A thrilling true crime caper, bursting with colorful characters and
awash in '70s glamour, that spotlights the FBI's first white-collar
undercover sting
1977, the Thunderbird Motel. J.J. Wedick and Jack Brennan--two
fresh-faced, maverick FBI agents--were about to embark on one of their
agency's first wire-wearing undercover missions. Their target?
Charismatic, globetrotting 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 Frankfurt, to the Bahamas--meeting
other members of Kitzer's crime syndicate and powerful politicians and
businessmen he fooled at each stop. But as the young agents, playing the
role of proteges and co-conspirators, became further entangled in Phil's
outrageous schemes over their months on the road, they also grew to
respect him--even care for him. Meanwhile, Phil began to think of Jack
and J.J. as best friends, sharing hotel rooms and inside jokes with them
and even competing with J.J. in picking up women.
Phil Kitzer was at the center of dozens of scams in which he swindled
millions of dollars, but the FBI was mired in a post-Watergate malaise
and slow to pivot toward a new type of financial crime that is now all
too familiar. Plunging into the field with no undercover training, the
agents battled a creaky bureaucracy on their adventures with Phil,
hoping the FBI would recognize the importance of their mission. Even as
they grew closer to Phil, they recognized that their endgame--the
swindler's arrest--was drawing near...
Anchored by larger-than-life characters, framed by exotic locales and an
irresistible era, Chasing Phil is high drama and propulsive reading,
delivered by an effortless storyteller.
