On April 11, 2023, the “FBI True” Season 2 was released on Paramount+. Spanning over 10 episodes, this fast-paced documentary shows real-life agents telling spine-chilling events that occurred and their involvement in the same.
Spoilers Ahead
Boston Marathon Bombing
The series begins with a scene of an explosion on April 15, 2013, and then we see three people Rick DesLauriers (former veteran FBI agent), John MacLellan (sergeant), and Nancy Aguilar (retired Special Agent FBI) having a conversation with Cindy Coppola (former veteran FBI agent). Rick DesLauriers then tells that Ed Davis, the Boston Police Commissioner, has called him and informed him that two bombs have exploded “near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.” We see horrific visuals after the explosion, but the casualties were low (3 deaths and 265 injured) due to the presence of the medical team for the Boston Marathon. The FBI started collecting shreds of evidence on Boylston Street, which included “pieces of backpacks, pieces of pressure cooker bombs,” among many others and concluded it was a terrorist attack. On April 17, 2013, one of the bombers is identified from CCTV footage from the Forum Restaurant, and later the second bomber’s face is also revealed following the first suspect. On April 18, 2013, Rick finds out a police officer at MIT has been killed, and later that night he learns from his colleague Jeff Sallet, that the bombers were the murderers.
John MacLellan, who had the night shift, along with Joey Reynolds, followed the suspect after that, and once Joey Reynolds got close to the suspect’s vehicle, they opened fire, and it started raining bullets. Sergeant Pugliese came onto the scene and tried to control the situation, but one of the bombers got severely injured while the other fled the scene, demolishing the police barricade. The severely injured suspect was taken to the nearest hospital, and after running a fingerprint test, he was identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was on the FBI’s radar. Soon, the second suspect in the bombing was identified as Tamerlan’s brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The mayor of the state asked the residents to lock their doors and stay indoors, and the authorities combed every house, street by street, to locate Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. One resident by the name of David Henneberry told 911 that he had seen blood stains in his boat in the backyard. The police arrived and fired several shots at the boat, along with flashbangs. Still, they saw movement, but later, Dzhokhar surrendered. The authorities were lauded by the American citizens on the roads. The FBI could not pinpoint which group of extremists was responsible for furthering this mission. Dzhokhar received a death sentence in court, and several of his friends got jail time and deportation due to obstruction of justice.
Newburgh Gangs And Biker Outlaws
Kristy Kottis (veteran FBI agent) is in conversation with James Gagliano (Supervisor Senior Resident Agent of FBI) about the gangs of Newburgh, namely the Bloods and the Latin Kings. James, who has been in Newburgh since his childhood, saw his beloved city turning into “the most violent city in New York State”. Jeffrey Zachary, who was a good school student, was shot in an act of vengeance by the Latin Kings, and prior to that, his brother Trent also met the same fate. James knew Jeffrey, and hearing the news, he went to Joseph Demarest (Assistant Director in Charge, FBI NY) to put all things in order by disrupting and dismantling the gangs. James followed the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) protocol to bring down the heads of the two gangs, namely, Anthony “Double O” Boykin (Bloods) and Wilson “King Gunz” Pagan (Latin Kings). James’s team started buying drugs and recorded them to make a case, and in this way, they got three cooperators. Jimmy even tells how a hit was put on his name by Anthony “Double O” Boykin, but he was caught with an unlicensed gun. Jimmy bought 500 agents into the town to arrest 78 members in total from both gangs. The FBI was able to take down 60 members, and later, Wilson “King Gunz” Pagan was also arrested.
We again see Cindy Coppola (former veteran FBI agent) as the interviewer, with Mike McGowan (Undercover Coordinator) and Anibal “Gonzo” Gonzalez (Retired Undercover Operative) talking about the biker gangs Hell’s Angels and Outlaws, who are involved in every type of criminal activity. A particular gang in Taunton, Massachusetts, had become a problem for the community, which the FBI needed to take care of. They started an undercover operation in 2005 and were successful in planting an agent inside the gang. Anibal met up with the undercover agent, and their story was that they would sell stolen vehicles in Mexico. Once Anibal got hold of the vehicles, he took them to the undercover warehouse as evidence. Then, to lure the gang members, they set up a trap and wanted to hire them as protection for a drug deal. But there was debate among the gang members, and the undercover agent was strip-searched. Though he was wired, they could not find anything. As situations got risky, Mike McGowan jumped into the scene as Mike Poncho. The gang decides to offer protection, and Mike and Anibal bring in the drug to make them think they are the real deal. At this point, Timothy Silvia, who is the former president of the gang and an extremely violent individual, comes out of jail and calls Mike and Anibal to move some stolen cars. In the same meeting, Silvia also asks to buy 10 kilos of cocaine, and the big fish gets hooked. Mike meets alone with Silvia and finalizes the deal, learning that Tim is not getting caught and will go “out in a blaze of glory.” The stage was set up with SWAT for Timothy Silvia, but he came along with his friend, which was not calculated. But eventually, both of them were arrested without firing a single shot.
Southside Bank Robber And Mob-Enforced Cops
Kristy Kottis (veteran FBI agent) is seen in an interview with Detective Bob DiSalvatore (Bank Robbery Task Force, FBI) and Randy Jarvis (Retired Supervisory Special Agent, FBI) about the “Southside Bandit.” The first call came in 2010 about taking control of the Eastern Bank in Newton, Massachusetts, by a man with a covered face who came in with a handgun and made verbal threats. Two similar incidents followed in the coming months in Newton, involving the same man at the Bank of America and the Century Bank. Things escalate in the Village Bank as he puts a gun to the head of the manager. Bob got his first break when the manager of a bank in Plaistow, New Hampshire, followed him after the robbery and got the number of the car. Bob finds out the car belonged to a lady who was a good citizen, but her associate, Wilfredo Alarcon, had several criminal records. The FBI starts following Wilfredo and finds he is living two lives and has installed a GPS tracker on his car. Soon, Wilfredo was caught in the act, and after checking, they found it was a pellet gun. To prove that he robbed the other banks, the FBI took the help of his wife and his girlfriend, and Wilfredo was sentenced to a long prison term.
Next, we see Geraldine Hart (Retired Supervisor Special Agent, FBI, talking to Cindy Coppola, (former veteran FBI agent) about Lou Eppolito and Steve Caracappa, NYPD detectives who used to work for the Lucchese family and committed eight murders and several attempted murders. The case went cold for some time, but things reignited when Burt Kaplan, a former member of the Lucchese family, decided to provide information. After retirement, in Las Vegas, Steve was working in a women’s prison while Lou was trying to get into Hollywood, and they thought they had gotten away with the crime. Steve Corso, another criminal looking to drop charges, was set up to meet Eppolito and Caracappa, and the FBI decided to go with the story for Corso, that they needed drugs for Holywood personalities, and both took the bait. Later, they were arrested and found guilty of all charges and given life sentences, though they never admitted to their crimes.
Oklahoma Attacks
We see Kristy Kottis (veteran FBI agent) talking about the bombing of the Alfred P. Murah Building on April 19, 1995, with Barry Black (Retired Special FBI agent) and Bob Ricks (Retired Special Agent in Charge of Oklahoma City, FBI). It was a Federal Courthouse Building, and the date holds a special significance as it was the second anniversary of the Waco event. There was absolute chaos, with several people injured and multiple buildings damaged. Both Barry and Bob were present on the scene and saw several people running from the scene as they heard there was another bomb, but fortunately, that was not the case. The vehicle that was used for the bombing had an identification number, and that was the first break in this case. Bob Ricks learns that two men rented that vehicle, and one of them was Robert “Bob” Kling. One of the agents finds out that they rented a room at the Dreamland Motel and registered there under the name of Timothy McVeigh. It is found, then Timothy McVeigh is already arrested after 90 minutes of the bombing. But before he gets released, FBI agents get hold of him, and after that, they take his car for further examination. Timothy gave them an address in Decker, Michigan, and the FBI agents found it belonged to the Nichols brothers. Further details about Timothy’s life surface, and we learn about his two friends, Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier. The plan starts to unfold, and we see the usage of heavy quantities of ammonium nitrate and fuels for the bombing. With the information provided by Michael Fortier, several pieces of evidence about the bombing were collected by the FBI, which tied the case to these individuals. They learn that the bombing was intended to cause an uprising in the USA against the federal government.
Rapist-Killer And Mass Shooting
Julia Cowley (Retired Special Agent, FBI) and Larry Pool (Retired Orange County Sheriff Investigator) talk with Kristy Kottis (veteran FBI agent) about the “Golden State Killer.” The information was overwhelming, with close to 50 women raped and 13 murdered. Julia Cowley, who specialized in behavioral practice, gives a sketch of the character of the perpetrator as a man who was insecure and wanted to dominate the male victims. The FBI was, fortunately, able to collect DNA samples from the semen left behind by the perpetrator, and they got a hit in 2018. He was Joseph DeAngelo, a police officer who was at the time 72 years old. Soon he got arrested for his crimes and pleaded guilty.
In the last episode, we see Kristy Kottis (veteran FBI agent) in conversation with Stephen Woolery (Retired Special Agent in Charge of Counterterrorism Division, FBI) and Mike Kortan (Retired Special Agent, Assistant Director Office of Public Affairs, FBI), about the Inland Regional Center mass shooting in San Bernardino. Stephen Woolery, after reaching the scene, learns there were two shooters, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, and soon they were on the loose. 14 people lost their lives and 28 were severely wounded. After a shootout with law enforcement in the street, both suspects are gunned down, but when they search the SUV, they find the remote control for the pipe bombs they have planted in the Inland Regional Center. The FBI learns the motive for the shooting was the extremist ideology and the couple’s anti-US feelings.