by Marc Ruskin
Acknowledgments
Three professionals in the literary world are the sine qua non for The Pretender. Joe Spieler, my literary agent, believed in my idea for this book from the beginning and persevered until it became real. Mike Bryan was my literary guru, providing feedback, advice, and suggestions on matters large and small, which he dished out with humor and sagacity. Emily Angell, my editor at Thomas Dunne Books, reviewed the manuscript with a keen eye and forged a truly collaborative process. Lisa Bonvissuto, editorial assistant, brought diligence and charm to the making of this book.
For the “I’ve been there” advice, and the many long phone calls, big thanks to Jack Garcia (Making Jack Falcone) and Bob Wittman (Priceless and The Devil’s Diary).
Closer to home, marketing maven Phil Ruskin, CEO at Ruskin International Communications, has provided and continues to provide indispensable assistance to this author, whose business acumen is de minimis. And a bow to Adina Ruskin for her invaluable assistance in getting the project launched.
Assistant Special Agent in Charge Steve Carlotta tops the list in Management; it is thanks to him that I worked as a full-time freelance undercover my last four or five years in the Bu, unencumbered by administrative responsibilities. Nor would that have been possible without the support of his boss, SAC Gerald Rose. My SSA in New York, Matt Laird, provided cover when needed, as the truly good supervisors do, and never complained that I was taking up a valuable place on his squad while contributing little to its mission.
Back at JEH, Michael Mason, Special Assistant to the Director, later Assistant Director; and Herb Cousins, Section Chief, later SAC, were reliable in their support and mentoring.
As to the FBI Special Agents, Supervisors, professionals, and others whose true names appear in the book, consider yourselves already acknowledged. The following paragraph is for those who, if they have appeared in the narrative, did so pseudonymously. Adding any information as to where or when they fit into the story would, by necessity, defeat the point of masking their identities. Thus I must limit myself to providing simply the names of those who know the roles they have played:
So, here’s to you, Maureen “Moe” McDonnell, Joe Robles, Amy Solek, Jairo Lopez, George Parks, Charlie Russell, John Sinclair, Sam Santana, Ab Maldonado, Frank Flores, Marcela Barrios, Fernando Candelario, Luis Cruz, John Sokol, Don Sheehan, Dave Raiser, Roy Hoynes, Norissa, Baxter Lipscomb, Jim Rose, Jimmy Garcia, Kim Householder, Michelle Mullen, Joe Mangan, Rita Fitzpatrick, Bill May, Claudia Mannix, Danny Trompetta and Bob Kenny, Katie Harmke, Dave Stone, Prady Rivas, Amy Hirina, Brian Connolly, Rebecca, Steve Surowitz, and Lance Gambis.
Glossary of FBI Argot and Acronyms
1 Register—Sign in/out sheet for SAs (discontinued).
302—Short for FD-302, a report of investigation conducted by one or more SAs. Must be drafted within five days (much more difficult to fudge due to current technology).
515—Short for FD-515, form used to claim stats: number of arrests, drugs/assets seized, etc.
ADIC—Assistant Director in Charge, boss of one of the larger field divisions, New York, Los Angeles, Washington Field (so named to distinguish it from JEH). Pronounced “ay-dick,” not by saying each letter individually. (See SAC, go figure.) The new ADIC in New York, Bill Sweeny, recently quipped at a retired SAs luncheon that according to his teenage son, the Bu finally got his title right.
AFID—Alias Fictitious Identification Documents produced by the Janus Initiative. Driver’s licenses, Social Security cards, credit cards, and wallet filler (library cards, frequent flyer cards, health insurance cards, etc.). Pronounced “ay-fid.”
Airtel—Communication sent between FBI offices (replaced by EC).
ALAT—Assistant Legal Attaché. SSA assigned to an FBI office in a U.S. Embassy, headed up by a Legat (see below). Generally used all upper case.
ASAC—Assistant Special Agent in Charge, traditionally the hatchet man for the Special Agent in Charge.
AUO—Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime. The ten extra hours a week required from all SAs.
Backstopping—The procedures taken to substantiate a fictitious idnentity.
Bu, BuCar, BuSteed—Synonyms for government-owned car assigned to an SA. Not to be used for personal purposes. If caught, forty-five-day suspension without pay. SAs are usually caught when they have a fender bender while shopping when off duty. Good SSAs always retroactively place the SA on duty (unless wife and kids were in car).
Bureauese—English as it appears on FBI documents: 302s, LHMs, etc.
CI—Confidential Informant. Will not testify, unless he/she agrees to become a confidential witness (CW).
CW—Confidential Witness. Same as CI, but has agreed to testify at trial.
EC—Electronic Communication. Document with strict format, used for nearly all internal communications: request for authorization to do something (trash cover, attend conference, repair car, etc.), canvass for a UCA, disseminate information, and so forth.
Field Division—A large FBI office, usually managed by an SAC. The very large ones, New York, L.A., Washington Field, are led by an ADIC.
FNU—First Name Unknown. As in FNU Smith. Pronounced by SAs as “Phenoo.”
FOA—First Office Agent, i.e., a rookie.
FOB—Friend of the Bureau. An individual, usually working in the private sector, willing to help out, not for material gain but out of sympathy with the objectives of federal law enforcement.
Group I—Long-Term Undercover Operation (UCO), requiring FBIHQ/DOJ approval.
Group II—Short-Term Undercover Operation (UCO), usually six months to one year, approved by the ADIC/SAC of a field division.
Hello Phone—The covert phone maintained by each squad for receiving calls from informants and subjects. If the number is found in an informant’s pocket by a fellow criminal, his relationship with the Bureau will not be compromised.
IT—International Terrorism.
JEH—The Hoover Building (FBIHQ), as it is referred to by those who work, or have worked, there.
LEGAT—Legal Attaché, an overseas FBI office in a U.S. Embassy, responsible for liaison with the law enforcement and intelligence services of the host country. When used all upper case, refers to the office itself, otherwise to the agent in charge (e.g., Will Godoy was Legat Buenos Aires).
LHM—Letterhead Memorandum. A letter to someone outside the FBI, summarizing information deemed suitable for dissemination. Usually sent to another government agency (OGA). Often used as a cover letter for a prosecutive report sent to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
LNU—Last Name Unknown. As in John LNU. Pronounced by SAs as “Lenoo.” If neither first nor last name is known, SAs do not use “Phenoo Lenoo,” rather: UNSUB (see below).
OP—Office of Preference. Selected by an SA, for transfer based on seniority. One OP Transfer allowed per career. The wait for a small, highly desirable office can be twenty-plus years (as was the case for me).
One Way ____—Nickname (e.g., One Way Mary). For an agent always asking for a favor, and always too busy to lend a hand when asked.
POA—Personally Owned Automobile. As in “Why did you drive your POA, when you could have used the Bu?”
POW—Personally Owned Weapon. Firearm that an SA is authorized to carry. Up to two handguns and one long gun, from a list of approved weapons.
RA—Resident Agency. A satellite FBI office, which is part of a Field Division.
Relief Supervisor (also referred to as Relief)—An SA who fills in when the squad SSA is unavailable. First small step in road to management.
RDO—Regular Day Off. As in “I worked on Sunday, so I’m taking an RDO during the week.”
SA—Special Agent, sometimes referred to as a field agent.
SAC—Special Agent in Charge. Boss of a field division (except for the big ones, run by an ADIC). Pronounced by saying each letter individually (not as “sack,” which is the pronunciation used by DEA, Secret Service, etc.).
SSA—Supervi
sory Special Agent. In the field, manages a squad of SAs. At JEH, the bottom rung in the management ladder. I was an SSA while at the Undercover Safeguard Unit and as ALAT Buenos Aires (1998–2004).
SSRA—An SSA who is in charge of a Resident Agency while also managing a squad.
SOG—Special Operations Group.
TDY—Temporary Duty Assignment.
UC/UCA/UCE—Undercover, Undercover Agent, Undercover Employee. Used interchangeably.
UCO—Undercover Operation.
UNSUB—Unidentified Subject. Sometimes referred to as FNU LNU, tongue in cheek.
About the Author
MARC RUSKIN spent twenty-seven years as an FBI special agent, working primarily undercover in operations for which he was awarded five commendations from the Bureau director. Before joining the FBI, Ruskin graduated from Vassar College and then Cardozo Law School, worked for U.S. senator Daniel Moynihan, and was an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn. He retired from the Bureau in 2012 and now divides his time between a law practice in New York and extended sojourns in Liaoning Province, China, where he writes and studies Mandarin. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Author’s Note
Epigraphs
Introduction
1. Quantico NAC 85-7
2. San Juan
3. Learning to Live a Lie
4. The Stakes Go Up
5. The Daily Grind
6. The Long Arm of the Lie
7. BLUE SCORE
8. SUNBLOCK
9. Starlight Lounge
10. Never the Same, Never Again
11. But First, That Shootout in Buenos Aires
12. Back to New York
13. False Flags
14. ALTERNATE BREACH
15. Shalom
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Glossary of FBI Argot and Acronyms
About the Author
Copyright
THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.
An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.
THE PRETENDER. Copyright © 2017 by Marc Ruskin. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Danielle Christopher
Cover photograph of fingerprint © Andrey Kuzmin/Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
e-ISBN 9781466877108
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First Edition: June 2017