Todd J. Zinser served as the 5th Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Commerce. He was nominated by President Bush in September 2007 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2007. He retired as Inspector General after 31 years of conducting audits and investigations of federal officials, programs and operations.
Todd is a Cincinnati native. He is a graduate of Elder High School, Northern Kentucky University (B.A.) and Miami University of Ohio (M.A.). In the summer of 1980, Todd served as an intern in the Carter White House, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
Todd began his federal career with the U.S. Department of Labor in 1983 in Cincinnati. After serving for 7 years conducting investigations of labor union finances and union officer elections while stationed in Cincinnati, New Haven, CT, and New York City, Todd Transferred to the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Transportation in 1991.
Todd served in DOT for 16 years. As Special Agent-in-Charge in New York City; Assistant Inspector General for Investigation and Deputy Inspector General in Washington DC. Todd conducted investigations and oversaw audits involving every facet of transportation in the U.S.. During his time at DOT, Todd was awarded three Secretarial Medals for his efforts in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, Hurricane Katrina and the Minnesota Bridge collapse.
As the Commerce IG, notable audits and investigations included findings of abusive regulatory enforcement against New England fishermen; oversight of the $13 billion-dollar 2010 Decennial Census; acquisition audits of two multi-billion-dollar weather satellites; and oversight of the Patent and Trademark Office. As Commerce IG, his office closed more than 350 investigations and issued more than 200 audit reports. During his career, Todd testified before Congress on 34 occasions.
Upon his retirement in 2015, Todd returned to Cincinnati and resides in West Price Hill. He travels to visit his three children and grandchildren who live on the east and west coasts. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner and keeps current by participating in continuing education in the areas of compliance, ethics and fraud prevention and detection.
More recently, Todd has been active locally and has published commentary on various policy issues affecting the City of Cincinnati. In February 2025, Todd began a podcast, “Citizen Watchdog with Todd Zinser,” which can be found on YouTube and iHeart Radio. Todd also maintains a website, www.cincinnatiwatchdog.com.
