Former chief of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) Transit Bureau Raymond Diaz is joining the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) as director of security, effective Jan. 6, 2014.

Diaz will oversee security for the MTA, including coordinating MTA security efforts with the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, the National Guard, NYPD and State Police, as well as the MTA Police Department, which has jurisdiction in 14 counties in New York and Connecticut, patrolling approximately 5,000-square miles of the MTA's rail network.

Diaz retired from the NYPD in 2011 as chief of the Transit Bureau, which is responsible for the safety and security of the MTA New York City Transit subway and bus system. He replaces Douglas Zeigler, who was appointed MTA director of security almost three years ago, following a 37-year career in the NYPD.

Diaz was a member of the NYPD for 41 years, during which he also served as commanding officer of the Manhattan North and Manhattan South patrol boroughs as well as three precincts and the School Safety Division. He earned two Purple Hearts while serving in Vietnam with the United States Marine Corps.