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Chasing Phil: The Adventures of Two Undercover Agents with the World's Most Charming Con Man
A thrilling true crime caper bursting with colorful characters and awash in 70s glamour, based on the FBI's first white collar undercover sting.
1977, the Thunderbird Motel. Jim Wedick and Jack Brennan--two fresh-faced, maverick FBI agents--were about to embark on their agency's first wire-wearing undercover mission. Their target? Charismatic, globe-trotting con man Phil Kitzer, whom some called the world's greatest swindler. From the Thunderbird, the three men took off to Cleveland, to Miami, to Hawaii, to London--meeting other members of Kitzer's crime syndicate, known as The Fraternity, at each stop and witnessing the big cons he pulled there. As the young agents became further entangled in Kitzer's outrageous schemes over the next year, they also grew to respect him--even care for him. And Kitzer began to think of Wedick and Brennan like sons, schooling them in everything from writing bad checks to picking up women.
Kitzer was at the center of dozens of multimillion dollar scams, but the FBI was reluctant to turn its attention away from the anti-communist initiatives left over from J. Edgar Hoover's tenure. Wedick and Brennan disobeyed direct orders again and again on their yearlong adventure with Phil, but, ultimately, they triumphed and took down The Fraternity. The case resulted in dozens of arrests and forever changed the FBI, ushering in an era of undercover work and a focus on organized and white-collar crime that continues to this day.
The bonds that Kitzer formed with Wedick and Brennan, amazingly, survived his arrest--they convinced Kitzer to work for them after he'd been caught. The relationships between these three form the emotional center of this jet-setting sting. Anchored by big characters, Chasing Phil is high drama and great fun, delivered by an effortless storyteller.
1977, the Thunderbird Motel. Jim Wedick and Jack Brennan--two fresh-faced, maverick FBI agents--were about to embark on their agency's first wire-wearing undercover mission. Their target? Charismatic, globe-trotting con man Phil Kitzer, whom some called the world's greatest swindler. From the Thunderbird, the three men took off to Cleveland, to Miami, to Hawaii, to London--meeting other members of Kitzer's crime syndicate, known as The Fraternity, at each stop and witnessing the big cons he pulled there. As the young agents became further entangled in Kitzer's outrageous schemes over the next year, they also grew to respect him--even care for him. And Kitzer began to think of Wedick and Brennan like sons, schooling them in everything from writing bad checks to picking up women.
Kitzer was at the center of dozens of multimillion dollar scams, but the FBI was reluctant to turn its attention away from the anti-communist initiatives left over from J. Edgar Hoover's tenure. Wedick and Brennan disobeyed direct orders again and again on their yearlong adventure with Phil, but, ultimately, they triumphed and took down The Fraternity. The case resulted in dozens of arrests and forever changed the FBI, ushering in an era of undercover work and a focus on organized and white-collar crime that continues to this day.
The bonds that Kitzer formed with Wedick and Brennan, amazingly, survived his arrest--they convinced Kitzer to work for them after he'd been caught. The relationships between these three form the emotional center of this jet-setting sting. Anchored by big characters, Chasing Phil is high drama and great fun, delivered by an effortless storyteller.
371 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10, 2017
91 people are currently reading
1551 people want to read
About the author
David Howard
5 books22 followersDavid Howard is an author and magazine editor who has worked as part of teams have won four National Magazine Awards. He has been the executive editor of Bicycling, Popular Mechanics, and Organic Life, and has also worked at Backpacker and Prevention. He has written for many publications, including the New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Men's Journal, Outside, and National Geographic Traveler.
His first book, Lost Rights, was about the 138-year travels of an original, priceless copy of the Bill of Rights. The document was seized in 2003 in an FBI sting in an office tower in Philadelphia.
He lives in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
His first book, Lost Rights, was about the 138-year travels of an original, priceless copy of the Bill of Rights. The document was seized in 2003 in an FBI sting in an office tower in Philadelphia.
He lives in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
August 15, 2020
Grifters, Con Men, and Swindlers
Paperback novels are filled with stories of conmen, grifters, sharps, scammers. They are all - every last one of them - rank amateurs compared to Phil Kitzer. PT Barnum said there's a sucker born every minute. He must have known about Phil's exploits. He didn't merely play a sucker for a fool. He bought banks and insurance companies using phony paper and used them as vehicles to create more phony paper which he then used to fleece more businesses, to empty them out piece by piece.
This is the true story of the world's greatest confidence man and the two FBI agents who rewrote the rule book when they went after Phil. At that time, under the leadership of J. Edgar himself, the FBI agents wore their dark shiny FBI shoes and dark suits and did not engage in undercover work. Jack Brennan and JJ Wedick went undercover without any training or oversight and spent months being trained as young conmen by Kitzer in an undercover operation where they flew around the world, often functioned without backup, and broke bread with a loose fraternity of conmen who all worked schemes together and all trusted one another.
Although the book starts with introducing an enormous number of characters and doesn't really get going till about ten percent in, it is a fascinating Birdseye journey into an underworld of major scams using financial companies as vehicles for fraud and the conmen who lived like millionaires scamming their way this way and that way. Some of the schemes are hard to follow, many depending on convincing businessmen that the company is holding assets that never existed except in a swindler's words. But, this story follows the two agents as they build dozens and dozens of cases against Kitzer and his associates, all the while skirting the edge so close to discovery.
Paperback novels are filled with stories of conmen, grifters, sharps, scammers. They are all - every last one of them - rank amateurs compared to Phil Kitzer. PT Barnum said there's a sucker born every minute. He must have known about Phil's exploits. He didn't merely play a sucker for a fool. He bought banks and insurance companies using phony paper and used them as vehicles to create more phony paper which he then used to fleece more businesses, to empty them out piece by piece.
This is the true story of the world's greatest confidence man and the two FBI agents who rewrote the rule book when they went after Phil. At that time, under the leadership of J. Edgar himself, the FBI agents wore their dark shiny FBI shoes and dark suits and did not engage in undercover work. Jack Brennan and JJ Wedick went undercover without any training or oversight and spent months being trained as young conmen by Kitzer in an undercover operation where they flew around the world, often functioned without backup, and broke bread with a loose fraternity of conmen who all worked schemes together and all trusted one another.
Although the book starts with introducing an enormous number of characters and doesn't really get going till about ten percent in, it is a fascinating Birdseye journey into an underworld of major scams using financial companies as vehicles for fraud and the conmen who lived like millionaires scamming their way this way and that way. Some of the schemes are hard to follow, many depending on convincing businessmen that the company is holding assets that never existed except in a swindler's words. But, this story follows the two agents as they build dozens and dozens of cases against Kitzer and his associates, all the while skirting the edge so close to discovery.
February 23, 2018
What a great read. The life of an undercover FBI agent was unheard during the Hoover days but when Jim Wedick and Jack Brennan set out to take down the world's most charming con man, Phil Kitzer, little did they or the FBI know that they were about to become world travelers as part of the Fraternity was busted.
No honor or loyalty between crocks. This was a multi-million dollar enterprize that was finally brought to justice.
You need to pay attention to detail as you read to get a feel of just complicated it was when these people became part of your life. It always ment the investor would lose tens of thousands of dollars and some scam, the crocks never call it scams, were done you faced ruin. Unless it was a bank, they stayed quite and wouldn't help the FBI. Afraid of what their customers would do if they knew how easily the banks were scammed.
This was the start of the FBI changing how they did business and never looked back.
Don't miss reading this book.
No honor or loyalty between crocks. This was a multi-million dollar enterprize that was finally brought to justice.
You need to pay attention to detail as you read to get a feel of just complicated it was when these people became part of your life. It always ment the investor would lose tens of thousands of dollars and some scam, the crocks never call it scams, were done you faced ruin. Unless it was a bank, they stayed quite and wouldn't help the FBI. Afraid of what their customers would do if they knew how easily the banks were scammed.
This was the start of the FBI changing how they did business and never looked back.
Don't miss reading this book.
September 28, 2017
This is a good story about a couple of young hotshot agents starting out in the early days of the FBI (1970's) who go undercover to bring down a con man named Phil Kitzer and end up taking down a large ring of loosely associated grifters, 130 cases in all. They would fly to meet Phil in one state and never know where he would talk them into going next, making it hard for them to let their FBI handlers know where they would end up going. Many times they'd end up flying to another state on one of Phil's whims to put together a deal or meet with other grifters. Once they even ended up in another country without being able to notify the handlers what was going on, causing them all kinds of headaches with the bosses at the FBI. This would be a good read for most true crime readers. I was given an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher for review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2021
An incredible story told with great detail and personality, it didn’t feel like I was reading about something that happened in the 70’s. The ‘Phil’ in the story is such a great character, he really comes alive in the book. And the way the FBI infiltrated his life & fraudulent dealings is really fascinating - leading to the institutionalisation of undercover work in the bureau forever more! Early in the book I was worried there was too much time spent on the cases of fraud & trying to explain high level financial deceptions- which wasn’t the most exciting aspect to me, especially since a lot of it went over my head. But the author does a great job of helping the reader to follow along as much as possible - and keep track of all the players. And once the chase got closer to it’s climax, I couldn’t put it down!
August 4, 2020
“Dorwać Phila. Prawdziwa historia pościgu za największym oszustem Ameryki”
Książka Davida Howarda to fabularyzowany reportaż opowiadający historię polowania na tytułowego Phila Kitzera - wyjątkowo cwanego oszusta, który w latach siedemdziesiątych wyłudzał miliony dolarów zarówno od zdesperowanych prywatnych inwestorów, jak i od poważnych instytucji bankowych. Naturalny dar przekonywania, bezczelność i doskonała znajomość systemów finansowych pozwoliły mu stworzyć sieć przekrętów - często zbyt skomplikowanych, aby organy ścigania mogły się w nich połapać, a co dopiero im przeciwdziałać. Jego schwytanie było możliwe dzięki działaniom dwóch młodych agentów FBI, Jima Wedicka i Jacka Brennana, którzy zaprzyjaźnili się z Kitzerem udając dwóch drobnych oszustów chcących wejść do wyższej ligi. Była to jedna z pierwszych tak spektakularnych akcji “pod przykrywką”, w dużej mierze otwierająca nowy rozdział w historii agencji.
“Dorwać Phila” skupia się zarówno na opisywaniu świata finansowych oszustów, jak i zaplecza działań ówczesnego FBI. Z jednej strony poznajemy bandę cwaniaków żyjących od przekrętu do przekrętu i korzystających z życia ile wlezie, z drugiej zaś rzeczywistość agentów próbujących przebić się przez administracyjny beton mogący położyć kres ich staraniom, a jednocześnie funkcjonujących w ciągłym stresie związanym z groźbą zdemaskowania. Aspekt infiltracyjny jest tu zresztą pokazany z dość szerokiej perspektywy. Agenci borykają się nie tylko z wymagającym ciągłej improwizacji, pełnego skupienia i niemożliwie stresującym zadaniem. Howard sporo miejsca poświęca też przedstawieniu choćby destruktywnego wpływu takiej pracy na życie osobistego bohaterów. Towarzyszenie impulsywnemu Philowi wymusza na nich spontaniczne decyzje o kilkutygodniowych wyjazdach (choćby na Hawaje czy do Europy), które zupełnie odcinały ich od normalnego życia. Jednak najciekawsza okazuje się tu dość niespodziewana konsekwencja - miesiące spędzane z żywiołowym oszustem o bardzo zabawowym charakterze sprawiają, że między łowcami a ich ofiarą zaczyna rodzić się prawdziwa sympatia.
Sam Phil Kitzer jest zresztą postacią fascynującą i opisaną w taki sposób, że czytelnik także może ulec potędze jego charyzmy. Wygadany, zawsze wesoły, nie przejmujący się zasadami zwykłego życia oraz poruszający się niezwykle sprawnie w gąszczu finansowych niuansów, na swój sposób genialny. Czytając o nim łatwo w pewnym momencie zapomnieć, że mamy do czynienia z naciągaczem, kobieciarzem, alkoholikiem oraz egocentrykiem uzależnionym od poczucia wyższości i poklasku wszystkich naokoło. Świetny przykład bohatera typu “bigger than life”, której trudno choć trochę nie polubić, pomimo pełnej świadomości jego przewinień. Nic dziwnego, że podtytuł oryginału brzmi “The Adventures of Two Undercover Agents with the World's Most Charming Con Man”. Podczas czytania pomyślałem sobie, że to postać, którą świetnie odegrałby Robert Downey Jr. Potem odkryłem, że taki filmowy projekt już od lat czeka na swoja realizację.
“Dorwać Phila” przez większość czasu czyta się jak porządną powieść sensacyjną. Howard bardzo dobrze balansuje pomiędzy przekazywaniem czytelnikowi sporej dawki wiedzy na temat opisywanej sprawy, a jednoczesnym kreowaniu pełnokrwistych bohaterów (wiem, że brzmi to dziwnie w kontekście historii o prawdziwych ludziach, ale kto czyta reportaże ten wie, jak różnie z tym bywa) przeżywających przygodę swojego życia. Gdy czytamy fragmenty “sensacyjne” to lektura idzie niezwykle sprawnie, zastoje natomiast mogą pojawić się w momentach opisów samych przekrętów. To problem paradoksalnie związany z jedną z największych zalet książki (co jest częste dla tego gatunku), czyli z dużą szczegółowością w przedstawianiu sedna całego śledztwa. Wczytywanie się w wypełnione niuansami i subtelnościami opisy finansowych machlojek wymaga dużej uwagi, ale jeśli ktoś nie ma smykałki do analizowania takich informacji, to i tak łatwo zgubić wątek. W takim przypadku czytając fragmenty dotyczącego coraz to nowszych wałków (niektórych naprawdę absurdalnych, jak wyłudzanie prywatnego odrzutowca od ojca Elvisa), można poczuć znużenie wynikające z ich sporego podobieństwa. Nie będę ukrywać, że od koniec przestałem próbować się w tym połapać.
Jeśli lubicie historie o genialnych oszustach, interesuje Was historia rozwoju nietypowych metod walki z przestępczością lub po prostu chcecie poczytać sensacyjną opowieść to “Dorwać Phila” powinno spełnić te wymagania.
Książka ukazała się nakładem wydawnictwa Znak. Za przekład odpowiadają Wiesław Marcysiak i Anna Skucińska.
Post powstał w ramach współpracy z wydawcą.
Książka Davida Howarda to fabularyzowany reportaż opowiadający historię polowania na tytułowego Phila Kitzera - wyjątkowo cwanego oszusta, który w latach siedemdziesiątych wyłudzał miliony dolarów zarówno od zdesperowanych prywatnych inwestorów, jak i od poważnych instytucji bankowych. Naturalny dar przekonywania, bezczelność i doskonała znajomość systemów finansowych pozwoliły mu stworzyć sieć przekrętów - często zbyt skomplikowanych, aby organy ścigania mogły się w nich połapać, a co dopiero im przeciwdziałać. Jego schwytanie było możliwe dzięki działaniom dwóch młodych agentów FBI, Jima Wedicka i Jacka Brennana, którzy zaprzyjaźnili się z Kitzerem udając dwóch drobnych oszustów chcących wejść do wyższej ligi. Była to jedna z pierwszych tak spektakularnych akcji “pod przykrywką”, w dużej mierze otwierająca nowy rozdział w historii agencji.
“Dorwać Phila” skupia się zarówno na opisywaniu świata finansowych oszustów, jak i zaplecza działań ówczesnego FBI. Z jednej strony poznajemy bandę cwaniaków żyjących od przekrętu do przekrętu i korzystających z życia ile wlezie, z drugiej zaś rzeczywistość agentów próbujących przebić się przez administracyjny beton mogący położyć kres ich staraniom, a jednocześnie funkcjonujących w ciągłym stresie związanym z groźbą zdemaskowania. Aspekt infiltracyjny jest tu zresztą pokazany z dość szerokiej perspektywy. Agenci borykają się nie tylko z wymagającym ciągłej improwizacji, pełnego skupienia i niemożliwie stresującym zadaniem. Howard sporo miejsca poświęca też przedstawieniu choćby destruktywnego wpływu takiej pracy na życie osobistego bohaterów. Towarzyszenie impulsywnemu Philowi wymusza na nich spontaniczne decyzje o kilkutygodniowych wyjazdach (choćby na Hawaje czy do Europy), które zupełnie odcinały ich od normalnego życia. Jednak najciekawsza okazuje się tu dość niespodziewana konsekwencja - miesiące spędzane z żywiołowym oszustem o bardzo zabawowym charakterze sprawiają, że między łowcami a ich ofiarą zaczyna rodzić się prawdziwa sympatia.
Sam Phil Kitzer jest zresztą postacią fascynującą i opisaną w taki sposób, że czytelnik także może ulec potędze jego charyzmy. Wygadany, zawsze wesoły, nie przejmujący się zasadami zwykłego życia oraz poruszający się niezwykle sprawnie w gąszczu finansowych niuansów, na swój sposób genialny. Czytając o nim łatwo w pewnym momencie zapomnieć, że mamy do czynienia z naciągaczem, kobieciarzem, alkoholikiem oraz egocentrykiem uzależnionym od poczucia wyższości i poklasku wszystkich naokoło. Świetny przykład bohatera typu “bigger than life”, której trudno choć trochę nie polubić, pomimo pełnej świadomości jego przewinień. Nic dziwnego, że podtytuł oryginału brzmi “The Adventures of Two Undercover Agents with the World's Most Charming Con Man”. Podczas czytania pomyślałem sobie, że to postać, którą świetnie odegrałby Robert Downey Jr. Potem odkryłem, że taki filmowy projekt już od lat czeka na swoja realizację.
“Dorwać Phila” przez większość czasu czyta się jak porządną powieść sensacyjną. Howard bardzo dobrze balansuje pomiędzy przekazywaniem czytelnikowi sporej dawki wiedzy na temat opisywanej sprawy, a jednoczesnym kreowaniu pełnokrwistych bohaterów (wiem, że brzmi to dziwnie w kontekście historii o prawdziwych ludziach, ale kto czyta reportaże ten wie, jak różnie z tym bywa) przeżywających przygodę swojego życia. Gdy czytamy fragmenty “sensacyjne” to lektura idzie niezwykle sprawnie, zastoje natomiast mogą pojawić się w momentach opisów samych przekrętów. To problem paradoksalnie związany z jedną z największych zalet książki (co jest częste dla tego gatunku), czyli z dużą szczegółowością w przedstawianiu sedna całego śledztwa. Wczytywanie się w wypełnione niuansami i subtelnościami opisy finansowych machlojek wymaga dużej uwagi, ale jeśli ktoś nie ma smykałki do analizowania takich informacji, to i tak łatwo zgubić wątek. W takim przypadku czytając fragmenty dotyczącego coraz to nowszych wałków (niektórych naprawdę absurdalnych, jak wyłudzanie prywatnego odrzutowca od ojca Elvisa), można poczuć znużenie wynikające z ich sporego podobieństwa. Nie będę ukrywać, że od koniec przestałem próbować się w tym połapać.
Jeśli lubicie historie o genialnych oszustach, interesuje Was historia rozwoju nietypowych metod walki z przestępczością lub po prostu chcecie poczytać sensacyjną opowieść to “Dorwać Phila” powinno spełnić te wymagania.
Książka ukazała się nakładem wydawnictwa Znak. Za przekład odpowiadają Wiesław Marcysiak i Anna Skucińska.
Post powstał w ramach współpracy z wydawcą.
May 4, 2018
Howard is an enticing writer and picks topics and people who are engaging. His previous nonfiction book Lost Rights that was about the original Bill of Rights one for each of the thirteen states that disappeared at some point. He outlines the significance of the document and the shenanigans of those who help disappear and attempt to resell the documents. It was an exciting paper chase. Chasing Phil is about a con man, Phil Kitzer, and his cohorts who like to make other people’s money disappear into the thieves account by manipulating worthless paper. Though I found this paper chase interesting it was less so than the the Lost Rights paper because it was inherently less valuable and though it was at first entertaining to see the twists and turns of these hooligans the lighthearted tone began to wear. I became impatient and angered by what these crooks were doing to some innocent people and, of course, to victims with less noble need for money.
Also, it was unclear how Kitzer and his ilk were pulling this off. Maybe that was my lack of intelligence but I think it also speaks to Howard’s failure to outline how the scams worked. This was a departure from his clearer writing about the Bill of Rights. It wasn’t amusing to read about scam after scam and the so called great time the thieves were having cheating people and one another. I suppose this is inescapable with such a topic. Kitzer seemed so smug and convinced of his superiority. It got old.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC.
Also, it was unclear how Kitzer and his ilk were pulling this off. Maybe that was my lack of intelligence but I think it also speaks to Howard’s failure to outline how the scams worked. This was a departure from his clearer writing about the Bill of Rights. It wasn’t amusing to read about scam after scam and the so called great time the thieves were having cheating people and one another. I suppose this is inescapable with such a topic. Kitzer seemed so smug and convinced of his superiority. It got old.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC.
March 11, 2018
The first observation the wily con artist Phil Kitzer made when he first laid eyes on FBI agents J.J. Wedick and Jack Brennan was that they looked like a couple of feds. That was their first and unbelievable saving grace. The second was the pair's ability to adapt to a rolling series of incidents in which the faint-hearted would have cracked, because of their combined lack of experience as undercover agents and the bureaucratic red tape they had to wade through. They were often left with little or no back up to call on if it all went wrong. So began an extended operation which had only got off the ground through Brennan's sheer bloody mindedness and belief that what Kitzer was doing was as bad as robbing a bank with firearms.
Today, white-collar crime has become commonplace and something to be stamped out as quickly as possible. In the 1970s, financial crime was not taken very seriously and the FBI, having taken a political pasting after Watergate, was not keen to do anything unduly inventive with regards to investigation (let alone be involved in a convoluted, hands on, intelligence operation lasting about a year).
With great foresight, Agent Brennan petitioned to be allowed to pursue Kitzer whom Brennan suspected was committing financial cons at a very high level, involving eye watering amounts of financial transactions in what could only be considered a monetary shell game.
Bear in mind that the agents worked in an era before the convenience of mobile phones, portable computers and all the other types of technological advances we now enjoy in surveillance and information gathering. Much of the investigation was down to face-to-face exposure, leg work and research done through reams of paperwork; as well as seat-of-the pants chutzpah.
Chasing Phil is one of the most tense and nerve-wracking non-fiction accounts I have ever read, because of the number of times the two agents came nail-bitingly close to being exposed; as well as the final outcome which set a new level for both undercover work and large scale crime investigation. There are also many insights into the moral difficulties of undercover agents when they adopt a persona and have to run with it. Chasing Phil is a testament to the two agent who had to hold their nerve, particularly as their investigation took them into some murky waters, and the next number in the growing body count connected to people the agents and Kitzer were doing business with might have been theirs.
Even though the events of the book took place in the 1970s, people essentially remain the same. For anyone wanting to write a crime thriller, this is an excellent book to really get under the skin and into the mind of a highly charismatic individual manipulating the world of finance to their own avaricious ends.
Chasing Phil was courtesy of Pan Macmillan via NetGalley.
Today, white-collar crime has become commonplace and something to be stamped out as quickly as possible. In the 1970s, financial crime was not taken very seriously and the FBI, having taken a political pasting after Watergate, was not keen to do anything unduly inventive with regards to investigation (let alone be involved in a convoluted, hands on, intelligence operation lasting about a year).
With great foresight, Agent Brennan petitioned to be allowed to pursue Kitzer whom Brennan suspected was committing financial cons at a very high level, involving eye watering amounts of financial transactions in what could only be considered a monetary shell game.
Bear in mind that the agents worked in an era before the convenience of mobile phones, portable computers and all the other types of technological advances we now enjoy in surveillance and information gathering. Much of the investigation was down to face-to-face exposure, leg work and research done through reams of paperwork; as well as seat-of-the pants chutzpah.
Chasing Phil is one of the most tense and nerve-wracking non-fiction accounts I have ever read, because of the number of times the two agents came nail-bitingly close to being exposed; as well as the final outcome which set a new level for both undercover work and large scale crime investigation. There are also many insights into the moral difficulties of undercover agents when they adopt a persona and have to run with it. Chasing Phil is a testament to the two agent who had to hold their nerve, particularly as their investigation took them into some murky waters, and the next number in the growing body count connected to people the agents and Kitzer were doing business with might have been theirs.
Even though the events of the book took place in the 1970s, people essentially remain the same. For anyone wanting to write a crime thriller, this is an excellent book to really get under the skin and into the mind of a highly charismatic individual manipulating the world of finance to their own avaricious ends.
Chasing Phil was courtesy of Pan Macmillan via NetGalley.
March 21, 2018
I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
What a great read.
A true crime story with brilliant tales of the FBI in the 1970's - 80's.
A real eye opener.
What a great read.
A true crime story with brilliant tales of the FBI in the 1970's - 80's.
A real eye opener.
February 9, 2023
A fun story about one of the first major undercover investigations conducted by the FBI. I had a blast diving into the details and planning that had to go into these operations. It was also great to be told of the stress-filled situations agents were routinely put through where the result of a mistake could be catastrophic.
Knowing the result of the investigation did take some of the stakes out of it, but the ending still felt rewarding and worth the time invested.
Knowing the result of the investigation did take some of the stakes out of it, but the ending still felt rewarding and worth the time invested.
April 4, 2018
This book was great. 1970s undercover FBI operation when the FBI had no real procedures around undercover operations. Highly enjoyable story..
November 19, 2017
Chasing Phil is the story of the FBI’s first major white-collar undercover investigation. Jack Brennan and J. J. Wedick were two young F.B.I. agents, neither of whom had completed the training in undercover work, but when they followed a tip, met Phil Kitzer, a promoter (conman) who was part of a network of conmen, they felt like they had to go after him right away. So, not really knowing what they were doing, they just did it anyway.
Phil, the man they were investigating was a peripatetic grifter who took them around the globe, meeting with clients, setting up phone banking fronts, and conning people out of millions. His usual grift was to provide fake bank securities that people could use as surety for loans. The mark would pay for their services to help secure a loan, but the poor sap would not get the loan.
He routinely met up with other “promoters” which is what conmen prefer to call themselves, They called themselves The Fraternity. A fraternity of men who shared leads, collaborated on “deals”, and conned each other. No honor among thieves. One of the meetings in the course of this investigation began the most famous undercover operation in F.B.I. history, Abscam.
I struggled with this book. It is well-researched. The author takes care to write with good descriptions and an active prose. It is really not the book that I dislike, it is Phil Kitzer. He is presented as affable, smart, and charming. In the end, the F.B.I. agents cared deeply about his welfare. I get that, they spent nearly a year traversing the globe, chatting in hotel bars with the guy.
But there are two paragraphs in the book that speak to the consequences of Phil’s “deals”. Phil sold phony insurance to people, people abandoned when they needed insurance. He took people’s dreams and pocketed them. This fraternity bought companies with fake certificates, “busted them out”, stripping them of all their assets so folks lost jobs and futures. They conned farmers who lost the family farm, banks, insurance companies, and governments. When a bank collapses, taxpayers foot the bill, so these men grifted off everyone. I can’t find them charming.
So, everything about this book should work. It’s well-written, has an interesting angle, and involves a character perfect for a movie. Not for nothing, Robert Downey, Jr. is supposed to play Phil in the movie based on this book. For me, though, it lacked a moral center. The few paragraphs near the end mentioning the emotional cost of Phil Kitzer and the fraternity’s crimes seem perfunctory, without outrage.
Here’s the thing. White collar crime is perceived as nonviolent, almost charming. It’s a caper. They get light sentences, they get country club prisons, they get movies. This is not the first. But the idea that their crimes are nonviolent is false. We don’t know how many people killed themselves after Enron’s Ken Lay stole their pensions or died of untreated illnesses because they lost their health care. We don’t know how many kids got a poorer education because Phil ripped off their government with phony bonds. These “white-collar” criminals do violence to people’s future. They steal far more than muggers, millions more than muggers, but are treated so lightly because they do with paper and patter, but they wreak far more damage. I just can’t like a book that gives so little attention to the harm done.
I received a copy of Chasing Phil from the publisher through Blogging for Books.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
Phil, the man they were investigating was a peripatetic grifter who took them around the globe, meeting with clients, setting up phone banking fronts, and conning people out of millions. His usual grift was to provide fake bank securities that people could use as surety for loans. The mark would pay for their services to help secure a loan, but the poor sap would not get the loan.
He routinely met up with other “promoters” which is what conmen prefer to call themselves, They called themselves The Fraternity. A fraternity of men who shared leads, collaborated on “deals”, and conned each other. No honor among thieves. One of the meetings in the course of this investigation began the most famous undercover operation in F.B.I. history, Abscam.
I struggled with this book. It is well-researched. The author takes care to write with good descriptions and an active prose. It is really not the book that I dislike, it is Phil Kitzer. He is presented as affable, smart, and charming. In the end, the F.B.I. agents cared deeply about his welfare. I get that, they spent nearly a year traversing the globe, chatting in hotel bars with the guy.
But there are two paragraphs in the book that speak to the consequences of Phil’s “deals”. Phil sold phony insurance to people, people abandoned when they needed insurance. He took people’s dreams and pocketed them. This fraternity bought companies with fake certificates, “busted them out”, stripping them of all their assets so folks lost jobs and futures. They conned farmers who lost the family farm, banks, insurance companies, and governments. When a bank collapses, taxpayers foot the bill, so these men grifted off everyone. I can’t find them charming.
So, everything about this book should work. It’s well-written, has an interesting angle, and involves a character perfect for a movie. Not for nothing, Robert Downey, Jr. is supposed to play Phil in the movie based on this book. For me, though, it lacked a moral center. The few paragraphs near the end mentioning the emotional cost of Phil Kitzer and the fraternity’s crimes seem perfunctory, without outrage.
Here’s the thing. White collar crime is perceived as nonviolent, almost charming. It’s a caper. They get light sentences, they get country club prisons, they get movies. This is not the first. But the idea that their crimes are nonviolent is false. We don’t know how many people killed themselves after Enron’s Ken Lay stole their pensions or died of untreated illnesses because they lost their health care. We don’t know how many kids got a poorer education because Phil ripped off their government with phony bonds. These “white-collar” criminals do violence to people’s future. They steal far more than muggers, millions more than muggers, but are treated so lightly because they do with paper and patter, but they wreak far more damage. I just can’t like a book that gives so little attention to the harm done.
I received a copy of Chasing Phil from the publisher through Blogging for Books.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
February 22, 2018
I knew this would be a must-read for me upon learning that this book involved two FBI agents working out of the Gary, IN field office in 1977. I had occasion to be in that office, regarding a political corruption investigation, during the period of time that this saga was beginning to take place. (Also working there as an agent at the same time was Robert Hanssen, the future spy for the Soviet Union.) My personal interest aside, this book turned out to be a real page-turner.
What makes this story exciting is the fact that these two agents were in on the earliest undercover operation ever undertaken by the FBI. J Edgar Hoover had been averse to his agents working undercover, so the agency didn't begin to delve into this type of work until after his death in 1972. (So those FBI plants we suspected during the protest movements of the 60s were paid informants, not undercover agents.) At the time these agents in Gary got a tip about a financial con man working on an international scale, undercover training had only recently been initiated by the FBI, so these guys were pretty much just winging it during this whole escapade, inventing it as they went along, chasing Phil.
So much of this operation would be impossible today. These FBI agents posed as con men, eager to get in on the action with Phil Kitzer and his many shady contacts all over the world, and did so under their real names. No internet, no google searches. But there were so many close calls, when their ruse seemed on the verge of being discovered, and they had to think quickly and squirm their way out of compromising situations. Sometimes the suspense is almost unbearable, even though we know they did live to tell this complex but exciting tale.
What makes this story exciting is the fact that these two agents were in on the earliest undercover operation ever undertaken by the FBI. J Edgar Hoover had been averse to his agents working undercover, so the agency didn't begin to delve into this type of work until after his death in 1972. (So those FBI plants we suspected during the protest movements of the 60s were paid informants, not undercover agents.) At the time these agents in Gary got a tip about a financial con man working on an international scale, undercover training had only recently been initiated by the FBI, so these guys were pretty much just winging it during this whole escapade, inventing it as they went along, chasing Phil.
So much of this operation would be impossible today. These FBI agents posed as con men, eager to get in on the action with Phil Kitzer and his many shady contacts all over the world, and did so under their real names. No internet, no google searches. But there were so many close calls, when their ruse seemed on the verge of being discovered, and they had to think quickly and squirm their way out of compromising situations. Sometimes the suspense is almost unbearable, even though we know they did live to tell this complex but exciting tale.
August 11, 2019
Pretty interesting overall, but could be dry and heavy on the paperwork talk at times.
December 28, 2018
David Howard’s Chasing Phil follows the story of two agents from the FBI’s Gary, Indiana office who go undercover to infiltrate a ring of stunningly audacious and startlingly successful con men in the mid-1970s. When agents Jack Brennan and J.J. Wedick get a tip about a guy who ripped off a pizza store owner with bogus loan papers, they ask permission from their supervisor to go undercover. The idea was to record the con man, Phil Kitzer, making incriminating statements and possibly mentioning the names of other scammers the FBI could pursue. The scope of the operation was expected to cover one or two meetings.
At the time, the FBI had no history of running undercover operations. J. Edgar Hooover had prohibited them out of fear that his agents would become corrupted by associating too closely with the criminals they were supposed to be arresting. But this was 1976-1977, and with Hoover recently gone, the FBI was beginning to change its ways.
Unfortunately for Brennan and Wedick, neither man had been chosen to attend the Bureau’s first class in undercover training. Not only did they have to go in cold for their initial meeting with Kitzer, they had to use their real names and IDs. They had to charge incidentals on their personal credit cards and hope to be reimbursed. The FBI didn’t even have rules for what an undercover agent could and could not do, which would lead them to have to make a number of increasingly difficult spur of the moment decisions.
Brennan and Wedick’s informant introduced them to Kitzer by phone. After a number of calls, Kitzer asked them to meet him in the bar of a motel near Minneapolis. The agents, having no disguise, were so unprepared that Kitzer’s first comment on meeting them was, “Christ, you guys look like a couple of feds.”
The three men had a few drinks, chatted about ways to acquire and sell stolen government bonds, and generally hit it off. Kitzer, then drunk, told them to get in his car for a ride. Brennan and Wedick looked at each other, unsure what to do, since there was no protocol for what an undercover agent should do in this situation, and they had no backup to bail them out if things got dicey. The agents got into the car and hoped everything would be OK.
As they talked, they began to understand that Kitzer was no two-bit con man. Nor was he the type to go in and rob a bank of a few thousand dollars. Kitzer and his international ring of co-conspirators would literally steal entire banks by forging papers that guaranteed millions of dollars in funds and getting the bank’s owners to turn over the entire operation to them. Then they’d empty out the depositor accounts, sell fake certificates of deposit and fake loan guarantees that would never be honored.
They didn’t just do this to banks. They did it to hotels, land development projects, insurance companies, and all sorts of other businesses. Some of their scams were so large, they put the economies of small countries at risk.
When Brennan and Wedick returned to the office, they tried to explain to their supervisors the magnitude of what they had uncovered. It took them months to get the higher-ups in the Bureau to understand the scope and complexity of the operations these two agents had stumbled into.
For much of the book, the agents and the few above them who understand what’s going on spend an enormous amount of time and sweat just pushing requests through the FBI bureaucracy to allow Brennan and Wedick to follow Kitzer to his next destination. The scammers fly from airport to airport on the spur of the moment, while the agents have to get on the phone and ask headquarters if it’s OK to break diplomatic protocols by pursuing the operation into another country without officially warning the other country that they’re coming. In some cases, the agents find themselves working in other countries, unacknowledged and unprotected. Other times, they’re in countries with no working phones (yes, that was a thing in the Carribbean of the 1970s) and the FBI has no idea where they are or even if they’re still alive.
In one incident, the only plane tickets Brennan and Wedick can get on an hour’s notice have GTR (Government Transport Request) stamped across the top–a dead giveaway that they’re feds traveling on government orders–and they have to try to hide their tickets from the crooks who they’re chatting with as they board. And all this is happening while one agent has to travel the world with a tape recorder the size of a brick strapped to his back.
Phil Kitzer turns out to be a fascinating character. He’s intelligent, charismatic, and persuasive. Because he has a deep knowledge of banking, finance, insurance, and law, he is often the lynchpin on which the scams of other con men depend.
Kitzer also has a thorough knowledge of the criminal justice system, which he has easily outwitted before. When the government brought its best lawyers to take him down after a massive insurance fraud in the 1960’s, he not only got himself acquitted of all charges (though he was clearly guilty), but he humiliated the prosecutors in the process.
During their months of travel together, Brennan, Wedick, and Kitzer develop a strong friendship and a deep mutual respect. Though Kitzer may be on the wrong side of the law, he’s an extraordinary person by any measure, and a hard guy not to like.
In one scene, when Kitzer still has no idea that Brennan and Wedick are undercover agents, he explains to them in chilling detail the inner workings of the FBI’s decision-making process, which he’s managed to infer by simple observation. He then goes on to analyze the tactics and shortcomings of federal prosecutors, and describes how he can easily outmaneuver them. Brennan and Wedick know he’s not just talking. He’s actually done all the things he describes.
The FBI finally comes fully onboard with the operation when some of Kitzer’s associates connect with members of the Mafia in New York. Then the operation that the Gary, Indiana office has spent so many months just trying to keep afloat becomes the FBI’s number one priority. As one agent remarked decades later, Brennan and Wedick’s undercover work exposed so many criminals, the FBI could still have been working on the cases in the 1990’s if they chose.
Things get dicey for the agents as the operation moves to New York. With the involvement of the Mafia, the agents face their first threat of real violence. At that point, they’re still working under their real names. Anyone can look up their families in the phone book. They’ve even had to turn over their social security numbers to some particularly paranoid criminals who wanted to check their credit records.
The amazing thing about this book is that it keeps getting better as it goes on. I won’t spoil what happens when the agents finally reveal themselves. The book takes an unexpected turn there, and it’s a good one. It’s rare to find a non-fiction book in which the story and the primary characters deepen unexpectedly at the end, but this one, and it’s well worth the read.
At the time, the FBI had no history of running undercover operations. J. Edgar Hooover had prohibited them out of fear that his agents would become corrupted by associating too closely with the criminals they were supposed to be arresting. But this was 1976-1977, and with Hoover recently gone, the FBI was beginning to change its ways.
Unfortunately for Brennan and Wedick, neither man had been chosen to attend the Bureau’s first class in undercover training. Not only did they have to go in cold for their initial meeting with Kitzer, they had to use their real names and IDs. They had to charge incidentals on their personal credit cards and hope to be reimbursed. The FBI didn’t even have rules for what an undercover agent could and could not do, which would lead them to have to make a number of increasingly difficult spur of the moment decisions.
Brennan and Wedick’s informant introduced them to Kitzer by phone. After a number of calls, Kitzer asked them to meet him in the bar of a motel near Minneapolis. The agents, having no disguise, were so unprepared that Kitzer’s first comment on meeting them was, “Christ, you guys look like a couple of feds.”
The three men had a few drinks, chatted about ways to acquire and sell stolen government bonds, and generally hit it off. Kitzer, then drunk, told them to get in his car for a ride. Brennan and Wedick looked at each other, unsure what to do, since there was no protocol for what an undercover agent should do in this situation, and they had no backup to bail them out if things got dicey. The agents got into the car and hoped everything would be OK.
As they talked, they began to understand that Kitzer was no two-bit con man. Nor was he the type to go in and rob a bank of a few thousand dollars. Kitzer and his international ring of co-conspirators would literally steal entire banks by forging papers that guaranteed millions of dollars in funds and getting the bank’s owners to turn over the entire operation to them. Then they’d empty out the depositor accounts, sell fake certificates of deposit and fake loan guarantees that would never be honored.
They didn’t just do this to banks. They did it to hotels, land development projects, insurance companies, and all sorts of other businesses. Some of their scams were so large, they put the economies of small countries at risk.
When Brennan and Wedick returned to the office, they tried to explain to their supervisors the magnitude of what they had uncovered. It took them months to get the higher-ups in the Bureau to understand the scope and complexity of the operations these two agents had stumbled into.
For much of the book, the agents and the few above them who understand what’s going on spend an enormous amount of time and sweat just pushing requests through the FBI bureaucracy to allow Brennan and Wedick to follow Kitzer to his next destination. The scammers fly from airport to airport on the spur of the moment, while the agents have to get on the phone and ask headquarters if it’s OK to break diplomatic protocols by pursuing the operation into another country without officially warning the other country that they’re coming. In some cases, the agents find themselves working in other countries, unacknowledged and unprotected. Other times, they’re in countries with no working phones (yes, that was a thing in the Carribbean of the 1970s) and the FBI has no idea where they are or even if they’re still alive.
In one incident, the only plane tickets Brennan and Wedick can get on an hour’s notice have GTR (Government Transport Request) stamped across the top–a dead giveaway that they’re feds traveling on government orders–and they have to try to hide their tickets from the crooks who they’re chatting with as they board. And all this is happening while one agent has to travel the world with a tape recorder the size of a brick strapped to his back.
Phil Kitzer turns out to be a fascinating character. He’s intelligent, charismatic, and persuasive. Because he has a deep knowledge of banking, finance, insurance, and law, he is often the lynchpin on which the scams of other con men depend.
Kitzer also has a thorough knowledge of the criminal justice system, which he has easily outwitted before. When the government brought its best lawyers to take him down after a massive insurance fraud in the 1960’s, he not only got himself acquitted of all charges (though he was clearly guilty), but he humiliated the prosecutors in the process.
During their months of travel together, Brennan, Wedick, and Kitzer develop a strong friendship and a deep mutual respect. Though Kitzer may be on the wrong side of the law, he’s an extraordinary person by any measure, and a hard guy not to like.
In one scene, when Kitzer still has no idea that Brennan and Wedick are undercover agents, he explains to them in chilling detail the inner workings of the FBI’s decision-making process, which he’s managed to infer by simple observation. He then goes on to analyze the tactics and shortcomings of federal prosecutors, and describes how he can easily outmaneuver them. Brennan and Wedick know he’s not just talking. He’s actually done all the things he describes.
The FBI finally comes fully onboard with the operation when some of Kitzer’s associates connect with members of the Mafia in New York. Then the operation that the Gary, Indiana office has spent so many months just trying to keep afloat becomes the FBI’s number one priority. As one agent remarked decades later, Brennan and Wedick’s undercover work exposed so many criminals, the FBI could still have been working on the cases in the 1990’s if they chose.
Things get dicey for the agents as the operation moves to New York. With the involvement of the Mafia, the agents face their first threat of real violence. At that point, they’re still working under their real names. Anyone can look up their families in the phone book. They’ve even had to turn over their social security numbers to some particularly paranoid criminals who wanted to check their credit records.
The amazing thing about this book is that it keeps getting better as it goes on. I won’t spoil what happens when the agents finally reveal themselves. The book takes an unexpected turn there, and it’s a good one. It’s rare to find a non-fiction book in which the story and the primary characters deepen unexpectedly at the end, but this one, and it’s well worth the read.
February 27, 2018
I think I wanted this book to be "Catch Me If You Can" and it's just...not. It is interesting to see the undercover agents figuring out things as they go along, but the con man is not at all charming, and the telling felt really dry to me. There were too many financial terms that I had trouble wrapping my brain around...possibly because I just wasn't interested enough. The FBI characters were engaging enough, but I had trouble understanding how they could have possibly become friends with their con artist at the end of everything.
February 15, 2018
Interesting but not thrilling...and at times repetitious. It might play better as a movie with the many suspenseful moments where they almost get caught, but on paper it lost a little. It was also discouraging to see how easily the cons worked within the banking system and then thwarted the justice system. No wonder we have Enrons and Bernie Madoffs.
January 23, 2018
Great portrayal of a professional con(fidence) man. This kind of books are generally accused of glamorizing crime but I couldn't help liking the intrigue around and skills of the main Mr. Phil. Very entertaining.
January 9, 2022
This book had an interesting premise but was very difficult to follow because of all the complicated financial schemes and a revolving cast of characters.
December 7, 2017
Some parts of Chasing Phil sound like they’re directly from a movie. Charming con men drinking all day and all night. Mobsters shaking people down for a payment. Phony bank robberies. Elvis Presley’s plane… Kitzer was a larger than life character with a stranger than fiction life than makes for an engrossing read at times. Unfortunately, this level of entertainment is not sustainable. Pages and pages on end of convoluted financial dealings and legal loopholes are about as interesting to read as your last bank statement. Needless to say, I have mixed feelings about the book.
Two things are undeniable. The first is how important this case would prove to be for the FBI and (presumably) other enforcement agencies in the country. Wedick and Brennan began the investigation just as the FBI began to offer training for undercover operations and years before they offered any kind of support for agents returning to their regular lives after an operation. Wedick and Brennan received none of this training. The went undercover using their real names and, while they made an effort to avoid talking about their personal lives in any detail, they remained as close to the truth as they could. They often traveled without informing anyone at the bureau beforehand and relied heavily on their ability to memorize complex details about the illegal activities of their group. With no protocol in place, they had to make it up as the went.
The second is how much work David Howard had to do to make this book as interesting as it was. Even with the quirky characters, the thousands of pages of court testimonies he used as the main source couldn’t have been very exciting. Out of what would have otherwise been impossibly dull material, Howard gives us colorful three-dimensional characters and compelling stories.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Two things are undeniable. The first is how important this case would prove to be for the FBI and (presumably) other enforcement agencies in the country. Wedick and Brennan began the investigation just as the FBI began to offer training for undercover operations and years before they offered any kind of support for agents returning to their regular lives after an operation. Wedick and Brennan received none of this training. The went undercover using their real names and, while they made an effort to avoid talking about their personal lives in any detail, they remained as close to the truth as they could. They often traveled without informing anyone at the bureau beforehand and relied heavily on their ability to memorize complex details about the illegal activities of their group. With no protocol in place, they had to make it up as the went.
The second is how much work David Howard had to do to make this book as interesting as it was. Even with the quirky characters, the thousands of pages of court testimonies he used as the main source couldn’t have been very exciting. Out of what would have otherwise been impossibly dull material, Howard gives us colorful three-dimensional characters and compelling stories.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
October 8, 2017
(I won this title in a Goodreads Giveaway.)
In the world of confidence schemes, the scam victims often become easy marks because they suspend their common sense. They are so eager for results that they overlook red flags, inconsistencies and even their own gut instincts. The subject of this remarkable story, con man Phillip Kitzer, experienced his own willing suspension of disbelief as he accepted the cover stories (and ultimately friendship) of two undercover FBI agents who infiltrated his world for months. At a time when the FBI had little experience with undercover operations, the agents found themselves accompanying the capricious Kitzer all over the world as he flitted from one scheme to another. The agents' naivete and occasional missteps sometimes put them perilously close to discovery (and me on the edge of my seat). Ultimately, their work on the ever-expanding case led to important breakthroughs within the FBI, as the agency realized the intricacies and scope of white-collar crime, and better understood the value of undercover investigation.
This was an absorbing, enjoyable read. Author David Howard's writing style is very approachable, combining investigative journalism with a deft narrative hand that brought his characters to life. The structure is mostly chronological, with some flashbacks to fill in some biographical and historical background. The story is solidly researched, and provides sufficient detail without getting overly bogged down, focusing mainly on action and dialogue. For author Howard to portray the victims and the perpetrators with empathy and nuance is a real credit to his skill.
In the world of confidence schemes, the scam victims often become easy marks because they suspend their common sense. They are so eager for results that they overlook red flags, inconsistencies and even their own gut instincts. The subject of this remarkable story, con man Phillip Kitzer, experienced his own willing suspension of disbelief as he accepted the cover stories (and ultimately friendship) of two undercover FBI agents who infiltrated his world for months. At a time when the FBI had little experience with undercover operations, the agents found themselves accompanying the capricious Kitzer all over the world as he flitted from one scheme to another. The agents' naivete and occasional missteps sometimes put them perilously close to discovery (and me on the edge of my seat). Ultimately, their work on the ever-expanding case led to important breakthroughs within the FBI, as the agency realized the intricacies and scope of white-collar crime, and better understood the value of undercover investigation.
This was an absorbing, enjoyable read. Author David Howard's writing style is very approachable, combining investigative journalism with a deft narrative hand that brought his characters to life. The structure is mostly chronological, with some flashbacks to fill in some biographical and historical background. The story is solidly researched, and provides sufficient detail without getting overly bogged down, focusing mainly on action and dialogue. For author Howard to portray the victims and the perpetrators with empathy and nuance is a real credit to his skill.
April 22, 2018
This is one of the best true stories I have read in quite some time. It is reminiscent of 'Catch Me If You Can' but more factual. 'Chasing Phil' is the story of an unlikely pair of FBI agents who get together to do undercover work on one of the smoothest con men in the world of finance. The FBI under J. Edgar Hoover would not allow their agents to do undercover work and would, also, not allow agents to go outside the state where they were assigned. However, this story starts in 1976 and Hoover has been dead since 1972. The target is Phil Kitzer, who looks a lot like Gabriel Macht of 'Suits'. Kitzer has charisma flowing out of him and, even though he dropped out of school in the 10th grade, he can figure out cons that are so wild that most courts wouldn't even try to arrest him because no one could figure out what he had done so, how could he be prosecuted? For whatever reason, this expert con took these two undercover FBI agents under his wing and decided to teach them how the cons were done. For over a year the agents went to numerous states and several out of the country trips and gathered information that put many other criminals in jail. The work the agents did on the Kitzer case led to many other undercover cases by the FBI, including Abscam. I won't spoil the ending by telling you what happened to Kitzer or with the agents. One thing for sure, I couldn't put the book down until I found out how Kitzer would react when he learned his best new pals were FBI agents. I am sure this book will become a movie and Robert Downey, Jr. has purchased the movie rights so look for him to do an excellent job of playing Kitzer. Be prepared to be hooked!
October 11, 2017
I received this book as an uncorrected proof from Goodreads First Reads, and I am grateful for the opportunity.
This was a very enjoyable book that shed a lot of light on the history of the FBI. I've always had this impression from popular culture that undercover operations was always a part of FBI operations, so it was amazing to learn about how the actual methods of undercover work first developed and evolved through this case and other events in the late 70s. I liked learning about how Hoover's policies influenced the FBI and how the FBI adapted its approach in lieu of the new challenges that Wedick and Brennan brought to light. It would have been nice to learn a little more about what initially prejudiced Americans against undercover investigations, but I am still satisfied with what I learned.
But more than that, the characters in the story, from the main protagonists to the range of crooks, cons, and conned, were given vivid life and kept me engaged in the plot. You reached a nice balance in their character that let us see their depth of their personalities and visions without jumping to too many assumptions - which is important to keep in mind for a nonfiction work.
You clearly put a lot of research into the book, and you managed to make the history come alive without making it too embellished. Really, the only minor gripes I have are things that I assume will be fixed for the final version, such as the missing Cast of Characters page. Overall, this was a great book to read, and it helped me learn a lot about that era..
This was a very enjoyable book that shed a lot of light on the history of the FBI. I've always had this impression from popular culture that undercover operations was always a part of FBI operations, so it was amazing to learn about how the actual methods of undercover work first developed and evolved through this case and other events in the late 70s. I liked learning about how Hoover's policies influenced the FBI and how the FBI adapted its approach in lieu of the new challenges that Wedick and Brennan brought to light. It would have been nice to learn a little more about what initially prejudiced Americans against undercover investigations, but I am still satisfied with what I learned.
But more than that, the characters in the story, from the main protagonists to the range of crooks, cons, and conned, were given vivid life and kept me engaged in the plot. You reached a nice balance in their character that let us see their depth of their personalities and visions without jumping to too many assumptions - which is important to keep in mind for a nonfiction work.
You clearly put a lot of research into the book, and you managed to make the history come alive without making it too embellished. Really, the only minor gripes I have are things that I assume will be fixed for the final version, such as the missing Cast of Characters page. Overall, this was a great book to read, and it helped me learn a lot about that era..
December 8, 2017
I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads Giveaways. Thank you!
In Chasing Phil, David Howard tells the story of the first major undercover operation done by two untrained FBI agents as they follow a charming con man that specializes in financial fraud. The con man, Phil, takes the two FBI agents on a wild ride across many countries as he chases his marks and lives a life of indulgence.
First, the subject matter here is interested and incredibly detailed. It's intense watching the agents walk the fine line between being friends and spies. There are so many close calls and crazy incidents. I think the intensity and insanity of the pursuit is clearly communicated in the book. The characters are engaging and the author makes a good attempt to explain the intricacies of the cons. On the flip side, the sheer number of character is dizzying. I have an advance copy so I don't know if this was addressed in the final publication, but I found it hard to remember who was who and I would have appreciated a list of characters. Also, the first half of the book contains frequent flashbacks to Phil's past that broke up the pace and main plot in a way that I found distracting and hard to follow. I would have preferred a more linear telling of the story of Phil's background. However, the latter half of the book was much stronger as we raced towards the conclusion of the surveillance and the resulting charges and court cases. This was an interesting book and a good read!
In Chasing Phil, David Howard tells the story of the first major undercover operation done by two untrained FBI agents as they follow a charming con man that specializes in financial fraud. The con man, Phil, takes the two FBI agents on a wild ride across many countries as he chases his marks and lives a life of indulgence.
First, the subject matter here is interested and incredibly detailed. It's intense watching the agents walk the fine line between being friends and spies. There are so many close calls and crazy incidents. I think the intensity and insanity of the pursuit is clearly communicated in the book. The characters are engaging and the author makes a good attempt to explain the intricacies of the cons. On the flip side, the sheer number of character is dizzying. I have an advance copy so I don't know if this was addressed in the final publication, but I found it hard to remember who was who and I would have appreciated a list of characters. Also, the first half of the book contains frequent flashbacks to Phil's past that broke up the pace and main plot in a way that I found distracting and hard to follow. I would have preferred a more linear telling of the story of Phil's background. However, the latter half of the book was much stronger as we raced towards the conclusion of the surveillance and the resulting charges and court cases. This was an interesting book and a good read!
March 20, 2018
So even though I'd figured out before I started reading this that the FBI would get Kitzer, it still captivated me as Brennan and Wedick were making up the procedure as they went along. At a time when one FBI office's agents didn't trespass on another's turf they were, and at times without notification as Kitzer would decide on a whim to work a con and meet other "promoters" in Cleveland, Miami, London, the Bahamas, and Germany. These "promoters" weren't beyond trying to con one another or leave one of their own holding a dinner tab for a thousand or so dollars. All during Brennan & Wedick's travels with they documented and taped the scams they were privy to and discreetly tipped off local FBI offices when anything was going down making sure there was a back story to cover them.
By this time the FBI had figured out that their agents were onto a serious criminal syndicate and Bowen Johnson started shadowing the agents collecting the day's reports between 10 pm and 2 am when Kitzer wasn't around. In New York the local office also wiretapped one of the "promoter's" offices. Good thing too, as the Mafia wanted to get in on some of the scams and some individuals were just as happy to kill the promoters, especially those who hadn't payed up. The FBI was a bit uptight as well fearing their agents might be given a ride to the Bronx. A total page turner!
By this time the FBI had figured out that their agents were onto a serious criminal syndicate and Bowen Johnson started shadowing the agents collecting the day's reports between 10 pm and 2 am when Kitzer wasn't around. In New York the local office also wiretapped one of the "promoter's" offices. Good thing too, as the Mafia wanted to get in on some of the scams and some individuals were just as happy to kill the promoters, especially those who hadn't payed up. The FBI was a bit uptight as well fearing their agents might be given a ride to the Bronx. A total page turner!
August 16, 2019
The prologue started off promising; however, through the rest of the read--I was torn of boredom. I struggled reading this and finishing it for a book club read. Others haven't even started. Some have, but complained the read is very slow, and shared their dislikes. The main dislike: David Howard (author) focused too much on the agents instead of the actual criminal--Phil. However, clearly the title says "Chasing Phil" which would probably focus on the FBI chasing and going undercover to catch the white-collar criminal noted as a massive con-man or promoter.
There were short breaks in the book that seemed a little interesting to know as a woman as far as the wives dealing with their mate undercover and their struggle to make it happen for a period of time without their mate.
Epilogue was pretty decent, and would like to know the landmark case since I am a legal researcher/librarian to share with the group. I searched the name, and what I found, may not be the landmark case.
Overall, I really didn't like it...hard to choose between a 1/2 stars; median would be 1.5 stars. It took nearly 2 months to complete with other reads.
Disclaimer: I borrowed a copy to discuss in as a book club read (at work) and giving my honest opinion of the read.
There were short breaks in the book that seemed a little interesting to know as a woman as far as the wives dealing with their mate undercover and their struggle to make it happen for a period of time without their mate.
Epilogue was pretty decent, and would like to know the landmark case since I am a legal researcher/librarian to share with the group. I searched the name, and what I found, may not be the landmark case.
Overall, I really didn't like it...hard to choose between a 1/2 stars; median would be 1.5 stars. It took nearly 2 months to complete with other reads.
Disclaimer: I borrowed a copy to discuss in as a book club read (at work) and giving my honest opinion of the read.
January 1, 2018
I received a copy of this through a Goodreads giveaway, and have not let it affect my review.
This read like a compelling thriller, not like a real-life case! I had a great time reading the true story of one of the first big undercover cases the FBI did, to take down white-collar criminals who scammed people out of millions of dollars by getting advance fees and down payments for fake loans. I love (fictional!) stories of con men, and the magic they accomplish with very slick social skills (a.k.a. manipulation). This book had some of those delightful stories of what Phil and his fellow "promoters" were able to pull off, but it balanced out with showing the harm they did to the desperate people they scammed, and the dangerous involvement with darker criminal forces like the mafia. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an exciting romp about real-life con men and the risky, experimental undercover operation that brought them to justice.
This read like a compelling thriller, not like a real-life case! I had a great time reading the true story of one of the first big undercover cases the FBI did, to take down white-collar criminals who scammed people out of millions of dollars by getting advance fees and down payments for fake loans. I love (fictional!) stories of con men, and the magic they accomplish with very slick social skills (a.k.a. manipulation). This book had some of those delightful stories of what Phil and his fellow "promoters" were able to pull off, but it balanced out with showing the harm they did to the desperate people they scammed, and the dangerous involvement with darker criminal forces like the mafia. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an exciting romp about real-life con men and the risky, experimental undercover operation that brought them to justice.
November 29, 2017
_Chasing Phil_ is about one of the first white collar, wiretapped, undercover operations that the FBI engaged in during the late 1970s. I didn't always understand all the scamming that went on with banks, insurance companies, real estate ventures, etc., but for this story you don't have to be totally in the know. David Howard uses a variety of primary sources to piece together much of what went down with the "charming con-man", Phil Kitzler, and the two FBI agents, Jack Brennan and Jim Medick, who were posing and winging it as aspiring cons and had never even been trained to do undercover work. Revealing, confounding, and moving the story plays out, leading you from one scam and set-up to the next leaving you wondering where all the money is coming from and going to. Here's an interview from WAMU: https://wamu.org/story/17/11/08/chasi...
October 10, 2017
Chasing Phil is an account of one of the FBI's earliest long-term undercover operations, undertaken when the Bureau's culture was still very much against undercover work. The other hurdle was that financial fraud was also not considered to be a crime damaging enough to warrant big FBI investigations. Despite these roadblocks, two young FBI agents persevered and cobbled together an undercover investigation of an incredibly prolific con man named Phil Kitzer.
While it is clearly well-researched and the investigation is an impressive one, the book is somewhat slow and has many abrupt transitions that don't seem to lead anywhere. It may be due to the piecemeal nature of the materials the agents were able to gather, as audio recording back then was difficult to do undetected. The book is interesting but not a page turner.
While it is clearly well-researched and the investigation is an impressive one, the book is somewhat slow and has many abrupt transitions that don't seem to lead anywhere. It may be due to the piecemeal nature of the materials the agents were able to gather, as audio recording back then was difficult to do undetected. The book is interesting but not a page turner.
November 25, 2017
I received this book via a goodreads giveaway. It was billed as: A thrilling true crime caper bursting with colorful characters and awash in 70s glamour, based on the FBI's first white collar undercover sting.
The word thrilling is what caught my attention; what I got was interesting; I am sure that the FBI agents has butterflies n their stomachs, were shaking in fear, etc; but that truly did not come out as I read this book. It was well written and extremely interesting; but not thrilling.
The best points this book made were in its telling of the history of the FBI and its investigations. Unfortunately, this book rings with a great deal of the movie Catch Me if You Can. While the crimes are dissimilar and there are two undercover agents infiltrating Phil’s organization in this book; the ending comes around to the same thing…..
Good book, but needs some dramatization.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2024
Great read. Howard's writing is clear and easy to understand, even in the face of complicated fraud schemes. In fact, as readers will note, the sophistication of the scams employed by Kitzer is a feature of his ability to succeed, yet the prose walks you through it with ease.
The book never once felt dry or academic or even melodramatic, which is a trait seen in many works of this genre, be they books or articles. There is no veering off for thirty pages to describe financial systems in great detail, just as there are no sob stories played up to elicit emotions. Consequences for the crimes as described are dealt with just so, as they occurred in the true order of the story. Nothing feels wasted.
In addition, the subject matter is hard to put down. Does this story write itself, or is David Howard's greater accomplishment how he turns this into a page-turner?
The book never once felt dry or academic or even melodramatic, which is a trait seen in many works of this genre, be they books or articles. There is no veering off for thirty pages to describe financial systems in great detail, just as there are no sob stories played up to elicit emotions. Consequences for the crimes as described are dealt with just so, as they occurred in the true order of the story. Nothing feels wasted.
In addition, the subject matter is hard to put down. Does this story write itself, or is David Howard's greater accomplishment how he turns this into a page-turner?
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