067: John Chesson - Hate Crime, Courageous Cooperating Witness

Retired agent John Chesson reviews a hate crime/civil rights matter from his early days in the FBI. The case involved the investigation of six South Philadelphia men suspected of violating the civil rights of an African American woman by vandalizing the home she had just rented on their block. The case was assigned to John and his co-case agent, Christina Kibbey. Mike Kates (also spelled Cates), a wheelchair-bound man who lived on the street, agreed to become their cooperating witness and to help them gather the evidence needed to prove that damaging the house was a racially motivated scheme to make the house uninhabitable and to intimidate and discourage the woman from moving into the neighborhood. Kates courageously recorded consensually monitored conversations with the subjects of the investigation and testified as the star witness in the subsequent trials. All involved were found guilty. On October 21, 1999, FBI Director Louis Freeh awarded Mike Kates the 18th Annual "Louis E. Peters Memorial Service Award" for his selfless commitment to protect victims of crime.  

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