382: Michael Clarke and Jack McFarland – Disrupting The Commission, U.S. Virgin Islands

FBI Case File Review

Jerri Williams

True Crime, Government

4.7 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2025

⏱️ 75 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Retired FBI agent Michael Clarke and retired DEA agent Jack McFarland review their 2004 joint FBI and DEA investigation of "The Commission," a violent criminal gang operating in the U.S. Virgin Islands which includes St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix, whose members were convicted in federal court for racketeering, murder, and drug trafficking. The case was conducted under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, the Safe Streets Task Force initiative, and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. Mike and Jack both served as agents for 32 years. Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles: https://jerriwilliams.com/382-michael-clarke-and-jack-mcfarland-disrupting-the-commission-us-virgin-islands/

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Transcript

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0:00.0	That was the turning point from my understanding of the commission where they got bolder and bolder.
0:05.5	They started to think that they were untouchable, especially from the territorial authorities.
0:12.5	And we were very concerned that if the commission crew, they're going to go after a local, they'd be really stupid to go after a Fed. Well, guess what? They got stupid.
0:26.7	Welcome to episode 382 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
0:42.3	through my books, blog, and podcast case reviews with former colleagues. Today we get to speak to
0:49.4	retired FBI agent Michael Clark and retired DEA agent Jack McFarlane, both who served as agents for 32 years.
1:00.2	In this episode, they review their 2004 joint FBI and DEA investigation of the commission,
1:10.1	a violent criminal gang operating in the U.S. Virgin Islands,
1:14.9	which includes St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. The members of the Commission were
1:22.0	convicted in federal court for numerous crimes, including racketeering, murder, robbery, and drug trafficking.
1:30.8	The case was conducted under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, Osadeff,
1:37.1	the Safe Streets Task Force Initiative, and the High Intensity Drug Traffing Area Program, also known as Haida.
1:46.8	Michael Clark began his career in the FBI's Atlanta Field Office,
1:51.4	where he was also a SWAT operator and assistant team leader for over 10 years.
1:57.3	After being promoted to supervisory special agent,
2:04.0	he transferred to the San Juan Division, where he was responsible for two FBI resident agencies, where he established the United States Virgin Islands
2:11.1	Joint Terrorism Task Force, and supervised and trained agency members of the FBI U.S. Virgin Islands Safe Street Task Force.
2:21.0	During this period, Mike was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan on a variety of FBI initiatives
2:28.5	and completed additional overseas assignments in Haiti, Pakistan, Russia, and Jordan.
2:35.9	He was later selected to open a new FBI legal attaché office in the Balkans
2:41.7	with territorial responsibility for Albania, Macedonia, and Bulgaria.
2:48.0	At the end of that assignment, he reported to the Criminal Investigative Division
	...

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