Over the recent Memorial Day weekend my wife and I took a breather to Ocean City, Maryland for some getaway time. Our plan was to ease back on our beach chairs strategically placed at a favorite shoreline spot and soak up some pre-summer sun. Mother Nature, spiteful cuss that she is, had other ideas. Yes, […]
I wrote this FBI history article about the lives of Willy Fisher (above left), aka Rudolph Abel, and FBI Special Agent Paul Blasco (above right) and when their lives intersected on 21 June 1957. This article appeared in the June 2017 issues of The Grapevine, published by the Society of Former Special Agents of the […]
I will be speaking at the International Spy Museum on June 14 as part of their Author Debriefing series about counterintelligence, German atomic espionage efforts, FBI/British wartime relations, and radio deception conducted during the most critical part of the Second World War. Don’t miss it! – In June of 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt met with British Prime Minister […]
Here I am in DC with the nation’s first spymaster, George Washington. Here’s a tip, if you want to work undercover, don’t wear bright orange! at GWU More George Washington, Spymaster (Mount Vernon) When history books praise the heroes of the American Revolution, they seldom include names like Agent 711 and John Bolton along with […]
I was interviewed on a new British documentary called “Spying on the Royals” about a secret government plot to eavesdrop on Edward VIII. I’m shown above with editor Chris Roots during the filming of my segment. Here is the trailer for the show: More information How MI5 spied on the KING: An explosive new documentary […]
This FBI history article appeared in the April 2017 issues of The Grapevine, published by the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI. The article was written by by Terrence Hake (FBI 1981-1988) with contributions from David Grossman (FBI 1978-1999), David Ries (FBI 1976-2000) and William Megary (FBI 1977-1999). FBI Grapevine: Operation Greylord (pdf) For […]
A few days ago the one of my students at George Washington University sent me this photo with the accompanying joke. She knows how much I enjoy the entire Holmes/Watson phenomenon and thought I would get a good laugh out of it. Which I certainly did. I hope it brightens your day as well. Enjoy!
My friend and fellow historian, Dr. John Fox (the FBI’s Historian), shared with me the following FBI dates of interest over the past century. I’m in turn offering it to you. I hope you enjoy it. 2017 100 Years Ago 01/31/1917 BOI acquires note re German plans to commence unrestricted submarine warfare. The note leads […]
This FBI history article appeared in the March 2017 issues of The Grapevine, published by the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI. The article was written by Greg Stejskal (FBI: 1975-2006). Kidnapping for Ransom: Bad Business Mode (The Grapevine, March 2017) (pdf) It was February, 1980 in Detroit. I was assigned to the FBI surveillance squad. It […]
I spent part of last week at the Hilton Hotel in Baltimore attending the International Studies Association conference. On Thursday afternoon I joined three Intelligence Community professionals for a panel which addressed the timely topic of gathering intelligence in America entitled “Intelligence Collection in a Domestic Environment.” Delivering papers were two FBI representatives, Dr. John […]
The great sleuth’s pithy aphorisms can be useful in conducting investigations as well as in all walks of life. I have always been an avid fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s wonderful series of stories recounting the exploits of Sherlock Holmes. The tales of greatest fictional detective in history and his faithful sidekick, Dr. John […]
I was interviewed by Mark Mazzettii of the New York Times regarding the recent expulsion of Russian diplomats from the United States: ~ ‘The Game Will Go On’ as U.S. Expels Russian Diplomats (New York Times, 30 Dec 2016) The spies are not particularly difficult to find. What is difficult is deciding what to do […]
Three FBI history articles concerning the FBI’s activities in Honolulu, Hawaii during World War II were published in the December 2016 issue of The Grapevine, a publication of the the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, in honor of the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor: FBI Grapevine December 2016 History Articles (pdf) Our Man of Peace […]
I wrote this FBI history article which appeared in the November 2016 issues of The Grapevine, published by the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI. Below the intro are the actual FBI documents from the case. The Busko Affair How the FBI found the most advanced radio communications equipment in the Nazi arsenal I wonder if any […]
This is a good article in Bloomberg about the Russian Illegal Evgeny Buryakov case that illustrates how Russian espionage and recruiting in the US and how the FBI tracked and ran the case. The Spy Who Added Me on LinkedIn Russia had operatives in New York for years, from Wall Street to the UN. Now one is […]
My wife of forty seven years is a retired early childhood teacher. After working in the Prince Georges County Maryland School System for twenty five years with children from every class, racial and ethnic background she gradually came to one important conclusion. Every decision a person makes in life can trace its origins in one […]
Good article by David Wise in the latest issue of the Smithsonian magazine: The FBI’s Fake Russian Agent Reveals His Secrets In an exclusive interview, a retired FBI agent who posed as a KGB officer finally spills the beans about his greatest sting operations Dimitry Droujinsky is on his third cup of black coffee when […]
Like millions of Americans I have followed with interest over the past few months the steady WikiLeaks release of Hillary Clinton related emails. First came the embarrassing batch of twenty thousand messages last July just days before the Democratic National Convention. A number of them exposed what many had already suspected: that the Democratic National […]
This FBI history article appeared in the September/October 2016 issues of The Grapevine, published by the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI. The article was written by James K. Kallstrom (FBI: 1970-1997). FBI Grapevine TWA Flight 800 (pdf) It was a hot evening in New York City on Tuesday, July 17, 1996. Most of the […]
I spoke at the Marechal Ferdinand Foch Auditorium on the grounds of the Ecole Militaire in Paris for a conference before an audience of seven hundred on the evening of June 23, 2016. In connection with the upcoming fifteenth anniversary of 9/11, I reviewed some of the historical and institutional factors which contributed to the Intelligence Community’s […]
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