When one thinks of the term whistle blower, most think about Frank Serpico of NYPD fame. Serpico’s tough, gritty persona allowed him to turn the tables on corrupt cops and his no nonsense, take no prisoners attitude forced the NYPD to take a good hard look at the way they conducted police business. His harrowing “Lamp Lighting” story eventually became a Hollywood major motion picture starring Al Pacino, another Hollywood tough guy.

Whistle blowers or “lamp lighters” as Serpico refers to them as often to do not make the big screen, but their stories are just as compelling and very hard to read about. Julia Davis’ experience is one such story; Blackhawk helicopters, sneak and peeks, eaves dropping, multiple agents tailing her every move and finally two false arrests.

It seems unimaginable for someone who emigrated from Communist Ukraine hoping to leave behind the corruption and make a fresh start in America would experience such a plight. Little did she know her journey to the U.S. would be meet with the same Draconian government policies Davis thought she was leaving behind. Davis made the trip to America with the hopes of becoming a special agent in the FBI. After she completed her college education in Russia’s equivalent of the NASA program, Davis packed her bags with stars and stripes in her eyes.

Her enthusiasm wouldn’t last too long, the FBI informed her she would have to get her start in law enforcement with another agency, get a few years under her belt and reapply. She did just that and settled on the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency. Meanwhile, she continued prepping for her dream job that would take her to Quantico, Virginia. She attended an accelerated foreign language class in Farsi because after 9/11 the FBI was looking for candidates who spoke the Middle Eastern language. (Davis is fluent in five languages)

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