For a
quarter of a century, our next guest was an undercover
street agent for the FBI, pretending to be drug dealers,
killers, burglars, gamblers, and weapons dealers. The
culmination of his most interesting career was his
infiltration of NAMBLA, a secret organization of
pedophiles; it was also one of his toughest assignments,
due to the potential psychological damage that could be
incurred when posing as someone so loathsome. Bob Hamer’s
book “The Last Undercover-The True Story of an FBI Agent’s
Dangerous Dance with Evil” takes us through Hamer’s
professional life, from his first undercover assignment in
1980 to the NAMBLA case, which exposed this hidden club to
public scrutiny and condemnation. The stories he tells are
compelling, dramatic, and often surprising. We will also
be talking this morning about his latest book “Enemies
Among Us”
Our next guest Bob Hamer is author of the book “Enemies
Among Us” and has nearly three decades as an FBI street
agent. He has received numerous awards throughout his
career including the FBI Director’s Award for
Distinguished Service, four United States Attorney Awards
for Distinguished Service, and numerous letters of
commendation including one from then U.S. Attorney Rudy
Giuliani.
Novels about undercover FBI agents nabbing terrorists
are more credible when written by former FBI agents.
Hamer's nearly three decades as a street agent gives
weight to this thriller about erstwhile reckless agent
Matt Hogan's redemption with the agency, his wife, and
guilt-ridden past. In order to save his job, Hogan must
leave his dangerous operations and infiltrate a
Christian hospital, which he sees as a red herring to
get him off the streets. But as the hospital is
suspected of helping terrorists, Hogan has never had a
more important assignment. Beyond thriller-speed action,
the author includes references to Osama bin Laden,
reflections on the difference between guilt and shame
societies, and just enough hot married love for
Christian fiction. Suspense is often pre-empted by
unnecessary spoilers in the middle of the action: Fate
was about to confront the team. Otherwise few flaws mar
what is a page-turning roller coaster that feels like
Jack Bauer's 24 without sailing over the top.
Stereotype-bending dialogue and believable characters
elicit fear of evil and call forth hope that good exists
in all ethnicities and religions. (Mar.)
Bob
Hamer spent twenty-six years as a "street agent" for the
FBI, many of them in an undercover capacity. In
assignments lasting anywhere from a day to more than
three years, he successfully posed as a drug dealer,
contract killer, fence, pedophile, degenerate gambler,
weapons dealer, and white-collar criminal.
Bob
worked undercover against such diverse groups as La Cosa
Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia, Mexican Mafia, Russian
Mafia, Asian organized crime groups, and Los
Angeles-based street gangs. His successful infiltration
of NAMBLA (North American Man/Boy Love Association)
resulted in the arrest of what one defendant called
eight members of the "inner circle."
He
received numerous awards throughout his career including
the FBI Director’s Award for Distinguished Service, four
United States Attorney Awards for Distinguished Service,
and numerous letters of commendation including one from
then U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Now
retired, he is a member of the Writers Guild of America
and the Writers Guild of Canada and has written for TV.
He also worked as the technical advisor for The Inside
and Angela's Eyes and has consulted for Law & Order: SVU
and Sleeper Cell. He appeared as a guest on The Oprah
Winfrey Show, The Sean Hannity Show, Laura Ingraham, and
other national and local TV and radio programs to
discuss his role in the NAMBLA investigation.
In 2009,
The Last Undercover
was named as the Fifteenth Annual San Diego Book Awards
Association, Best Memoir, General Interest.
A Marine Corps veteran and law school graduate, he is
married and has two children.