FBI Case File Review

Retired agent Elaine Smith reviews her efforts to convince Ken "Tokyo Joe" Eto, the highest-ranking Asian-American mob associate, to cooperate against the Chicago mob, also known as "The Outfit." In an attempt to secure his cooperation, Elaine Smith successfully investigated Joe for interstate gambling violations. He turned her down until his mob associates attempted to kill him by shooting him in...

Retired agent Sterling Owen reviews the Butcher Bank failure case, his nearly four-year investigation of Jake and C.H. Butcher Jr., who operated a multi-billion dollar banking empire in Tennessee and Kentucky. The brothers, using a complex loan scam to steal millions of dollars from bank clients, led lives of wealth and the power, but were eventually convicted of fraud and conspiracy and sentenced...

Retired Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Wayne Davis served 25 years with the FBI and during his career ran the Detroit and Philadelphia Offices. SAC Davis was among the first group of fully qualified African-American agents hired by the FBI and allowed to attend the FBI Academy in 1962 and 1963. In this episode, he provides a fascinating personal and historical account of diversity in the FBI and hi...

Retired agent Sonja Nordstrom, a certified handler and trainer of Search & Rescue/Recovery K9s, reviews her journey with her dogs, the role the dog plays in a case, how they can best benefit a case, different uses in cases/capabilities of dogs, and highlights some of their successful cases. Since retiring from the FBI, Sonja is now the owner/operator of Heimdallr K9 Services, an international prov...

Retired agent Scott Lobb, who worked child sex crimes, juvenile prostitution and kidnappings cases in Oklahoma City, reviews his efforts to obtain a confession from convicted murderer and kidnapper Franklin Delano Floyd for the murder of six-year-old Michael Hughes. The investigation led to the shocking discovery of the true identity of Michael's mother, Suzanne Sevakis, also known as Sharon Marsh...

Retired agent Mark Safarik spent the last half of his career as a member of the elite Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) where he established himself as an internationally recognized expert in the analysis and interpretation of violent criminal behavior. In this episode, Safarik discusses his analytical work on spree killings and the differences between spree, serial, and mass killings. He also talks...

Retired agent Jim Casey reviews a Group I undercover case from early in his career when he was in the Detroit Field Office and assigned to investigate a major auto-theft ring stealing Mercedes Benz luxury cars, and equipment and vehicles from the Ford Motor Company. Two of his fugitive subjects were caught after being featured on the TV show "America's Most Wanted." Check out episode show notes, p...

Supervisory Intelligence Analyst (IA) Sierra Stanczyk answers listeners questions about the Intelligence Analyst position, providing details on the qualifications, requirements, and duties of the job. Special Agent and Applicant Coordinator Cerena Coughlin provides updates on the FBI's current recruitment efforts, and, toward the end of the episode, (1:07:55) she discusses other non-agent position...

Retired agent Gina Osborn reviews an assignment from early in her career, when she worked on a Westminster Police Department Task Force targeting Asian Organized Crime in Little Saigon District of Orange County. Gina and her Westminster PD partner, Detective Tommy Rackleff, known by Vietnamese gangsters as "Old Guy and The Blonde," were successful in dismantling video gambling, extortion, prostitu...

Retired agent Chris Graham reviews the investigation of the long-term compromise of McDonald's Corporation's promotional games, which utilized wiretaps, undercover operations, and detailed financial analysis. At the time, he was the White Collar Crime and Healthcare Fraud squad supervisor in Jacksonville Field Office. The case, officially known as Operation Final Answer, is the subject of the HBO...

Retired agent John Iannarelli reviews safety tips for parents on how to keep teens safe online and on social media. He talks about predators, scams, identity theft, cyber bullying, and sextortion. Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles. https://jerriwilliams.com/episode-199-john-iannarelli-keeping-teens-safe-online/     Buy me a coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JerriWillia...

Retired agent James "Jimmy" Gagliano reviews his early days in the FBI and his training and assignments as an undercover agent (UCA). He shares stories about those who inspired him, including FBI TV characters, mafia underboss, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, who he "babysat" during a protection detail, and FBI UCA legends Joe Pistone and Joaquin "Big Jack" Garcia. Check out episode show notes, photos,...

Retired agent Nancy Savage reviews the life and career of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson and the 13-year fight to bring "Bob" home. He had not been publicly seen or heard from since March 9, 2007, when he was kidnapped while visiting Kish Island in Iran. In March 2020, the Levinson family announced that they had received information from U.S. officials that has led both to conclude that their w...

Retired agent Doug Davis reviews five different fugitive cases, explains the Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution (UFAP) warrant process, and the differences in having a fugitive deported or extradited from Mexico back to the US to face justice.  Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles. https://jerriwilliams.com/episode-196-doug-davis-fbi-fugitives-in-mexico-ufap/     Buy me a c...

Retired agent Joe Bushner reviews his investigation of Congressman James Traficant, who was indicted on 10 charges, including bribery, racketeering and tax evasion. This was the second time Traficant was charged with being corrupt. Although not a lawyer, Traficant, a colorful public official known for his outrageous behavior and language, represented himself during both federal trials. The first t...

Retired agents Bob Burda and Tim Gannon review a Fayetteville, North Carolina bank robbery case that, based on information received from a confidential source, morphed into a murder-for-hire investigation. After the arrest and subsequent confession of one of the bank robbers, the murder victim's body was recovered from a shallow grave on the wooded reserves of Fort Bragg, an Army base near Fayette...

Retired agent Peter Ahearn reviews the Lackawanna Six terrorism case and provides insight into the challenges of managing a major international terrorism investigation started just a few months before the terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001. The case was initiated after an anonymous letter was received claiming that several individuals residing in Lackawanna, New York, had attended training c...

Retired agent Kenneth Williams reviews the events that led him to write what is now known as the "Phoenix Memo," his work on the Phoenix Mountain Arsonist case, and the aftermath of 9/11. Ken authored the Phoenix Memo prior to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. The five-page communication issued a warning to the intelligence community that Al-Qaeda members were training in the civil aviation c...

Retired agent Q. John Tamm reviews his investigation of Teamster Union Official Frank Sheeran for racketeering and the movie The Irishman , directed by Martin Scorsese with Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, and starring Robert DeNiro as Frank Sheeran. Tamm specifically addresses Sheeran's claims he killed Jimmy Hoffa and was a mob hitman. John Tamm is a recognized expert on labor racketeering matters. Che...

Happy New Year. I recorded this bonus episode because I'm thrilled to report that, as predicted in episode 182, FBI Retired Case File Review surpassed 3 million downloads earlier this week. Woo hoo! For an independent show where the host still does all the things, I'm doing pretty good and, if you don't mind me saying so, I'm super proud of achieving this milestone. In this episode of FBI Retired...

Retired agent John Pistole served in the FBI for twenty-six years, climbing through the ranks to become Deputy Director (the second highest position in the Bureau). He reviews the time, early in his career, that he worked in the New York FBI Office on an Organized Crime Task Force investigating illegal mob ties to the Teamsters Union. Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles. htt...

Retired agent Michael Harrigan reviews his assignment as the Supervisory Senior Resident Agent in Farmington and Gallup offices of the Albuquerque Division where he conducted and supervised criminal investigations involving homicide, sexual assault, kidnapping, missing persons and unidentified human remains and was responsible for all federal investigations on three Native American reservations. H...

Retired agent Ron Hosko reviews the abduction and hostage rescue case, known as the boy in the bunker where Jimmy Lee Dykes boarded a school bus, killed the driver, and took a five-year-old boy hostage. At the time of this incident, Ron was the Assistant Director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, responsible for oversight of the FBI's largest program worldwide. He provides a detailed o...

Retired agent Dr. John Glover, Ph. D., who became Executive Assistant Director, one of three direct reports to the FBI Director and highest-ranking African American in the FBI,  reviews the Atlanta Child Murders case. As Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Division, he oversaw the FBI investigation of the killings of black youths in Atlanta and led the joint state-federal task force, which resu...

Retired Agent Dr. John Glover, Ph. D., who became an Executive Assistant Director, one of three direct reports to the FBI Director and highest-ranking African American in the FBI, reviews the history of African American special agents in the FBI from 1919 through 2019, why diversity, especially in law enforcement, matters, and recounts stories from his extraordinary career in the FBI.  Check out e...