Ed Newcomer spent more than two decades as a special agent for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
During his time as a federal agent, he took down major wildlife traffickers all over the world, while also completing extensive undercover work and navigating internal corruption in foreign agencies.
He now brings that wealth of knowledge and experience to Cal State University, Dominguez Hills as an adjunct professor of criminal justice.
Prior to joining the Fish and Wildlife Service, Newcomer practiced law for a decade and was an assistant attorney general and lead prosecutor in the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. According to Newcomer, his background as an attorney was “incredibly helpful” as a law enforcement agent.
His experience as an attorney was helpful in a couple of different ways. First, it grounded Newcomer in the principles behind the law. As Newcomeer put it, “As a lawyer, you learn about constitutional rights, which are super important for law enforcement officers to be aware of and to comply with.”
But his training in handling criminal cases in the courtroom also provided some practical help in the field. “You also learn how evidence is introduced in court,” Newcomer says, “what evidence is admissible, and what is not admissible. If you go on and work as a prosecutor, you actually experience that in the real world. You understand what a good case looks like versus a bad case.”
Newcomer explained the important connection between how you get evidence and the way it is used to get a conviction. “You understand what it looks like when an officer has, even sometimes accidentally, violated somebody’s constitutional rights — and you know how to respond to that,” he explained, “so as an investigator, if you’re already out there sitting down to interview a suspect and you’re already thinking ahead — how does this evidence get introduced at trial? — you are so far ahead of the rest of the law enforcement officers in the room.”
Growing up in Colorado, Newcomer was surrounded by nature, instilling an early respect and love for wildlife. He also saw first hand that animals in the wild could be at risk from harm and exploitation from those who did not share such values. So, when he decided to embark on a career in law enforcement, it was with the goal of using the law to protect wildlife, who he saw as among the most vulnerable parts of our society. Fish and Wildlife was a perfect fit.
As an agent, one of Newcomer’s strongest attributes was working undercover, although he was initially reluctant because of the danger and extra work involved.
Joseph Johns, former chief of environmental crimes for the central district of California, described Newcomer as “the best undercover agent I’ve ever worked with.”
One case that helped elevate Newcomer’s work as an undercover agent involved Hisayoshi Kojima. Kojima was known as the most prolific trafficker of protected butterflies in the world.
“He was very suspicious, and it took a lot for me to gain his trust,” Newcomer said, “It actually took three years, off and on, of me hanging out with this person, building his trust — kind of him challenging me, me challenging him. It was a crazy relationship.”
Newcomer’s undercover work was crucial in capturing and prosecuting Kojima for his crimes.
“[Kojima] offered to sell me $300,000 worth of completely federally protected endangered butterflies. We ended up charging him with 17 counts of smuggling and violating the Endangered Species Act, and he went to jail for two years,” Newcomer said.
Wildlife trafficking does not just endanger animals, it also poses serious public health risks. In the past, diseases such as COVID-19, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and Ebola all originated from zoonotic diseases, which is transmission of disease from animals to humans.
“The movement of diseases that can impact human beings from animal to human is not uncommon,” Newcomer explained. “Wildlife trafficking, because it involves the secret movement of wild animals, creates a particular risk. There’s no opportunity to inspect those animals, to quarantine them, or test them. By the time we know those animals have arrived, potentially hundreds or thousands of people have already been exposed to whatever that animal has.”
Photos Courtesy of Ed Newcomer
The most virulent strain of bird flu is found among wild birds from Vietnam and kills about 50 percent of humans infected. Each year, smugglers bring live wild birds from Vietnam into the United States, often hidden on the bodies of smugglers inside the cabin of long-haul commercial flights.
Newcomer explained how this remarkable feat is accomplished.
“When a bird is covered in darkness, it goes quiet,” Newcomer said. “So when we would arrest these people, we might lift up their pant legs and see birds strapped to their legs or open their jacket. The minute the birds are exposed to light, they start chirping. It’s the strangest thing to have a guy sitting there in handcuffs with 15 birds strapped to his legs, and they’re all chirping.”
During his career as a special agent, Newcomer encountered lions and elephants, but the animal that left the most lasting impact on him is the lesser-known pangolin.
The pangolin is a scaly anteater about the size of a house cat. While many people may be unfamiliar with them, this creature is the most trafficked animal in the world. Pangolins are native to Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where they are the victims of a wide-scale, brutal trade.
“It’s a very cruel trade,” Newcomer said. “They capture adults with babies and package them by the hundreds, sometimes alive, sometimes killed. They’re most valuable alive at the consumer point in China, so they’re kept alive in transit from Africa to Asia. They’re gentle animals — they wouldn’t hurt a person — and they are treated awfully.”
Newcomer’s remarkable 20-year career only came to an end because it had to. Federal law enforcement must retire on or before their 57th birthday. Fellow retired USFWS special agent and CSUDH professor Marie Palladini encouraged Newcomer to begin teaching.
“She encouraged me to apply and come work here,” Newcomer told the Bulletin. “I loved interacting with students and seeing the next generation get excited about these concepts. I like seeing people interested in public service and protecting the rights of Americans.”
Newcomer wants his criminal justice students to leave his classes with a sense of integrity.
“They have got to understand, particularly if you’re going to go into law enforcement, or even lawyering, even if you’re not a prosecutor, you have a duty to protect other people’s rights. And that is kind of a solemn duty, right? And it’s not one to be toyed with or to take lightly.”