Joseph Gerald Shea (; September 20, 1919 – August 4, 2005) was an American law enforcement official who was a

Special Agent In the United States, a special agent is an official title used to refer to certain investigators or detectives of federal, military, tribal, or state agencies who primarily serve in criminal investigatory positions. Additionally, some special ...

for the U.S.

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI).

Early life and education

Shea was born in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

, on September 20, 1919. He was the third child in a family of four sons born to Frank Shea and his Irish-born wife, Alice Mary. The family moved in with their paternal grandmother after his mother's death, when he was eight. Shea joined the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in 1942, after working at the Ritz Carlton Hotel and the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

. He served in the 36th Division as a

First Sergeant First sergeant is typically a senior non-commissioned officer rank, used in many countries. Singapore First sergeant is a Specialist (Singapore), specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First sergeants are the most senior of the junior spe ...

. He joined troops being sent to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

on the Queen Mary, which was being used to transport troops overseas. The ship nearly went down at sea when hit by a rogue wave, but it righted itself and the 15,000 troops aboard were safe. He served in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Following the war, Shea attended

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

and majored in

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

Career

After graduation, he started working for the

, beginning as an identification clerk. In February 1951, he was appointed

. During his career, Shea worked in several offices, including

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. He worked on a number of notable cases, including the Barbara Mackle kidnapping and the Frank Abagnale case. He retired on December 31, 1977.

Personal life

Shea met and married Sarah Eugenia Blakeman while in

in May 1953 until her death in 2004. They had two daughters, Reva and Ruth. After his retirement, Shea moved to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, where he and his wife lived on a farm and visited St. Thomas each winter. They returned to

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

, to live in 1997. Shea was an avid golfer.

Death

Shea died in

on August 4, 2005, at 85 and was buried at Georgia Memorial Park Cemetery. He is survived by his two daughters, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

In popular culture

In the 2002 film ''

Catch Me If You Can ''Catch Me If You Can'' is a 2002 American crime comedy-drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams, and James Brolin in ...

'', fictional character Carl Hanratty, portrayed by

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

, is loosely based on the relationship that Shea had with Frank Abagnale. According to Frank Abagnale, his deep friendship with Shea, as portrayed in the film, lasted 30 years until Shea's death. However, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Abagnale and Shea only reunited in the late 1980s, almost 20 years after Shea arrested him. A stage musical based on Abagnale's story was produced on Broadway in 2011. Norbert Leo Butz played Hanratty and won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, Joseph 1919 births 2005 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II American people of Irish descent Carroll School of Management alumni Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Law enforcement officials from Chicago Law enforcement officials from Georgia (U.S. state) Law enforcement officials from Kentucky Military personnel from Massachusetts People from Brookline, Massachusetts People from Marietta, Georgia Place of death missing