FBI Case File Review

Retired agent Raymond Holcomb reviews his time working for the legendary FBI hero John O'Neill and working in Yemen with fellow agent Ali Soufan on the USS Cole bombing and 9/11 investigations. Both O'Neill and Soufan are featured in the Hulu TV series The Looming Tower. While assigned to the New York Office, Ray Holcomb was appointed Commander of the 50 member FBI New York SWAT team. Under his le...

Retired agent Oliver "Buck" Revell  reviews Operation Goldenrod and the capture of Fawaz Younis, the first overseas apprehension of an international terrorist. He also provides frank and transparent insight about the public perception of the FBI today. Operation Goldenrod was the first time the FBI used the new extra- territorial jurisdiction approved by Congress. This legislation provided the FBI...

Retired agent Tony Robleto reviews three of the numerous murder cases and fugitive apprehensions and extraditions he was involved in during his various assignments with the FBI in Mexico, including the capture of a man who raped and killed a woman in New Orleans and fled to Mexico, a man who threatened a U.S. Congresswoman and fled to Mexico, and an American man who stabbed his American boyfriend...

Retired agent Ralph DiFonzo reviews his eight-year fugitive case to apprehend John Riccardi, wanted for the double murder of Connie Navarro and her friend Susan Jory. Connie Navarro was the mother of the Rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Dave Navarro who produced "Mourning Son" a documentary about the tragic event. Ralph DiFonzo appears in the film.  Check out episode show notes, photos, and re...

Retired agent Gregory Coleman reviews the criminal investigation of Jordan Belfort and the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont for securities fraud, stock manipulation, and money laundering. The case was chronicled in the Martin Scorsese movie, "The Wolf of Wall Street," starring Leonardo DiCaprio. In the movie, Greg Coleman was portrayed by actor Kyle Chandler.  Check out episode show notes, photos,...

Retired agent Ed Petersen reviews the investigation of the kidnapping and murder of Exxon Oil Executive Sidney Reso. While they negotiated for his release for 52 days, what investigators didn't know was that Reso had been shot in the arm during the kidnapping, and had died three days later. Upon retiring, SA Petersen became the Director of Security for Major League Baseball (MLB), Office of the Co...

Retired agent Joe Lewis reviews "SandBomb" the investigation of Eric Rudolph and the bombing of a Birmingham, Alabama abortion clinic that resulted in the death of off-duty police officer Robert Sanderson and severely injured a nurse. The case also identified Rudolph as the person responsible for the Olympic Park Bombing, as well as the bombing of another abortion clinic, and a nightclub all in At...

Retired agent Randy Wolverton, a CPA, reviews a savings and loan fraud case that targeted real estate investor Leonard Pelullo. Despite the testimony of LCN underboss Phillip Leonetti who admitted to brokering a disputed loan shark debt between Leonard Pelullo and a LCN protected loan shark, the case had to be tried four times before Pelullo's final conviction was upheld, and he was sentenced to a...

Retired agent Bob Clifford reviews the organization and operation of the transnational gang Mara Salvatrucha, known as MS-13, the most dangerous gang in the United States. In November 2004, Bob Clifford was asked by then- FBI Director Robert Mueller to accept a special assignment to FBIHQ to establish the FBI's MS-13 National Gang Task Force, and served as its first director. For the next 18 month...

Retired agent Judy Tyler reviews her investigation of the Maurice Lewis, aka "Mo Black," 8th and Allegheny cocaine criminal enterprise and the surprising spin-off case involving the theft of Philadelphia's historically significant architectural treasures that resulted in the conviction of Charles Kass, a former IRS and Labor Department agent. Judy has extensive experience in the investigation of v...

Retired agent Gary Noesner reviews his role as a hostage negotiator speaking with David Koresh and other members of the Branch Davidians during the Waco sie ge. He also reviews the Paramount Network's 6-part TV mini-series, Waco. A significant focus of Gary Noesner's Bureau career was directed toward investigating and negotiating numerous crisis incidents covering prison riots, right-wing militia...

I'm celebrating 100 episodes of FBI Retired Case File Review with a special crime fiction show exploring clichés and misconceptions about the FBI in books, TV, and movies. My co-host for this episode is retired agent Bobby Chacon. We have both "been there" and "done that." What most people know about the FBI comes from popular culture. This list features what writers of novels, scripts, and screen...

Retired agent Bill Grace  reviews the "Wolf Ticket" investigation where 13 Philadelphia Roofers Union Local 30 officials were convicted of racketeering, extortion, and bribery. The case uncovered numerous ties between union leaders, organized crime, and public officials. The key to the successful investigation was the surreptitious recording devices installed in the union hall that secretly taped...

Retired agent Eric Alpert reviews the high-profile investigation of multi-millionaire Thomas Capano for the disappearance and murder of Anne Marie Fahey. Anne Marie Fahey had been the scheduling secretary for the governor of Delaware, and Capano was a powerful attorney with high-level contacts and connections in Wilmington. During his Bureau career, Eric Alpert was involved in investigations and r...

Special thanks to Gangland Wire podcast cohosts Gary Jenkins and Aaron Gnirk for allowing me to re-post this episode from their show. I was interviewed on the Gangland Wire podcast in October 2017, and it was such a fun and crazy episode I thought I would share it with you here. The main thing you need to know about this case is that before Harvey Weinstein, there was Frank Antico and Boobgate. Th...

In part two of this two-part episode, retired agents Bob Clifford and Kevin Foust review their international terrorism investigation of the hijacking of Egypt Air Flight 648 during an international trip from Athens, Greece to Cairo, Egypt, on November 23, 1985. Members of the terrorist organization, Abu Nidal, hijacked the plane in Malta. The hijackers began systematically shooting Israeli and Ame...

In part one of this two-part episode, retired agents Bob Clifford and Kevin Foust review their international terrorism investigation of the hijacking of Egypt Air Flight 648 during an international trip from Athens, Greece to Cairo, Egypt, on November 23, 1985. Members of the terrorist organization, Abu Nidal, hijacked the plane in Malta. The hijackers began systematically shooting Israeli and Ame...

Retired agent Eugene Casey reviews a series of interviews he conducted with IIich Ramirez Sanchez, known worldwide as Carlos the Jackal, the inventor of modern-day terrorism. Before Osama Bin Laden, Carlos the Jackal was the world's most famous terrorist. At the time that these debriefings, Eugene Casey was serving as Assistant Legal Attaché for the FBI in Paris, France. During his career, Casey r...

Retired agent Russell Atkinson reviews the case of Charles Geschke, a wealthy Silicon Valley business executive kidnapped at gunpoint and held for four days before being rescued. After retiring from the FBI, Russ Atkinson, with degrees in mathematics and law, practiced law and also worked for many high-tech firms in the computer industry, including IBM, Fairchild Semiconductor, and AOL. Now retire...

Retired agent Dr. Joseph Dizinno, DDS. reviews the functions of FBI Laboratory and the investigation of the tragic murders of Joann Katrinak and her baby Alex where mitochondrial DNA analysis was first applied to forensic casework. He was part of the research team that developed and validated forensic mitochondrial DNA analysis capability, which enabled the FBI to obtain a DNA profile from evidenc...

Retired agent Stewart Fillmore reviews a case initiated based on allegations that minority motorists were being illegally stopped on an isolated stretch of highway in rural East Texas. The case eventually was redirected to determine how and by whom drugs and firearms confiscated from motorists had gone missing from the local police evidence room. Stewart Fillmore wrote a book about the case, Tenah...

Retired agent Kevin Rust reviews the reopened civil rights investigation of the racially motivated murder of Ben Chester White by known Ku Klux Klan members. In the federal trial, witnesses spoke from the grave when testimony from the original state trial was read into the court record. The new case resulted in the murder conviction of Ernest Avants 34 years after the horrific hate crime occurred....

Retired agent John Terry reviews his investigation of Ralph Natale, the first sitting mob boss ever to cooperate with and testify for the FBI. John also talks about his relationship with informant Ron Previte, also known as the "Fat Rat." During this time period in his Bureau career, Terry was a member of the Organized Crime Squad investigating the Philadelphia mob. He was later promoted to superv...

Retired agent Dale Miskell reviews his Nigerian re-shipping fraud case where individuals were recruited to receive merchandise at their place of residence and repackage the items for shipment to Nigeria. Unbeknownst to them, the merchandise was purchased with fraudulent credit cards. Dale Miskell traveled to Lagos, Nigeria to train police officers to investigate re-shipping fraud and assisted in t...

 Retired agents Joe Wolfinger and Chris Kerr review their investigation of the evidence used in 2003, to charge 78-year-old, veteran FBI Agent Paul Rico in the high-profile, 22-year-old murder of Roger Wheeler, a prominent Tulsa, Oklahoma businessman. Rico died in jail before a trial or even a preliminary hearing was ever held. Joe Wolfinger and Chris Kerr had never met Paul Rico. After reviewing...