Working Undercover for the ATF: His Journey, Special Episode. Working undercover for the ATF is not just a job, it is a life lived in shadows, deception, and constant danger. For Lou Valoze, a retired federal agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, that life became his reality for nearly a decade as he infiltrated some of the most violent criminal organizations in the United States. Look for The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast on social media like their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LawEnforcementTalkRadioShow">Facebook </a> , <a href="https://www.instagram.com/letradioshowpodcast/"> Instagram </a> , <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnjwiley/"> LinkedIn </a> , <a href="https://medium.com/@letradioshow"> Medium</a> and other social media platforms.
His journey through police work at the federal level reveals the true cost of confronting violent crime head-on, while quietly removing thousands of illegal guns from the streets. This special episode is streaming for <a href="https://www.letradio.com/working-undercover-for-the-atf/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast website</a>, on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/working-undercover-for-the-atf/id1217923682?i=1000742576175" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/2N82d4N2y687PkEQ7EOM4Y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/4q0EO3TpD-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTube</a>, and most every major Podcast platform
A Life Lived Undercover
Lou Valoze’s career stands apart even within federal law enforcement circles. As a long-term undercover ATF agent, he specialized in “storefront stings”, covert operations where agents create fake businesses to attract criminals involved in gun trafficking, drugs, and organized crime. Supporting articles about this and much more from Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast in platforms like <a href="https://medium.com/@letradioshow" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Medium </a> , <a href="https://lawenforcementtalkradio.blogspot.com"> Blogspot </a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnjwiley/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Linkedin </a> .
“These criminals believed I was one of them,” Valoze explains. “That was the only way to get close enough to stop them.”
By posing as a gun runner, Valoze gained the trust of violent offenders, gang members, and organized crime groups. Over time, those relationships led to the seizure of more than a thousand illegal firearms and the arrest of countless dangerous individuals. Working Undercover for the ATF: His Journey, Special Episode. Available for free on their website and streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube and other podcast platforms.
From Business to Federal Law Enforcement
Valoze’s path to undercover work was far from typical. With a background in economics and business, he initially pursued a career in banking. Everything changed after a chance conversation with an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent.
“That single conversation flipped my entire future,” Valoze recalls. “I realized I wanted to serve, to make a real difference.”
That decision led him to the Department of Justice and eventually to a 25-year career with the ATF, where his expertise reshaped undercover operations nationwide.
Storefront Stings and Violent Crime
Storefront stings became Valoze’s signature. These operations allowed ATF agents to dismantle criminal networks from the inside, identifying gun traffickers who fueled violent crime by supplying weapons to prohibited persons, gangs, and drug dealers. Working Undercover for the ATF: His Journey, Special Episode. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast episode is available for free on their website , Apple Podcasts , Spotify and most major podcast platforms.
“Storefronts gave us something traditional policing couldn’t,” Valoze says. “Time, access, and insight into how these groups really operated.”
From 2006 to 2014, Valoze’s fictitious businesses served as magnets for criminal activity, resulting in thousands of guns seized and millions of dollars’ worth of drugs removed from circulation.
The Toll of a Double Life
While the successes were significant, the personal toll was heavy. Living undercover meant maintaining a constant dual identity, blurring the line between law enforcement and criminal persona. The interview can be found on The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast website, on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Youtube and on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and across most podcast platforms where listeners will find authentic law enforcement stories.
“There were moments when it became hard to tell where the undercover role ended and where I began,” Valoze admits.
That psychological strain, combined with the ever-present threat of exposure, became one of the most challenging aspects of his career. These experiences are documented in his book, Storefront Sting: An ATF Agent’s Life Undercover, co-authored with Brian Whitney. Working Undercover for the ATF: His Journey, Special Episode.
Telling the Story: Book, Podcast, and Documentary
Published in 2022, Storefront Sting offers an insider’s look at one of the most dangerous and successful undercover operations in ATF history. The book chronicles how small-time fencing schemes evolved into deep infiltrations of major criminal organizations.
“This story needed to be told,” Valoze says. “Not for me, but so people understand what it takes to take violent criminals off the streets.”
His work has since expanded beyond the book. Valoze now shares his journey through speaking engagements, podcast appearances on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast available for free on their website, plus Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube and most major podcast platforms. It is also featured across their Facebook, Instagram, and major news platforms like their Medium and Blogspot pages. The full podcast episode is streaming now on their website, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube and across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
His operations are also highlighted in the Discovery Channel series Operation Undercover: Guns & Drugs in Carolina, streaming on Discovery, HBO Max, and Investigation Discovery. The documentary provides a rare, in-depth look at the risks, strategy, and human cost of federal undercover work.
Protecting Communities Through Federal Policing
The ATF’s mission is central to Valoze’s story. As a federal agency under the Department of Justice, the ATF confronts violent crime involving firearms, explosives, arson, and illegal trafficking. Through advanced crime gun intelligence and partnerships with state and local police, the agency works to dismantle the networks that fuel violence. Working Undercover for the ATF: His Journey, Special Episode.
“Every gun we took off the street meant fewer chances for someone to get hurt,” Valoze reflects.
A Legacy of Service
Today, Lou Valoze is recognized not only as a retired ATF agent, but as an author, speaker, and voice for those who have worked in silence to protect American communities. His journey offers a rare glimpse into the realities of working undercover for the ATF, and the sacrifices required to confront violent crime at its source.
“This wasn’t about glory,” Valoze says. “It was about doing the job, even when no one could know who you really were.”
This Special Episode explores the unseen world of federal undercover policing, where trust is weaponized, danger is constant, and the fight against violent crime happens far from the spotlight.
Listeners can tune in on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show website, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and most every major Podcast platform and follow updates on Facebook, Instagram, and other major News outlets. You can find the show on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn, as well as read companion articles and updates on Medium, Blogspot, YouTube, and even IMDB.
You can help contribute money to make <a href="https://www.agunrunnerfilm.com/?utm_source=LETRadioAndPodcast"> the Gunrunner Movie </a> . The film that Hollywood won’t touch. It is about a now Retired Police Officer that was shot 6 times while investigating Gunrunning. He died 3 times during Medical treatment and was resuscitated. You can join the fight by giving a monetary “gift” to help ensure the making of his film at <a href="https://www.agunrunnerfilm.com/?utm_source=LETRadioAndPodcast"> agunrunnerfilm.com </a> .
Background song Hurricane is used with permission from the band <a href="http://darkhorseflyer.com/"> Dark Horse Flyer. </a>
You can contact John J. “Jay” Wiley by email at <a href="mailto:Jay@letradio.com"> Jay@letradio.com </a> , or learn more about him <a href="https://www.letradio.com/p/about-john-j-jay-wiley/"> on their website </a> .
Stay connected with updates and future episodes by following the show on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, their website and other Social Media Platforms.
Find a wide variety of great podcasts online at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PodcastZone1"> The Podcast Zone Facebook Page </a> , look for the one with the bright green logo.
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Working Undercover for the ATF: His Journey, Special Episode.
Attributions
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Storefront-Sting-Agents-Life-Undercover/dp/1476688192" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon.com</a>
<a href="https://louvaloze.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lou Valoze</a>
<a href="https://www.atf.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ATF.Gov</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Alcohol,_Tobacco,_Firearms_and_Explosives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wikipedia</a> Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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