DEARBORN — On Wednesday, August 26, community leaders, local and federal officials held an event at LaPita Restaurant to bid farewell to Paul Abbate, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit office. 

In July, the FBI announced Abbate’s promotion to assistant director in charge of the Washington Field Office.

Abbate led the FBI Detroit Division since October 2013, succeeding Robert Foley, who stepped down after one year. During his tenure, Abbate cultivated a close working relationship with the Arab and Muslim American communities. He frequently attended community events, forging ties with community organizations, leaders and activists across the state.

Community members attested to that during his farewell reception. Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, who co-hosted the event with Gerald Rosen chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, kicked off the evening describing Abbate’s calm, kind but tough demeanor and his strong relationship with the community.

Siblani said Abbate worked tirelessly to build bridges with local leaders, noting that he was responsive whenever they were looking for answers. In one recent instance earlier this month, Abbate was quick to assure local leaders and the community that the FBI wasn’t surveilling the Dearborn community with a spy plane, as alleged in a recent Detroit News article.

The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani described Abbate as a friend to the community.

“Paul is a rare commodity, we are going to miss him,” Siblani said. “He is such a terrific guy, a really smart man and a great American.”

Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly honored Abbate with a tribute from the city. O’Reilly noted that with Dearborn constantly receiving negative media coverage, he’s confident Abbate will take a positive perception of the city back with him to D.C. 

“One of the things I think is great about Paul leaving us to go to Washington is that he goes there with knowledge about Dearborn that most people don’t have,” O’Reilly said. “The perception of Dearborn gets skewed so much in the media. It’s valuable for us to have someone who’s been such a close friend and someone whose been engaged in the community and now takes that knowledge with him to Washington D.C.” 

Police Chief Ron Haddad honored Abbate with a chief of police badge, stating that he deserved recognition from the department for the partnership he formed with the city.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy discussed the collaborative efforts between her office and the FBI Detroit Division, due to Abbate’s leadership.

Worthy said Abbate opened lines of communication with federal, state and local authorities on many criminal cases in the metro Detroit area.

“He was present, he was open and he was available,” she said. “He’s a man that I found to be dedicated to his work. He is easy to work with…I am glad that you are being elevated and I’m glad we are going to have you in D.C. I can only hope your replacement will only be half as good as you are.” 

Barbra McQuade, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan said she worked with Abbate routinely throughout his two year tenure with the FBI Detroit Division. 

“He cares so much about doing the right thing and serving the entire community,” McQuade said. “What you see is what you get. He is a caring, diligent hard-working public servant. He works hard and works incredibly long hours. He’s been an incredible partner and I’m going to miss him very much. It’s going to be very difficult to fill your shoes, Paul.” 

State officials attending the event included Dennis Muchmore, Gov. Snyder’s chief of staff and Special Advisor to the Governor Richard Baird. Both spoke highly of Abbate and thanked him for his service to the nation and the partnership the FBI Detroit Division forged with governor’s office under his leadership.

American Arab Chamber in Michigan Former president Nasser Baydoun and Arab-American Civil Rights League chairman Nabih Ayad also spoke about their experiences with Abbate and how he raised the bar for his successors and other federal agencies as well.

A humbled Abbate took the podium at the end of the ceremony to thank community leaders for allowing the FBI Detroit office to work closely with them. He said the FBI Detroit office’s community outreach efforts need to be modeled in other governmental institutions cross the nation. 

“I think about the community outreach and the relationships we have,” Abbate said. “We are a model for the rest of the country and you are all a part of that. What we do here and the relationships we have is exceptional and very productive…my goal is to take that back to Washington D.C. It’s not like that everywhere around the country. I look at this as an opportunity to go back out there and have national influence on the issues that are important to all of you.” 

The event was also attended by Wayne County Sherriff Benny Napoleon; Wayne County Deputy Sheriff Mike Jaafar; Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Mariam Bazzi; Dearborn City Council President Susan Dabaja; Dearborn Public Schools Superintendent Glenn Maleyko; Westland Mayor Bill Wild; Donnell White, executive director of the Detroit Branch NAACP; Nolan Finley, editorial page editor of The Detroit News; WJR morning show host Paul W. Smith and John Shoup, assistant FBI special agent in Charge, in addition to business and community leaders.