is an Associate Professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice (since September 2003). King was a Special Agent in the United States Customs Service"s New York office from 1968 to 1985, acting as a lead agent for undercover operations regarding Middle Eastern and Irish groups.
From 1985 to 2003 he was Supervisory Special Agent in the Strategic Investigations Division in the United States Customs Service"s New York office.
Later he played an Irish arms dealer named Joe Kennedy, foiling a 1993 plot to smuggle zirconium to Iraq.
Membership
In this capacity, and due to his specialist knowledge, he was a member of the White House Legal Task Force on the Iran-Contra affair, and in 1992 briefly assigned to the House October Surprise Task Force.