Jerri Williams - FBI Myths and Misconceptions: A Manual for Armchair Detectives

FBI Myths and Misconceptions: A Manual for Armchair Detectives

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the internet or a website without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The opinions expressed in this book are the authors and not those of the FBI.

Copyright 2019 Jerri Williams

All rights reserved.

Print ISBN: 978-1-7324624-4-1

eBook ISBN: 978-1-7324624-5-8

Cover design by Teddi Black

Interior design by Megan McCullough

This FBI manual is dedicated to my parents, Buford and Odessa Williams.

Im blessed to have grown up in a loving home where books were valued, and reading was encouraged.

If the art of the detective began and ended in reasoning from an armchair, my brother would be the greatest criminal agent that ever lived.

Sherlock Holmes

(Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - The Greek Interpreter)

Many people have played important roles from the first draft to the publication of FBI Myths and Misconceptions: A Manual for Armchair Detectives. Special thanks to the many professionals who guided me on the development and design of the book. Im also grateful for my friend and developmental editor Sue Olsen; my super squad of beta readers, Judy Tyler, Lisa Williams, and Janine Williams; and the supportive members of my advance reader team.

I also express love and gratitude to my husband, Keith Wert, for his patience as I sequester myself in my home office for hours at a time to get the words down on paper.

FBI Myths and Misconceptions: A Manual for Armchair Detectives was inspired by my love of writing and reading crime novels and my true crime and history podcast FBI Retired Case File Review. I dedicate this book to the readers and listeners interested in learning who the FBI is and what the FBI does.

Thank you all for your support!

Jerri

Im a retired FBI agent reliving my glory days writing crime fiction about greed and corruption and hosting FBI Retired Case File Review, a true crime and history podcast featuring interviews with other retired special agents. Im on a mission to show the public who the FBI is and what the FBI does through my books, my blog, and my podcast case reviews with former colleagues.

Most people have never met an FBI agent in person. What they know about the FBI comes from popular culture, their only connections being those made by reading books and watching TV shows and movies about the Bureau. Of course, theres also what they have heard and seen from the news media. Is that you? Well what if the things youve been reading and watching were stuffed with clichs and misconceptions?

Do you know who the FBI is? Do you know what the FBI does?

Depending on your generation, your early knowledge of the FBI might have come from watching Jimmy Stewart in the 1959 movie, The FBI Story. Baby boomers also remember well The F.B.I., the television series starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr. It was one of the most popular shows on TV from 1965 to 1974. Today, the public continues to be intrigued with the FBI, reflected in an attention-grabbing collection of bestselling novels, major box office hits, and popular TV shows, all powerful promotional tools, practically commercials, for the FBI. These entertaining films and fiction are also recruiting tools for those who might want to join the FBI. Television viewers recently enjoyed a reboot of the cult classic X-Files where agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigated paranormal phenomena. Shows like the X-Files heighten curiosity about the FBI. Throughout FBI Myths and Misconceptions: A Manual for Armchair Detectives Ill introduce you to a number of successful portrayals of the FBI, and others that are not so successful.

Ive always been a reader and a storyteller, and after serving twenty-six years as a special agent in the FBI, I have plenty of stories to tell. During most of my Bureau career, I worked major economic fraud investigations and was amazed at the schemes con artists and corrupt corporate and public officials would devise to steal other peoples money. I was fortunate to have been assigned several complex advance-fee, Ponzi scheme, and business-to-business telemarketing cases and to have received numerous awards throughout my career, including four United States Attorney Awards for Distinguished Service. Ive also had the opportunity to work bank robberies and drug investigations. The one thing I know for sure is: With a gun, you can steal hundreds. With a pen, you can steal millions.

Nearing the end of a successful career specializing in cases targeting fraud and corruption, I was appointed to serve as the media representative and spokesperson for the Philadelphia Division during my last five years. In that role, I was responsible for educating and informing the media and the public about the FBI, in an effort to mold and massage peoples perception of the FBI. That meant I was often out in front of local and national news media. I also was tasked with answering questions about the FBI when asked by crime writers like the Philadelphia-based, best-selling author Lisa Scottoline. I worked with producers and directors from the History Channel, Americas Most Wanted, the Discovery Channel, and big-budget films on their FBI-focused projects, and I appeared on the long-running CNBC show American Greed when one of my Ponzi scheme cases was featured on the show. After I retired from the FBI in 2008, I was hired for a high-profile corporate position in media relations and public affairs and learned even more about the value of public perception.

Im telling you all of this to explain why I care so much that the FBI be portrayed accurately and fairly and how Im uniquely experienced to take on this mission to show the public who the FBI is and what the FBI does.

Fortunately, while producing and hosting my podcast FBI Retired Case File Review Ive been able to directly introduce the public to former FBI agents. The episodes provide a behind-the-scenes look at some of the FBIs most famous cases, along with many not-as-well-known investigations. I believe its important to satisfy the publics curiosity about the Federal Bureau of Investigation by showing the human side of special agents and how they handle the challenges of working for the Bureau. During almost every interview, one of us comments about some aspect of the case or an investigative method that had been inaccurately portrayed in books, TV, and movies or as a clich. Over time, Ive noted numerous misconceptions about the FBI that we repeatedly discussed.

My colleagues and I have found these falsely drawn portrayals annoying and frustrating. Just as some attorneys dont read or watch legal dramas and some doctors avoid medical shows and novels, theres a good chance some FBI agents arent reading that bestselling book series or watching that popular show depicting the FBI. They can be difficult to engage in without hurling the book across the room or wanting to throw a shoe at the TV.