Dick Margarita was born and raised in Cumberland and Narragansett, Rhode Island. He graduated from St. Mary’s College of California in 1979. In July 1981, he commenced his law enforcement career, entering the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in San Francisco, California. He then continued with the FBI in Sacramento, California until March 1984. In March 1984, he was sworn in as a Special Agent for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and upon graduation from the DEA Academy in Glynco, Georgia, was assigned to the DEA Sacramento Resident Office. He became a Senior Special Agent (GS-13) in 1988. In 1990, he was selected as the Deputy Incident Commander for the State of California Campaign Against Marijuana Plantation (C.A.M.P.). In the Fall of 1990, he left the DEA to pursue his law degree at Lincoln Law School of Sacramento. He has testified in numerous state and federal courts within the United States, and has testified in various state and federal courts as an expert in drug trafficking methods and patterns, as well as the interpretation of drug records.

In December 1990, he became a consultant with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department assigned to the Major Narcotics Bureau. Upon graduation from law school in May 1994, he took the California bar exam and was admitted to practice law in the State of California and Eastern District of California. He then became a Deputy District Attorney for the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office from June 1995 through February 2006, assigned to various units with the District Attorney’s Office as a trial lawyer, including Major Narcotics, Insurance Fraud, and Community Prosecutions.

In February 2006, Dick was selected as the General Counsel for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District. He held that position until December 31, 2008, when he retired from government service.

Since 1996, Dick has been an Adjunct Professor in the Criminal Justice Department at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). He has taught ten different semester courses, including drug abuse and criminal behavior, interview and interrogation, basic and advanced investigations, career criminals, the laws of arrest, search and seizure, criminal law, and criminal defenses.

He has served as an instructor for the California Department of Justice on numerous subjects, including the preparation and service of drug and white collar crime search warrants, interview and interrogation techniques. He has also served as an instructor for the California Highway Patrol and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department Training Academy on various subjects including the legal aspects regarding the use of force, criminal law, the laws of arrest, search, and seizure, and courtroom testimony.

He has also served as an instructor for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for "Operation Pipeline", and authored the training manual for that curriculum.