Donald Ressler

Donald Ressler's History

A special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Donald Ressler was the lead agent on the Raymond Reddington case until Elizabeth Keen was specifically requested by Reddington after turning himself in to Assistant Director Harold Cooper.

Donald Ressler is a veteran field agent who has been tracking Raymond Reddington for 5 years, the bulk of his career. Ressler's greatest asset is his single-minded, almost obsessive devotion to his work. Despite his by-the-book methodology, he has always been one step behind Reddington. He was involved in a failed FBI plot to assassinate Reddington in Brussels, Belgium, and later arrested a suspected ally of Reddington's in Japan, Mako and Aiko Tanida. According to Mako Tanida, the pair were considered “collateral damage” during Ressler's pursuit of Reddington, later staging the events of revenge killing after Aiko's unexplained disappearance.

He was once engaged to a woman named Audrey Bidwell, but his obsession with Reddington caused them to break up. He was later involved in a romantic relationship with Elizabeth Keen.

When Reddington turned himself in, Ressler was caught off guard and was unsure of the criminal's motives. He was perhaps more troubled by Reddington’s obsession with Elizabeth Keen, a novice FBI agent and someone Ressler didn't trust when she was appointed to his case.

Ressler was adamant that Reddington should communicate with him and not Elizabeth but Reddington would just ignore him. Ressler was determined to find out why Reddington turned himself in and the nature of his relationship to Elizabeth Keen.

Ressler revealed to Reven Wright and Tom Keen that his father was an officer in the Detroit Police Department and was killed by a drug dealer as part of a trap set by his corrupt partner, Tommy Markin. The police superiors whitewashed the murder since they were corrupt and did not want a trial.

It is revealed that Ressler had learned the truth after overhearing Markin on the phone at his father's wake while drinking outside and that his father had been killed because he refused to take a bribe. However, Ressler's brother Robby refused to believe it while Ressler wouldn't let it go. Ressler subsequently confronted and shot Markin in revenge with his father's gun, apparently killing him. Robby covered the murder up while his father's death and the shooting of Markin pushed Ressler down the law enforcement path. Before Ressler's father was murdered, Ressler was in constant trouble at school and headed down a bad path while Robby was headed to the police academy to follow in their father's footsteps. After the murder Donald joined in the FBI and Robert lost his motivation to succeed as his ideals had been compromised.