FBI Case File Review

Former agent Chris Tarbell reviews his investigation and takedown of the billion-dollar, cryptocurrency-based drug underground marketplace "Silk Road" and the arrest of its founder. The investigation, code-named Operation Onion Peeler, resulted in the largest seizure of bitcoins to date. Chris was also the lead investigator on several of the Bureau's most complex and cutting-edge cybercrime cases, including the investigation and arrest of the leadership of Anonymous and the LulzSec hacking crews. Chris Tarbell served in the FBI for nearly 10 years. Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles. https://jerriwilliams.com/287-chris-tarbell-silk-road-dark-web-marketplace/ Buy me a coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JerriWilliams Join my Reader Team to get the FBI Reading Resource - Books about the FBI, written by FBI agents, the 20 clichés about the FBI Reality Checklist, and keep up to date on the FBI in books, TV, and movies via my monthly email. Join here. http://eepurl.com/dzCCmL Check out my FBI books, non-fiction and crime fiction, available as audiobooks, ebooks and paperbacks wherever books are sold. https://jerriwilliams.com/books/

Retired agent Cory McGookin reviews the investigation he led targeting the Latin Kings operating in the city of Aurora, IL and "Operation First Degree Burn," a cold case multi-agency task force which resulted in the nation's largest ever cold case murder takedown. Thirty-one Latin Kings gang members were convicted of 22 murders going back two decades. Cory McGookin served in the FBI for 20 years. Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles. https://jerriwilliams.com/286-cory-mcgookin-latin-kings-aurora-cold-case-murders/ Buy me a coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JerriWilliams Join my Reader Team to get the FBI Reading Resource - Books about the FBI, written by FBI agents, the 20 clichés about the FBI Reality Checklist, and keep up to date on the FBI in books, TV, and movies via my monthly email. Join here. http://eepurl.com/dzCCmL Check out my FBI books, non-fiction and crime fiction, available as audiobooks, ebooks and paperbacks wherever books are sold. https://jerriwilliams.com/books/

Retired agent Tom Simon reviews his investigation of Las Vegas couple Perry and Rochelle Griggs for orchestrating a prison Ponzi scheme. While serving 8 years in federal prison for securities fraud, Perry Griggs started another scam, where fellow prisoners and their families were the victims. When Griggs was paroled, he and his wife disappeared. A national fugitive manhunt ensued. CNBC featured this prison Ponzi scheme case on American Greed. Tom Simon served in the FBI for 26 years. Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles. https://jerriwilliams.com/285-tom-simon-prison-ponzi-scheme/ Buy me a coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JerriWilliams Join my Reader Team to get the FBI Reading Resource - Books about the FBI, written by FBI agents, the 20 clichés about the FBI Reality Checklist, and keep up to date on the FBI in books, TV, and movies via my monthly email. Join here. http://eepurl.com/dzCCmL Check out my FBI books, non-fiction and crime fiction, available as audiobooks, ebooks and paperbacks wherever books are sold. https://jerriwilliams.com/books/

Retired agents Jim Lewis and Renae McDermott review their 1999 kidnapping case where a mother and her two children were kidnapped for ransom and held for four days before they were located and rescued by the Miami Division SWAT team. In addition to the safe return of the family, the spectacular work of the investigative team and detectives from the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department, with assistance from FBI polygraphers, SWAT, surveillance, ERT, technically agents and phone tracking, resulted in life sentences for three defendants and lengthy multiple-year sentences for two others. Jim Lewis served in the FBI for 25 years. Renae McDermott served in the FBI for 32 years, 27 as a special agent. Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles. https://jerriwilliams.com/284-jim-lewis-and-renae-mcdermott-miami-abduction-of-mother-and-children/ Buy me a coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JerriWilliams Join my Reader Team to get the FBI Reading Resource - Books about the FBI, written by FBI agents, the 20 clichés about the FBI Reality Checklist, and keep up to date on the FBI in books, TV, and movies via my monthly email. Join here. http://eepurl.com/dzCCmL Check out my FBI books, non-fiction and crime fiction, available as audiobooks, ebooks and paperbacks wherever books are sold. https://jerriwilliams.com/books/

March is National Women's history month and this year's theme is, "Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories." So I'm republishing Episode 264: History of Women in the FBI, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the modern-day female agent. In this encore episode, active and retired agents share personal stories from their FBI careers, historical details about Director Hoover's initial rejection, and the Bureau's eventual acceptance of women as agents. I hope you'll listen or re-listen to the show, especially to understand the significance of the FBI's recent pledge to advance women in policing. The national 30x30 pledge aims to bring more women into policing to improve public safety, community outcomes, and trust in law enforcement. I've updated the episode show notes to include a link to the press release about the pledge. Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles. https://jerriwilliams.com/264-history-of-women-fbi-agents/ Buy me a coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JerriWilliams Join my Reader Team to get the FBI Reading Resource - Books about the FBI, written by FBI agents, the 20 clichés about the FBI Reality Checklist, and keep up to date on the FBI in books, TV, and movies via my monthly email. Join here. http://eepurl.com/dzCCmL Check out my FBI books, non-fiction and crime fiction, available as audiobooks, ebooks and paperbacks wherever books are sold. https://jerriwilliams.com/books/

In part two of this two-part episode, retired agents Phil Torsney and Tommy MacDonald review how, during the unresolved fugitive investigation of James "Whitey" Bulger, they altered their investigative strategy by focusing a public media campaign, including a national 30-second Public Service Announcement, on photos they had acquired of Bulger's female companion, Catherine Greig. Bulger had served as an informant for the FBI for several years. His FBI agent handler, John Connelly, was charged and convicted for revealing to Bulger that he was about to be indicted for RICO by the Massachusetts State Police and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Federal prosecutors later filed a superseding indictment and, in addition to the initial racketeering charges, tried and convicted Bulger for nineteen murders. Torsney and MacDonald gathered the evidence that finally led to the dramatic capture of Bulger and Greig by agent Scott Garriola in the LA Division. Phil Torsney served in the FBI for over 29 years. Tommy MacDonald served for twenty-five years. Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles: https://jerriwilliams.com/283-phil-torsney-and-tommy-macdonald-whitey-bulger-fugitive-hunt-part-2/ Buy me a coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JerriWilliams Join my Reader Team to get the FBI Reading Resource - Books about the FBI, written by FBI agents, the 20 clichés about the FBI Reality Checklist, and keep up to date on the FBI in books, TV, and movies via my monthly email. Join here. http://eepurl.com/dzCCmL Check out my FBI books, non-fiction and crime fiction, available as audiobooks, ebooks and paperbacks wherever books are sold. https://jerriwilliams.com/books/

Retired agents Phil Torsney and Tommy MacDonald review how they were selected for a special assignment in Boston to work the unresolved fugitive investigation for James "Whitey" Bulger, a long-time FBI Top Ten Fugitive and Boston organized crime boss who had been in hiding for sixteen years with his girlfriend Catherine Greig. Bulger had served as an informant for the FBI for several years. His FBI agent handler, John Connelly, was charged and convicted for revealing to Bulger that he was about to be indicted for RICO by the Massachusetts State Police and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Torsney and MacDonald gathered the evidence that finally led to the captured of Bulger and Greig. Phil Torsney served in the FBI for over 29 years. Tommy MacDonald served for twenty-five years. Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles. https://jerriwilliams.com/282-phil-torsney-and-tommy-macdonald-whitey-bulger-fugitive-hunt-part-1/ Buy me a coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JerriWilliams Join my Reader Team to get the FBI Reading Resource - Books about the FBI, written by FBI agents, the 20 clichés about the FBI Reality Checklist, and keep up to date on the FBI in books, TV, and movies via my monthly email. Join here. http://eepurl.com/dzCCmL Check out my FBI books, non-fiction and crime fiction, available as audiobooks, ebooks and paperbacks wherever books are sold. https://jerriwilliams.com/books/

Retired agent Debra LaPrevotte explains the difference between oligarchs and kleptocrats, breaks down the indictment of former FBI SAC Charles McGonigal, and reviews the Nigeria OPL 245 oilfield license bribery case. The investigation involves two major oil companies charged with paying government officials to license natural oil resources originally gifted by former Nigerian military ruler Sani Abacha to his son and to the country's oil minister. Debra served in the FBI for 20 years. She is the co-host of A Nation for Thieves, a podcast exposing the world's most corrupt kleptocrats. Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles. https://jerriwilliams.com/281-debra-laprevotte-oligarchs-kleptocrats-a-nation-for-thieves/ Buy me a coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JerriWilliams Join my Reader Team to get the FBI Reading Resource - Books about the FBI, written by FBI agents, the 20 clichés about the FBI Reality Checklist, and keep up to date on the FBI in books, TV, and movies via my monthly email. Join here. http://eepurl.com/dzCCmL Check out my FBI books, non-fiction and crime fiction, available as audiobooks, ebooks and paperbacks wherever books are sold. https://jerriwilliams.com/books/

Retired agent Kyle Vowinkel reviews the 2013 Alabama bunker child abduction case, known as the Boy in the Bunker, one of the FBI's greatest hostage recovery operations. January 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the crisis event, which took place from January 29, through February 4, 2013 in Midland City, Alabama, when a man boarded a school bus, killed the driver, and took a five-year-old boy hostage. Having served for eight years on the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) and, at the time of the incident, the Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU), Kyle acted as a bridge between tactical agents and negotiators' efforts to save the child. For his contribution to the successful resolution, he received the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Heroism. Kyle Vowinkel served in the FBI for 24 years. Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles. https://jerriwilliams.com/280-kyle-vowinkel-2013-alabama-bunker-negotiations/ Buy me a coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JerriWilliams Join my Reader Team to get the FBI Reading Resource - Books about the FBI, written by FBI agents, the 20 clichés about the FBI Reality Checklist, and keep up to date on the FBI in books, TV, and movies via my monthly email. Join here. http://eepurl.com/dzCCmL Check out my FBI books, non-fiction and crime fiction, available as audiobooks, ebooks and paperbacks wherever books are sold. https://jerriwilliams.com/books/

Retired agent Rob Chadwick reviews Director Mueller's Strategic Execution Team (SET) training initiative. SET spearheaded the transformation of the FBI from a law enforcement agency into an intelligence driven and threat focused national security service and was the largest training program in the history of the FBI. The generation of agents and analysts working in the Bureau, on or shortly after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, took part in the training from about 2008-2010. Rob Chadwick served in the FBI for nearly 21 years. Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles. https://jerriwilliams.com/279-j-robert-chadwick-fbi-transformation-strategic-execution-team-set/ Buy me a coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JerriWilliams Join my Reader Team to get the FBI Reading Resource - Books about the FBI, written by FBI agents, the 20 clichés about the FBI Reality Checklist, and keep up to date on the FBI in books, TV, and movies via my monthly email. Join here. http://eepurl.com/dzCCmL Check out my FBI books, non-fiction and crime fiction, available as audiobooks, ebooks and paperbacks wherever books are sold. https://jerriwilliams.com/books/