Joseph Shea (FBI agent) the 2002 film "Catch Me If You Can", fictional character Carl Hanratty, portrayed by Tom Hanks, is loosely based on the relationship that Shea had with Frank Abagnale. Joseph Shea (FBI agent) Joseph Gerald Shea (September 20, 1919 – August 4, 2005) was a Special Agent for the FBI. Shea was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on September 20, 1919. He was the third child in a family of four sons born to Frank Shea and his Irish-born wife, Alice Mary. The family moved in with their paternal grandmother after his mother's death, when he was eight. Shea joined the Army
FBI Honorary Medals duty as the direct result of an adversarial action." The family of Special Agent Paul M. Sorce, who died as a result of an auto accident in the line of duty, was given a Memorial Star. FBI Honorary Medals The United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation instituted an Honorary Medals Program in 1989 as a way of recognizing "exceptional acts" by FBI employees and other law enforcement personnel working with the FBI. These medals were created to supplement the then-existing reward system within the Bureau. There are four medals in the program intended for personnel: the FBI Star, the FBI