The AM/DM podcast: Inside the FBI’s Operation Viper
FBI Director Kash Patel appears before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 17, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP file)
The AM/DM is The Daily Memphian’s weekday podcast. Listen in every morning around 6:30 a.m. to get the news you need for the day, as well as a critical — but quick — interview on a larger story.
Before there was the Memphis Safe Task Force, there was Viper, an FBI operation that occurred very quietly over the past summer.
Though it resulted in 489 arrests and more than 130 federal indictments, very few people knew Viper was happening or that the FBI had brought 15 additional agents to Memphis.
But when local crime data showed a decrease in advance of the Memphis Safe Task Force, Viper became part of the discussion.
Today, editorial director Mary Cashiola and enterprise reporter Sam Hardiman talk about what The Daily Memphian learned about Viper through an open records request, including the operation’s very speedy strategy.
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AM/DMMary Cashiola
Mary Cashiola has been a Memphis journalist for nearly two decades, beginning her career covering city government and local neighborhoods at the Memphis Flyer before being hired by Memphis Mayor A C Wharton’s administration.
Before joining The Daily Memphian, she was the managing editor of the Memphis Business Journal, which was named one of the top 10 Best Designed Newspapers in the world by the Society of News Design while she was there.
She also has a background in advertising, with a focus on higher education and the hospitality industry.
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