300: FBI Director Christopher Wray, Isabella Maldonado, Anne Beagan

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In this epic 300^th episode celebrating a major milestone in my podcasting journey, we speak to FBI Director Christopher Wray, bestselling author and National Academy graduate, Isabella Maldonado, and retired agent and TV producer Anne Beagan.

Thank you for listening to my 300 episodes featuring interviews with the case agents of the FBI’s most famous investigations, as well as fascinating but not as well-known FBI cases. As part of the celebration for my 300th episode, you can learn about my podcast origin story here.

I want you to know how much it means to me that you follow FBI Retired Case File Review and are enjoying the show. I consider my work here as my mission, but it is also a labor of love. I love what I do, bringing you the real stories of the FBI.

If you’re a retired or former FBI agent with an intriguing fully adjudicated FBI case, you would like to review please let me know. I would love to share your story too.

I selected today’s guests to reflect on what I’ve noticed are your reasons for listening to and following FBI Retired Case File Review over the last nearly eight years, since the launch of the show on January 23, 2016.

FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks with authority to those who listen to learn more about the FBI.

Crime novelist Isabella Maldonado addresses listeners who follow the show because they are reading, watching, and writing crime dramas about the FBI and what to know what’s accurate and debunk cliches and misconceptions about Bureau policies and procedures found in books, TV, and movies.

For all the true crime fans, during my conversation with Anne Beagan, the producer of FBI True, we explore the popularity of the true crime industry and how to cover sensitive topics, especially cases involving violence and murder.

FBI Director Christopher Wray

Christopher Wray became the eighth Director of the FBI on August 2, 2017. At the time of his nomination to be FBI Director, he was chair of the Special Matters and Government Investigations Practice Group for the international law firm of King & Spalding LLP. He began his law enforcement career in 1997, serving in the Department of Justice as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. In that role, Director Wray prosecuted a wide variety of federal criminal cases, including public corruption, gun trafficking, drug offenses, and financial fraud. In 2001, Director Wray was named associate deputy attorney general, and then principal associate deputy attorney general, in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General in Washington, D.C. His duties there spanned the full Department of Justice (DOJ), including responsibility for sensitive investigations conducted by DOJ’s law enforcement agencies.

Director Wray was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2003 to be the assistant attorney general for DOJ’s Criminal Division, supervising major national and international criminal investigations and prosecutions. He also oversaw the Counterterrorism Section and the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, which were part of the Criminal Division throughout his tenure (DOJ later consolidated those sections into the National Security Division).

Director Wray was a member of the President’s Corporate Fraud Task Force, supervised the Enron Task Force, and served as a leader in DOJ’s post-9/11 efforts to combat terrorism, espionage, and cybercrime with domestic and foreign government partners. At the conclusion of his tenure, Director Wray was awarded the Edmund J. Randolph Award, DOJ’s highest award for leadership and public service.

Learn more about working for the FBI here.

Read the Washington Post article about my interview with Director Wray. 

Isabella Maldonado – (Audio timestamp 48:05)

Wall Street Journal bestselling and award-winning author Isabella Maldonado wore a gun and badge in real life before turning to crime writing. A graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the first Latina to attain the rank of captain in her police department, she retired as the Commander of Special Investigations and Forensics. During more than two decades on the force, her assignments included hostage negotiator, department spokesperson, and precinct commander. She uses her law enforcement background to bring a realistic edge to her writing, which includes the Special Agent Nina Guerrera series (which is being developed by Netflix for a feature film starring Jennifer Lopez), the Special Agent Dani Vega series, and the Detective Veranda Cruz series. Her books are published in 24 languages. For more information, visit her website, isabellamaldonado.com.

Learn more about the FBI National Academy here.

Anne Beagan – (Audio timestamp 1:20:08)

Retired agent Anne Beagan served in the FBI for over 23 years. Her first assignment was to the New York Field Office’s Criminal Division, where she investigated White Collar Crime, Crimes Against Children, Civil Rights and Violent Crime/Major Offenders, among other violations. Following the tragic events of 9/11, Anne was named FBI New York’s Special Events Coordinator to the Joint Terrorism Task Force, responsible for coordinating overall FBI logistics and security plans for all major NYC sporting, holiday, government and entertainment special events. After transitioning to the New York FBI’s Office of Public Affairs as its entertainment industry liaison, a position she created, Anne built more than a decade of experience managing long-form media projects, including feature films, television series, documentaries, books and magazine articles featuring the FBI. She initiated several ground-breaking media projects, including the popular, realistic scripted series, “FBI” with executive producer Dick Wolf that premiered on CBS in the fall of 2018 and continues to be renewed for many seasons since.

After retiring, Anne realized her collective knowledge and experience put her in a unique position to apply her talent and skill to storytelling, thereby founding Anne Beagan Productions. The first official projects under her production company’s banner are the documentary 26th Street Garage: The FBI’s Untold Story of 9/11, as well as FBI TRUE, the original docuseries that she co-created, now on CBS.

Learn more about the FBI’s Investigative Publicity and Public Affairs Unit (IPPAU) here.