224: Rich Garcia – Miami Vice, Colombian Cartel Undercover Sting

FBI Retired Case File Review

Jerri Williams

True Crime, Interviews, Fiction, History, Fbi, Government, Truecrime

4.6 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2021

⏱️ 96 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Retired agent Richard "Rich" Garcia reviews his Group 1 Undercover Operation (UCO), where agents set up a bogus company to sell beepers, cell phones, shortwave radios, and other high-technology devices to Colombian drug smugglers transporting shipping drugs from Central and South America to the United States. The case, code-named "Cat-Com" for Catch Communications, resulted in charges against 93 alleged drug traffickers, including the leaders of three distribution networks.

Rich Garcia was a street agent in the Dallas, San Juan, and Miami Divisions. He held management level positions at FBIHQ, Washington Field Office, and the El Paso and Houston Divisions. He retired as the Assistant Director in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office. Rich served in the FBI for 25 years

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to episode 224 of FBI Retired Case File Review with Jerry Williams. I'm a retired agent on a mission to show you who the
0:16.7	FBI is and what the FBI does through my books, my blog, and my podcast case reviews with former colleagues.
0:25.1	Today we get to speak to Richard Rich Garcia, who served in the FBI for 25 years.
0:33.2	In this episode, Rich reviews his group one undercover operation,
0:38.5	where agents set up a bogus company
0:41.2	to sell beepers, cell phones, and shortwave radios to Colombian drug smugglers
0:47.2	transporting drugs from Central and South America to the United States.
0:52.0	The case, cod name Catcom for Catch Communications, resulted in
0:57.1	charges against 93 drug traffickers, including the leaders of three distribution networks.
1:05.0	Rich Garcia was a street agent in the Dallas, San Juan, and Miami divisions.
1:10.1	He held management-level positions at FBI headquarters, Washington Field Office, and the El Paso and Houston divisions.
1:18.0	Rich retired as the assistant director in charge of the entire Los Angeles Field Office.
1:25.9	During his career, Rich received numerous awards for investigative and managerial operations
1:32.3	to include the Attorney General's Award. and As the Section Chief of Operations for the Information Resource Division,
1:45.0	Rich played a significant role in the espionage investigation of FBI spy Robert Hanson.
1:53.0	Rich managed and monitored Hanson's activities prior to his arrest.
1:58.0	Currently, Rich Garcia is the principle of 3 RB Consulting Group LLC, which uses its extensive global network
2:08.4	to put companies and clients together that needs services and cyber security assessments and cyber training.
2:16.5	During the case review, Rich mentions responding to the 1986 Miami Firefight where agents Jerry Dove and Ben Grogan were killed and working with Bob Levinson who was held hostage and died in the custody of his Iranian captors.
2:35.0	Links to case reviews about both tragic events are included in the website show notes of this episode.
2:45.0	Before we get to the interview, I want to welcome new listeners and invite everyone to
2:50.0	join my reader team, where once a month I keep you up to date on the FBI and books, TV and movies.
	...

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