The criminal justice club recently hosted Special Agent Edward Fortuna, a University of Scranton Alum for a dinner and lecture on his job as an investigator for persons seeking security clearances.

Special Agent Fortuna works for an agency known as Defense Security Services, and he currently works out of Binghamton New York, but it isn't abnormal for him to cover cases in the Scranton area.

After a delicious dinner at the Estate, Mr. Fortuna explained a little about his job. 

Mr. Fortuna explained that "most people, unfortunately aren't aware that our organization exists." He said that "most people recognize that security clearances are granted only to persons after investigation", but he pointed out that "many people mistakenly believe that this is something done by the FBI or CIA."

Fortuna also made it a point to mention that there is currently a massive backlog of cases for clearances, and that he and others in this career are overburdened by cases to investigate. "The average caseload for an investigator", he explained, "is approximately 35 cases per month." Unfortunately, he pointed out, that last month his case load alone was over 100 cases.

Fortuna pointed out that "this is a great job for people who are interested in investigation. But don't consider this job because it is less risk than being a police officer" he warns. "Risks exist in this profession as well."

Mr. Fortuna showed a video on the B-2 bomber, also called the "Stealth" and explained how individuals working on this project had to undergo strict military investigation before they were allowed to work on any facet of this project.

After the dinner and lecture were over, Special Agent Fortuna was presented a Criminal Justice Club T-shirt in gratitude for his presentation.

If anyone is interested in finding out more about this exciting career prospect, you can phone or email Special Agent Fortuna, or you can check out the DSS web site at: