Commander Karl Albenga
Commander Karl Albenga was born in Goshen, New York and graduated from John S. Burke Catholic High School before moving to Florida. Commander Albenga attended Edison Community College and received an Associate in Arts Degree, and afterwards graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminology. After college, Commander Albenga attended the Southwest Florida Criminal Justice Academy and started his Lee County Sheriff’s Office career in January of 1998.
Commander Albenga worked 3rd Precinct Patrol where he was a Field Training Officer and was later promoted to precinct CID detective. In 2002, Commander Albenga left the sheriff’s office and accepted a position with the New York City Police Department as a patrolman. Commander Albenga soon returned to LCSO to continue his career in January of 2004.
Commander Albenga became a Narcotics Detective within the Special Investigations Division in 2005, and in 2008, was promoted to Sergeant in patrol and worked in both 4th and 6th Precinct. Commander Albenga returned to the Narcotics Unit as a sergeant and supervised the Pharmaceutical Diversion Unit as well as a street level undercover narcotics team for several years. In 2017, Commander Albenga was promoted to Lieutenant where he oversaw the Intelligence and Gang Units, before moving to the Real Time Intelligence Center as it was being formed in 2020. Commander Albenga returned to the Narcotics Unit as a Lieutenant before being promoted to Captain in 2021.
As a Captain, Commander Albenga served as a countywide watch commander before assuming command over the Homicide, Cold Case and Missing Persons Units within the Major Crimes Unit. In May of 2023, Commander Albenga was promoted to Commander over the Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB).
Commander Albenga was a member of the Special Operations Unit (SWAT) for 17 years. While on the SWAT team, he served as an operator, and was a member of the sniper squad for 14 years. He was also a member of the Waterborne Strike Team, and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR). During his tenure on the SWAT team, Commander Albenga had the opportunity to represent the sheriff’s office at numerous SWAT competitions to include SWAT Round Up International, Region 6 and Snipercraft.
Commander Albenga is married and lives in Cape Coral.