Joseph Aloysius Sullivan (February 17, 1917 – August 2, 2002) was a Major Case

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

for the

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 ...

from 1941 to 1977. Born in

Montreal, Wisconsin Montreal is a city in Iron County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 801 at the 2020 census. The neighborhood of Gile is part of the city; however, it still has its own post office and ZIP code: 54550. Like Gile, the former unincorpor ...

, he grew up in

Hurley, Wisconsin Hurley is a city in and the county seat of Iron County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,558 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located directly across the Montreal River (Wisconsin–Michigan), Montreal River from ...

and died in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was involved in a number of highly publicized cases in the sixties and seventies including the

assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr., an American civil rights activist, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:05& ...

, the murder of

United Mine Workers The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American Labor history of the United States, labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing work ...

reformer Joseph "Jock" Yablonski, the Sterling Hall bombing at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, and the

Kent State shootings The Kent State shootings (also known as the Kent State massacre or May 4 massacre"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years before (Ma ...

. Despite his involvement in such high-profile cases, Sullivan is best known for his relentless search to track down the killers of three civil rights workers, who were brutally slain in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

in 1964.

Popular culture

The character played by

Willem Dafoe William James "Willem" Dafoe ( ; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. Known for his prolific career portraying diverse roles in both mainstream and arthouse films, he is the recipient of various accolades including a Volpi Cup Award for ...

(himself, incidentally, also a native Wisconsinite) in the movie ''

Mississippi Burning ''Mississippi Burning'' is a 1988 American crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker and written by Chris Gerolmo that is loosely based on the 1964 investigation into the deaths of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Mississippi. It stars ...

'' is loosely based on Sullivan. According to ''The FBI – A Comprehensive Reference Guide'' (1998), edited by Athan G. Theoharis, Sullivan was also the model for Inspector Lew Erskine, the lead character played by

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (November 30, 1918 – May 2, 2014) was an American actor best known for his starring roles in the television series '' 77 Sunset Strip'' and '' The F.B.I.'' He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in ...

, on the TV series '' The FBI''. Upon Sullivan's death in 2002, author

Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science, military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of ...

is quoted as referring to him as "the greatest lawman America ever produced."

References

1917 births 2002 deaths Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Kent State shootings Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner People from Hurley, Wisconsin People from Montreal, Wisconsin {{US-crime-bio-stub