About
Patrick Dunleavy is the author of “The Fertile Soil of Jihad - Terrorism’s Prison Connection” (Potomac Books) and has written extensively on the subject of counter terrorism for various news organizations including the Washington Times and the New York Post.
He is is the former Deputy Inspector General for the New York State
Department of Correctional Services having completed a 26 year career in the New York State Criminal Justice System, beginning as a corrections officer and rising through the ranks to become the head of the Criminal Intelligence Division. Throughout his career Patrick has worked various assignments from Field Investigations to Critical Incident Management. He has worked extensively in undercover assignments, was a member of an emergency response (SWAT) team, and was a trained hostage negotiator.
He has extensive experience in the fields of intelligence and information sharing.
A visionary, in 1988 he drafted a proposal for his agency to automate its data collection systems in the areas of intelligence gathering and criminal investigations. He was involved in the implementation and design of the systems that are used today by law enforcement agencies in criminal and counter terrorism investigations.
In 2011 he testified as an expert witness before the House Committee on Homeland Security regarding the threat of Islamic Radicalization in the U.S. Prison System.
Patrick has also been a speaker at numerous Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agencies and Seminars including the FBI Academy , the CIA Terrorist Threat Integration Center,
Scotland Yard, the Canadian Intelligence Services, and the Toronto Metropolitan Police Department.
In 2012 he served as a consultant for the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the FBI for the National Data Exchange Program.
He has lectured on the "Dynamics of International Terrorism” at the USAF Special Operations School, and the US Army's AntiTerrorism Conference.
Born and raised in New York City, he now resides in the Pacific Northwest.
Featured Work
The Fertile Soil of Jihad
On January 26, 1993, a young Palestinian man named Abdel Nasser Zaben was arrested and incarcerated in New York City for kidnapping and robbery. Just thirty days later, while he remained locked up, radical Islamic fundamentalists detonated a bomb in the World Trade Center. These two events, connected by common threads, signaled the coming of jihad to America. From the seemingly insulated environment of prison, this same young man, thought to have been merely a common criminal, swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden and began to convert other young minds to the cause. A dangerous terrorist recruitment “cell” had been born. How did it happen?
Through the story of Abdel Nasser Zaben’s recruitment efforts in prison, The Fertile Soil of Jihad explores in vivid detail how the American prison subculture fosters terrorism. Dunleavy shows how Zaben carefully and knowingly selected the most likely candidates for conversion to his cause. He reveals how Zaben used his apprentice role in the prison chaplain’s office as a cover for his work and how prison resources were used in the service of terrorism. This book yields invaluable insights for intelligence and corrections professionals as well as informed citizens eager to learn what progress the U.S. government is making in countering terrorism.
