392: Larry Wansley – Early Days of Undercover Program, Corrupt Texas Sheriff

About this episode

Larry Wansley discusses his experiences as one of the FBI's first long-term undercover agents and his assignment to expose a corrupt Texas sheriff.

Former agent Larry Wansley, one of the FBI's first long-term deep undercover agents, reviews the early years of the FBI's undercover program when, starting in1973 he and a handful of agents, including the equally legendary Joe Pistone, began using the investigative technique forbidden by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. They were part of a behavioral sciences study to establish standards for UC Agent selection qualifications and operations. Larry also reviews his most life-threatening assignment, which took place in rural Texas. He went undercover to prove Tom Welch, the elected Sheriff of Gregg County, Texas, was essentially a redneck southern crime boss. Welch and his deputies were charged and convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, civil rights violations, and facilitating illegal gambling. Larry is the author of Tough Streets, Rough Skies and Sunday Sidelines. His memoir covers not only his time as an FBI agent but also his post-FBI career with the Dallas Cowboys and American Airlines. Larry served in the FBI for 10 years. Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles…

People in this episode

Host: Jerri Williams

Guest: Larry Wansley

Topics covered

• undercover operations
• FBI history
• corruption
• law enforcement
• true crime
• memoir

Keywords

• FBI
• undercover program
• corruption
• Texas sheriff
• true crime
• Larry Wansley
• Joe Pistone
• Tom Welch
• criminal conspiracy
• memoir

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FBI, Dallas Cowboys, American Airlines

Places: Texas, Gregg County

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