Polanski, NAMBLA and Checking Our Moral Compass

Whoopi Goldberg said on The View it wasn’t “rape-rape.”  No, it was non-consensual anal intercourse of a child.  Are we so perverted we will excuse such conduct because the perpetrator is an “artist?”

With all the unpleasantness that’s been in the news lately (ACORN, Polanski, Jaycee Lee Dugard, etc.), I was reminded of a book titled “The Last Undercover” by my friend, fellow Marine, and Big Hollywood contributor, Bob Hamer.  Bob spent twenty-six years in the FBI, all as a special agent working the streets, many of those years in an undercover capacity. He was the undercover agent in twenty administratively approved operations. Some of those assignments lasted a day or two others more than three years. He played such diverse roles as a drug dealer, contract killer, international arms merchant, degenerate gambler, and white collar criminal. By his own admission his most difficult role was playing a pedophile for three years as he infiltrated the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA).

–

First, let me say that “The Last Undercover” is absolutely riveting.  Seeing inside an organization like NAMBLA, one that preys on children, through Bob’s eyes is enough to keep you up at night.  However, as things have transpired over the last few weeks, I couldn’t help but wonder about the people on the periphery of such groups and individuals.  For instance, I remembered the travel agent in Bob’s book that was more than happy to set up the NAMBLA members’ trip to have sex with children.  Sure, he didn’t have sex with kids but, if he could make a few bucks off of others doing it, he was pretty okay with the idea.  How about the lovely folks at ACORN?  Setting up a brothel for underage prostitutes?  Okay, let’s figure out the tax ramifications for such a venture.  Then, of course, we have the folks that are defending the talented Mr. Polanski. (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: ACORN, Bob Hamer, FBI, J.R. Head, Kevin Jennings
Posted Oct 8th 2009 at 2:07 pm in Celebrity News, Culture, Politics | 24273466 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jrhead/2009/10/08/polanski-nambla-and-time-to-check-our-moral-compass/Polanski%2C+NAMBLA+and+Checking+Our+Moral+Compass2009-10-08+21%3A07%3A42J.R.+Head

‘Informant!’ Refreshingly Apolitical, Highly Entertaining

Mark Whitacre had a boring job as a scientist and executive at Archer Daniels Midland, one of the world’s largest food-processing companies. Trapped in small-town Illinois hell with his wife and kids after previously living with them in the capitals of Europe, he still loved to drive fast cars and pursue as much luxury as his rural life could afford, all the while reading Michael Crichton and John Grisham novels that he believed were all too realistic in their depictions of corporate and governmental intrigue and malfeasance. 

Stir all those factors together with his insider knowledge that ADM was colluding with overseas food companies in one of the planet’s biggest price-fixing schemes ever, and the fact that Whitacre became both one of the FBI’s best informants ever may not have seemed all that surprising. But the fact that he also hid a highly unstable tendency to lie or leak information as well also made him one of the Feds’ most nerve-wracking and unreliable head cases ever – and it’s this dichotomy that forms the center of director Steven Soderbergh’s head-spinning and comically offbeat take on the ADM scandal, “The Informant!”  (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Archer Daniels Midland, FBI, Joel McHale, John Grisham, Mark Whitacre
Posted Sep 18th 2009 at 8:59 am in Featured Story, Reviews | 22757454 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ckozlowski/2009/09/18/informant-refreshingly-apolitical-highly-entertaining/%27Informant%21%27+Refreshingly+Apolitical%2C+Highly+Entertaining2009-09-18+15%3A59%3A15Carl+Kozlowski

Ice-breaker Questions Courtesy of the Feds

Back in the late seventies I spent four years on active duty in the Marine Corps. As my military obligation was nearing completion I began a job search in the private and public sector. I narrowed my public sector job hunt to the FBI and the CIA. The CIA responded first and the application journey was like a Robert Ludlum thriller. My first interview was in a large room with only two chairs. Seated across from me was a man with a scar from ear to ear. I envisioned him being garroted in some third world country–he had my attention. Apparently I impressed him enough to recommend me in the next step of their process. Multiple flights from California to D.C. using assumed names, paying for everything in cash, meeting in safe houses, and submitting to a variety of tests only added to the mystique.

Alas however, it was not meant to be. A major stumbling block was a personality test the Agency gave all Jack Bauer wannabes. Scoring applicants on a 0-10 scale…a zero meaning you could live on a deserted island for years, a ten meaning you had to be constantly surrounded by people…I scored a ZERO. Yep, a zero. The psychologist said in all the years of administering the test he had never seen “a zero personality.” Now, I admit I somewhat skewed my answers. I figured they were looking for paid assassins they could drop behind enemy lines and remain secreted for weeks. Wrong! The agency was looking for “threes” and “fours.” On occasion my wife still reminds me I have been rated a zero personality by the federal government. I actually think I’m up to a .5, maybe even a one, but needless to say I’m not really comfortable in public settings making small talk… unless I’m undercover (but then I’m a completely different persona and my criminal alter ego takes over). (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: American Community Survey, Census, CIA, FBI, Feds
Posted Aug 12th 2009 at 5:16 am in Politics | 20354255 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bhamer/2009/08/12/ice-breaker-questions-courtesy-of-the-feds/Ice-breaker+Questions+Courtesy+of+the+Feds2009-08-12+12%3A16%3A17Bob+Hamer

The Monster That Nearly Ate Cambridge

For those of you who don’t know, I’m from Cambridge. Born and raised there. I grew up in the Jefferson Park housing projects a stone’s throw from Harvard. Never a Dull Moment in JP I can tell you! Even today. Knew lots of CPD cops like Officer Crowley too, but never in a good way. Like when a fellow punk projects friend of mine drove a stolen car through a fence and into the deep end of the local MDC kiddie pool. They wanted us real bad that night! I was guilty as sin, too. All wet, in fact. Rode shotgun the whole way. Front row seat. Yee-ha! Island Kingdom, eat your heart out.

My whole childhood was like that. A lot of crazy stuff, a lot of running from police. Was a local sport, like train-hopping. But that’s all just the gritty side of Cambridge. And even though I’m a rank Righty today, I still love Harvard University all the way, the Square especially. It’s the Crossroads of the World. I was a total Harvard Square rat growing up. Harvard is the Bright Light of Olde Cantabrigia. Harvard was also very active in the community back then, and most likely still is today. Harvard hosted field trips to the campus from schools all over Cambridge. The Agassiz Museum was my favorite. Lots of dead bugs and dinosaur bones. That was Heaven to me. Still is. (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: ACLU, Al Sharpton, AMPAS, Barack Obama, BET
Posted Aug 4th 2009 at 5:37 pm in News, Politics | 19636689 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jtsimpson/2009/08/04/the-monster-that-nearly-ate-cambridge/The+Monster+That+Nearly+Ate+Cambridge2009-08-05+00%3A37%3A12John+T.+Simpson

ObamaCare and the Post Office

In “The Last Undercover” I chronicle my three year infiltration of NAMBLA, the North American Man Boy Love Association. I allude to another undercover investigation but do not discuss it in detail because criminal prosecution is still pending. So while posing as a pedophile I also spent three years targeting a Chinese criminal syndicate. Since I only had one undercover cell phone, when it rang I didn’t know if I was supposed to be the lover of prepubescent boys or a macho international arms dealer. The FBI dubbed the investigation OPERATION SMOKING DRAGON and it was a great case. By the time we wrapped it up more than thirty federal indictments (with multiple defendants) were returned.

The investigation included charges of conspiring to sell surface-to-air missiles, the sale of counterfeit currency, clothing, and cigarettes. It also included counterfeit postage stamps…yep, the Chinese were counterfeiting our 37 cent postage stamp (I’m sure now they are doing the Forever Stamp but all my connections are in federal prison so I guess I’ll have to pay for them like everyone else). I obtained hundreds of thousands of the counterfeit flag stamps packaged 100 to a roll. One postal inspector told me it was one of their largest seizures ever. I say all that because last week I had an issue with the post office and my “celebrity” status apparently carried no weight.  (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: DMV, FBI, ObamaCare, Post Office
Posted Aug 4th 2009 at 10:48 am in Political Humor, Politics | 19771063 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bhamer/2009/08/04/obamacare-and-the-post-office/ObamaCare+and+the+Post+Office2009-08-04+17%3A48%3A29Bob+Hamer

All the Tea Bags in China

Had Hollywood been in charge of casting I would have never been offered the role…a white man targeting an Asian organized crime syndicate. But Hollywood and the bad guys didn’t understand my “motivation.” If I sold myself as a criminal I got to stay out of the FBI offices for the duration of the case. That’s a better incentive than any two-picture deal with promises of Red Carpet awards. 

In the first few meetings I successfully convinced my targets I was “bad.” Thus began a three-year undercover assignment concluding with dozens of arrests for crimes involving surface-to-air missiles, counterfeit U.S. currency, fake Viagra, phony blue jeans, ecstasy, crystal meth, and an assortment of other contraband. But it all began with counterfeit cigarettes manufactured overseas. The bad guys were smuggling the illegal “name-brand” cigarettes into the United States. I guess the politically correct term would be “undocumented cigarettes,” but their activities avoided all kinds of federal and state taxes. Not only were the cigarettes fake but so were the tax stamps on each pack…made to resemble the stamps for whatever state where the fakes were to be sold. Their products were good. The packaging looked authentic and the tax stamps appeared real.  (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: "A Roadmap for America's Future", cigarettes, Congressman Paul Ryan, contraband, FBI
Posted May 9th 2009 at 6:03 pm in Politics | 130018No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bhamer/2009/05/09/all-the-tea-bags-in-china/All+the+Tea+Bags+in+China2009-05-10+01%3A03%3A07Bob+Hamer

Bruce Willis: Our Die Hard Action Hero Returns

After flirting with smaller, more squishy roles in recent pictures like “The Assassination of a High School President” and “What Just Happened,” Bruce Willis is returning to action. The 54-year-old actor is interested in a slew of projects that will have him playing a former CIA agent, an FBI informant out to bust up the mob, a detective and both funny and serious cops.

Based on the Wildstorm/DC comics series, “Red” could see Willis playing a retired CIA black-ops badass who is forced to take action when an assassin threatens both he and his girlfriend. The film is being produced by Summit Entertainment, the studio responsible for the “Twilight” series. Willis’s deal has not been finalized, but it could be a sweet one since, as Summit production chief Eric Feig told me a few weeks ago, he sees “Red” as another potential franchise.

Not many fifty-something actors get those kinds of offers. (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: bruce willis, CIA, cops, FBI, Inventory
Posted Apr 30th 2009 at 4:52 pm in Entertainment, News | 122354No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ttapp/2009/04/30/bruce-willis-die-hard-action-hero/Bruce+Willis%3A+Our+Die+Hard+Action+Hero+Returns2009-04-30+23%3A52%3A14Tom+Tapp

An Argument for States Rights

Relax…this is not another NAMBLA story but give me a break. If you spent three years infiltrating a group of pedophiles you’d have a few stories serving as life lessons.

NAMBLA has a magazine but not a centerfold. If they did my nominee would be John from San Francisco. He was truly one of the more interesting characters I met at the Miami NAMBLA conference. Heavyset, in his late fifties, with his Mohawk hairstyle, a bad case of dandruff, earrings, shorts, and black knee high socks he made quite a fashion statement whenever he entered a room. John identified himself as a “gaythiest.”  He had been to prison twice for child molestation and was caught a third time but for some unstated reason the victim refused to cooperate with the police. John admitted to being “out as a gay” and “out as an atheist” but “those things are different. You go around saying you like to run your hands through a little boy’s hair, or you like to kiss him or do other things like that, it doesn’t get the same reaction.” My only response is, “dah!” (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: constitution, FBI, Limbaugh, Marine Corps, NAMBLA
Posted Apr 4th 2009 at 7:04 am in News, Politics | 9646640 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bhamer/2009/04/04/an-argument-for-states-rights/An+Argument+for+States+Rights2009-04-04+14%3A04%3A03Bob+Hamer

‘Eleventh Hour’ Presents Politically Incorrect, Balanced Story Lines

A good many people will watch the final episode of NBC’s long-running drama series ER tonight, given the show’s popularity over the years. I, however, will be watching something else: the season-ending episode of the CBS-TV mystery-drama series Eleventh Hour. I recommend that you do likewise, and that you catch the show when CBS reruns it in the coming months or watch them online at the show’s website.

Based on a smug, scientistic, and politically left BBC series of recent vintage, the CBS version of Eleventh Hour is a rather interesting program from the standpoint of the ideas it presents, and, wonder of wonders, is usually fair to both sides of the scientific controversies dealt with in the story lines.

The show manages to avoid the temptation to adopt facile attitudes that make for easy answers to complex problems, and its producers also refuse to indulge in the too-easy presentation of science as good and religion as a dangerous force impeding the unalloyed benefits of science. They recognize that science doesn’t have all the answers and that religion has a valid place in human life. In that regard the show is far superior to its BBC predecessor. (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: "Eleventh Hour", cbs, Dr. Hood, Faith vs. Science, FBI
Posted Apr 2nd 2009 at 11:05 am in Politics, Religion, Reviews | 9542642 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/stkarnick/2009/04/02/cbs-tv-series-eleventh-hour-presents-politically-incorrect-balanced-story-lines/%27Eleventh+Hour%27+Presents+Politically+Incorrect%2C+Balanced+Story+Lines2009-04-02+18%3A05%3A29S.T.+Karnick

Taxes: A Horse of a Different Color

After spending twenty-six years in the FBI, many of those years in various undercover roles, I’m not a big fan of reality shows. I guess I have had my fill of “reality.” But I’m hooked on “Jockeys,” a new show on the Animal Planet. The show takes an inside look at the world of thoroughbred horse racing. A decade or so ago I spent six months undercover at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park targeting a group of men we believed to be fixing races. The case wasn’t nearly as successful as we initially hoped, but eventually we convicted five men of various federal violations, including two for race fixing. 

The world of the track is interesting to say the least. It is perfect for a one-hour drama or a half-hour sitcom. If the USA Network is still seeking characters, they need look no further than the track. I doubt many CEOs when making investment decisions seek the advice of those earning a minimum wage. But I watched millionaires beg for information from grooms and hot-walkers in the hope these backside employees might have the inside scoop on a particular horse. I saw attendance climb around the first of the month as people admitted to me they were hoping to double their welfare checks. Gamblers who hadn’t won in years still bragged about a big bet they won decades earlier. Hope sprang eternal.  (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: "Jockeys", Animal Planet, FBI, Santa Anite Race Track, taxes
Posted Mar 23rd 2009 at 4:23 pm in Entertainment, Politics | 8728212 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bhamer/2009/03/23/taxes-a-horse-of-a-different-color/Taxes%3A+A+Horse+of+a+Different+Color2009-03-23+23%3A23%3A29Bob+Hamer

North Korean Counterfeit And Few Seemed To Care

As I recall, the words to Jim Croce’s song from the early seventies went something like this: 

You don’t tug on Superman’s cape
You don’t spit into the wind
You don’t pass counterfeit currency in old Las Vegas
And you don’t mess around with Jim 

Maybe I’m wrong about the third line, but two weeks ago Chen Chiang Liu of San Marino, California learned the hard way from U.S. District Court Judge James Mahan you don’t tug on Superman’s cape and you don’t pass counterfeit currency in Las Vegas.  (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Balbina Hwang, Chen Chiang, Counterfeit money, FBI, Heritage Foundation
Posted Mar 18th 2009 at 12:27 pm in News | 8256646 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bhamer/2009/03/18/counterfeit-and-few-seemed-to-care/North+Korean+Counterfeit+And+Few+Seemed+To+Care2009-03-18+19%3A27%3A28Bob+Hamer