As a retired Homeland Security agent, Baldwin County resident Angelo Fermo has seen a lot during his over 20-year-long career in law enforcement.
He recently joined 1819 News president Bryan Dawson on "1819 News: The Podcast" to tell of his journey from a troubled youth growing up in Mississippi to fighting the cartels on the Texas border before moving to Alabama, where he would make a bid for the State House.
He said he knew at a young age he wanted to get into law enforcement due to how he was treated by local police, who wrote him off as a bad kid due to his father's criminal past.
"I think I had so much resentment with situations like that happen with law enforcement that involved me," he said. "I remember at that point … I was like, not only am I going to be a police officer, I'm going to be a better police officer than they are."
Fermo joined the police force in Oxford, Miss., in 2000 but soon put in an application to join the U.S. Marshal Service following the 9/11 attacks. He was sent to Texas to work with U.S. Customs to track cartel money coming into the country illegally.
"It was like the wild West," he said of the border.
Fermo became an expert in targeting Mexican drug cartels and was awarded the San Antonio Special Agent of the Year award in 2006. A year later, he jumped at the opportunity to transfer to Baldwin County, where he continued to combat drug trafficking and child predators for 15 years.
Fermo ran for House District 64 in 2022 but lost in the primary to Donna Givens (R-Loxley). He ran on his extensive law enforcement experience, conservative values and Catholic faith.
Since retiring, Fermo has continued working with the Children's Rescue Initiative to help rescue enslaved children around the world.
To connect with the story's author or comment, email daniel.taylor@1819news.com or find him on Twitter and Facebook.
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