Welcome to episode 362 of FBI case file review with Jerry Williams.

I'm a retired agent on a mission to show you who the FBI is and what the FBI does

through my books, my blog, and my podcast case reviews

with former colleagues. Today we get to speak to retired agent Kathy Adams, who served in the FBI

for nearly 29 years. On this episode, she reviews the rescue of a restaurant owner who was kidnapped for ransom at gunpoint from his Champaign, Illinois, Mexican restaurant and held for five days in September 2006. Using cell site analysis during the multi-state investigation, Kathy, along with FBI agents, assigned to Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, as well as FBI headquarters, and investigators from the Champaign Police Department, were able to identify, track, and arrest the kidnappers. The victim was rescued from a

motel room in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and most of the $250,000 ransom money was recovered. After graduating

from the FBI Academy, Kathy Adams' first assignment was to the New Orleans field office. During her

11 years there, she became the first female FBI agent, SWAT operator. Her team was deployed to Waco

during the David Koresh standoff. Kathy also worked the landmark Shattered Shield case involving police corruption,

their protection of drug dealers, and the murder of a witness.

Kathy and the case agents were awarded the Extraordinary Service Award

given by the Metropolitan Crime Commission of New Orleans.

Kathy's next assignment was to the Springfield Division in Illinois, where she worked violent crime

focusing on the activities of the gangster disciples.

Kathy was able to disrupt and dismantle the gang during her Group 1 undercover operation,

Jaguar, which resulted in the successful prosecution of over 40 individuals. Kathy was recognized with the director's award for outstanding

contributions and law enforcement. Kathy continued serving on SWAT in the Springfield

division and became the first female FBI SWAT team leader,

directing several successful missions. Later, Kathy became a crisis negotiator and was transferred to the

Champaign resident agency where she continued to investigate violent crime matters and

public corruption. She was also the coordinator of the Eastern Illinois Safe Street Task Force

and the Springfield Division's primary coordinator for the National Center for the Analysis of Violent

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