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Friendship with APD officer helped to propel man to upper levels of FBI
By AMANDA TONOLI
AUSTINTOWN
A 30-year friendship between Robert Clark, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI Gang Unit in Los Angeles, and Don Corbett, former Austintown police officer, helped turn a security guard into a successful FBI agent, a volunteer for disadvantaged kids and a selfless person giving his all to make his surroundings a better place.
Clark, who spent a portion of his life in foster care, started his career as a security guard at Wedgewood Lanes.
Occasionally, Corbett said Clark called in for backup from the Austintown Police Department to handle out-of-hand situations.
Corbett, then a full-time APD officer, often responded and said in observing how Clark acted in handling the situations, he came to like him.
“He wore the uniform very professional – always ironed and [his hair was] cut like military,” Corbett said.
In 1986, Clark, who attended Cardinal Mooney High School and spent time at Youngstown State University, joined the Austintown police as the only black officer on the force.
Clark called that time “very unique.”
“I’ll never forget the first day in the roll-call room. I walked in the back, and people knew I was getting onto the department, and one officer said, ‘He’s not riding with me. People will think I have a prisoner in my car.’ It was an interesting introduction,” Clark said.
Corbett didn’t let his co-workers’ opinion sway him from taking Clark under his wing. He saw potential that others didn’t.
Coming from a rough childhood in Youngstown in which his father was murdered and his two uncles involved in organized crime, Corbett said it seemed as though Clark would be someone that wouldn’t have a chance.
“He was dedicated to becoming the right person. No one gave this guy anything, and he pulled himself from nothing and excelled,” Corbett said.
Corbett said he always knew Clark was going to be somebody.
Clark used his background to do more than just succeed.
“My background motivated me to do better and do something different with my life and not just be successful, but be impactful with my life,” Clark said.
Clark has served as a mentor for many children whose parents were murdered.
Another feat Clark achieved was getting to fight gangs and drugs, another part of his history, when he joined the Youngstown Police Department in 1989.
Corbett, still working for Austintown, served as Clark’s confidant during that time.
“He was an awesome mentor,” Clark said.
Clark said he would ask questions and bounce ideas off Corbett, taking that feedback and growing from it.
Clark wasn’t the only one who learned from this friendship, however.
Through their police work together, Corbett said he learned a lot about the black community.
“White and black police officers can work together and learn from each other. We need to all stick together,” Corbett said. “He makes things a unit by getting people together. That’s what we need, that’s what this country needs.”
Corbett said Clark would have impressed J. Edgar Hoover, longtime FBI director, by the way he’s proven himself professionally and by the way he treats others.
Clark continued to grow professionally when he was recruited by the FBI in 1994 and joined the federal agency in 1995, landing a job in Chicago. From Chicago, Clark went to Washington, D.C., in 2001 and years later headed to his current home, Los Angeles.
During this time, Corbett said Clark was moving along in his career by cleaning up alleys and kicking in doors.
Once Clark took over his current position as assistant special agent in charge of FBI Gang Unit in LA, he followed his passion, and motivation behind being a law-enforcement officer – to give back to the disadvantaged.
“My favorite part about what I do is I get to help people,” Clark said.
Clark is involved in various youth community groups in LA, helping those who are disadvantaged early on. He uses his own experience to relate to them and help others the way Corbett helped him.
Corbett and Clark are still close, having dinners during visits when he returns to the Mahoning Valley and speaking often.
“He’s my hero. ... He saves people’s lives. He’s family,” Corbett said. “In all his progression, he didn’t forget about the people who stood behind him.”