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2012 Gallery

At the recent 2012 National Convention of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, held September 12-15 in San Diego, California, an entire day was devoted to recognizing the contributions that women have made to the Bureau during the 40 years they have served as FBI agents. Pictured above are several of these trailblazing women—to include the first two women who graduated from the FBI Academy in 1972—along with former FBI Director William H. Webster and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

One Saturday evening in late September 1937—75 years ago today—Charles S. Ross, the wealthy president of a greeting card company, was driving towards Chicago when he was pulled over and kidnapped at gunpoint by a pair of criminals. The ensuing investigation quickly became one of the largest for the young FBI. It did not end well for Ross, who was murdered on October 10 (along with one of the criminals) after a fight broke out between the two kidnappers. It didn’t end well for the mastermind of the plot, either. John Henry Seadlund (pictured above), who had a long history of run-ins with the law, crisscrossed the country after obtaining $50,000 in ransom money but was ultimately tracked to Los Angeles using serial numbers from the bills. Agents posed as cashiers at a local racetrack where the ransom money had been used and arrested Ross on January 10, 1938 after he tried to place a bet with one of the bills. Seadlund confessed to the kidnapping and murders and was later executed. See http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/charles-ross-kidnapping for more information on the case.

At the site of the once-abandoned Munree Cemetery in eastern Tallahassee, Florida, local residents and archaeological groups have joined together to locate and preserve an estimated unmarked 250 gravesites on the five-acre plot of land. The volunteers include Lisa Higgins, who works with the FBI on a contract basis with her human remains detection (HRD) dogs, Maggie and Dixie. Above, Higgins’ 12-year-old granddaughter Haley Carney keeps a watchful eye on her HRD dog-in-training, Jayda, as she sniffs around one of the few marked gravesites at the Munree Cemetery site. For more information, see: http://www.fbi.gov/jacksonville/news-and-outreach/stories/seeking-by-scent

FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge James Yacone (left) recently presented retired Special Agent Charles Tignor (born September 13, 1912) with a letter from FBI Director Robert Mueller in celebration of Tignor’s 100th birthday. Mueller praised Tignor’s service and dedication to the Bureau during his 27-year career. On March 13, 1942, with only two years on the job, Special Agent Tignor sustained multiple gunshot wounds and his partner was killed while they were pursuing two armed fugitives in Abingdon, Virginia. “Such a violent and traumatic event would have led some individuals to end their law enforcement careers,” Mueller wrote. “However, demonstrating great strength of character and commitment to public service, you returned to work and served our nation for another quarter century. Happy birthday, Mr. Tignor. For more details on the shootout that injured Tignor, see: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/james-edward-testerman

Billboards in Times Square and digital posters throughout New York City request United Nations Delegate assistance in bringing former FBI Agent Robert “Bob” Levinson home. Levinson, who retired from the FBI in 1998 after 22 years of service, was working as a private investigator when he traveled to Kish Island, Iran on March 8, 2007. He has not been seen or heard from publicly since he disappeared the following day. A reward of up to $1 million is being offered for information leading to Levinson’s safe recovery and return. For more information, see: http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/march/levinson/levinson

In August 2012, the Detroit FBI office took part in the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe’s 28th annual Pow Wow Festival held in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. More than 500 Native American and community residents attended the festival and met representatives from the Detroit office. Participants heard about community outreach programs and careers in the FBI, while some attendees (like the young lady pictured above) were also able to try on SWAT gear. For more information on our outreach efforts, visit: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/partnerships_and_outreach/community_outreach

Students from Anne E. Moncure Elementary School in Stafford, Virginia examine evidence while participating in a mock case investigation at Hogan’s Alley (on the grounds of the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia). During the exercise, students learned about the many different and important components of investigating cases and bringing criminals to justice. The students are part of a mentoring program supported by FBI employees in the Training, Laboratory, and Operational Technology Divisions at Quantico.

Summer interns in our Jacksonville Field Office get a lesson in uncovering evidence with a device used by the Bureau’s Evidence Response Team. If you or a student you know would like more information about the FBI’s Volunteer Internship Program, including a full list of qualifications and details on the selection process, visit www.FBIjobs.gov and click on Internship Programs.

On August 7, 1962—50 years ago today—President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order that, among other things, encouraged increased attendance by international students at the FBI’s National Academy, which has provided professional training to law enforcement leaders since 1935. As a result of the order, the number of overseas students began to rise steadily. In this picture, taken later that year, President Kennedy received an honorary special agent badge from Director J. Edgar Hoover following the graduation of the 70th session of the National Academy. To date, 3,241 international police officers from 180 countries have graduated from the National Academy (out of a total of 45,818 graduates). For more information, visit the National Academy website at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/training/national-academy.

On July 26, 1952—60 years ago today—Special Agent Joseph Brock was in pursuit of Arthur Puff, one of FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, when tragedy struck. After learning that Puff would be visiting a hotel in New York City, Agent Brock helped set up surveillance in the lobby. The operation went horribly wrong, and Puff shot Agent Brock twice in the chest, killing him. Other agents were able to arrest Puff, who was ultimately convicted of the murder. For more information on Agent Brock, see http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/hallhonor/brock/. Since the FBI’s creation on July 26, 1908—104 years ago today—a total of 36 special agents have been killed as a direct result of an adversarial action and another 19 agents have given their lives in the performance of a law enforcement duty. See our Hall of Honor at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/hallhonor for details. And see our history page at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history for more information on the FBI through the years.

Members of the Evidence Response Team in our Jacksonville Field Office get acquainted with Montana, a bloodhound used by the FBI for tracking down suspects by scent.

Depicted in color, Joanne Pierce Misko (in red) and Susan Roley Malone are shown at the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia in 1972. Forty years ago—on July 17, 1972—the two became the first women in the modern FBI to enter the academy and subsequently become special agents. For more details, including recent video interviews with the two trailblazers, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/july/celebrating-women-special-agents-part-2-the-pioneers

At a press conference in Tucson, Arizona on July 9, FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge James L. Turgal, Jr. listens as United States Attorney for the Southern District of California Laura E. Duffy announces indictments against five individuals suspected in the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, who was killed in a shootout near the U.S.-Mexican border in Southern Arizona on December 14, 2010. Four of those suspects are currently fugitives, and a reward of up to $1 million is being offered for information leading to their arrest. Two of the suspects’ wanted posters are shown in the image above. For more information, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/news_blog/four-fugitives-sought-for-murder-of-border-patrol-agent. AP Photo

With the help of an FBI instructor, new agents hone their firearms skills at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

On June 25, 2012, the FBI and its partners participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Terrorist Explosive Devices Analytical Center (TEDAC) Laboratory at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Pictured from left to right are FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III; Redstone Arsenal commander Major General Lynn Collyar; U.S. Senator Richard Shelby; and Acting ATF Director B. Todd Jones. For more information, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-breaks-ground-for-new-tedac-laboratory

Approximately 120 stolen historic artifacts valued at roughly $5 million were returned to the Polish Museum of America in Chicago on June 20. The artifacts, which are believed to have been removed from the museum sometime in the 1970s or 1980s, were recovered by the FBI in 2011 from a Chicago residence. The artifacts consist of many items of correspondence dating back as far as 1646, to include letters sent to and from Polish kings, American presidents, a French emperor, and prominent Revolutionary War figures. The collection also includes rare prints and sketches, wax seals used in correspondence (pictured above), Polish military medals and memorabilia, as well as World War II artifacts. For additional information and photos, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/news_blog/stolen-artifacts-returned-in-chicago.

As part of ongoing community outreach efforts, the FBI Jacksonville Field Office recently participated in the national Bring Your Child to Work Day on April 26. Approximately 40 children and teens were treated to demonstrations of various aspects of the work the FBI does daily. Pictured above, a participant looks out from the front seat of an FBI mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle.

Fifty years ago this week, three locked-up criminals tried their luck at a nearly impossible feat—successfully breaking out of the world’s most secure prison through a complex plan that included the use of the homemade dummy heads pictured above. Mission accomplished…or was it? While the convicts were indeed able to make their way off “The Rock,” what happened to them after that remains a mystery to this day. For more details and information, including an extensive photo gallery, our 2007 story written for the 45th anniversary of the infamous prison break, and related Freedom of Information Act records on the case, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/news_blog/escape-from-alcatraz.

Fidel Urbina, the subject of a nationwide manhunt since 1999 in connection with two sexual assaults and murder, has been named to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. The former Chicago resident is wanted for allegedly beating and raping a woman in March 1998, and seven months later—while free on bond—for beating, raping, and strangling a second Chicago woman to death. That woman’s body was found in the trunk of a burned-out car. For more information, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/june/urbina_060512.

A special agent overlooks the Shiprock land formation on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. The reservation, the largest in the country, is one of about 200 federally recognized Indian reservations where the FBI has investigative responsibilities. Investigating crimes on native lands poses a unique challenge for FBI personnel and their law enforcement partners. Despite the difficulties they face, the dedication and commitment of FBI personnel in Indian Country has helped make Native American communities safer. More information, including video interviews, can be found in Part 1 of our series on the FBI’s role in Indian Country: www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/june/indian-country_060112

On June 1, 1937—75 years ago today—Special Agent Truett E. Rowe was in pursuit of Guy Osborne, a fugitive who had escaped from an Oklahoma jail. Rowe and a local police chief located Osborne at a ranch in Gallup, New Mexico late that afternoon. But as Osborne was gathering some of his possessions, he unexpectedly drew a concealed revolver and fired at Agent Rowe, who died as the police chief rushed him to the hospital. Later that evening, the police chief and another officer were able to apprehend Osborne, who was tried and convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. For more information on Rowe and other FBI agents who have lost their lives, see http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/hallhonor.

John Perren, assistant director of the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate, briefs reporters in New Orleans May 23 on the Bureau’s role with other law enforcement agencies in protecting the area’s maritime infrastructure. The Bureau co-hosted a three-day workshop this week aimed at improving communication and coordination among agencies in the event of an emergency. New Orleans provided a fitting backdrop for the training—the city has one of country’s busiest ports and will host the Super Bowl in 2013.

Our Science and Technology Branch exhibited its many capabilities at FBI Headquarters in Washington in early May. On display were robots and other operational equipment, along with technology that enables scientific analysis and intelligence gathering. This remote-controlled robot is equipped with several cameras and can be used for evidence collection as well as deployment to hazardous areas.

The FBI’s forensic anthropologists were on hand at our recent Science and Technology Branch exhibit at FBI Headquarters. The forensic anthropology program, begun in 2010, involves the analysis of human skeletal remains to determine, among other things, how and when someone may have died. For more information about the program, visit http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/august-2010/forensic-update.

At a ceremony at FBI Headquarters on May 18, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller pays tribute to Giovanni Falcone on the 20th anniversary of his assassination by Mafia hit men. Falcone was an Italian judge who was a courageous opponent of the Mafia and one of the earliest advocates of international cooperation in the fight against organized crime. For more information, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/may/falcone_051712.

During a candlelight vigil honoring fallen officers on May 13 at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, a blue laser beam is projected from the stage. Speaking during the event, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said, “No matter how different each individual’s job may be, no matter the difference in age or geography, experience, or agency, all are united by a thin blue line.” This week, the FBI joins the rest of the nation in paying tribute to law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. For more, see www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/may/policeweek_051412.

Members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team in the FBI’s Jacksonville Division prepare to make an entry during a training exercise.

Activity around the FBI’s Jacksonville Division is monitored from the operations center. The division has jurisdiction over 40 of Florida’s 67 counties.

Insulated in the protection of a full blast suit, a bomb technician in our Jacksonville Division demonstrates equipment used to neutralize an improvised explosive device. For more on FBI Jacksonville, visit www.fbi.gov/jacksonville.

***Update 5/10/12: Adam Mayes has died. The two sisters he allegedly kidnapped were found alive.*** Adam Mayes, wanted in connection with the recent kidnapping of a mother and her three daughters in Tennessee, has been added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Bodies of two of the kidnap victims were found last week behind the Mayes’ family home in Gunstown, Mississippi, but two girls—ages 8 and 12—remain missing and are considered to be in extreme danger. Two images of Mayes are pictured above; the one on the right was pulled from security camera footage. Mayes may have changed his appearance as well as those of the two girls. For more information, see www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/may/mayes_050912.

An FBI SWAT operator boards a cargo ship during an annual maritime training exercise in San Francisco Bay in April 2012. These specific types of training exercises are designed to hone the abilities of FBI SWAT team members in the event of a terrorist attack, hostage situation, or any other criminal or national security threat occurring in domestic sea lanes.

J. Edgar Hoover’s body lies in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in 1972—an honor afforded to no other civil servant before or since. After leading the FBI for nearly half a century, working for eight different presidents, and becoming an institution in his own right, the body of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was found by his housekeeper on the morning of May 2, 1972, effectively marking the end of an era. For more on Hoover’s complex and enduring legacy 40 years after his death, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/may/hoover-legacy_050412/hoover-legacy_050412. AP Photo

FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce (at podium) and Attorney General Eric Holder announce charges at a press conference in Washington, D.C. against 107 individuals, including doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in Medicare fraud schemes involving approximately $452 million in false billing—the highest amount in a single takedown in Medicare Fraud Strike Force history. For more information, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/news_blog/strike-force-takedown-050212.

On May 1, 1922—90 years ago today—Russian-born Emilio Kosterlitzky became a special agent at the age of 68, earning a salary of six dollars a day. He was certainly not a typical agent, having served for decades in the Russian and Mexican militaries before joining the FBI as a “special employee” in 1917. His military experience, combined with his strong international connections, his diplomatic skill, and his ability to speak, read, and write more than eight languages, helped him excel in his duties. For more on the colorful Kosterlitzky and other FBI history, see http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/a-centennial-history/the_nation_calls_1908-1923.

Notorious Depression-era gangster Alvin “Creepy” Karpis shows FBI agents how he had his fingertips altered to avoid capture; he also had changes made to his face. Unfortunately for him, his efforts didn’t pay off...Karpis was arrested in New Orleans 76 years ago on May 1, 1936, by Director J. Edgar Hoover himself. For more information on the Karpis capture, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/may/karpis_050112/karpis_050112.

Meet Dolce, the FBI’s first and only therapy dog. The presence of an animal in a stressful situation can produce a calming effect, and Dolce does just that while comforting crime victims and their families in our Memphis Division. For more on Dolce and our Office for Victim Assistance, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/april/therapy-dog_042712/therapy-dog_042712.

An FBI Hazardous Materials Response Team (HMRT) member searches for evidence following a mock bomb blast, part of a three-day regional training event in March 2012 sponsored by our San Francisco Field Office for HMRTs from the FBI and its partner agencies.

An FBI Hazardous Materials Response Team (HMRT) member participates in a regional training event sponsored by our San Francisco Field Office. The Bureau has HMRTs around the country trained and equipped to respond to terrorist attacks and criminal incidents involving chemical, biological, and radiological materials in concert with local officials and weapons of mass destruction experts at FBI Headquarters. For more information, see http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/hmru.

Legal Attaché Daniel Powers (center) and Legal Attaché Investigator Paisarn Changjongpradit (left) meet with Commissioner-General Preophan Dhamapong of the Royal Thai Police at police headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand in April 2012. The FBI has legal attaché offices—commonly known as legats—and smaller sub-offices in 76 key cities around the globe. Legat Bangkok—which covers the nations of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar—was officially opened June 8, 1990 and keeps with the legat program’s mission of protecting Americans back home by building relationships with principal law enforcement, intelligence, and security services overseas to help ensure a prompt and continuous exchange of information. For more information on FBI international operations, visit http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/international_operations.

Wimberly W. Baker was 27 years old and just beginning his FBI career when an early assignment turned tragic. A search for a pair of fugitive bank robbers took Agent Baker and his colleague to a post office in Topeka, Kansas on the morning of April 16, 1937—75 years ago today. As Agent Baker went to arrest one of the fugitives, the other wanted man pulled a gun and began shooting, and a firefight ensued. The young agent was struck and quickly taken to the hospital, where he died the next day. The FBI tracked down both criminals in Nebraska that night; the pair were ultimately convicted of the murder. For more information, see http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/hallhonor/baker.

Eric Justin Toth, a former private-school teacher and camp counselor accused of possessing and producing child pornography, is the newest addition to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List. For more information, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/april/top-ten-list_041012/top-ten-list_041012.

Women have served in the FBI since its earliest days. The first women special agents verified by our records today were appointed in the 1920s, all working in our Washington Field Office. Miss Lenore Houston, whose credentials are pictured above, served from 1924 until November 1928, the longest of these early women agents.

Alaska Davidson, another of our earliest known women agents, served from October 1922 until June 1924. A colleague named Mrs. Jessie Duckstein served from November 1923 to May 1924. These early women agents were dismissed by Director J. Edgar Hoover, who dramatically cut rolls early in his tenure to clean house following political scandals. It would be another half century—May 1972—before social mores would change and women special agents would become a regular and vital part of the FBI.

During World War II, thousands of women joined the FBI, filling positions left by those who had enrolled in the armed forces and taking new jobs required by the war effort. Pictured here is a radio operator who served at a station in Washington, D.C., helping to keep in close contact with radio cars in the District of Columbia and vicinity.

In the summer of 1924, Director J. Edgar Hoover created an Identification Division (informally called “Ident” in the organization for many years to come) to gather fingerprints from police agencies nationwide and to search them upon request for matches to criminals and evidence. Many women worked in Ident, including this individual in the 1930s.

Helen Gandy joined the Bureau in 1918 and worked exclusively for J. Edgar Hoover from 1921 (when he was named assistant director, with his appointment as Director coming in 1924) until his death on May 2, 1972. Serving over time as secretary, administrative assistant, and executive assistant, she took charge of Hoover’s office and eventually supervised her own staff, becoming a legendary figure in the Bureau and playing a key role in shaping the evolving FBI over five decades. This picture was taken with Hoover in March 1953 as Gandy celebrated her 35th anniversary with the Bureau. Gandy passed away in 1988.

Two women work with computer data storage tapes from the National Crime Information Center, or NCIC, in the early 1970s at the Criminal Justice Information Services Division. Since 1967, NCIC has served as an electronic clearinghouse of crime data that can be tapped into around the clock by criminal justice agencies nationwide.

In the spring of 1972, the FBI began accepting applications from women for the special agent position and by July of that year had appointed the first two women as special agents in modern times. Pictured here is an African-American agent in the 1970s.

It wasn’t long before women agents began moving up the ranks in the Bureau. Burdena “Birdie” Pasenelli, who became an agent in January 1973, was the FBI’s first female assistant special agent in charge (Houston, July 1989), special agent in charge (Anchorage, May 1992), and assistant director (Finance Division, FBI Headquarters, January 1994). She returned to the field as the special agent in charge of the Seattle office in December 1995. She retired in July 1999.

Support professionals also began assuming leadership positions. Carolyn Morris joined the FBI as a section chief in the former Technical Services Division in September 1980 and rose to the position of deputy assistant director in November 1984. She became the FBI’s first female African-American assistant director in October 1995, when she was named head of the former Information Resources Division. She retired in April 2000.

Kathleen McChesney became the first woman to attain the rank of executive assistant director after being named the head of Law Enforcement Services in December 2001. McChesney, shown here teaching a new agents class at the FBI Academy, became an agent in August 1978 and rose through the ranks as an investigator, supervisor, and manager in both the field and at Headquarters. She retired in November 2002. Today, the FBI employs more than 15,000 women, with over 2,600 serving as special agents. Visit FBIJobs.gov for the latest openings and more information on Bureau careers.

Florida Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll visited the FBI’s office in Jacksonville last week and spoke during a Women’s History Month event. She also presented a 25-year service certificate to one of Jacksonville’s employees.

The FBI needs help locating three members of an eco-terrorist cell known as “The Family,” which committed an estimated $48 million worth of arson and vandalism across the Pacific Northwest and western U.S. between 1996 and 2001 under the names of the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front. The cell’s most notorious crime was the 1998 arson of a Vail, Colorado ski resort (pictured) that caused $26 million in damages and drew international attention to eco-terrorists—those who break the law in misguided and malicious attempts to protect the environment and animal rights. One member of The Family—Justin Solondz—was sentenced to seven years in prison last week; the other three remain on the run. For more information, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/march/eco-terrorist_032012/eco-terrorist_032012.

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller recognized community leaders from around the country at FBI Headquarters in Washington during the 4th annual Director’s Community Leadership Awards on March 16, 2012. Recipients were selected by their area FBI field offices and honored for outstanding contributions to their communities. “You are all determined to create a safer world for our children,” said Director Mueller. “Just as important, you are all devoted to upholding the rule of law and defending the freedoms we cherish.” Here, the Director leads a birthday salute to Herreast Harrison, honored by the New Orleans FBI for her efforts to promote literacy and cultural diversity. For more information, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/march/dcla_031612.

On March 13, 1942—70 years ago today—Special Agent Hubert J. Treacy, Jr. was gunned down by army deserters in an Abingdon, Virginia restaurant. The fugitive soldiers—Charles J. Lovett and James Edward Testerman—were captured by FBI agents and local officers a few hours after the shooting. For more information, see http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/james-edward-testerman. Since the FBI’s creation in 1908, a total of 36 special agents have been killed as the direct result of an adversarial action. See our Hall of Honor at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/hallhonor for details.

FBI Director Robert Mueller spoke to reporters at a press conference on March 6 at the Washington Field Office announcing a $1 million reward for the safe return of retired FBI Special Agent Robert Levinson. Levinson went missing during a business trip to Kish Island, Iran on March 9, 2007. Appearing with Mueller are Deputy Director Sean Joyce and Levinson’s wife Christine. For more information, see http://www.fbi.gov/levinson.

On Thursday, March 1, 2012, Director Mueller gave a keynote address at the annual RSA conference in San Francisco, providing an overview of the cyber security threat picture and detailing the FBI’s capabilities and response to the threat. To read the speech, go to http://www.fbi.gov/news/speeches/combating-threats-in-the-cyber-world-outsmarting-terrorists-hackers-and-spies.

On March 1, 1932—80 years ago today—tragedy struck the family of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh. As Lindbergh and his wife slept in their rural New Jersey home, someone leaned a ladder against the second story nursery window and snatched their 20-month-old son. They would never see him alive again. Charles Lindbergh is shown here on May 31, 1927, with the “Spirit of St. Louis” he had piloted across the Atlantic 10 days earlier. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. For more details on the kidnapping and investigation, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/news_blog/this-day-in-fbi-history-the-lindbergh-baby-kidnapping.

This wanted poster was issued after Lindbergh’s son was kidnapped on March 1, 1932. The boy’s body was found on May 12, 1932, less than five miles from the family home. He had apparently been killed by a blow to the head shortly after the abduction.

The kidnapper left this ransom note on the nursery window sill demanding $50,000. The clumsy, misspelled handwriting from the note, and from ones that followed, were reproduced and widely distributed on posters to law enforcement.

A series of ransom notes following the kidnapping led to a meeting between Dr. John Condon, a representative of the Lindbergh family, and a mysterious man named “John.” An artist sketch of “John” was developed from the verbal description of Dr. Condon and proved to be very similar to Bruno Richard Hauptmann, who was ultimately arrested on September 19, 1934 following a massive investigation led by the New Jersey State Police and supported by the FBI.

A painstaking analysis of Hauptmann’s handwriting by the Bureau’s new crime lab showed a remarkable similarity between the lettering of the author of the ransom notes and of Hauptmann. An outside examiner wrote in an opinion for the Attorney General of New Jersey, “I am convinced absolutely that the person who wrote the exhibits presented to me as being the genuine handwriting of Mr. Richard Hauptmann is the same writer who wrote the anonymous extortion letters in this case...” This evidence proved valuable in helping to convict Hauptmann of the murder.

Lindbergh takes the witness stand during the 1935 trial of Hauptmann in Flemington, New Jersey. Hauptmann was found guilty on February 13, 1935 and electrocuted on April 3, 1936. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

In Norfolk, a teenager taking part in a community outreach effort tries on some SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) gear. Our Norfolk office recently gave 10 young men and women from the Virginia Beach Police Department’s Explorers’ Program an inside look at Norfolk’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team. The students, who were between the ages of 14 and 21 and are interested in serving in law enforcement, were briefed by SWAT agents on how they train for high-risk situations and were allowed to try on some authentic SWAT gear.

African-Americans have served the FBI as special agents since at least 1919. One of the earliest was Special Agent James E. Amos, a former bodyguard of President Theodore Roosevelt who served the Bureau from 1921 to 1953. Working in our New York office, Amos participated in some major cases, including helping to bring to justice the Louis “Lepke” Buchalter gang, a notorious band of professional hit-men known as “Murder, Inc.,” and helping to dismantle the Duquesne Nazi spy ring during World War II. For more details, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2005/february/amos022805.

Another one of the FBI’s earliest African-American special agents was Thomas Leon Jefferson—an experienced investigator who had worked for a detective agency in Chicago from about 1904 to 1921. Jefferson entered the Bureau as an agent on September 22, 1922 and participated in many investigations, working on the Garvey case, car thefts, and prostitution/human trafficking matters. In November 1924, he was commended by Acting Director Hoover for his work on a bankruptcy investigation. Jefferson retired in January 1930.

Earl F. Titus (left), after working as an Indianapolis police officer, joined the Bureau on January 9, 1922. His assignments included undercover work in the investigation of Marcus Garvey, a black nationalist who was convicted of mail fraud in 1923. Titus retired in June 1924 at the age of 56. Arthur Lowell Brent became a special agent on August 1, 1923 after serving two years as a “special employee” (a sort of assistant investigator) in the Department of Justice. Brent was assigned to the Washington Field Office, where he worked on the Garvey case and other investigations. He left the Bureau in June 1924.

Father and son agents Jesse and Robert Strider served in our L.A. office from the 1940s through the 1970s, tackling a variety of cases. Jesse S. Strider (left) served as an agent from 1943 to 1973; Robert W. Strider was appointed an agent in 1956 and retired in 1976. For more information on our earliest African-American investigators, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/february/history_021511. Today, the FBI employs more than 4,500 African-Americans as agents and other professionals around the globe.

FBI Special Agent in Charge of Dallas Field Office, Robert E. Casey, left, shakes hands with W. Rick Copeland, Director of the Medical Fraud Control Unit of the Office of the Texas Attorney General, next to a chart outlining a health care fraud scheme after a news conference on February 28, 2012 in Dallas. Officials announced that a physician and the office manager of his medical practice, along with five owners of home health agencies, were arrested on charges related to their alleged participation in a nearly $375 million health care fraud scheme involving fraudulent claims for home health services. For more details, see http://www.fbi.gov/dallas/press-releases/2012/dallas-doctor-arrested-for-role-in-nearly-375-million-health-care-fraud-scheme. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Kevin Perkins, assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division, briefs reporters on the FBI’s new Financial Crimes report on February 27, 2012 at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. For details, see http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/february/financial-crimes_022712/financial-crimes_022712.

The cover of the FBI’s new Financial Crimes Report to the Public, issued on February 27, 2012.

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People
	Director Robert S. Mueller, III		Director Louis J. Freeh, 1993-2001		Director William S. Sessions, 1987-1993
	Director William H. Webster, 1978-1987		Director Clarence M. Kelley, 1973-1978		Director J. Edgar Hoover, 1924-1972
	FBI agent in class		New agent training		Evidence Response Team
	FBI agent		FBI analyst		FBI SWAT

Places
	FBI Headquarters		FBI Headquarters at night		Washington Field Office
	FBI Academy		FBI Laboratory		Criminal Justice Information Services

Equipment and Canines
	Hostage Rescue training from helicopter		Bomb containment vessel		Bomb technicians vehicle
	Evidence Response Team vehicle		Dive Team boat		Mobile Command Center vehicle
	Gear from the bomb techs vehicle		Mine Resistant Ambush vehicle		FBI K9

History
	Bonnie and Clyde		John Dillinger		FBI agent, 1939
	Fingerprint experts		Firearms practice, 1936		Lester M. Gillis, aka “Baby Face” Nelson
	Fingerprinting at the federal armory during WWII		FBI Laboratory scientist		Special agent target practice, 1930s

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