News Blog
Teen Prostitution
It’s yet another reason why parents need to keep a close eye on their kids’ involvement with social networking websites—during a three-year period ending in March 2012, members of a violent Virginia ...
Teen Prostitution
After a multi-agency state and federal investigation, all five defendants pleaded guilty to various federal charges related to the sex trafficking conspiracy. The leader of the gang—27-year-old Justin Strom—was just sentenced on September 14 to 40 years in prison, while the sentences handed down for the other four defendants totaled 53 years.
Television Spots Honor 40th Anniversary of G-Women
The FBI today unveiled two public service announcements (PSAs)—featuring actresses Gillian Anderson and Marsha Thomason—commemorating the service and contributions of female special agents over the ...
Television Spots Honor 40th Anniversary of G-Women
The FBI today unveiled two public service announcements (PSAs) commemorating the service and contributions of female special agents over the past four decades.
The spots, which feature actresses Gillian Anderson (X-Files) and Marsha Thomason (White Collar), were first shown in San Diego at the annual convention of Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI during events honoring women agents.
| Transcript | Download (High-definition) | Audio |
The two PSAs, each 30 seconds long, are posted here in both mp4 format and in broadcast quality resolution for use by local television affiliates around the country. Radio/audio PSAs are also posted.
| Transcript | Download (High-definition) | Audio |
Both PSAs were produced pro bono. The original music accompanying Gillian Anderson’s message was provided courtesy of composer Tony DiMito.
See the Celebrating Women Special Agents series for stories, pictures, and videos
30-Year-Old Murder Solved
Two employees of the Omaha Police Department received the 2012 Latent Hit of the Year Award from the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division for their efforts to identify the man ...
30-Year-Old Murder Solved
A cold case is just that—an investigation of a crime, usually a violent one, where all leads have been exhausted and the trail has gone cold. But in recent years, the use of various technologies has begun heating up many of these cold cases, uncovering new leads for investigators and providing justice for victims.
One immediate technology example that comes to mind is automated fingerprint searching—more precisely, searches of latent prints of violent unknown perpetrators left at crime scenes. The FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), which houses known records for approximately 73 million criminal subjects, is used daily by local, state, tribal, and international law enforcement for current cases, but increasingly for help in solving cold cases as well. And once a year, the Bureau’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division recognizes an outstanding major case solved with help from IAFIS.
The 2012 Latent Hit of the Year Award was presented last month to two employees of the Omaha Police Department—Detective Douglas Herout and Senior Crime Laboratory Technician Laura Casey—for their efforts to identify the man responsible for a brutal murder more than 30 years ago.
Need Help with Your Homework?
School is back in session—and that means homework, exams, and reports are back on the table as well. For students doing a paper on the FBI or looking for specific information about us, FBI.gov is a ...
Need Help with Your Homework?
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It’s that time of year again...backpacks are full of books, pencils are sharpened, and the smell of fall is in the air. School is back in session—and that means homework, exams, and reports are back on the table as well.
For students doing a paper on the FBI or looking for specific information about us, FBI.gov is a great resource. You can find everything from a general overview of our organization to a comprehensive history of the Bureau since its beginnings. You can explore the Vault, our electronic reading room, which contains our declassified files on everything from Al Capone to Watergate. You can find out what exactly the FBI investigates and read in-depth reports on terrorism and a variety of other topics. There is even an interactive Fun & Games section if you need to take a break from all that work. And that’s only the tip of the information iceberg.
Whatever you’re looking for that’s Bureau-related, be sure to come here first...hopefully FBI.gov can help you ace that assignment.
For more info: Resources for Researchers | Fun & Games page
Violent Trend Emerges in Infant Abductions
It is relatively rare for infants to be abducted by strangers. But it does happen. And recent analysis of abduction cases by the FBI suggests there are new and troubling trends for expectant parents ...
Violent Trend Emerges in Infant Abductions
It is relatively rare for infants to be abducted by strangers. But it does happen. And recent analysis of abduction cases by the FBI suggests there are new and troubling trends for expectant parents to be aware of, including women kidnappers using violence to commit their crimes and social media to target their victims.
Murder and the Dixie Mafia
This month marks the 25th anniversary of the murder of Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife, Margaret, whose deaths at the hands of the so-called Dixie Mafia exposed the lawlessness and corruption that ...
Murder and the Dixie Mafia
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This month marks the 25th anniversary of the murder of Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife, Margaret, whose deaths at the hands of the so-called Dixie Mafia exposed the lawlessness and corruption that had overtaken Mississippi’s Gulf Coast in the 1980s.
“It was out of control,” said retired Special Agent Keith Bell, referring to the level of corruption in Biloxi and Harrison County—so much so that in 1983 federal authorities would designate the entire Harrison County Sheriff’s Office as a criminal enterprise.
As a result of cases stemming from the murders and other illegal activities in the area, Bell said, “Gulf Coast citizens started demanding more professional law enforcement and better government.” Bell added, “The majority of citizens realized that if the FBI had not stepped in, the lawlessness and corruption would likely have continued unabated.”
In Their Own Words
In the 40 years since the FBI began training women to be special agents, many have said it was a dream they had held since childhood. Their stories, revealed in more than a dozen interviews with ...
In Their Own Words
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In the 40 years since the FBI began training women to be special agents, many have said it was a dream they had held since childhood. They played cops and robbers as kids, kept their noses clean, and maybe joined the military or the local police, consciously burnishing their credentials on the road to becoming G-women.
Their stories, revealed in more than a dozen interviews with female agents past and present, show there’s no well-defined template for women agents, apart from a desire to serve. Like the first two women agents—a nun and a Marine—they arrived at the FBI with varied backgrounds and proceeded to have similarly varied careers. In video interviews, they talk about what brought them to the Bureau, the challenges they faced, their unique work experiences, and their reflections on careers that broke more than a few glass ceilings.
Who Said It? Women FBI Agents in Pop Culture
It took a while for Hollywood and television to notice that FBI women special agents had come on the scene in 1972—and to think how they might work into old and new storylines. Now you find our women ...
Who Said It? Women FBI Agents in Pop Culture
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| A scene from “The X-Files” television show, which featured agents investigating paranormal phenomenon. |
It took a while for Hollywood and television to notice that FBI women special agents had come on the scene in 1972—and to think how they might work into old and new storylines. At first, in the early 1990s, the focus was on training and new agents…and on comedy—women trying by hook or by crook to make it in a man’s profession. Now you find our women agents portrayed in a variety of decisive roles in team environments—trying to locate missing persons, analyzing evidence, analyzing the criminal mind, and, of course, investigating paranormal activity and worldwide conspiracies. Take our quiz and test your knowledge of pop culture as it relates to women FBI special agents. This is part of our continuing series marking the 40th anniversary of female agents.
New Genocide and War Crimes Website
Kosovo…Rwanda…Srebrenica. These places will forever be associated with unspeakable, brutal acts of genocide and war crimes. In an effort to raise awareness about these crimes and the FBI’s part in ...
New Genocide and War Crimes Website
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| A burial site on the outskirts of Kigali, Rwanda for some of the victims of the 1994 genocide. Photo courtesy of The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum |
Kosovo…Rwanda…Srebrenica. These places will forever be associated with unspeakable, brutal acts of genocide and war crimes.
Today, in an effort to raise awareness about these crimes and the FBI’s part in helping to combat them, we’re announcing the launch of our Genocide War Crimes Program website. In addition to educating the public on our role, the website solicits information from victims and others about acts of genocide, war crimes, or related mass atrocities that can be submitted to us through tips.fbi.gov or by contacting an FBI field office or legal attaché office.
“Our ultimate goal,” says Special Agent Jeffrey VanNest, who heads up our Genocide War Crimes Unit, “is to ensure that perpetrators of these heinous crimes find no safe haven in the United States, or for that matter, no safe haven anywhere in the world.”
Mortgage Fraud: ‘House King’ Was a Royal Con Man
When most people buy a home they are required to submit financial paperwork to banks, title companies, and others involved in the mortgage process. The case of the “House King” in South Florida ...
Mortgage Fraud: ‘House King’ Was a Royal Con Man
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When most people buy a home they are required to submit financial paperwork to banks, title companies, and others involved in the mortgage process. The case of the “House King” in South Florida illustrates how when fraudsters manipulate that system, lenders can lose millions—and innocent buyers and sellers also suffer.
The House King—Angel Puentes—used a classic loan origination scam to defraud three lending institutions out of approximately $10.5 million. Because of fraudsters like him, South Florida real estate was artificially inflated, and innocent people paid too much for their homes. When the market crashed, many of those homeowners were left under water—their property worth less than what they paid for it.
“Those are the true victims of this type of mortgage fraud,” said Special Agent Mark Soucy—“the legitimate South Florida residents whose home values were inflated because of these fraudulent transactions.”
