Episode 181: Phil Coghlan – Hit Man: A Technical Manual For Independent Contractors - a podcast by Jerri Williams

Retired agent Phil Coghlan served in the FBI for 28 years. He was assigned to Columbia Resident Agency (RA) in the Cincinnati Division,  the Washington Field Office, the Norfolk Division’s Peninsula RA, and FBIHQ.  During his career, Phil specialized in violent crimes, serial killer and child abduction investigations, and was a team leader on the Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team. In this episode of FBI Retired Case File Review, Phil Coghlan reviews his investigation of a sophisticated and complex two—year crime spree involving bank robberies, bombs/IEDs, and murder, and the highly controversial book, Hit Man: A Technical Manual For Independent Contractors that his bank robbery subjects read and used to commit their crimes. Phil also provides historical insight into the famously heated debate between Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flint and Reverend Jerry Falwell regarding the limits of freedom of speech and how lawsuits about the First Amendment and the publication of the Hitman book connected Phil Coghlan to the court case, and the subsequent book and feature film, both named Deliberate Intent.

During the second half of Phil Coghlan’s Bureau career, he worked terrorism investigation as part of the Joint Terrorism Task Force.  After retiring from the FBI, he was fortunate to continue working for the Bureau as an instructor at the Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Operations Training Unit, where he trains current active agents on informant development. He also conducts investigations into allegations of workplace misconduct for private sector clients.

 

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Jerri Williams, a retired FBI agent, author and podcaster, attempts to relive her glory days by writing and blogging about the FBI and hosting FBI Retired Case File Review, a true crime/history podcast. Her new book FBI Myths and Misconceptions: A Manual for Armchair Detectives is available wherever books are sold. 

 

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