Former FBI special agent Thomas Baker, author of The Fall of the FBI: How a Once Great Agency Became a Threat to Democracy, joined Chicago’s Morning Answer to discuss two major law enforcement stories — the mafia-linked sports betting indictments in New York and new revelations about the FBI’s political investigations.
Baker, who spent decades working on organized crime cases, said he was encouraged to see the Bureau tackling illegal gambling again. “It means the FBI is back in business,” he said. “Sports gambling was once one of the mob’s biggest money streams, and going after it was how we built strong informant networks that led to other major cases.” He noted that even though legalized betting now exists in nearly 40 states, it hasn’t driven out the mob. “Legal sports betting hasn’t ended illegal betting — just like legal marijuana didn’t end the drug trade. The mob still thrives on fixing games, loan sharking, and extortion tied to gambling debts.”
Baker also warned that professional sports leagues must remain vigilant. “Basketball has always been vulnerable to point-shaving and fixing,” he said. “The NBA needs to take this seriously. Legal gambling didn’t make the problem go away — it just made it harder to track.”
Later in the interview, Baker addressed newly released documents showing that FBI Director Christopher Wray, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco approved a controversial probe known as Operation Arctic Frost, which sought phone records from multiple Republican lawmakers. “It’s an abuse of authority,” Baker said. “Not illegal, but an enormous overreach — and it shows how far the Bureau’s culture has drifted toward politics.”
He said the FBI’s leadership needs more than personnel changes. “We don’t just need firings. We need a complete change in culture and policy so these promiscuous investigations into political figures can’t happen without clear, legitimate cause.”
Despite his criticism of the FBI’s recent direction, Baker emphasized that the agency can still serve the public good when focused on its core mission. “This gambling case shows what the FBI can do right,” he said. “It’s proof they can still root out real crime — if they stay out of politics and get back to policing.”