Chasing CHI: The Fbi’s Groundbreaking Pursuit of China’s Most Prolific Spy Family

Espionage, betrayal, and the FBI’s historic victory--this is the true story of the hunt for Chi Mak and his spy ring.

It began as furtive tip, grew to fevered investigation, and climaxed with midnight airport arrests to prevent US military secrets from being lost forever, and it all centered around a diminutive, bespectacled engineer from Kwang-Tung, China.

Who was Chi Mak? A brilliant immigrant engineer eager to live in the West and enjoy the fruits of his labor? Or Mao’s Marxist soldier, itching to steal US Navy secrets to leapfrog China’s navy to parity with, and eventual supremacy over, America’s Seventh Fleet?

Chasing Chi is a compelling read and first-person account of the trailblazing investigation and prosecution of Chi Mak and his family and friends. For decades, they stole sensitive US military and commercial technologies for the Peoples’ Republic of China. FBI Special Agent James Gaylord, who directed the investigation, recounts this mesmerizing tale by drawing upon his eyewitness experiences and notes, case evidence, investigative files, and court records to weave a fascinating spy thriller detailing Chi Mak’s betrayal. This incredible true-life story highlights behind-the-curtain intrigues, obstacles, betrayals, and hard-won victories, while pointing out the heroes and villains along the way.

Overcoming bureaucratic friction, cowardice, and sabotage jeopardizing their efforts at every turn, Special Agent Gaylord and his squad, call sign ＂SARA-4,＂ persevered, breaking the FBI’s historic string of failures, producing the most successful prosecution of China’s spies ever, and re-writing the manual for convicting foreign agents.

James E. Gaylord worked as an FBI Special Agent and Supervisor for 30-plus years, conducting Counterintelligence investigations until his retirement in March 2017. He was the Case Agent for the entire espionage investigation, prosecution, and conviction of U.S. citizen and L-3 Communications naval electrical engineer Chi Mak, his wife ＂Rebecca＂ Laiwah Chiu, brother Tai Wang Mak, sister-in-law Fuk Heung Li, and nephew ＂Billy＂ Yui Mak. Mr. Gaylord was also the Co-Case Agent and mentor for the follow-on economic espionage investigation, prosecution, and conviction of Chi Mak’s associate, ＂Greg＂ Dongfan Chung, a structural aerospace engineer for Rockwell and The Boeing Company. Thereafter, Agent Gaylord managed spin-off investigations of Mak and Chung associates, and prosecutions of other individuals for stealing U.S. technologies for Communist China.