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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry discusses some of the cases he worked during his career as an agent in the FBI as he compiles notes for his first book Jan. 4.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Curry holds a photograph of himself firing a Thompson submachine gun used during WWII.
Because of the state of New York’s rules last year regarding visitors from Alabama, Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry and his daughter Anna were forced to quarantine upon their arrival in the state, where they had traveled for a surgery for Anna.
While the mandated quarantine wasn’t necessarily fun, it was productive, Curry said. He and his daughter spent hours working on his book, a passion project of his, about his time working in the FBI.
Curry retired from the FBI in 2003, after spending 23 years at the Birmingham field office. He retired only because he was reaching the mandatory retirement age.
“If they didn’t have mandatory retirement, I’d still be with them,” Curry told the Vestavia Voice in 2017. “Because I loved it.”
Now, as he begins his second term as mayor, Curry is currently working on a book about his career with the bureau.
Curry credits Jack Owens, a longtime FBI colleague, who challenged him to write a book after writing several of his own.
“My 25 years in the FBI was one of the high points of my life,” Curry said. “It’s a very rewarding career.”
The book will focus on major cases that Curry and the Birmingham bureau worked from 1980 to 2000, including the Bruno’s/Food World case, when a suspect threatened to poison the food at the grocery stores unless they were given $250,000. Two Walker County men were later arrested after authorities found cassette tapes on U.S. 78 with evidence, Curry said.
Curry also worked the 1987 Atlanta prison riot case, where Cuban detainees sent by then-Cuban dictator Fidel Castro burned down half of the Atlanta prison. Curry and the rest of the Birmingham SWAT unit responded to the crisis.
One of the most notable cases Curry handled was the bombing that killed Judge Bob Vance. The killer, Walter Moody, was recently put to death for the crime. Moody sought to get even against Vance for ruling against him in an earlier case. Curry said Moody was a “sociopath” who also bombed and killed an attorney in Savannah, Georgia, for no other reason than to throw the FBI off his trail.
“When I saw the devastation … I didn’t think we’d ever solve that case,” Curry said. “It was a lot of unbelievable work to solve that case.”
The Birmingham office has just 75 agents for all of northern Alabama, Curry said.
“These were major cases in a small division,” Curry said. “It was unique.”
Going into his career, Curry said he wanted to make a difference, and working with the FBI allowed him to do that. He served as an undercover drug agent and on the SWAT team during his tenure.
The FBI is like a family, Curry said. He experienced that firsthand when Anna was born with a rare bone disease while he was still working in a Florida FBI office. He determined that Birmingham was where he needed to be so she could receive the necessary treatment, and the FBI had him transferred within 28 days, and, in an unusual move, did not make him subject to further transfers.
“The FBI truly cares about its employees,” Curry said.
In writing the book, Curry said he has found it best to write down thoughts as they come to him and to go back and edit after writing down his memories. He focuses on the impact and impressions cases had on him, such as the devastation in Vance’s home.
Being in the FBI also helps him in his current role, Curry said. He learned how to be a public servant while with the bureau.
Curry said he’s excited about writing the book and getting it out to the public. He said he hopes to have it finished by the summer and published soon after.
