David Rossi

Rossi was born and raised on Long Island, New York, in the town of Commack. As a child, he was friends with a young Emma Taylor, who he refers to as the "one who got away." He was also close with Ray Finnegan, who eventually grew up to be a prominent local mobster. Rossi, however, avoided the lure of organized crime, and joined the Marines. After being discharged, Dave was recruited by the Bureau. He subsequently cut most ties with his former life, not even returning to Commack for Emma's funeral in early 2009. Rossi has had an apparently illustrious FBI career and sterling reputation, even outside the BAU confines. He claims to have "written the book" on hostage negotiation, and stepped in as a hostage negotiator in 4×03 ("Minimal Loss") when his fellow agents Reid and Prentiss were held hostage. He takes an annual leave to do cross-country lecture and book-signing tours, which apparently attract a lot of female fans, "if Barry Manilow isn't in town." He worked with Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) prior to his retirement from the Bureau. Rossi has been married 3 times, but has said the only people he knew how to make happy were "divorce lawyers". One ex-wife allegedly said he had a "flair for the dramatic", but he never specified which. He seems to be a lapsed Catholic, but still has a close relationship with D.C. priest Father James Davison.

Rossi was in early retirement until his voluntary return to the BAU in 2007. He had retired in order to write books and go on lecture tours, but returned to settle some unfinished business which wasn't immediately specified. Having served in an early form of the BAU, it was initially hard for Rossi to acclimatize to the current team structure, but he eventually did. Rossi revealed to Sheriff Caulfield his reason for returning: he held out a charm bracelet with the names of three children from one of his first cases. The children had found their parents stabbed to death in the family home with an axe, but the BAU couldn't solve the case. Rossi had promised the children he would find out who did it. Each year on Christmas Eve, Rossi called the children to let them know he hadn't forgotten them and hadn't given up on solving the case of their parents' murders. He kept with this tradition through his return to the BAU, though none of the children had replied to his most recent calls. The case had gone unsolved for 20 years. It was finally solved when the BAU found that a mentally handicapped carny clown had committed the murders accidentally when he broke into the house to play with the oldest daughter, the father surprised the man in the parents' bedroom and triggered the resulting attacks. After finally solving the case he gave to the kids, now grown up, the bracelet he kept with him and the house where the murders took place, which he had bought. While initially Rossi came back from retirement only to solve this case he continues working in the BAU.