FBIStory2012 PDF

U.S.
Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
2012
The Strategic Information and Operations Center

at FBI Headquarters is the 24/7 command post
that monitors FBI operations and law enforcement
activities around the globe.
An FBI agent examines a potentially contaminated letter during a white powder training exercise.
2012 The FBI Story I

A Message from FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III
For the FBI and its partners, 2012 was a year that reminded us once again of the seriousness of the security threats facing
our nation.
During the year, extremists plotted to attack—unsuccessfully, thanks to the work of our Joint Terrorism Task Forces—the
U.S. Capitol, the New York Federal Reserve Bank, and other landmarks on U.S. soil. Tragically, on the 11th anniversary of
9/11, a hateful attack in Benghazi took the lives of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. In the cyber
realm, a rising tide of hackers took electronic aim at global cyber infrastructure, causing untold damages. High-dollar
white-collar crimes of all kinds also continued to siphon significant sums from the pocketbooks of consumers. And in
Newtown, Connecticut, 20 young children and six adults lost their lives in one of the worst mass shootings in American
history, ending a year of violence that saw similar tragedies around the country.
Working with its colleagues around the globe, the FBI is committed to taking a leadership role in protecting the nation.
As you can see from this book—an annual compilation of stories from the FBI’s public website that provides a snapshot of
Bureau milestones, activities, and accomplishments—we used the full range of our intelligence, investigative, and opera-
tional skills to address major threats during the year. We helped avert terrorist attacks and derail terrorist supporters, put
cyber criminals and fraudsters behind bars, and dismantled violent gangs and organized crime groups.
Today, as these pages make clear, protecting our country and our communities is truly a team effort. National security
and law enforcement organizations are working together more closely than ever. At the same time, Americans from all
walks of life can and do make a difference in solving and preventing crime and terrorism. Businesses can become aware of
the warning signs of insider economic espionage (page 39). Community leaders can learn about such scourges as human
trafficking (page 6). Consumers can get wise to online scams like the Reveton virus (page 66). Teachers can educate their
students about cyber safety through our new Safe Online Surfing website (page 85). And citizens can contact us with tips
and leads in our investigations, such as our search for a college student’s killer (page 50).
I want to thank all of you for your support and leadership, which is so vital to the success of the FBI. And I wish you all
the best in the months and years ahead.
Director Mueller at the U.S. Embassy in Estonia during a trip in early 2012 to strengthen partnerships in Northern Europe.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Embassy.
2012 The FBI Story III

January 3, 2012
Overcoming the
Language Barrier
Translation Center at the
Ready to Assist U.S. Intelligence
At the National Virtual Translation Center’s offices The center’s linguists rarely know the agency they are
near FBI Headquarters in Washington, it feels like a translating for or the reason for the translation request.
mini United Nations, with linguists working in Chinese, Doug Kouril, the center’s director of operations, noted
Arabic, and other languages. The real global reach of that although NVTC language specialists may offer
the organization, however, is not its brick and mortar cultural perspectives with their translations—which
presence but rather the virtual capability reflected in its can have a bearing on meaning—they do not collect or
name. provide analysis.
Language specialists around the country—some During the past several years, the demand for NVTC’s
working in secure government locations and others expertise has increased significantly, according to the
working from their homes—translate a variety of FBI’s Pamela Hobson, the center’s director of administra-
foreign-language material that aids the U.S. intelli- tion. In fiscal year 2010, for example, NVTC linguists
gence community and helps protect national security. translated nearly 209,000 pages and more than 1,000
Established by Congress in 2003 with the FBI as its hours of audio material, doubling output from the
executive agency, the center—known by its NVTC previous year.
acronym—is a collaborative government organization in Customers can efficiently request work directly from
the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, but it NVTC’s website, and the center’s sophisticated quality
functions more like a nimble private-sector company that control program monitors the work at every step of the
can staff up to respond to its customers’ immediate needs. way. “Our potential for growth is strong,” Hobson added,
Linguists working part time and full time on a “because we are always there when our customers need
contract basis may be called on to translate a variety of us.”
material—such as a 500-page technical document, an “NVTC is a living model of inter-agency collaboration,”
audio cassette, or a propaganda pamphlet—in any of 100 Okurowski said. “We look forward to continuing to
different languages or dialects. provide a high level of service to our customers. Our goal
All NVTC linguists are U.S. citizens who have passed is to make NVTC an indispensable resource for the intel-
a thorough background investigation conducted by the ligence community.”
FBI, and they come from all walks of life. They include
students, business professionals, and even stay-at-home
moms. Often, English is not their first language.
“We are an elastic workforce,” said NVTC Director Mary
Ellen Okurowski, explaining that the center operates on a
fee-for-service business model. “We support our customers
in the U.S. intelligence community on their terms,” she
said. “So we have to provide quality work on time or they
will simply not come to us.”
Like many members of the intelligence community,
the FBI relies on its own linguists for much of the
organization’s translation needs. But when the Bureau
or another agency is faced with too much raw material
and too little time to translate it—or it needs language
expertise it does not possess—NVTC gets the call.
2012 The FBI Story 1

January 6, 2012
After the perpetrators access your account, they conduct

what’s called a distributed denial of service, or DDoS,
attack using a botnet, which involves multiple computers
flooding the financial institution’s server with traffic in
an effort to deny legitimate users access to the site—
probably in an attempt to deflect attention from what the
bad guys are doing.
But that’s not the end of the scheme: Recent investiga-
tions have shown that some of the funds stolen from bank
accounts go towards the purchase of precious stones and
expensive watches from high-end jewelry stores. The
criminals contact these jewelry stores, tell them what
they’d like to buy, and promise they will wire the money
the next day. So the next day, a person involved in the
Malware Targets money laundering aspect of the crime—called a “money
mule”—comes into the store to pick up the merchandise.
Bank Accounts After verifying that the money is in the store’s account,
the jewelry is turned over to the mule, who then gives the
‘Gameover’ Delivered via items to the organizers of the scheme or converts them
Phishing E-Mails to cash and uses money transfer services to launder the
funds.
Cyber criminals have found yet another way to steal
In many cases, these money mules are willing participants
your hard-earned money: a recent phishing scheme
in the criminal scheme. But increasingly, as part of this
involves spam e-mails—purportedly from the National
scheme, we see a rising number of unsuspecting mules
Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), the
hired via “work-at-home” advertisements who end up
Federal Reserve Bank, or the Federal Deposit Insurance
laundering some of the funds stolen from bank accounts.
Corporation (FDIC)—that can infect recipients’ comput-
The criminals e-mail prospective candidates claiming to
ers with malware and allow access to their bank accounts.
have seen their résumés on job websites and offer them a
The malware is appropriately called “Gameover” because job. The hired employees are provided long and seemingly
once it’s on your computer, it can steal usernames and legitimate work contracts and actual websites to log into.
passwords and defeat common methods of user authenti- They’re instructed to either open a bank account or use
cation employed by financial institutions. And once the their own bank account in order to receive funds via wire
crooks get into your bank account, it’s definitely “game and ACH transactions from numerous banks…and then
over.” use money remitting services to send the money overseas.
Gameover is a newer variant of the Zeus malware, which If you think you’ve been victimized by this type of
was created several years ago and specifically targeted scheme, contact your financial institution to report it, and
banking information. file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint
Center at www.ic3.gov.
How the scheme works: Typically, you receive an unso-
licited e-mail from NACHA, the Federal Reserve, or the
FDIC telling you that there’s a problem with your bank
account or a recent ACH transaction. (ACH stands for
Automated Clearing House, a network for a wide variety
of financial transactions in the United States.) The
sender includes a link in the e-mail that will supposedly
help you resolve whatever the issue is. Unfortunately, the
link goes to a phony website, and once you’re there, you
inadvertently download the Gameover malware, which
promptly infects your computer and steals your banking
information.
2 2012 The FBI Story

January 10, 2012
Closing a ‘Crime
Superstore’
Not-So Garden Variety
Fraud in the Garden State
They hijacked identities on the other side of the globe…
faked drivers’ licenses and other documents…built bogus
credit histories and boosted the scores in clever ways…
then used it all to open bank accounts and credit lines
they could loot at will.
In the end, they created what our Newark Special Agent
in Charge Mike Ward called a “crime superstore”—a teams made up the fourth group, fraudulently inflating
sophisticated way to rob financial institutions, retailers, credit scores to help open the bank and credit accounts.
car leasing companies, and even the IRS out of millions
The buildup teams would take one of the stolen Social
of dollars.
Security numbers—and the Chinese identity attached
Following an undercover investigation led by the to it—and add that person’s name as an authorized user
FBI and its partners, it all came crashing down in to other co-conspirators’ credit card accounts. These co-
September 2010, when 43 members of the criminal conspirators, who knew their accounts were being used to
ring were charged in this complex scheme. Another 10 commit fraud, received a fee for their service.
individuals were charged for various related offenses at
After the credit buildup was completed, the Park criminal
the same time during a coordinated takedown. And on
enterprise conspired with its customers to use the fraudu-
Monday, the leader of the band of thieves—San-Hyun
lent identities to apply for checking accounts, bank and
Park, known to his criminal colleagues as “Jimmy”—pled
retail credit cards, debit cards, lines of credit, and loans.
guilty in federal court in Newark.
Members of the criminal conspiracy used their sizeable
The Park criminal enterprise started by stealing Social proceeds to live large, buying such luxury items as fancy
Security numbers from unsuspecting individuals—usually cars, expensive liquor, and designer shoes.
from China—who were employed in American territories
The multi-agency investigation made use of cooperat-
in Asia like Saipan, Guam, and the Philippines. These
ing witnesses and an undercover federal agent, as well
identities were then sold to customers in the U.S. for
as court-authorized wiretaps, to record incriminating
$5,000 to $7,000. Although the stolen identities were
conversations among members of the crime ring and
Chinese, the vast majority of Park’s customers were
others. The FBI partnered with several federal agencies
Korean-Americans. The ring would use the phony Social
and local police departments in New Jersey, among
Security numbers to obtain authentic driver’s licenses,
others. We also worked cooperatively with the major
identification cards, and other identity documents from
banks, credit card companies, and department stores
various states…or manufacture counterfeit licenses and
targeted by this criminal organization.
other documentation.
Based in Bergen County, New Jersey, Park’s organiza-
tion was subdivided into different cells, each with a
unique role. First, there were the customers who paid
Park and his co-conspirators for fake identity documents.
Then, there were the brokers, suppliers, and manufactur-
ers of the phony identity documents—like Social Security
cards, immigration documents, and driver’s licenses. A
third group included merchants who colluded with the
organization by knowingly swiping phony credit cards in
return for a fee called a kkang. The credit card buildup

January 13, 2012
Left: On January 17, 2011, as hundreds of people gathered in down-

town Spokane to participate in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Unity
March, Kevin Harpham placed a backpack bomb (inset) along the
parade route on Main Avenue. The graphic shows the likely direction
of the blast had the bomb detonated.
preserved that would help lead FBI agents to Harpham.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in Spokane
immediately began an investigation, and JTTF members
canvassed the region for batteries and other components
similar to those used in the bomb. Within a month, in a
small town about 60 miles north of Spokane, they discov-
ered that a local outlet of a large retail chain was selling
the same kind of fishing weights Harpham had used as
shrapnel.
MLK Parade Bomber Store records showed there had been three large pur-
chases of the weights in recent months—two were paid
Horrific Hate Crime for in cash, but a debit card was used in one transaction,
Prevented; Case Solved and it belonged to Harpham. At the same time, the FBI
Laboratory had been working to extract a DNA sample
Had his homemade bomb gone off—one he had diaboli- from the backpack that was later matched to Harpham
cally constructed using shrapnel coated with a substance through his military records.
meant to keep blood from clotting in wounds—Kevin
Investigators also learned of Harpham’s white suprem-
Harpham would have undoubtedly caused the death and
acy postings on the Internet and his affiliation with a
injury of many people at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
neo-Nazi group called the National Alliance.
Unity March in Spokane, Washington in 2011.
Because he lived in a remote, relatively inaccessible area
Instead, Harpham was eventually caught and recently
and was likely heavily armed, our Hostage Rescue Team
sentenced to 32 years in prison for a hate crime and other
devised a ruse to lure Harpham out of his house. He was
offenses related to the attempted bombing. The case
arrested March 9, 2011 without incident—but as agents
illustrates how a quick response by citizens and local law
suspected, he was armed when taken into custody.
enforcement averted a tragedy and how teamwork and
time-tested investigative techniques led to the apprehen- “Kevin Harpham was the lone wolf that all of us in law
sion of an individual who has shown no remorse for his enforcement dread,” Harrill said. “He lived alone, he
actions. worked alone, and he didn’t foreshadow the bombing
plot in any meaningful way. He targeted those who were
“Clearly he intended to detonate the device, cause
attempting to celebrate an event meant to unite society,”
mass carnage, and then survey the devastation,” said
Harrill added, “and he was prepared to indiscriminately
Special Agent Frank Harrill, who supervised the
kill men, women, and children.”
investigation. “Harpham was acting out against what
he termed multiculturalism, but his hatred was firmly Harrill credited teamwork and strong partnerships for
rooted in violent white supremacy. This was a proto- stopping Harpham and bringing him to justice. “From
typical hate crime.” the workers who noticed the device to the police
response, the JTTF investigation, the expertise of the
On January 17, 2011, as hundreds of people gathered
FBI Laboratory, and the prosecuting skill of the U.S.
in downtown Spokane to participate in the march,
Attorney’s office—everything worked just as it should
Harpham placed his backpack bomb along the parade
have.”
route at Washington Street and Main Avenue. Alert city
workers discovered the suspicious backpack before the
march started, and Spokane Police Department officials
changed the route as a precaution. The Spokane Police
and Sheriff’s Office bomb squad was called in, and their
precision in disarming the device enabled evidence to be

January 17, 2012
A Mother’s Worst
Nightmare
Fusion Center Key in Rescue of
Abducted Infant
On a September evening in 2009, a woman answered a
knock at her Nashville, Tennessee door from someone
claiming to be an immigration agent. A short time later,
when police responded to a 911 call from the residence,
they found the woman beaten and stabbed—and her
4-day-old son abducted.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) Surveillance video from a store visited by the victim revealed a grainy
Indiana license plate, which fusion center and FBI analysts ultimately
requested assistance from the FBI and the Tennessee linked to a vehicle rented by the suspect.
Bureau of Investigation (TBI), and a command post was
established at TBI’s Tennessee Fusion Center, where of the kidnapper. The car company also provided credit
investigators from all three agencies began working card and contact information for the renter, Tammy Silas,
around the clock to locate the missing infant. who lived just across the Tennessee line in Alabama.
“There was a tremendous sense of urgency about Silas’ credit card transactions put her close to the victim’s
the case,” said Special Agent Eric Brown, who works house at the time of the abduction. Investigators also
in the FBI’s Nashville Resident Agency out of the obtained bank surveillance video showing her withdraw-
Memphis Field Office. “Everyone feared for the life of ing money from a nearby ATM—and a baby car seat
the child.” could clearly be seen next to her in the passenger seat.
Initially, all that investigators had to go on was the The kidnapping took place on a Tuesday evening,
mother’s description of the kidnapper, who had seriously when Silas knocked on the victim’s door pretend-
injured her during the attack and abduction. While ing to be an immigration official. That Friday night,
fusion center personnel began responding to AMBER investigators knocked on Silas’ door in Alabama,
Alert tips coming in from around the country, Brown arrested her, and recovered the baby—now 6 days
and others learned from the victim that she had visited a old—unharmed.
food assistance center and stopped at a local big-box store “Tammy Silas had a desire to have a baby,” Brown said,
before returning home on the day of the kidnapping. “and she went to great lengths to obtain one, even if it
MNPD detectives immediately requested and received meant kidnapping and assaulting the mother.” Silas pled
surveillance video from the store. “In the parking lot guilty to kidnapping last February and is currently serving
video, we could see that a car appeared to be mimicking a 20-year prison sentence.
the movements of the car the victim was in,” Brown said. “We were able to solve this case so quickly because all
“When her car pulled in, the other car pulled in. When the agencies involved worked together and brought their
she pulled out, the other car pulled out and followed.” own expertise to the investigation,” said Sgt. Daniel
The video also revealed a partial, grainy license plate Postiglione, a veteran MNPD investigator. “We were all
image that was sent to a lab for enhancement. Because very thankful to get the baby back to his mother in so
of the urgency of the case, the lab work that might have short a period of time.”
taken days to complete took only hours—and it showed a
more complete tag number as well as a state: Indiana.
Fusion center and FBI analysts worked to narrow the
possibilities and eventually came up with a vehicle
owned by a rental car company. At the company’s
airport rental counter, surveillance video showed that the
woman who rented the car in question fit the description

January 20, 2012
Many of our human trafficking cases are based on infor-

mation from our partners and from criminal sources, but
we also can and do receive tips from the public.
That’s where you come in. Please keep your eyes out
for the following indicators that suggest the possibility of
human trafficking:
▪ Individuals who have no contact with friends or
family and no access to identification documents,
bank accounts, or cash;
▪ Workplaces where psychological manipulation and
control are used;
▪ Homes or apartments with inhumane living condi-
Human Trafficking tions;
▪ People whose communications and movements are
Prevention always monitored or who have moved or rotated
through multiple locations in a short amount of time;
Help Us Identify Potential Victims
▪ Places where locks and fences are positioned to
For the young Ukrainians, it was a dream come true—the confine occupants; and
promise of well-paying jobs and free room and board in
the United States. Once they arrived, however, it quickly ▪ Workers who have excessively long and unusual
turned into a nightmare. They were forced to endure hours, are unpaid or paid very little, are unable take
16-plus hour workdays, usually with no pay. Their living breaks or days off and have unusual work restrictions,
conditions were wretched, with up to 10 workers in often- and/or have unexplained work injuries or signs of
unfurnished apartments or row houses. And they faced untreated illness or disease.
intimidation, threats of physical harm, or actual violence Bear in mind: human trafficking victims can be found in
to keep them in line. many job locations and industries—including factories,
Members of the criminal enterprise responsible for these restaurants, elder care facilities, hotels, housekeeping,
workers’ misery were ultimately identified and charged in child-rearing, agriculture, construction and landscaping,
a conspiracy to operate a human trafficking scheme. But, food processing, meat-packing, cleaning services…as well
as we observe National Slavery and Human Trafficking as the commercial sex industry.
Prevention Month, we’re reminded that there are still Here’s one more thing to consider: while the majority
thousands of victims in the U.S.—and millions world- of human trafficking victims in our cases are from other
wide—being forced into both legal and illegal activities. countries and may speak little or no English, approxi-
Human trafficking generates billions of dollars of mately 33 percent of victims are Americans. They come
profit each year, making it one of the world’s fastest from a variety of groups that are vulnerable to coercive
growing criminal activities. The FBI investigates it as a tactics—like minors, certain immigrant populations, the
priority under our civil rights program, but we see human homeless, substance abusers, the mentally challenged
trafficking activities in other areas as well, including and/or minimally educated, and those who come from
organized crime, crimes against children, and gangs. cultures that historically distrust law enforcement or who
have little or no experience with the legal system.
To address the threat, we work cases with our local,
state, federal, and international partners and participate If you suspect human trafficking activities, do us and the
in approximately 70 multi-agency human trafficking victims a big favor: call the National Human Trafficking
task forces. We also offer our counterparts—as well as Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888 or submit a tip at
non-governmental organizations, including non-profits— https://tips.fbi.gov.
human trafficking awareness training. And to help get
a better handle on the issue within the U.S., the FBI’s
Uniform Crime Reporting program plans to start collect-
ing human trafficking data from law enforcement in 2013.

January 24, 2012
A Byte Out of History

Closing in on the
Barker/Karpis Gang
In January 1935—77 years ago this month—more than
a dozen Bureau agents surrounded a quaint two-story
home on Lake Weir, Florida. Within moments, a fierce
shoot-out erupted. It didn’t go well for the heavily armed
criminals inside.
For the Bureau of Investigation—just six months away
from being renamed the FBI—the firefight was a con-
tinuation of a busy year of battling gangsters. In 1934,
The Barkers were heavily armed at a cottage near Lake Weir, Florida,
notorious public enemies like John Dillinger, “Pretty Boy” where they engaged in a shootout with Bureau agents in 1935. The
Floyd, and “Baby Face” Nelson had fallen at the hands weapons above were seized following the gunfight.
of Bureau agents. Heading into 1935, the top priority was
associates of Russell Gibson were also apprehended.
to put a dangerous gang—led by the wily Alvin “Creepy”
Heavily armed and wearing a bullet-proof vest, Gibson
Karpis and a pair of Barker brothers—out of business.
tried to fight it out but was mortally wounded. Searching
The gang got the Bureau’s attention through two high- the apartment, agents found powerful firearms and loads
profile kidnappings. The second targeted a wealthy of ammunition. And, tellingly, a map of Florida—with
banker named Edward George Bremer, Jr., who was Lake Weir circled. Agents soon located the cottage
snatched in St. Paul, Minnesota on January 17, 1934. hideout.
Bremer was released three weeks later after his family
Shortly after 5 a.m. on January 16, 1935, a group of agents
paid $200,000 in ransom. Although he couldn’t identify
led by Earl Connelly surrounded the house and demanded
the culprits, Bremer provided many clues. A key break
the Barkers’ surrender. No response. They waited 15
came when the fingerprint of Arthur “Doc” or “Dock”
minutes and called again. Again, no answer. Following
Barker, a known criminal, turned up on an empty gas
another call for surrender and more silence, agents shot
can found by a local police officer along the kidnapping
some tear gas grenades at the windows of the house.
route. Soon, a number of Barker’s confederates—includ-
Someone in the house shouted, “All right, go ahead,”
ing his brother Fred, Karpis, Harry Campbell, Fred Goetz,
then machine-gun fire blasted from the upstairs window.
Russell Gibson, Volney Davis, and others—were linked to
the crime. The agents responded with volleys of their own; more
gunfire erupted from the house. Over the next hour,
The hunt was on, but the gang had a head start. They
intermittent shots came from the home, and agents
had split up and begun crisscrossing the country—with
returned fire. By 10:30 a.m., all firing had stopped. Both
some even fleeing to Cuba. Three went as far as to
Ma and Fred, it was soon learned, were dead.
undergo back-room plastic surgeries to conceal their
fingerprints and identities. Others passed the ransom loot The Barkers were history, but the cunning Karpis was
back and forth and looked for ways to launder the bills. still on the loose. How we caught up with him is another
story that we’ll tell in the coming months.
In late September, Fred Barker and Campbell registered
under fake names at the El Commodore Hotel in Miami.
Joining them was Fred’s mother—Kate “Ma” Barker, who
was known to help her criminal sons. When Fred asked
for a quiet place to live, the hotel manager told him of a
friend’s cottage for rent on the nearby Lake Weir. The
Barkers moved there in November.
In December, Doc Barker was tracked by Bureau
investigators to a home in Chicago. On January 8, Doc
was arrested without incident. Later that night, several

January 27, 2012
own specialty, from the break-in artist who can steal a rig
in seconds to professional drivers, surveillance experts,
and the guys who know how to defeat the specialized
devices that lock trailers carrying extremely valuable
loads. “This is their business,” Clark said. “And they are
good at it.”
Crew leaders know where to find willing buyers, too—
from small mom and pop stores who don’t ask questions
when they buy at prices below wholesale to online
merchants who may or may not know they are purchasing
stolen goods.
Although many crews target specific cargo such as elec-
tronics and pharmaceuticals—always in demand and easy
Cargo Theft to sell—other thieves steal whatever they can get their
hands on. Straube and his team have recovered stolen
How a Memphis Task Force trailers full of dog food, hair dryers, lawn mower engines,
and even Popsicles.
Combats a Costly Problem “When you talk about the victims of cargo theft,”
After many hours on the road, the long-haul driver pulled Straube explained, “beyond the trucking companies
his tractor-trailer into a Tennessee truck stop for a break and manufacturers, you have to include all consum-
and a hot meal. But by the time he looked over the menu, ers. Because when these items are stolen, it eventually
a crew of professional thieves had made off with his rig drives up the cost of merchandise for everybody.”
and all its contents. Cargo theft is also a “gateway” crime, said Special
Cargo theft is a multi-billion-dollar criminal enterprise Agent Eric Ives, a program manager in our Criminal
in the U.S., and the FBI has seven task forces located Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters who coordi-
around the country to combat the problem. In the nates major theft investigations from a national perspec-
Memphis region, according to Special Agent Conrad tive. “Groups that do these crimes are often funding
Straube, coordinator of the Memphis Cargo Theft Task other illegal activities, like buying drugs or weapons. And
Force, “there is an average of one cargo theft every day of compared to many crimes,” Ives added, “cargo theft is
the year.” highly profitable and not particularly dangerous.”
Memphis—located along major interstate highways and Conrad agreed, adding that thieves often rob warehouses
home to a variety of product distribution centers—is a on a Friday night, and by the time the crime is discovered
hot spot for cargo theft. The thieves steal trucks with and reported Monday morning, the stolen merchandise
trailers or just the trailers and their contents. Often, may already be on a store shelf or auctioned online.
goods are stolen from distribution center warehouses or That’s why our task forces—comprised of local, state,
even from moving rail cars. and federal law enforcement—and our partnerships with
On a recent day, Straube and his task force partners from private industry are critical in the fight against these
the Memphis Police Department, the Shelby County costly crimes, Ives said. “Cargo theft is a sophisticated
Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Marshals Service were on and organized enterprise,” he added, “and we take this
the road, following up on leads at truck stops and other threat very seriously.”
locations in and around Memphis. The task force is
busy—and successful. From January 2011 to the end of
September, it recovered more than $1.5 million in stolen
cargo and vehicles.
Scan this QR code with your smartphone
Task force member Barry Clark, a detective with the to watch a related video, or visit
http://www.fbi.gov/news/videos/.
Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, explained that some of
the theft crews are so organized that each member has his

January 31, 2012
Investigating
Insurance Fraud
A $30-Billion-a-Year Racket
Putting the brakes on major white-collar frauds of all
kinds is one of our most important responsibilities, and
there is no shortage of work these days for the FBI and its
partners.
Our corporate and securities fraud cases, for example,
resulted in more than 600 convictions last year—includ-
ing a number of high-level executives—and more than
$23 billion in recoveries, fines, and restitutions over the
past three years. Our mortgage fraud efforts continue to ▪ Premium and asset diversion, which happens when
pinpoint the most egregious offenders; approximately 70 insurance agents, brokers, and even insurance
percent of our 3,000 pending mortgage fraud investiga- company executives steal insurance premiums
tions involve losses of more than $1 million. There are submitted by policyholders and sometimes plunder
also plenty of cases involving health care fraud, bank- company financial assets for their own personal use;
ruptcy fraud, credit card fraud, mass marketing fraud, and ▪ Viatical fraud (a “viatical” settlement is one where
various wire and mail fraud schemes. an investor buys the right to receive the benefit of a
Insurance fraud—non-health care-related fraud terminally ill or elderly person’s life insurance policy);
involving casualty, property, disability, and life insur- ▪ Staged auto accidents;
ance—is another financial crime that falls under
FBI jurisdiction. The U.S. insurance industry consists ▪ Bodily injury fraud; and
of thousands of companies that collect more than ▪ Property insurance fraud.
$1.1 trillion in premiums each year, according to the
Insurance Information Institute, and the estimated cost Who commits insurance fraud? In most cases it’s
of fraud is approximately $30 billion a year. Most of this dishonest policyholders, insurance industry insiders (i.e.,
expense is passed on to consumers in the form of higher agents, brokers, company execs), and loosely organized
insurance premiums, to the tune of about $200 to $300 networks of crooked medical professionals and attorneys
a year per family, according to the National Insurance who use their knowledge to bypass anti-fraud measures
Crime Bureau. Not to mention the number of insurance put in place by insurance companies.
companies that go under because of excessive claims and/ How we investigate it. Like many other white-collar
or the looting of company assets. crime investigations, insurance fraud is mostly about fol-
There are many capable private and government inves- lowing the money trail—which often involves questioning
tigative and regulatory entities at the national and state victims and victim companies, reviewing financial docu-
level that look into insurance fraud, so the FBI directs its ments, and using sensitive techniques like sources and
resources toward identifying the most prevalent schemes cooperating witnesses.
and the top-echelon criminals and criminal organizations We also use our intelligence capabilities to keep our
who commit the fraud. But even when conducting our finger on the pulse of emerging trends—for example, as
own investigations, we often work closely with private more insurance companies conduct business online, we
fraud associations, state fraud bureaus, state insurance fully expect to see a rise in the theft of policyholders’
regulators, and other federal agencies. identities and in cyber-based insurance scams. We will
The FBI currently focuses on the following schemes: keep you posted.
▪ Disaster-related fraud, which became such a problem

after Hurricane Katrina that a special task force
was created to address it (and evolved into today’s
National Center for Disaster Fraud);

February 3, 2012
“I don’t think it’s by happenstance or coincidence that

our district often leads the nation in civil rights prosecu-
tions,” Stanton said. “We couldn’t do that without our
partners from the FBI. At the end of the day, pursuing
justice remains the bottom-line goal for both agencies.
Our prosecutors and their FBI colleagues have a special
bond and a dedication to these cases.”
That special bond is due in part to the unique nature
of civil rights cases, said Assistant United States
Attorney Steve Parker, who heads the civil rights unit
in Memphis.
In many federal criminal investigations, agents bring a
fully investigated case to a prosecutor for trial. Civil rights
Protecting Civil Rights cases are different, Parker said, because they rely more
on grand juries to gather information. “Witnesses in civil
Part 1: Memphis Agent rights cases don’t come forward on their own because
they are usually close associates or friends of the defen-
Seeks Justice for Victims dants,” he explained. “It takes the leverage of the grand
Special Agent Tracey Harris is a 13-year veteran of the jury and the expertise of the investigators and prosecutors
FBI who specializes in civil rights cases such as hate working together to successfully deal with these cases.”
crimes and human trafficking. But it’s not just her job— Parker added, “I work 90 percent cases of my cases with
it’s her passion. the FBI’s civil rights squad. We do interviews together
When she transferred back to her native Memphis, and go to grand juries together—we work together very
Tennessee in 2003 and landed on the civil rights squad, it closely just about every day.”
was not her top choice—that is, until her first case, which Agent Harris acknowledged that civil rights cases can be
involved a police officer who raped a 12-year-old girl in emotionally difficult and can take years to resolve. “You
his squad car while he was on duty. deal with that by taking them one case at a time and one
“That’s when I realized that somebody has to do these prosecution at a time,” she said. “And you are gratified
cases,” Harris said. “Many civil rights victims represent when the bad guys go to jail and the victims and their
the social ills of the world,” she explained. “They may be families get some measure of justice.”
prostitutes, victims of human trafficking, or individuals One such difficult case that Harris and prosecutors are
abused by police. These are not generally people who especially proud of involved the murder of a 46-year-old
have strong family ties or come from stable homes. They Memphis code enforcement officer and father of five
often have no voice. It’s our job,” Harris said, “to give named Mickey Wright. His killer, Harris said, “took
them a voice. Somebody has to speak for these victims.” Mickey’s life just because he was black.”
Harris works closely with the agents on her squad and Part 2: Bringing Mickey Wright’s murderer to justice
with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District (page 11)
of Tennessee, which is one of the nation’s leading pros-
ecutors of federal civil rights cases.
“This community has a legacy of being on the front
lines of civil rights issues,” said Edward Stanton, III,
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.
In February 2011, Stanton established a dedicated civil
rights unit and announced the initiative at the National
Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, located on the site
where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was slain.

February 7, 2012
Protecting Civil Rights

Part 2: Closing a Memphis
Murder Case
Mickey Wright, a 46-year-old devoted father of five,
was a code enforcement officer for the city of Memphis,
Tennessee. “One day he went to work,” said Special
Agent Tracey Harris, “and he never came home.”
During a routine stop at an auto repair business in
2001, Wright was murdered—“just because he was
black,” Harris said.
The Mickey Wright case outraged the Memphis commu- Two days after Mickey Wright went missing in 2001, his work iden-
nity and illustrates not only how emotionally charged civil tification badge and other personal items were found in a ditch about
rights cases can be, said Harris, but how difficult they are 20 miles outside of Memphis.
to investigate and prosecute. During the FBI investigation, Harris said, a witness also
Wright went missing on April 17, 2001. Two days later, implicated Mardis in another murder, to which he also
his work identification badge and other personal items pled guilty. Last July, 10 years after Mickey Wright’s
were found in a ditch about 20 miles outside of Memphis. murder, Mardis was sentenced to life in prison without
Ten days after his disappearance, Wright’s burned code the possibility of parole—and he finally admitted publicly
enforcement truck was discovered in a Mississippi field. to the hate crime he committed.
Suspicion fell on Dale Mardis, a gun dealer who owned “It really meant a lot when we were able to get that guilty
the property where the auto repair shop was located. But plea and life sentence,” said Assistant United States
it would be three years after the killing before Mardis was Attorney Jonathan Skrmetti, who prosecuted the case.
charged by the state of Tennessee with second-degree “Mickey Wright’s family was there with us in the court-
murder. In 2007, he was allowed to plead no contest— room, and we were able to explain to them that this man
acknowledging that the state had enough evidence to would never again be out on the streets.”
convict him but not having to admit guilt in the murder. “This case was personally very rewarding,” Harris added,
He began serving a 15-year sentence. “but more importantly, it was good for the community.
“This was a very public case,” Harris said, “and there was People were angered by this case, and—together with the
a public outcry when Mardis entered his plea and only U.S. Attorney’s Office—we helped restore the public’s
got 15 years. Mickey Wright’s body was still missing, and faith in the criminal justice system. That’s a very good
many believed this was a hate crime—a far more serious feeling.”
offense than the second-degree murder charge.”
On behalf of Wright’s family, a local official asked the
FBI to investigate the case as a civil rights matter. With
Mardis in jail, some of the witnesses who had earlier
perjured themselves during the state proceedings felt
more comfortable telling the truth, Harris said. “And we
located new witnesses whom Mardis had told about the
crime.”
In 2008, federal prosecutors charged Mardis with the
racially motivated killing of Wright. That April day
when Wright stopped at the auto repair shop, Mardis Scan this QR code with your smartphone
to watch a related video, or visit
became incensed and shot him. Federal prosecutors said http://www.fbi.gov/news/videos/.
Mardis often fought with code enforcement inspectors,
especially if they were black. Mardis later admitted to
burning the body with diesel fuel in a 55-gallon drum.

February 10, 2012
software because the e-mails and messages appeared to

come from trusted sources.
Connolly and Dickerson, both in prison now, victim-
ized more than 3,800 kids through this “sextortion”
technique that preyed on kids’ innocence about the
Internet and their fear of being exposed to their
friends and family.
“Oftentimes children are embarrassed, especially thinking
they have somehow contributed to their victimization,”
said Savage, who now helps lead the Strategic Outreach
and Initiative Section in the Cyber Division. “So fearing
they will get in trouble if they report it, they will continue
with the victimization and send individuals what they are
Cyber Alerts for requesting. What often happens is the victimization never
stops.”
Parents & Kids In this case, some girls were terrorized over a span
of as many as seven years. Some attempted suicide.
Tip #2: Beware of ‘Sextortion’ One dropped out of high school because she was always
At the beginning of her summer break in June 2005, a looking over her shoulder.
15-year-old Florida girl logged onto her computer and To uncover the scheme, the FBI cloned one of the
received a startling instant message. The sender, whom victim’s computers and carried on a two-year undercover
the girl didn’t know, said he had seen her photo online correspondence with the hacker, who turned out to be
and that he wanted her to send him pictures—of her Connolly—a British citizen who was at times in Saudi
in the shower. When the girl didn’t comply, the sender Arabia and Iraq, where he worked as a military contractor
showed he knew where she lived and threatened to hurt and evidently carried out parts of his extortion scheme.
the girl’s sister if she didn’t agree to his demands. The trail also led to North Carolina, where Dickerson
Worried and hoping to avoid alarming her parents, the was amassing a huge portfolio of pictures and videos and
girl sent 10 black-and-white images. When her harasser secretly recording the webcams of compromised comput-
said they weren’t good enough, she sent 10 more, nude ers. Dickerson was found to have about 230 gigabytes of
and in color. Then he wanted more. material; Connolly had four times that. Dickerson was
sentenced in 2007 to 110 years in prison. Three years
“Once these individuals have pictures, they want later, Connolly was sentenced to 30 years.
more,” said Special Agent Nickolas B. Savage, who
interviewed the girl after she and her mother contacted Savage says locking up the hackers was one of the most
authorities. “They are then able to say, ‘I want you to rewarding moments in his career. But he knows there are
do x, y, and z. And if you don’t, I’m going to take these more victims, some who may not know their tormentors
photographs and I’m going to send them to people in your are off the streets.
school. I’ll send them to your family.’” “The thing was, a lot of these kids are just some folder
Savage, who at the time managed the Innocent Images somewhere,” Savage said, illustrating the cold nature of
National Initiative Task Force in the FBI’s Orlando office, the crimes and punctuating that once material is posted
spent the better part of the next four years chasing the online, it’s out there for all to see. “No name. Just pictures
phantoms that had hacked the 15-year-old’s computer. and videos in a folder. I know that there are so many
The winding path eventually led to two assailants— more victims out there that are wondering, ‘What ever
Patrick Connolly and Ivory Dickerson—who jointly ter- happened to those guys?’ or, ‘Do I still need to be afraid?’”
rorized adolescent girls by compromising their computers, This story is the second in an occasional series aimed at
demanding sexual photos or videos, and scouring their providing practical web advice and tips for parents and
social networks. The pair also reached out to the girls’ their kids. For tip #1, visit www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/
friends—who were duped into downloading malicious december/cyber_122211.

February 14, 2012
Looking for Love?

Beware of Online Dating Scams
Millions of Americans visit online dating websites every
year hoping to find a companion or even a soul mate.
But today, on Valentine’s Day, we want to warn you that
criminals use these sites, too, looking to turn the lonely
and vulnerable into fast money through a variety of
scams.
These criminals—who also troll social media sites and
chat rooms in search of romantic victims—usually claim
to be Americans traveling or working abroad. In reality,
they often live overseas. Their most common targets So what really happened? You were targeted by
are women over 40 who are divorced, widowed, and/or criminals, probably based on personal information you
disabled, but every age group and demographic is at risk. uploaded on dating or social media sites. The pictures
you were sent were most likely phony, lifted from other
Here’s how the scam usually works. You’re contacted websites. The profiles were fake as well, carefully crafted
online by someone who appears interested in you. He or to match your interests.
she may have a profile you can read or a picture that is
e-mailed to you. For weeks, even months, you may chat In addition to losing your money to someone who had no
back and forth with one another, forming a connection. intention of ever visiting you, you may also have unknow-
You may even be sent flowers or other gifts. But ultimate- ingly taken part in a money laundering scheme by cashing
ly, it’s going to happen—your new-found “friend” is going phony checks and sending the money overseas and by
to ask you for money. shipping stolen merchandise (the forwarded package).
While the FBI and other federal partners work some of
Recognizing an Online Dating Scam Artist these cases—in particular those with a large number of
Your online “date” may only be interested in your money if he or she: victims or large dollar losses and/or those involving or-
- Presses you to leave the dating website you met through and to
ganized criminal groups—many are investigated by local
communicate using personal e-mail or instant messaging; and state authorities.
- Professes instant feelings of love; We strongly recommend, however, that if you think
- Sends you a photograph of himself or herself that looks like some- you’ve been victimized by a dating scam or any other
thing from a glamour magazine; online scam, file a complaint with our Internet Crime
- Claims to be from the U.S. and is traveling or working overseas;
Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. Before forwarding
the complaints to the appropriate agencies, IC3 collates
- Makes plans to visit you but is then unable to do so because of a
tragic event; or
and analyzes the data—looking for common threads
that could link complaints together and help identify the
- Asks for money for a variety of reasons (travel, medical emergencies, culprits. Which helps keep everyone safer on the Internet.
hotel bills, hospitals bills for a child or other relative, visas or other
official documents, losses from a financial setback or crime victimiza-
tion). For specific tips on how to keep from being lured into an
online dating scam, see the sidebar (left). Awareness is
One way to steer clear of these criminals all together is to stick to
online dating websites with nationally known reputations.
the best tool for preventing crime…and in this case, even
for preventing a broken heart.
So you send money…but rest assured the requests won’t
stop there. There will be more hardships that only you
can help alleviate with your financial gifts. He may also
send you checks to cash since he’s out of the country and
can’t cash them himself, or he may ask you to forward
him a package.

February 17, 2012
websites. These company representatives promised a quick

sale, often within 60-90 days. Some victims reported
that sales reps pressured them into a quick decision by
claiming there was a buyer waiting in the wings, either
on the other line or in the office. Timeshare owners
who agreed to sell had to pay an upfront fee—anywhere
from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars—to cover
various costs such as advertising or closing fees. Many
victims provided credit card numbers to cover the fees.
And then, as time went on and no sales were made,
victims tried reaching back out to the companies, but
their phone calls and e-mails went unanswered.
And to add insult to injury, some of the complainants
Trying to Sell That reported being contacted by a timeshare fraud recovery
company that promised assistance in recovering money
Timeshare? lost in the sales scam…for a fee. IC3 has identified
some instances where people involved with the recovery
Beware of Fraudsters company have a connection to the resale company,
raising the possibility that victims were being scammed
Last October, after a joint FBI-Ft. Lauderdale Police
twice by the same people.
Department investigation, 13 individuals from a Florida
timeshare resale company were charged in federal court What’s the FBI’s role in these kinds of cases? Many
in Miami for their roles in a massive telemarketing of these types of complaints are handled by each state’s
scheme to defraud timeshare owners who were trying to attorney general’s office and local law enforcement. As in
sell. The Federal Trade Commission then filed a com- the above-mentioned Miami case, the FBI can become
plaint against the defendants’ company—Timeshare Mega involved when there’s evidence that the fraud extends
Media—to shut down its operations, which had allegedly across state lines (usually wire or mail fraud on the part
bilked millions from owners across the country. of the perpetrators) and/or involves a large number of
victims, large dollar losses, and an organized criminal
Fraudulent timeshare schemes are becoming a very
enterprise.
real problem…especially in these economically challeng-
ing times as more timeshare owners decide they can no If you suspect you’ve been scammed, file a complaint
longer afford them. A timeshare involves joint ownership with your state attorney general’s office and the IC3
of a property—usually located within resorts in vacation (www.ic3.gov). The IC3 not only collects complaints but
hotspots (i.e., Florida, Colorado, Mexico). A property can also analyzes them, links similar complaints, and discerns
have up to 52 owners—one for each week of the year— patterns in order to help law enforcement identify the
although some timeshare owners purchase larger blocks scammers.
of time. The property is usually managed by the resort in
which it is located.
Earlier this year, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint
Center (IC3) issued an alert on timeshare telemar-
keting scams after seeing a significant increase in
the number of complaints about these scams. The
victims—mostly owners trying to sell—were scammed
by criminals posing as representatives of timeshare resale
companies or by actual employees of companies that were
committing fraud.
In the IC3 complaints, perpetrators telephoned or
e-mailed timeshare owners who, in many instances, had
advertised their desire to sell in industry newsletters and

February 21, 2012
On Guard Against WMD

Inside the Biological
Countermeasures Unit, Part 1
In 2006, to counter the threat posed by weapons of mass
destruction (WMD), the FBI established the WMD
Directorate. The directorate combines law enforcement
investigative authorities, intelligence analysis capabilities,
and technical subject matter expertise in a coordinated
approach to deal with incidents involving nuclear, radio-
logical, biological, or chemical weapons. The organization
places substantial emphasis on preventing such incidents.
FBI.gov recently spoke with Special Agent Edward You in Mr. You: They are essential. We have a joint criminal-
the directorate’s Biological Countermeasures Unit (BCU). epidemiological investigation model, which is how law
enforcement works together with public health entities to
Q: What is your unit’s primary mission? quickly assess an unusual disease outbreak to determine
Mr. You: Just like our partner units who also work in if it is naturally occurring or was started intentionally.
countermeasures dealing with chemicals, radiological and The partnership is critical to ensure rapid sharing of
nuclear material, and infrastructure protection, our goal information to guide the appropriate investigative steps
is to prevent acts of terrorism. In our case, that means and responses. All these efforts address the shared goal
bio-terrorism. But we must do that in a way that strikes a of protecting public health and safety—again, without
balance between security and supporting advances in sci- hindering scientific progress.
entific research and protecting public safety. Bio-security, Q: What is your primary means of conducting
from our standpoint, is preventing the illicit acquisition outreach?
or misuse of the technologies, practices, and materials
associated with biological sciences. We are also charged Mr. You: We provide opportunities for the scientific com-
with protecting scientists and the institutions where they munity to meet directly with our law enforcement repre-
work. sentatives—our WMD coordinators. These are the FBI’s
subject matter experts, local points of contact, and really
Q: What are the primary biological WMD risks? the keystone of the entire program. Each of our 56 field
Mr. You: Laboratory techniques for biological materials offices nationwide has at least one of these special agent
are publicly available in scientific journals and elsewhere, coordinators trained in the various WMD modalities.
which represent a ready source of knowledge for creating They are the focal point for state and local law enforce-
and manipulating these materials. Biological agents such ment and public health officials. Coordinators conduct
as viruses, bacteria, and toxins are also widely available outreach and liaison development with academia, institu-
and used in companies, universities, and other institutions, industry contacts, and other organizations. Our
tions. These include materials that could have devastat- unit at FBI Headquarters manages the outreach program
ing effects on the public if released, such as avian influ- at the national level. We facilitate meetings between our
enza or Bacillus anthracis spores (anthrax). These things coordinators and members of the biological sciences com-
are also naturally occurring in the environment. Both munity, provide a mutual understanding of bio-security
the methods and the materials are critical for scientific from a law enforcement perspective, and foster partner-
research and the development of beneficial products. But ships nationwide. We are also branching out internation-
we also recognize that the materials could be exploited ally, with WMD personnel in Eastern Europe, Singapore,
or subverted for terrorist or criminal acts. We conduct and at INTERPOL in France.
outreach to try to make people aware of these risks. Part 2: Training, tripwires, and more (page 16)
Q: How important are partnerships between law en-
forcement and the medical and scientific community?

February 24, 2012
organisms, such as yeast and bacteria, and “reprogram”

them to impart novel functions not normally found in
nature. For example, synthetic biology allows you to
program bacteria to efficiently produce bio-diesel fuel,
medicines, and building materials.
Q: Why is synthetic biology important in terms of
WMD?
Mr. You: Consider a company that produces synthetic
DNA. They have the ability to generate the necessary
genetic information to potentially produce bacteria and
viruses, even high-consequence biological agents—such
as Ebola or Bacillus anthracis (anthrax)—that are regu-
lated by the U.S. government. Companies have adopted
On Guard Against WMD screening measures to prevent uncertified individuals
from purchasing genetic information for these high-
Inside the Biological consequence agents.
Countermeasures Unit, Part 2 Through our outreach efforts and subsequent federal
guidance, companies now know to contact our WMD
Part 2 of an interview with Special Agent Edward You of the coordinators when they encounter suspicious orders. The
Biological Countermeasures Unit in the Weapons of Mass FBI can conduct further assessments, provide informa-
Destruction (WMD) Directorate. tion back to the companies, and initiate investigations if
warranted. As a result, industry was very happy to have a
Q: What other responsibilities do WMD coordinators
vehicle for reporting and vetting suspicious activity. We
have?
really filled a need with this program, and it has been
Mr. You: At the local level, WMD coordinators act very successful.
as resources for our partners and they also engage in
Q: How will you continue to be successful going
threat assessments and investigations. Coordinators are
forward?
dedicated professionals who have their own career path
within the FBI and they go through an extensive training Mr. You: We will continue working with industry and
and certification program. With regard to training, we the scientific community. Because we provide a service
have partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and and act as a resource for our partners, our outreach has
Prevention to provide training locally, regionally, and grown at a rapid pace—we can’t keep up with demand
internationally. We are able to educate the scientific com- in terms of speaking engagements we are invited to or
munity about threats and provide situational awareness contributions to biosecurity policymaking. When we
about security issues that may not have been considered. started our outreach program five years ago, we were out
In turn, the scientific community advises law enforce- knocking on doors in the scientific community, trying to
ment about the current state of the field and assists us in spread our message. Now they are inviting us in. They ob-
identifying over-the-horizon risks. The life sciences field viously they see the value of what we’re doing to protect
is advancing so rapidly that it is difficult to stay current. the public and the scientific process.
We rely on the expertise of our business and academic
partners to ensure that our agency is addressing issues
appropriately and effectively. Synthetic biology is a case in
point.
Q: What is synthetic biology?
Mr. You: It is the application of engineering and
computer science principles to the life sciences. It is an
evolutionary step in techniques in DNA sequencing and
synthesis that are used to modify naturally occurring

February 27, 2012
The State of
Financial Crime
Our Latest Accounting
The founder of a $7 billion hedge fund is convicted of
insider trading. A drug company pleads guilty to making
and selling unsafe prescription drugs to Americans. The
head of a financial company admits scamming distressed
homeowners who were trying to avoid foreclosure.
These recent crimes and many more like them—inves-
tigated by the FBI, in some instances along with our
partner agencies—can cause great harm to the U.S. In a public service announcement for the FBI, actor Michael Douglas,
economy and American consumers. That’s why financial who played a financial executive in the movie Wall Street, says that
crimes are such an investigative priority at the Bureau. while the 1987 movie was fiction, the problem is all too real.
Today, we’re releasing an overview of the problem and Mortgage fraud: During 2011, mortgage origination
our response to it in our latest Financial Crimes Report loans were at their lowest levels since 2001, partially due
to the Public. The report—which covers the period from to tighter underwriting standards, while foreclosures and
October 1, 2009, to September 30, 2011—explains dozens delinquencies have skyrocketed over the past few years.
of fraud schemes, outlines emerging trends, details FBI So, distressed homeowner fraud has replaced loan origi-
accomplishments in combating financial crimes (includ- nation fraud as the number one mortgage fraud threat in
ing major cases), and offers tips on protecting yourself many FBI offices. Other schemes include illegal property
from these crimes. flipping, equity skimming, loan modification schemes,
and builder bailout/condo conversion. During FY 2011,
Here’s a brief snapshot of key sections of the report: we had 2,691 pending mortgage fraud cases.
Corporate fraud: One of the Bureau’s highest criminal Financial institution fraud: Investigations in this area
priorities, our corporate fraud cases resulted in 242 indict- focused on insider fraud (embezzlement and misapplica-
ments/informations and 241 convictions of corporate tion), check fraud, counterfeit negotiable instruments,
criminals during fiscal year (FY) 2011. While most of our check kiting, and fraud contributing to the failure of
cases involve accounting schemes designed to conceal the financial institutions. The FBI has been especially busy
true condition of a corporation or business, we’ve seen an with that last one—in FY 2010, 157 banks failed, the
increase in the number of insider trading cases. highest number since 181 financial institutions closed in
Securities/commodities fraud: In FY 2011, our cases 1992 at the height of the savings and loan crisis.
resulted in 520 indictments/informations and 394 convic- Also mentioned in the report are two recent initia-
tions. As a result of an often volatile market, we’ve seen a tives that support our efforts against financial crime:
rise in this type of fraud as investors look for alternative the forensic accountant program, which ensures that
investment opportunities. There have been increases financial investigative matters are conducted with the
in new scams—like securities market manipulation via high-level expertise needed in an increasingly complex
cyber intrusion—as well as the tried-and-true—like Ponzi global financial system; and our Financial Intelligence
schemes. Center, which provides tactical analysis of financial intel-
Health care fraud: In FY 2011, 2,690 cases investigated ligence data, identifies potential criminal enterprises, and
by the FBI resulted in 1,676 informations/indictments and enhances investigations. More on these initiatives in the
736 convictions. Some of the more prevalent schemes future.
included billing for services not provided, duplicate
claims, medically unnecessary services, upcoding of
services or equipment, and kickbacks for referring Scan this QR code with your smartphone
to watch the public service announcement
patients for services paid for by Medicare/Medicaid. featuring Michael Douglas, or visit
We’ve seen increasing involvement of organized criminal
groups in many of these schemes.

March 1, 2012
offer an example of outstanding achievement through

international law enforcement cooperation,” said Audrey
McNeill, IIOU chief.
Europol works with law enforcement agencies in the 27
EU countries, along with non-EU members such as the
U.S. and Australia. Europol personnel do not have direct
powers of arrest, but instead support law enforcement in
member countries through coordination and intelligence
gathering and sharing.
“Collaboration and cooperation between Europol and
our international law enforcement partners such as
the FBI are essential if we are to bring members of
these child sex abuse networks to justice and prevent
Operation Atlantic the distribution of child exploitation material across
the Internet,” said Rob Wainwright, Europol’s director.
Taking International Aim at Noting that Operation Atlantic is the first joint operation
conducted by the FBI and Europol in the area of child
Child Predators sexual exploitation, Wainwright added, “Europol is ready
On Wednesday, Europol released the results of its first and willing to support ongoing and future operations to
joint operation with the FBI against international child infiltrate these networks.”
predators, announcing the identification of eight child The leads and intelligence gathered by the FBI that
victims and the arrest of 17 individuals for child sexual formed the basis of Operation Atlantic helped link
molestation and production of pornography. suspects in five countries to pedophile groups, includ-
Operation Atlantic has led to the identification of 37 ing the notorious “Boylover” network—the focus of
child sex offenders in France, Italy, the Netherlands, a previous Europol action called Operation Rescue.
Spain, and the United Kingdom. The investigation, Subjects arrested in Operation Atlantic included a web
which began in December 2010, continues as individuals of offenders that were producing and distributing images
overseas are still being sought. depicting the severe abuse of children—in some cases
toddlers and infants.
“Online child predators and child exploitation are not
just an American problem,” said FBI Director Robert S. “These individuals were not just possessors of child por-
Mueller. “The FBI is committed to working with our law nography,” McNeill said. “Some were previously convicted
enforcement partners around the world, such as Europol, child sex offenders and were actively engaged in child
to combat these horrendous crimes. We share actionable sexual abuse.” In addition to providing leads to Europol,
intelligence and resources to keep children safe and bring the IIOU detailed an agent to Europol headquarters in
those who do them harm to justice.” The Hague, Netherlands last summer to help facilitate
the investigation.
Sharing intelligence was our primary role in Operation
Atlantic, and it was facilitated by our Innocent Images “Europol is a key and valued strategic partner for the
Operations Unit (IIOU) at FBI Headquarters. Agents IIOU, and we look forward to a long and productive
working covertly set up an electronic dragnet on a peer- relationship with them,” McNeill said. “I hope that
to-peer network targeting pedophiles located in European Operation Atlantic is the first of many future successes.
Union (EU) countries and forwarded investigative results We are working hard to increase our international
to our partners at Europol. footprint and to stop child predators wherever they are in
the world.”
Previously, IIOU staff worked with our legal attachés
overseas to formalize a cooperative agreement with
Europol regarding several criminal investigative programs,
including online child sexual exploitation. “The results
of Operation Atlantic validate this new relationship and

March 6, 2012
Help Us Bring Bob

Levinson Home
$1 Million Reward Offered for
Missing Retired FBI Agent
This week marks the fifth anniversary of Robert
Levinson’s disappearance, and the FBI today announced
a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent, went missing from Kish Island,
safe recovery and return of the retired special agent. Iran on March 8, 2007.
Levinson, who retired from the FBI in 1998 after 22 years Christine Levinson said. “He was in middle school when
of service, was working as a private investigator when he his father disappeared.”
traveled to Kish Island, Iran on March 8, 2007. He has In March 2011, the U.S. secretary of state issued a
not been seen or heard from publicly since he disappeared statement that the U.S. government had received in-
the following day. In 2010, a video showing him in captiv- dications that Levinson was being held by a group in
ity was sent to the Levinson family by his captors. southwest Asia. That region includes the border areas of
The FBI is responsible for investigating crimes com- Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. A publicity campaign is
mitted against U.S. citizens abroad. We have been being launched this week in southwest Asia to heighten
working since 2007 to obtain information about awareness of Levinson’s abduction, announce the
Levinson’s whereabouts and well-being. $1,000,000 reward, and solicit information. Billboards,
radio messages, and flyers will be used to publicize the
“On the fifth anniversary of Bob’s disappearance, the reward and the investigation. A telephone tip line will be
FBI continues to follow every lead into his abduction and provided to listeners and viewers in that region so that
captivity,” said James W. McJunkin, assistant director in they can confidentially provide information.
charge of our Washington Field Office. “We are commit-
ted to bringing Bob home safely to his family. We hope “We’re never going to give up,” Christine Levinson said.
this reward will encourage anyone with information—no “Our goal is to get Bob home. We miss him every single
matter how insignificant they may think it is—to come day.”
forward. It may be the clue that we need to locate Bob.” We need your help. If you have information about
“Though he is retired from the FBI, Bob remains a the Levinson case, contact your nearest FBI office or
member of the FBI family to this day,” said Director American Embassy, or submit a tip to https://tips.fbi.gov.
Robert S. Mueller, “and his family is our family. Like all
families, we stand together in good times and in times of
adversity. Today, we stand together to reaffirm our com-
mitment to Bob Levinson.”
“I am very grateful that the FBI has offered this reward,”
said Levinson’s wife Christine. “Our family believes the
only way of resolving this issue successfully is with the
FBI’s help. It has been an extremely difficult time for my
family,” she said. “We all thought Bob would be home by
now. But five years have passed, and we still don’t know
why he’s being held, who has him, or where he is.”
Levinson will celebrate his 64th birthday on March
10. In addition to his wife of 37 years, Levinson has seven Scan this QR code with your smartphone
to watch a video released by the
children and two grandchildren. The family has been Levinson family, or visit
working tirelessly to bring Levinson home safely. “Our http://www.fbi.gov/news/videos/.
youngest son is about to graduate from high school,”

March 9, 2012
Responsibilities of FBI forensic accountants include:

▪ Conducting thorough forensic financial analysis of
business and personal records and developing finan-
cial profiles of individuals or groups identified as
participating in suspicious or illegal activity;
▪ Participating in gathering evidence and preparing
search warrants/affidavits associated with financial
analysis;
▪ Accompanying case agents on interviews of subjects
and key witnesses in secure and non-confrontational
settings;
▪ Identifying and tracing funding sources and inter-
FBI Forensic related transactions;
▪ Compiling findings and conclusions into financial
Accountants investigative reports; and
Following the Money ▪ Meeting with prosecuting attorneys to discuss
strategies and other litigation support functions and
Accountants have been woven into the fabric of the FBI testifying when needed as fact or expert witnesses in
since its creation in the summer of 1908, when a dozen judicial proceedings.
bank examiners were included among the original force
of 34 investigators. Today, around 15 percent of agents FBI-centric training. On top of the extensive account-
employed by the Bureau qualify as special agent accoun- ing qualifications they bring to the job, FBI forensic
tants. accountants take a six-week training course that focuses
on Bureau programs and systems, available investigative
Non-agent accounting positions at the FBI date back to resources, financial investigative topics and techniques,
the early 1970s, when we created a cadre of accounting legal training, and expert witness testifying techniques.
technicians to help agents working increasingly complex
financial cases. During the savings and loan crisis of the Forensic accountants are located in every FBI field
1980s and 1990s, the FBI’s ability to address complex, office. Larger offices might have one or more forensic
sophisticated financial investigations was elevated further accountant squads composed of both forensic accoun-
with the addition of financial analysts to our ranks. tants and financial analysts, while smaller offices might
just have one or two forensic accountants. Then there’s
Post-9/11, the criminal landscape changed again with our Forensic Accountant Support Team (think SWAT
large-scale corporate frauds and a multitude of other for accountants), based out of our Washington, D.C.
complex financial schemes. And once again, we adapted Headquarters, that responds quickly—either in person or
by adding new resources and skills. One key element was often electronically—to significant, high-profile investiga-
the 2009 creation of a standardized, professional investi- tions anywhere in the country involving large amounts of
gative support position known as a forensic accountant. financial data.
At the FBI, our forensic accountants conduct the FBI forensic accountants have been involved in a number
financial investigative portion of complex cases across of major cases over the past couple of years, including a
a wide variety of Bureau programs—investigating $200 million Medicare fraud case involving two Florida
terrorists, spies, and criminals of all kinds who are corporations, the largest hedge fund insider trading
involved in financial wrongdoing. Through their work, scheme in history, and a $200 million fraud by executives
forensic accountants contribute to the FBI’s intelligence of an Indiana financial company.
cycle. They testify to their findings in court. And they
keep up to date with FBI policies and procedures, federal If you’re interested in a career as an FBI forensic accoun-
rules of evidence, grand jury procedures, and national tant, check the www.fbijobs.gov website periodically for
security protocols. open positions.

March 13, 2012
Investigating
Financial Crime
A Retrospective
Charles Bonaparte was clearly onto something.
When he created a “special agent force” in 1908—the
forerunner of the FBI—the progressive attorney general
made sure that a dozen of his first 34 investigators were
bank examiners specializing in financial crimes. No doubt
to the satisfaction of the muckrakers of the day and his
own trust-busting boss, President Teddy Roosevelt.
These experienced financial agents hit the ground In the 1970s, financial fraud cases began to rise, as shown in this
excerpt from the 1975 annual report.
running, investigating antitrust activities (now part of our
public corruption program) in the meat processing and fraud probe. By the end of the decade, hundreds of
sardine canning industries. They also tackled a variety of FBI agents were investigating more than 530 banks to
financial frauds—from bankruptcy scams to accounting determine if fraud or embezzlement were involved in
frauds in federal prisons and courts. The Bureau was also their failures.
responsible for investigating several national banking law
▪ Health care fraud exploded in the early 1990s,
violations.
leading to more than 100 arrests in our first major
Over our first six or seven decades, the financial case—Operation Gold Pill—in 1992.
crimes we investigated were fairly small potatoes by
▪ Telemarketing fraud also took off in the 1990s, result-
today’s standards. There were plenty of them, to be sure.
ing in significant cases like Operation Disconnect
Like the “Lady with the Big Heart” who embezzled some
and Operation Senior Sentinel.
$150,000 from her bank in Trenton, New Jersey in the
1940s and used the stolen loot to pick up dinner tabs and ▪ Insider trading scandals made national news in the
buy expensive gifts for herself and her friends. Like the 1980s with the probes of Ivan Boesky and Michael
New York City music producer who convinced an investor Milken. The FBI joined its first major investigation of
to give him $35,000 in 1942 to finance a Nutcracker ballet a Wall Street executive soon after, helping to convict
movie, only to pocket the money and file for bankruptcy. powerful municipal finance banker Mark Ferber in
And like Frank Abagnale of Catch Me If You Can fame, 1996.
who as a teenager began passing bad checks across the
▪ The collapse of Enron in 2001 and the ensuing
nation and eventually around the world before being
investigation led to a series of major corporate fraud
arrested in France in 1969 and landing in a U.S. federal
investigations in the following decade.
prison in 1971.
The threat remains…and our work goes on. As evi-
Financial crime became a pressing priority in the
denced in our latest Financial Crimes Report—buttressed
mid-1970s, when Director Clarence Kelley made
by last week’s conviction of Robert Allen Stanford, who
white-collar crime—which in the fallout of Watergate
misappropriated $7 billion from his own company—we
included public corruption—a top focus of the FBI. By
continue to address the threat of financial fraud…ev-
1976, Director Kelley noted that 15 percent of our agents
erything from insider trading to insurance fraud, from
were working white-collar crime cases, and the next
mortgage fraud to bank failures, from mass marketing
decade saw the beginning of a wave of agent-intensive,
scams to health care and corporate fraud.
high-dollar, and high-impact financial fraud investiga-
tions with our partners that continues to this day. A few
examples:
▪ The savings and loan crisis that arose in the early
1980s became our first massive national financial

March 16, 2012
▪ Anchorage: Covenant House Alaska offers services

to homeless, runaway, and at-risk youth and has been
an essential partner of the FBI on our Innocence Lost
Task Force and human trafficking cases.
▪ Boston: Ted Woo is a member of BRIDGES
(Building Respect in Diverse Groups to Enhance
Sensitivity), a group of law enforcement and com-
munity leaders who work together on community
concerns. Among other activities, Woo has coordi-
nated several community events held in mosques and
gurdwaras.
▪ Chicago: Brent King, whose daughter was kidnapped
and murdered by a convicted sex offender, established
Community Leaders a non-profit foundation dedicated to working with
state legislatures to toughen restrictions on violent
Recognized sexual predators.
▪ Jackson: Federal Judge James Graves, Jr. is deeply
Their Actions Improve Lives committed to teaching, motivating, and inspiring
An Albuquerque man who devotes his time to educat- Mississippi youth. He also mentors young people
ing his community about cyber threats. A Jacksonville about the legal system.
woman whose child protection group assists law enforce- ▪ Kansas City: Marvin Szneler is the executive director
ment with crimes against children cases. An Arizona of a Jewish organization that works to build relation-
organization dedicated to meeting the needs of murder ships among various religious and community groups,
victims’ families. A man who established a volunteer government officials, law enforcement, educators, and
organization in Delaware to serve at-risk youth. the media.
Since 1990—through the Director’s Community ▪ Miami: Essie Reed is the founder of Team of Life,
Leadership Awards (DCLA)—the FBI has publicly Inc., an organization that serves at-risk children by
recognized the achievements of individuals and organiza- providing meals, clothing, and transportation and
tions like these who have gone above and beyond the call encourages young people to help law enforcement
to service by making extraordinary contributions to their reduce crime, drug abuse, and violence in their com-
communities in the areas of terrorism, cyber, drug, gang, munities.
or violence prevention and education. And this year is no
exception: today, nearly 60 individuals and organizational ▪ Portland: Musse Olol, head of the Somali American
representatives—all 2011 DCLA recipients—gathered Council of Oregon, assists Somali refugees by
for a ceremony in their honor at FBI Headquarters in serving as an interpreter, facilitator, counselor, and
Washington, D.C. co-sponsor and helps establish positive relationships
between the Somali community and state and federal
Director Mueller, who presented a specially designed law enforcement.
plaque to each recipient, called the honorees “catalysts
for change” in their communities and said that each one ▪ Tampa: Rose Ferlita established Bully Busters, a
shared “a willingness to lead...a commitment to improving national anti-bullying program involving partnerships
your neighborhoods...and a desire to make this country among young people, parents, local law enforcement,
safer for your fellow citizens.” and community groups.
Each of our field offices is given the chance to present the Congratulations to all the winners. It’s our hope that
award at the local level during the year, and the honorees their selfless actions to enhance the lives of neighbors and
are then recognized at the annual national ceremony the protect communities will inspire others to offer their time
following spring. FBI Headquarters selects at least one and talents to their own communities.
winner as well. A snapshot of this year’s DCLA recipients
shows the range of good work done across the nation:

March 20, 2012
Eco-Terrorist Sentenced
Help Us Find Remaining
Operation Backfire Fugitives
After he was indicted in 2006 for firebombing a
University of Washington research facility, Justin Solondz
became an international fugitive, beginning an odyssey
that would land him in a Chinese jail—and finally before
a federal judge in Seattle, who sentenced him last week to
seven years in prison.
Solondz, 32, was a member of an eco-terrorist cell known
as “The Family,” which committed an estimated $48
The 1998 arson of a Colorado ski resort drew international attention
million worth of arson and vandalism across the Pacific to eco-terrorists—those who break the law in misguided and mali-
Northwest and western U.S. between 1996 and 2001 cious attempts to protect the environment and animal rights.
under the names of the Animal Liberation Front and the
Investigators identified Solondz as a member of The
Earth Liberation Front.
Family in the spring of 2006, said Special Agent Ted
Three members of The Family are still on the run, Halla in our Seattle office. “He was traveling overseas,
and there is a reward for information leading to their and we started tracking him through Europe to Russia,
arrest. Mongolia, and then China. He realized we were after
him,” Halla said. “He liquidated his bank accounts and
The cell’s most notorious crime was the 1998 arson of
tried to hide his tracks online. By the summer of 2006, he
a Vail, Colorado ski resort that caused $26 million in
disappeared in China.”
damages and drew international attention to eco-terror-
ists—those who break the law in misguided and malicious Working through our legal attaché office in Beijing, we
attempts to protect the environment and animal rights. learned that Solondz had been arrested in China for
We took the lead in the Vail investigation, working manufacturing drugs and sentenced to prison. He served
closely with our local, state, and federal law enforcement nearly three years before the Chinese released him to our
counterparts. In 2004, multiple eco-terror investigations custody.
were condensed into Operation Backfire.
As part of his plea, Solondz admitted building the
We need your help to bring the three remaining fugitives firebomb that was planted in the office of a University
from The Family to justice. A reward of up to $50,000 of Washington horticultural researcher. He and The
each is being offered for information leading to the arrest Family mistakenly believed the researcher was genetically
of Joseph Dibee, Josephine Overaker, and Rebecca Rubin, altering trees. The fire ruined the researcher’s work along
all believed to be living abroad. with the work of dozens of other students and researchers.
Here is what we know about the trio: “The Solondz case has been a long process,” Halla said.
“When you are after someone for that many years, it’s a
▪ Dibee was indicted in 2006 on charges of arson,
big relief to see the individual finally brought to justice.”
conspiracy, and animal enterprise terrorism. He is
believed to be living in Syria with family members.
▪ Overaker was indicted in 2004 and 2006 for her in-
volvement with the 1998 Vail arson and other crimes.
She is believed to have spent time in Germany and
may have settled in Spain. She speaks fluent Spanish.
▪ Rubin was indicted in 2006 for the Vail arson and
other acts of domestic terrorism. A Canadian citizen,
she has strong family ties to Canada and may be
living there.

March 23, 2012
During fiscal year 2011, FBI offices opened dozens of

investigations based on the center’s intelligence packages.
Current initiatives. In response to some of the most
serious financial crimes, the Financial Intelligence Center
is working on a number of specific initiatives, such as:
▪ Foreclosure rescue fraud, where analysts collect and
evaluate deceptive practices complaint data from
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is then
cross-referenced with suspicious activity reports filed
by financial institutions;
▪ Securities and corporate fraud, in which the
center partners with the Commodities and Futures
Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange
FBI Financial Commission (SEC) to review civil referrals for
possible criminal violations;
Intelligence Center ▪ Health care fraud, which involves us working with
Getting Ahead of Crime the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS)
and the Department of Justice on a new predictive
Investigating financial crime is like working a puzzle— modeling system that uses algorithms to generate
you have to fit all of the pieces of information together lists of medical professionals potentially engaging in
in order to see the entire picture. The FBI’s Financial health care fraud; and
Intelligence Center in Washington, D.C. does just that,
▪ Money laundering, in which analysts review incoming
linking disparate pieces of data to give our field investiga-
intelligence from the FBI’s Southwest Border
tors a clearer picture of possible criminal activity in their
Initiative to determine if subjects are laundering
regions.
proceeds from criminal activities.
The center was established in the fall of 2009 in response
Although the center’s primary mission is to identify those
to the financial crisis at that time—its mission was
who may have thus far escaped the law enforcement lens,
to identify potential investigative targets engaged in
it also uses its tools and expertise to enhance current
mortgage fraud. Because of its success, the center’s focus
investigations that feature large numbers of subjects and
expanded to include other types of financial crimes,
multiple FBI offices.
like securities/commodities fraud, health care fraud,
money laundering, fraud against the government, and Of course, we don’t do this alone—we work closely
even public corruption (which usually involves financial with our partners. As a matter of fact, our analysts are
wrongdoing of some sort). currently or will soon be embedded in the Office of the
Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief
The center is staffed primarily by intelligence analysts
Program, the SEC, the Internal Revenue Service, the
and staff operations specialists. Their first order of
FTC, and the CMS….to expand even further the pool of
business is to review large datasets that come from the
data that can be used by all to uncover financial crime.
FBI, other law enforcement and regulatory agencies,
consumer complaint websites, etc. Computer programs The bottom line of the FBI’s Financial Intelligence
cull out data with common themes (i.e., similar scams, Center: to work proactively to help identify the nation’s
similar names). That data is researched and analyzed to most egregious criminal enterprises.
help further identify potential subjects and/or activity,
and the results are organized using spreadsheets and link
analysis to draw connections among all the key players.
If there is good reason to believe that criminal activity
exists, the results are summarized in an intelligence
package and sent to the appropriate field office.

March 27, 2012
The Cyber Threat

Part 1: On the Front Lines with
Shawn Henry
Note: Shawn Henry retired from the FBI on March 31, 2012.
Shawn Henry realized a lifelong dream when he became
a special agent in 1989. Since then, he has traveled the
world for investigations and become one of the FBI’s most
senior executives and its top official on cyber crime.
FBI.gov recently sat down with Henry—who is about to
retire from the Bureau—to talk about the cyber threat
and his FBI career.
Shawn Henry, executive assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal,
Q: You were involved with cyber investigations long Cyber, Response, and Services Branch.
before the public had an awareness of how serious the country the same way they did on 9/11 by flying planes
threat is. How did you become interested in the cyber into buildings. They are seeking to use the network to
realm? challenge the United States by looking at critical infra-
Mr. Henry: I was always interested in technology, and in structure to disrupt or harm the viability of our way of
the late 1990s I started to take courses at the FBI related life.
to cyber intrusion investigations. When I had an oppor- Q: How has the FBI adapted to address the threat?
tunity to move over to that side of the house, I seized it. I
saw right away that the challenges we were going to face Mr. Henry: We have grown substantially, particularly in
in the future were tremendous, and I wanted to be on the the last four or five years, where we have hired more
front lines of that. technically proficient agents, many of whom have
advanced degrees in computer science or information
Q: How has the cyber threat changed over time? technology. We bring them onboard and teach them to
Mr. Henry: Early on, cyber intrusions such as website be FBI agents rather than trying to teach FBI agents how
defacements and denial of service attacks were generally the technology works. That has given us a leg up and put
perceived to be pranks by teenagers. But even then, in the our capabilities on par with anybody in the world. We
late 1990s, there were state actors sponsored by govern- have also worked proactively to mitigate the threat by
ments who were attacking networks. What received using some of the same investigative techniques we use in
media attention was the teenage hacker and the deface- the physical world—undercover operations, cooperating
ments, but there were more significant types of attacks witnesses, and authorized surveillance techniques. We
and a more substantial threat that was in the background. have taken those same time-tested tactics and applied
Also, those early attacks were much more intermittent. them to the cyber threat. So we are now able to breach
Now we are seeing literally thousands of attacks a day. networks of criminal actors by putting somebody into
The ones people hear about are often because victims are their group. The other critical area we have been success-
coming forward. And there are more substantial attacks ful in is developing partnerships.
that people don’t ever see or hear about. Part 2: Why partnerships are so important (page 26)
Q: Where are the cyber threats coming from today?
Mr. Henry: We see three primary actors: organized
crime groups that are primarily threatening the financial
services sector, and they are expanding the scope of their
attacks; state sponsors—foreign governments that are
interested in pilfering data, including intellectual property
and research and development data from major manu-
facturers, government agencies, and defense contractors;
and increasingly terrorist groups who want to impact this

March 30, 2012
real for the victims—the money is actually gone—the

pool of suspects is limited to the number of people on the
face of the earth that have a laptop and an Internet con-
nection, because anybody with an Internet connection
can potentially attack any other computer that is tied to
the network. You don’t have to be a computer scientist to
launch these types of attacks.
Q: Going forward, what are the challenges regarding
the cyber threat?
Mr. Henry: What I call the expansion of the network is
going to create challenges. As technology increases, the
threat becomes greater. All our wireless networks and
smart devices are network-based, and anything touching
The Cyber Threat the network is potentially susceptible. As more and more
information transitions across the network, more adver-
Part 2: Shawn Henry on saries will move to get their hands on it, because that
information is extraordinarily valuable.
Partnerships, Challenges Q: You have responsibilities beyond the cyber area.
Note: Shawn Henry retired from the FBI on March 31, 2012. What are some of the challenges you see with other
criminal matters?
Part 2 of an interview with Shawn Henry, executive assistant
director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Mr. Henry: As an organization, fighting terrorism is
Branch. rightfully the FBI’s number one priority, but criminal
threats are substantial. There is white-collar crime, where
Q: Why are partnerships so important?
we’ve seen people lose their entire life savings because of
Mr. Henry: The threat we face is not solely within the criminals taking advantage of them. There’s something
FBI’s area of responsibility. So we work very closely with very rewarding about seeing our agents and analysts ag-
other law enforcement agencies and the intelligence gressively working to take those criminals off the streets.
community domestically. We share tactics and intel- We’ve seen public corruption cases where people have
ligence. We also partner with the private sector, because abused their position for personal gain. I see those types
they often are the victims and see attacks before anybody of cases continuing. There’s a percentage of people in
else. The final piece—and one of the most significant—is society that are always going to be bad actors.
international law enforcement partnerships. The ability to
Q: What are you going to miss when you leave the
reach across the ocean once we identify criminals and put
Bureau?
our hands on them is something that is relatively new. For
many years, the adversaries believed they were immune to Mr. Henry: The people and the mission. There is
prosecution because they were thousands of miles away. nothing else I wanted to do more in my professional life
That’s not the case anymore. Through our partnerships, than to be an FBI agent. The quality and caliber of the
we have arrested hundreds of bad actors who targeted people I have worked with are second to none. Working
U.S. and foreign infrastructure and institutions. Just in day to day to carry out our mission to help protect the
the last two years we have worked with dozens of coun- country is an experience that can never be replaced. I
tries, and we have actually stationed FBI agents overseas leave with a tremendous sense of pride.
into the police agencies in countries including Ukraine,
Romania, The Netherlands, and Estonia.
Q: So the cyber threat is truly global in scope?
Mr. Henry: Absolutely. In the physical world when
somebody robs a bank, the pool of suspects is limited to
the number of people in the general vicinity of that bank.
When a bank is robbed virtually, even though it is very

April 2, 2012
The Grandparent Scam

Don’t Let It Happen to You
You’re a grandparent, and you get a phone call or an
e-mail from someone who identifies himself as your
grandson. “I’ve been arrested in another country,” he says,
“and need money wired quickly to pay my bail. And oh by
the way, don’t tell my mom or dad because they’ll only get
upset!”
This is an example of what’s come to be known as “the
grandparent scam”—yet another fraud that preys on the
elderly, this time by taking advantage of their love and
concern for their grandchildren. ▪ While it’s commonly called the grandparent scam,
The grandparent scam has been around for a few criminals may also claim to be a family friend, a niece
years—our Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) or nephew, or another family member.
has been receiving reports about it since 2008. But the What to do if you have been scammed. The financial
scam and scam artists have become more sophisticated. losses in these cases—while they can be substantial for an
Thanks to the Internet and social networking sites, a individual, usually several thousand dollars per victim—
criminal can sometimes uncover personal information typically don’t meet the FBI’s financial thresholds for
about their targets, which makes the impersonations opening an investigation. We recommend contacting your
more believable. For example, the actual grandson may local authorities or state consumer protection agency if
mention on his social networking site that he’s a photog- you think you’ve been victimized. We also suggest you
rapher who often travels to Mexico. When contacting file a complaint with IC3 (www.ic3.gov), which not only
the grandparents, the phony grandson will say he’s calling forwards complaints to the appropriate agencies, but also
from Mexico, where someone stole his camera equipment collates and analyzes the data—looking for common
and passport. threads that link complaints and help identify the
Common scenarios include: culprits.
▪ A grandparent receives a phone call (or sometimes And, our advice to avoid being victimized in the first
an e-mail) from a “grandchild.” If it is a phone call, place:
it’s often late at night or early in the morning when ▪ Resist the pressure to act quickly.
most people aren’t thinking that clearly. Usually, the
person claims to be traveling in a foreign country and ▪ Try to contact your grandchild or another family
has gotten into a bad situation, like being arrested for member to determine whether or not the call is
drugs, getting in a car accident, or being mugged… legitimate.
and needs money wired ASAP. And the caller doesn’t ▪ Never wire money based on a request made over the
want his or her parents told. phone or in an e-mail…especially overseas. Wiring
▪ Sometimes, instead of the “grandchild” making the money is like giving cash—once you send it, you can’t
phone call, the criminal pretends to be an arresting get it back.
police officer, a lawyer, a doctor at a hospital, or some
other person. And we’ve also received complaints
about the phony grandchild talking first and then
handing the phone over to an accomplice…to further
spin the fake tale.
▪ We’ve also seen military families victimized: after
perusing a soldier’s social networking site, a con artist
will contact the soldier’s grandparents, sometimes
claiming that a problem came up during military
leave that requires money to address.

April 4, 2012
Left: FBI Director Robert S. Mueller addresses the Miami Chamber

of Commerce.
▪ Three years ago, we established the Financial

Intelligence Center to strengthen our financial
intelligence collection and analysis. “This center
helps us to see the entire picture of financial crimes.
It provides tactical analysis of financial intelligence
data, identifies potential criminal enterprises, and
enhances investigations. It also coordinates with FBI
field offices to complement their resources and to
identify emerging economic threats.”
▪ Today, we have more than 500 agents and analysts
using intelligence to identify emerging health care
Major Financial Crime fraud schemes, and field offices target fraud through
coordinated initiatives, task forces and strike teams,
Using Intelligence and and undercover operations.
Partnerships to Fight ▪ The Miami office has led the way by creating the
first Health Care Fraud Strike Force, which is now
Fraud Smarter a national initiative. Through the strike force, the
Bureau works closely with federal, state, local, and
Homeowners tricked into signing away the deeds to their
private sector partners to uncover fraud and recover
own homes. The elderly and vulnerable used to make a
taxpayer funds. “Last year, our combined efforts
fast and illegal buck, even by the very people who take
returned $4.1 billion dollars to the U.S. Treasury, to
care of them. Billions in hard-earned investor dollars
Medicare, and to other victims of fraud.”
vanishing in a seeming flash, sometimes through a single
scam. ▪ As the result of a new forensic accountant program,
we now have 250 forensic accountants “trained to
Financial crime is a real and insidious threat—one
catch financial criminals” and “ready to respond
that takes a significant toll on the economy and its
quickly to high-profile financial investigations across
many victims. Today, Director Robert S. Mueller talked
the country.”
about the impact of financial crime and the Bureau’s
longstanding role in combating it in a keynote speech ▪ In the last four years, we have nearly tripled the
before the Miami Chamber of Commerce. number of special agents investigating mortgage
fraud. “Our agents and analysts are using intelligence,
The Director explained that even in the post-9/11
surveillance, computer analysis, and undercover
world—with its needed focus on terrorism and other
operations to identify emerging trends and to find the
national security threats—the FBI continues to take its
key players behind large-scale mortgage fraud.”
criminal responsibilities seriously. “What has changed,”
he said, “is that we make greater use of intelligence and ▪ In 2010, the FBI began embedding agents at the
partnerships to better focus our limited resources where Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). “This
we can have the greatest impact—for example, on com- allows us to see tips about securities fraud as they
bating large-scale financial fraud.” come into the SEC’s complaint center…to identify
fraud trends more quickly and to push intelligence to
It’s all about working smarter—using new information-
our field offices.”
sharing efforts, intelligence-driven investigations, and
task force-based approaches to leverage the talents and Everyone has a role in fighting fraud, including
resources within and among agencies to get a bigger bang business and community leaders. “You can learn to
for the buck, so to speak, in fighting financial fraud. recognize financial fraud and unscrupulous business
practices, to better protect yourself and your companies,”
Among the innovations and initiatives outlined by the
Mueller said. “And you can alert us when you see these
Director:
activities take place.”

April 10, 2012
New Top Ten Fugitive

Child Pornographer
Added to the List
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.
Toth, who also goes by the name David Bussone, has
been on the run since warrants for his arrest were
issued in Maryland and the District of Columbia in
2008. There is a reward of up to $100,000 for informa-
tion leading directly to Toth’s arrest, and we need your Eric Justin Toth, a former private-school teacher and camp counselor,
has been on the run since warrants for his arrest were issued in
help to locate him. Maryland and the District of Columbia in 2008.
“We have always counted on the public’s support to help widget is an interactive application featuring information
capture fugitives and solve cases,” said Michael Kortan, on all Top Ten fugitives, along with continuous feeds of
assistant director of our Office of Public Affairs. “The FBI news and stories that are automatically updated. It’s
addition of Eric Toth to the Top Ten list illustrates how easy to add to almost any website, including Facebook
important it is to get this individual off the streets and and other social networking sites, and it currently appears
into custody.” on hundreds of websites around the world.
Our investigation began in June 2008, after pornographic In addition, more than 60,000 people subscribe to our
images were found on a camera that had been in Toth’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives category through e-mail
possession at the private school where he worked. Since updates and listen to our Wanted by the FBI podcasts.
becoming a fugitive, he is believed to have traveled to The Wanted by the FBI section on our website is viewed
Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Investigators by over a million people every month. Also, our National
believe he lived in Arizona as recently as 2009. Digital Billboard Initiative partners, who currently have
Toth turned 30 on February 13. He is 6’3” tall and 3,200 billboards in 42 states, are donating space to help
weighs about 155 pounds. He has brown hair, green publicize the newest Top Ten fugitive.
eyes, and a medium complexion. He has a mole under his Our modern electronic methods allow us to reach
left eye. more people than ever, but we still need your help.
Toth is well educated—he attended Cornell University If you have any information about Eric Justin Toth—or
for a year and then transferred to Purdue University, any of the fugitives on our Top Ten list—please contact
where he earned an education degree. He is described your local FBI office or submit a tip electronically on our
as a computer expert and is believed to regularly use the website at https://tips.fbi.gov.
Internet and social networking websites. He may advertise
online as a tutor or male nanny.
Since its creation in 1950, the Top Ten list has been
invaluable to the FBI, helping us capture some of the
nation’s most dangerous criminals. Of the 495 fugitives
named to the list, 465 have been apprehended or located.
That level of success would not be possible without the
strong support of the public, whose help has led to the
capture of 153 of the Top Ten fugitives.
Over the years, we have created several digital tools to http://www.fbi.gov/news/videos/.
spread the word about our fugitives program, including a
widget that can be added to anyone’s website or blog. The

April 13, 2012
The culprits. They typically include private citizens,

small business owners, corporate CEOs, real estate agents,
politicians, and loan officers. We’ve even seen cases where
bankruptcy attorneys and bankruptcy petition prepar-
ers have engaged in criminal behavior at the expense of
debtors and creditors in bankruptcy proceedings.
The most common types of bankruptcy fraud. The
majority of our casework involves people who have lied
under oath or provided false documentation during their
bankruptcy proceedings, concealed or transferred their
financial assets, or committed tax fraud. Other schemes
include using false identities to file for bankruptcy
multiple times in multiple locations, bribing a bankruptcy
trustee, and intentionally running up credit card bills
Bankruptcy Fraud with no intention of paying them off (also known as
“credit card bust-outs”).
Creditors and Consumers
Our investigations have shown that many times bank-
Pay the Price ruptcy fraud is committed in conjunction with crimes
such as credit card fraud, identity theft, mortgage fraud,
Federal bankruptcy proceedings can be a lifesaver for money laundering, mail and wire fraud, etc.
honest individuals overwhelmed by debt as a result of
unemployment, a medical crisis, divorce, disability, or any The FBI often partners with other federal agencies—
number of other legitimate reasons. like the Internal Revenue Service—to investigate
bankruptcy fraud. We also participate in many of the
Unfortunately, bankruptcy can also be used by the un- 70-plus bankruptcy fraud/mortgage fraud working groups
scrupulous to get out of paying their debts…even though and specialized task forces around the country…with
they may have the financial assets to do so. And often, U.S. Trustee Program representatives, U.S. attorneys, and
financial fraudsters use bankruptcy filings to prolong other federal partners.
their illegal white-collar schemes—buying time before the
game is up for good. Bankruptcy fraud not only affects creditors like businesses
and financial institutions who lose money from fraud, it
The FBI is the primary investigative agency respon- also results in higher credit card and loan fees and often
sible for addressing bankruptcy fraud. And while there higher taxes…for everyone. So if you suspect bankruptcy
are other financial crimes that require larger investments fraud, please contact the U.S. Trustees Program at USTP.
of our resources—like mortgage, financial institution, and Bankruptcy.Fraud@usdoj.gov or your local FBI office.
health care fraud—we take our responsibility to pursue
allegations of bankruptcy fraud very seriously. We focus If you are considering filing for bankruptcy for legitimate
on cases with large dollar amounts, the possible involve- reasons, contact an attorney who specializes in bankrupt-
ment of organized crime, and suspects who file in multiple cies—and do your due diligence before hiring a lawyer
states. Currently, we have nearly 300 pending bankruptcy by getting referrals from someone you know who has
fraud cases open around the country. declared bankruptcy, checking with your local bankruptcy
court, contacting your state bar association, etc.
How the process begins. The U.S. Trustees Program,
part of the Department of Justice, oversees the bankrupt-
cy system. When it uncovers suspected fraud, it refers the
information to the appropriate U.S. attorney and to the
FBI. Working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, our
investigators open a case if warranted and begin conduct-
ing interviews and reviewing financial documents. Based
on the complexity of the case, we can also use techniques
like undercover operations and court-authorized elec-
tronic surveillance to gather more evidence.

April 17, 2012
‘Booster’ Behind Bars

Professional Shoplifter
Gets Prison Term
An Oregon man described by prosecutors as a profession-
al shoplifter was recently sentenced to a year and a day in
federal prison in a case that illustrates the serious problem
of retail theft at the hands of so-called “boosters.”
John Patrick Weismiller was sentenced in March for
shoplifting from Portland-area retail stores and then
selling the stolen merchandise on eBay for a handsome
profit. In the seven-month period between January and
During a seven-month stretch of shoplifting, John Patrick Weismiller
July 2011, he repeatedly visited Oregon stores such as earned $43,200, which represented more than $73,000 in retail
Safeway, Target, and Best Buy and boosted health and losses. He re-sold merchandise through online auctions.
beauty products, over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, and
other items—usually by stuffing the products under his Working with Safeway’s loss prevention personnel and
clothing. local law enforcement, FBI agents were able to tie the
stolen goods and online sales to Weismiller. He pled
Weismiller then sold the stolen merchandise online, often guilty to the thefts and, after his prison sentence, must
at half the price of its retail value. During that seven- serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution
month period, he earned $43,200, which represented of nearly $21,000.
more than $73,000 in retail losses.
“Law-abiding citizens bear the cost of organized retail
Our organized retail theft program at FBI Headquarters theft every time they make a purchase, paying a higher
focuses on the most significant retail theft cases involving cost for goods than they would otherwise,” said Greg
the interstate transportation of stolen property. In most Fowler, special agent in charge of our Portland office.
instances, these investigations involve organized theft “The FBI and its retail partners work to disrupt these
groups, but Weismiller’s case was different because he was groups by identifying and investigating the most egregious
a lone operator. offenders and insuring they are held accountable.”
“Normally, a single booster like this is handled by local “This guy was incredibly brazen,” Special Agent Boyer
law enforcement,” said Special Agent Joe Boyer, who said. “He was making his living doing this. This was his
works out of our Portland Field Office. “But when we full-time job. He lived in a nice house in the suburbs with
have this kind of prolific thief and the U.S. Attorney his wife and kids. If you lived next door,” he said, “you
is willing to prosecute the case, the FBI is happy to get would have no idea he was a thief.”
involved.”
Boyer added, “The fact that Weismiller is now in prison
Boyer noted that most professional boosters have little should send a message to other boosters who think they
fear of going to jail for retail theft, because their crimes are flying under the legal radar: the FBI is serious about
are non-violent. Often when a booster is caught shoplift- these crimes, and professional shoplifters will end up
ing from a retail store, he or she is cited with a fine and behind bars.”
released.
Safeway’s loss prevention team documented Weismiller
stealing merchandise from its stores 105 times in early
2011. Despite being stopped and forbidden to return
to Safeway outlets in July 2011, he was observed just
two days later shoplifting at a different Safeway store.
Prosecutors noted that between May 2006 and May
2011, the 41-year-old Weismiller listed 6,681 items for
sale on eBay, including hundreds of packages of Crest
Whitestrips.

April 20, 2012
Left: A child forensic interviewer watches on closed-circuit television

as a police officer talks to a victim during a mock interview. In ad-
dition to supporting investigations, the interviewers provide special-
ized training to FBI agents and law enforcement partners around the
world.
of victims and witnesses,” she said. “There is a delicate

balance between doing what’s best for victims and what’s
best for cases.”
The actual interview techniques are built on a set of
research-based protocols. “Our techniques are very ef-
fective,” said interviewer Karen Blackwell. “We often get
case-breaking information after traditional methods have
failed.”
The team conducts hundreds of interviews nationwide
Child Forensic every year, and it also trains others—an important part of
the mission. “We can’t possibly handle all the interview
Interviewers requests we get,” Knapp said. “So we train law enforce-
ment officers domestically and internationally on our
Part 1: Providing Critical Skills on techniques.”
Sensitive Investigations Although they follow time-tested protocols, interview-
An 11-year-old who witnessed a murder. A terrified ers acknowledge that working with children is an art
teenager who watched her parent beat and lock her sister as well as a science, requiring experience and intu-
in a closet over a period of weeks. A 12-year-old lured by ition. “You have to understand and follow the protocols,”
two men on the Internet to a rendezvous where she was Blackwell said, “but it’s also essential that you connect
raped. with the kids so that they trust you.”
In all these tragic cases, children were either witnesses Often, interviewers don’t have much time to establish
to or victims of crimes. The ability to get them to talk that trust, and it may have to happen through an in-
about what they saw and experienced is the job of terpreter. Sometimes—because they are afraid or have
our child forensic interviewers, whose expertise is in learned not to trust adults—“the kids just aren’t ready to
constant demand across the country. talk,” Blackwell said. “You have to deal with that.”
“Traditional law enforcement interviewing methods “We often see the worst of humanity,” Knapp explained.
used in typical adult cases are counterproductive when “But we also have the opportunity to have a positive
it comes to child victims or witnesses to crimes,” said impact on the life of a traumatized child by simply listen-
Stephanie Knapp, one of the Bureau’s four child forensic ing to them talk about their trauma. This can be amaz-
interviewers. “Sometimes you see unsuccessful outcomes ingly powerful and helpful to the healing process.”
in cases because of poor interview techniques. In many “We know kids don’t always tell us everything during in-
cases of child abuse, for example, where the victim is the terviews,” she added. “But disclosure is a process, and part
only witness, the interview may be a critical element of of our job is to help investigators understand why a victim
the investigation.” may or may not be disclosing information. On some level,
Part of our Office for Victim Assistance, based at FBI many of these children are struggling to survive.”
Headquarters, child forensic interviewers specialize in Success isn’t always defined by a positive prosecution,
crimes involving human trafficking, child sexual exploita- Knapp noted. “Success must also include helping children
tion, and violent crimes, including those on Indian res- understand that they do not have to define themselves as
ervations. Like her colleagues—two more members will victims for the rest of their lives because of the trauma or
soon be added to the team—Knapp is a licensed clinical abuse they may have suffered.”
social worker and a highly trained interviewer. While her
goal is to support criminal investigations, “we must also Part 2: Training is essential to the mission (page 33)
consider the unique developmental and emotional needs

April 24, 2012
Child Forensic
Interviewers
Part 2: Training Our Law
Enforcement Partners
In a makeshift interview room in Northern Virginia, a
girl was asked to describe how she became a crime victim.
An older man she met on the Internet lured her into
sending him nude pictures. And now an investigator was
trying to build a case against the man.
In this scenario, the girl was an actress playing an
underage teen and the investigator was an international An actress portraying a young crime victim is interviewed during an
FBI workshop on human trafficking. The exercise was designed to
police officer attending a two-week human trafficking instruct law enforcement officers visiting from Central America on
course at the FBI Academy in Quantico. A key piece of how we conduct forensic interviews with children and adolescents.
the curriculum was learning how to properly interview
paired off with actors trained to exhibit specific victim
child victims using techniques practiced by the child
behaviors, which included being less than coopera-
forensic interviewers in the FBI’s Office for Victim
tive. These officers spend their days facing down gang
Assistance (OVA), where a forensic interviewer’s primary
members and dangerous criminals, but quite often
role is to further an investigation.
children are around when crimes occur. “So being able to
“The forensic interview is to gather statements that talk to kids who are present in so many different situa-
can be used in court,” said Martha Finnegan, one of tions is really a great skill to have,” Turman said.
four FBI child forensic interviewers who have devel-
In a room adjoining the interviews, classmates watched
oped a proven approach to questioning kids follow-
on closed-circuit television as their colleagues took turns
ing crimes and traumatic events. “We actually have a
trying to apply the protocol they just learned to a real-
research-based protocol that we follow that consists of
istic interview. The underage girl who was solicited to
multiple stages. And following the protocol makes the
send nude pictures was stoic and evasive, compelling her
interview legally defensible in a court of law.”
interviewer to modify his line of questioning until finally
Knowing what to ask—and what not to ask—is essential, he made a connection. Each officer got to conduct two
as is knowing how to get young crime victims to open up. separate interviews, and each showed a marked improve-
The recent training was for 17 law enforcement officers ment.
from four Central American countries. They were led
The FBI child forensic interviewers conduct scores of
through scenarios covering everything from where to
interviews each year and provide training and techni-
conduct interviews and who should attend to how to open
cal assistance to thousands of local, state, and federal
conversations and put young victims at ease.
partners. Finnegan said she hopes the officers will
The officers learned different techniques for building apply and share the FBI’s approach back home and keep
rapport with young children and older adolescents, all evolving their skills.
the while being reminded to balance investigative efforts
“We’re hoping that they’re able to take some parts of our
against the conditions of the victims.
protocol and some understanding about the dynamics of
“One of the most important things, besides getting the exploitation away from this training,” she said.
information and the evidence, is also to do it in a way
that doesn’t additionally traumatize that child,” said
Kathryn Turman, program director for OVA. “We’ve
actually found that it can be empowering to a child to be Scan this QR code with your smartphone
able to tell what happened and to be able to tell it soon.” to watch a related video, or visit
Mock interviews follow the two days of lectures. The
officers, assisted by Spanish-speaking FBI interpreters,

April 27, 2012
Left: Dolce, the FBI’s first and only therapy dog.
washing machine, and even retrieve drinks from the

refrigerator. “He is a very good service dog,” said Pierce,
who is based in our Nashville Resident Agency. “But
service dogs are not supposed to interact with the public.”
That was a problem, because Dolce loves people.
Pierce soon realized that Dolce’s intelligence and
temperament would make him a terrific therapy dog.
She knew from her military experience that the Army
has a successful therapy dog program, and she set out to
introduce a something similar at the FBI.
On her own, Pierce undertook an extensive training
Helping Victims of Crime regimen with Dolce, and he passed registration exams
given by Pet Partners and other organizations. In 2009,
Therapy Dog Program a after spending many volunteer hours taking Dolce to
nursing homes, camps for grieving children, and other
First for the Bureau places that use therapy dogs, Pierce’s proposal for the K-9
Assisted Victim Assistance Program was approved by the
Rachel Pierce is a victim specialist in our Office for
FBI and adopted as a pilot program.
Victim Assistance. Her partner is an 8-year-old German
Shepherd/Siberian Husky mix, and together they form a Since then, she and Dolce have had a very positive
unique and remarkable team. impact, comforting victims and their families in murder
cases, kidnappings, and bank robberies, where Dolce’s
The FBI uses a variety of working dogs—highly
presence is a calming influence on tellers who minutes
capable canines that can sniff out drugs and bombs,
before may have had a gun pointed in their faces.
bolster security, and alert their handlers when they
pick up the scent of blood. But Dolce, with his shim- Studies have shown that the presence of an animal in a
mering yellow coat and steel blue eyes, is the Bureau’s stressful situation can produce a calming effect, Pierce
one and only therapy dog. said. “It can lower blood pressure and make you feel more
relaxed.” In the immediate aftermath of a bank robbery,
The job of a victim specialist, or VS, is to ensure that
for example, a calm witness can better relay information
victims receive the rights they are entitled to under
about the crime to investigators.
federal law and the assistance they need to cope with
crime. With his lovable personality, Dolce excels at com- “We have worked a lot of cases together,” Pierce said,
forting crime victims and their families. The story of how “helping victims of child pornography and even white-
he became a VS—of the K-9 variety—is a story in itself. collar crime, where senior citizens lost their life savings to
investment scam artists. Dolce has helped a lot of people,”
Pierce, a psychologist who worked for the Department of
she added. “I am so proud of him for all the lives he has
Defense and law enforcement before joining the Bureau
touched in a positive way.”
about five years ago, suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, a
chronic inflammatory disease whose symptoms can be
debilitating when they strike. In 2004, she went to a local
shelter looking for a puppy she could train to be a service
dog. That’s where she found Dolce.
“I thought it would be nice to have a dog that did some
things around the house for me when my symptoms flared
up,” she said. “There are days I can’t move or even lift a
sheet.” to watch a video about Dolce, or visit
After extensive service dog training, Dolce learned how
to turn light switches on and off, load laundry in the

May 1, 2012

The Alvin Karpis Capture
Mr. O’Hara certainly liked to fish. He had gone out
almost every day, according to the superintendent of his
apartment building in New Orleans. O’Hara had shown
up in the Big Easy with some friends about a month
earlier—in April 1936—but often traveled out of town to
visit prime fishing haunts until his cash dwindled.
O’Hara was no ordinary angler. His real name was
Alvin “Creepy” Karpis, and he was a big fish himself—
the most wanted man in America, one of the smartest
of the Depression-era gangsters and one of the few still FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, left, after the arrest of Alvin Karpis.
on the run. That was about to end. On May 1, 1936—76
years ago today—Director J. Edgar Hoover and his waiting raid team, which had staked out the criminals’
increasingly capable group of agents were poised to reel apartment on Canal Street. The next day, shortly after 5
him in. p.m., Karpis and two others left the apartment and got in
a Plymouth coupe. Hoover signaled his men, who closed
Karpis had long led a life a crime. He was born in in. The Director ordered Karpis to be cuffed. Ironically,
Montreal in 1907 under the name Karpavicz; his no one had brought handcuffs, so one agent removed his
parents—immigrants from Lithuania—later settled down tie and secured the hands of Alvin Karpis. The fish had
in Kansas. In 1926, he found himself serving 10 years in been caught.
prison for burglary. Following a jail-break in 1930, Karpis
began his criminal career in earnest, often working with Within hours, Hoover was escorting Karpis back to St.
members of the Barker family, all of whom were habitual Paul, where he eventually pled guilty to the Hamm kid-
criminals. A string of bank robberies, auto thefts, and napping and was sentenced to life in prison. After stays in
even murder followed. Alcatraz and other prisons, Karpis was paroled in the late
1960s.
In 1933, Karpis, his Barker colleagues, and the rest of
their gang turned to kidnapping, perhaps seeing the Hoover’s first arrest marked the end of an era, putting
ransom demands as a route to easier and less danger- behind bars the last of the major gangsters of the
ous money. On June 15, 1933, they snatched Minnesota 1930s and helping to cement the reputation of the
brewer William Hamm and quickly made $100,000. Six FBI and his own standing. He would go on to lead the
months later, they abducted St. Paul banker Edward Bureau for exactly 36 more years, dying in his sleep on
Bremer and demanded $200,000. May 2, 1972.
By early 1935, the ensuing investigation led to the

arrest or deaths of most key members of the Barker/
Karpis gang. But not Karpis himself, who managed to
elude the FBI and even went to the lengths of having
an underworld surgeon alter his fingertips so his prints
wouldn’t be recognized.
In April 1936, Tennessee Senator Kenneth McKellar
called Director Hoover on the carpet during an appro-
priations hearing, complaining about his request for more
funds. When the senator challenged Hoover on how
many arrests he had made personally, the Director vowed
to himself that he would be involved in the next big one.
So when word came that Karpis had been located,
Hoover flew that night to New Orleans and joined the

May 4, 2012
Left: J. Edgar Hoover’s body lies in state in the U.S. Capitol in

1972—an honor afforded to no other civil servant before or since.
Hoover died 40 years ago this week. AP photo
profound influence—and during a stretch of time when

America was undergoing great social change—was bound
to be marked by some mistakes and controversy. Fairly
or unfairly, Hoover was criticized for his aggressive use of
surveillance, his perceived reluctance to tackle civil rights
crimes, his reputation for collecting and using informa-
tion about U.S. leaders, and his seeming obsession with
the threat of communism.
Both feared and beloved
within his own organiza-
tion, Hoover was clearly
The Hoover Legacy, a complex and often
40 Years After confounding character.

He joined the Department
Part 1: The End of an Era of Justice in 1917 at the
tender age of 22 and
He had led the FBI for nearly a half-century and worked quickly became a rising
for eight different presidents, becoming practically an star. Hoover was tapped
institution in his own right. by the attorney general to
head the Bureau in 1924,
So when J. Edgar Hoover’s body was found by his
when it was a relatively
housekeeper on the morning of May 2, 1972—40 J. Edgar Hoover
unknown organization
years ago this week—the reaction was swift and far-
mired in political scandal. Hard-working, smart, and a
reaching.
superb bureaucrat, Hoover took a fledgling organization
Later that day, President Richard Nixon called a press and molded it into an international leader in law en-
conference to announce the Director’s death, saying, forcement and national security, one solidly grounded in
“Every American, in my opinion, owes J. Edgar Hoover a professionalism and the techniques of modern science. As
great debt for building the FBI into the finest law enforce- the Bureau put the trigger-happy gangsters of the 1930s
ment organization in the entire world.” Nixon ordered out of business and outsmarted the spies and saboteurs
that all flags at government buildings be flown at half- of World War II, the FBI—and its newly christened
staff and spoke at Hoover’s funeral two days later. “G-Men”—became a household name. Hoover rode that
wave of fame, earning widespread acclaim as the nation’s
Congress responded quickly as well, ordering Hoover’s
top lawman.
body to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol—an honor
afforded to no other civil servant before or since. The The country’s honeymoon with Hoover would ultimately
next day, as rain fell on Washington, thousands processed come to an end, to some degree in the years before his
by his casket in the rotunda to pay their respects, and passing and even more so after his death in the wake of
Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger eulogized the greater scrutiny of the FBI and the growing distrust of
departed Director. Allies and admirers took to the floor government leaders that followed Watergate. Over the
of Congress to offer often effusive praise, and a new FBI next several months, FBI.gov will explore various aspects
building on Pennsylvania Avenue, halfway between the of the directorship of J. Edgar Hoover through a series
Capitol and the White House, was soon named in his of stories and other materials, with the goal of shedding
honor. light on lesser-known or even caricatured areas of his
actions and broadening the discussion on his complex
At the same time, as the inevitable obituaries were
and enduring legacy.
written and TV specials aired, there was an under-
current of reservation and some outright criticism. Part 2: Hoover’s first job and the FBI files (page 54)
Hoover’s historic 48-year tenure in such a position of

May 8, 2012
Nursing Home Abuse

Owner Cheats Government and
Neglects Residents
Not enough food. Little air conditioning or heat. Roofs
leaking to the point that barrels and plastic sheets were
used to catch rain water. Trash piled up in dumpsters.
Flies and rodents everywhere, along with rampant mold
and mildew.
These were just some of the horrible conditions that
elderly residents of three Georgia nursing homes lived
under for several years.
One of the dilapidated nursing homes owned and operated by a
The primary culprit? The owner of these homes who, Georgia man recently convicted of Medicare/Medicaid fraud.
despite having received more than $32.9 million in health insurance premiums from his employees but let
payments from Medicare and Medicaid for residents’ care, insurance lapse for non-payment, leaving many with
elected to pocket much of the money instead. large unpaid medical bills.
But he didn’t get away with it. Earlier this month, ▪ Failure to pay vendors: Houser didn’t pay food sup-
George Dayln Houser was convicted in Atlanta of pliers or providers of pharmacy and clinical labora-
defrauding Medicare and Medicaid. Houser’s accomplice tory services, medical waste disposal, trash disposal,
and wife, Rhonda Washington Houser, pled guilty last and nursing supplies. Kind-hearted employees often
December. used their own money to buy milk, bread, and other
To receive Medicare and Medicaid payments, Houser groceries so residents would not starve. They also
agreed to provide his residents with a safe and clean brought in their own nursing and cleaning supplies
physical environment, nutritional meals, medical care, and washed residents’ laundry in commercial laundro-
and other assistance. But as complaints began to roll in mats or even in their own homes.
from residents, family members, nursing home staffers, And while his residents and employees were suffering,
and vendors hired to provide services, it became clear he what were Houser and his wife doing? Spending their
had no intention of doing so. ill-gotten Medicare and Medicaid payments on hotel real
These complaints led to an investigation by the FBI’s estate investments, new homes, vacations, luxury cars,
Atlanta office—in concert with the Department new furniture, and nannies for their child. Houser even
of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector gave money to an ex-wife…paying her a nursing home
General and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal salary (even though she never worked there) and buying
Investigation. Evidence gathered by investigators and her a million-dollar home in Atlanta.
later introduced at trial showed that the services Houser Said Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Brian Lamkin,
provided to residents were so deficient that the judge “The level of greed and lack of compassion for others that
determined them “worthless.” It was a precedent-setting was seen in this case reflect the very reason why the FBI,
case…the first time ever that a defendant was feder- in working with its many and varied law enforcement
ally convicted at trial for submitting payment claims for partners, dedicates vast investigative resources to combat-
worthless services. ing health care fraud.”
There were other deficiencies in the homes as well, And in this case, we were especially happy to see that all
including: three nursing homes were eventually shut down by the
▪ Inadequate staffing: Houser failed to maintain a state, and residents were moved into better living quarters
nursing staff sufficient to take proper care of the to receive the care and compassion they deserve.
residents. Staffing shortages started plaguing the
homes after Houser began writing bad checks to his
employees, causing many to resign. He also withheld

May 9, 2012
Left: Adam Mayes, our newest Top Ten fugitive, has been charged
with murder, kidnapping, and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and

Florida. He is considered armed and dangerous.
During a press conference today in Mississippi to
announce Mayes’ addition to the Top Ten list, Ford
praised the “tireless efforts” of the local and state law
enforcement officers and prosecutors from Tennessee and
Mississippi who have worked around the clock on the
case. “We are enlisting every available resource we have
New Top Ten Fugitive to locate the missing girls and to arrest Adam Mayes,” he
said.
Help Us Find Adam Mayes Mayes is the 496th person to be named to the Ten Most
05/10/12 Update: Adam Mayes has died. The two sisters he Wanted Fugitives list. Since its creation in 1950, 465 fugi-
allegedly kidnapped were found alive. tives on the list have been apprehended or located—153
of them as a result of citizen cooperation.
Adam Mayes, wanted in connection with the recent
kidnapping of a mother and her three daughters in By adding Mayes to the list, Ford noted, “We are enlisting
Tennessee, has been added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted one of our most powerful weapons against crime—you,
Fugitives list. Bodies of two of the kidnap victims were the citizens we serve. So as we continue our relentless
found last week, but two girls—ages 8 and 12—remain search, we’re asking for your assistance, too.”
missing and are considered to be in extreme danger.
“It is law enforcement’s responsibility to protect those
We need your help. The FBI is offering a reward of up who cannot protect themselves, and in this situation
to $100,000 for information leading directly to the arrest that is Alexandria and Kyliyah Bain,” said Mark Gwyn,
of the 35-year-old Mayes, who has been charged with director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. “These
murder, kidnapping, and unlawful flight to avoid prosecu- two children have lost their mother and older sister and
tion. deserve to be safely returned to their father. We believe
someone out there knows where Adam Mayes and the
On April 27, Jo Ann Bain, 31, and her three children
girls are and will do the right thing and contact authori-
were reported missing from Whiteville, Tennessee,
ties with that information. It only takes one phone call.”
and their vehicle was later found abandoned. Last
week, authorities found the bodies of Bain and her
oldest daughter, 14-year-old Adrienne, buried behind a
mobile home where the Mayes family lived in Guntown,
Mississippi.
“We believe Mayes could be anywhere in the United
States, and we are extremely concerned for the safety
of the girls,” said Aaron Ford, special agent in charge of
our Memphis office. “Anyone who has any information
about this case, or if you’ve seen Mayes or the girls, please
contact your nearest FBI office or the local police imme-
diately.”
Mayes was last seen on May 1 in Guntown. He has
brown hair and blue eyes, is 6’3” tall, and weighs between
175 and 235 pounds. He may have changed his appear-
ance by growing a beard or cutting his hair, and he may
have changed the appearances of Alexandria and Kyliyah
Bain as well. Mayes has connections in Mississippi,

May 11, 2012
Economic Espionage
How to Spot a Possible
Insider Threat
This past February, five individuals and five companies
were charged with economic espionage and theft of trade
secrets in connection with their roles in a long-running
This digital billboard is being displayed in several regions of the coun-
effort to obtain information for the benefit of companies try to raise awareness of the high cost of economic espionage.
controlled by the government of the People’s Republic of
China. behaviors that co-workers could have picked up on ahead
of time, possibly preventing the information breaches
According to the superseding indictment, the PRC in the first place. Many co-workers came forward only
government was after information on chloride-route after the criminal was arrested. Had they reported those
titanium dioxide (TiO2) production capabilities. TiO2 suspicions earlier, the company’s secrets may have been
is a commercially valuable white pigment used to color kept safe.
paints, plastics, and paper. DuPont, a company based
in Wilmington, Delaware, invented the chloride-route Here are some warning signs that could indicate that
process for manufacturing TiO2 and invested heavily in employees are spying and/or stealing secrets from their
research and development to improve the process over the company:
years. In 2011, the company reported that its TiO2 trade ▪ They work odd hours without authorization.
secrets had been stolen.
▪ Without need or authorization, they take proprietary
Among the individuals charged in the case? Two long- or other information home in hard copy form and/or
time DuPont employees…one of whom pled guilty in on thumb drives, computer disks, or e-mail.
fairly short order.
▪ They unnecessarily copy material, especially if it’s
Foreign economic espionage against the U.S. is a sig- proprietary or classified.
nificant and growing threat to our country’s economic
health and security...and so is the threat from corpo- ▪ They disregard company policies about installing
rate insiders willing to carry it out. personal software or hardware, accessing restricted
websites, conducting unauthorized searches, or down-
And because we’re now in the digital age, insiders—who loading confidential material.
not so many years ago had to photocopy and smuggle
mountains of documents out of their offices—can now ▪ They take short trips to foreign countries for unex-
share documents via e-mail or download them electroni- plained reasons.
cally on easy-to-hide portable devices. ▪ They engage in suspicious personal contacts with
Why do insiders do it? Lots of reasons, including greed competitors, business partners, or other unauthorized
or financial need, unhappiness at work, allegiance to individuals.
another company or another country, vulnerability to ▪ They buy things they can’t afford.
blackmail, the promise of a better job, and/or drug or
alcohol abuse. ▪ They are overwhelmed by life crises or career disap-
pointments.
How to stop them? Obviously, a strong organizational
emphasis on personnel and computer security is key, ▪ They are concerned about being investigated, leaving
and the FBI conducts outreach efforts with industry traps to detect searches of their home or office or
partners—like InfraGard—that offer a variety of security looking for listening devices or cameras.
and counterintelligence training sessions, awareness If you suspect someone in your office may be committing
seminars, and information. economic espionage, report it to your corporate security
You can help as well. In our experience, those who officer and to your local FBI office, or submit a tip online
purloin trade secrets and other sensitive information from at https://tips.fbi.gov/.
their own companies to sell overseas often exhibit certain

May 14, 2012
Left: FBI Director Robert S. Mueller holds a candle during the dedica-
tion of names of fallen officers May 13 at the National Law Enforce-
ment Officers Memorial. With him were (from left) Rep. Steny Hoyer;
Linda Moon, national president of Concerns for Police Survivors; and
Attorney General Eric Holder.
continue our work together to protect our families and

our communities,” he said.
Also today, Director Mueller presided over a memorial
service at FBI Headquarters to honor those lost from the
FBI family, including two agents who passed away last
year. Among the attendees were former FBI Directors
Louis Freeh, William Sessions, and William Webster.
Mueller said fallen officers and agents leave behind an
enduring legacy and through their sacrifice set a standard
Police Week for which we are forever grateful.
“Though their stories are different, they shared much
FBI Honors Law in common,” Mueller said. “They shared a devotion to
Enforcement’s Sacrifices service—service to the FBI, service to their communities,
and service to our country. They shared a commitment to
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy designated May 15 justice and to the rule of law. And they shared remarkable
as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which bravery.”
it falls as National Police Week. This year, as thousands
of law enforcement officers from around the world gather
in Washington, D.C. to honor colleagues who have made
the ultimate sacrifice, the FBI joins with the rest of the
country in paying tribute as well.
The week’s events began Sunday evening with a candle-
light vigil held at the National Law Enforcement Officers
Memorial. The names of 362 fallen officers were read
aloud, to be added to the nearly 20,000 other names
permanently etched into the memorial’s walls. The event
was underscored by a preliminary report issued today
that showed 72 law enforcement officers in the U.S. and
Puerto Rico were feloniously killed in the line of duty in
2011; 50 were killed accidentally. The FBI will release
final statistics this fall in the Uniform Crime Reporting Officers from around the country participate in the Police Unity Tour,
a multi-day bike ride to raise awareness of the sacrifices made by
(UCR) program’s publication Law Enforcement Officers law enforcement. The event also raises funds for the National Law
Killed and Assaulted, 2011. Enforcement Officers Memorial.
“These men and women place the safety and security of

others above their own,” Attorney General Eric Holder
said in remarks delivered at Sunday’s ceremony. “When
facing uncertain dangers and confronting unpredictable
threats, they consistently respond with courage, selfless-
ness, and strength. And every day—in communities
nationwide—their contributions are felt and deeply
appreciated.”
Today, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller issued a video
message recognizing officers for putting their lives on
the line every day. “The FBI is proud to stand shoulder
to shoulder with our law enforcement colleagues as we

May 16, 2012
Celebrating Women
Special Agents
Part 1: May 12, 1972—A
New Chapter is Opened
On a beautiful spring day in May—40 years ago this past
weekend—FBI Acting Director L. Patrick Gray
announced that “women applicants will now be
considered for the FBI special agent position.” He noted
that all other…
“…existing requirements for the special agent The FBI Academy in 1972, when the first women in the modern era
position will remain unchanged…the intensive were sworn in as special agents.
14-week special agent training course would remain
In 1992, Special Agent Julianne Slifco became our first
unchanged [including] the use of .38 caliber
woman legal attaché, heading our overseas office in
revolver, shotgun, and rifle and a comprehensive
Vienna. And Birdie Pasenelli became our first female
physical fitness program.”
special agent in charge, overseeing the Anchorage
The FBI had long held that women couldn’t handle Field Office. She later became the first woman assis-
the physical rigors of the special agent position, which tant director at Headquarters, in charge of the Finance
includes making arrests, taking part in raids, and Division.
engaging in self-defense. In those days, the Bureau
In 2001, Special Agent Kathleen McChesney became
operated under certain exemptions to federal regula-
the first woman to attain the rank of executive assistant
tions concerning equal employment. But times were
director, further chipping away at the glass ceiling.
changing—women were taking on more and more
demanding positions, physically and otherwise. Today, we have 2,675 women special agents, serving on
and leading counterterrorism squads, cyber squads, coun-
With Hoover’s death on May 2, there was an opportunity
terintelligence squads, and criminal squads. They head
to put into place changes that had been brewing for some
field offices, including the largest in the Bureau—New
time. So with the stroke of a pen, L. Patrick Gray opened
York. They work as firearm instructors and in all other
a new chapter in FBI history.
specialty fields. They lead Headquarters divisions and
40 Years of Firsts overseas offices. They are superb agents who just happen
to be women.
On July 17, 1972, Joanne Pierce (Misko) and Susan Roley
(Malone) were sworn in as FBI special agents and began Wait a minute—weren’t there women agents in the
that arduous training outlined in Gray’s press release, 1920s?
graduating in October. By the end of that year, 11 women
Yes! When J. Edgar Hoover took over the Bureau in
would be sworn in.
1924, he inherited two female agents: Jessie B. Duckstein
In 1978, Special Agent Christine Karpoch (Jung) would and Alaska P. Davidson, who both resigned within a few
become the first female firearms instructor—and she months as part of the Bureau’s reduction of force. But on
would shoot the coveted “possible,” a perfect score on the November 6, 1924, Hoover himself changed the employ-
FBI’s Practical Pistol Range. ment status of Lenore Houston from “special employee” in
the New York office to “special agent.” She served in two
In 1985, Robin Ahrens became, tragically, the first female
other offices before resigning at the end of 1928. The next
agent killed in the line of duty.
women agents weren’t hired until 1972.
In 1990, Special Agents Susan Sprengel and Helen
Part 2: Two women blaze a trail (page 59)
Bachor were sent to London and Montevideo, Uruguay to
serve as the FBI’s first female assistant legal attachés.

May 18, 2012
Left: FBI Director Robert S. Mueller speaks during a ceremony honor-

ing Giovanni Falcone at FBI Headquarters.
Freeh and Falcone’s personal and professional relation-

ships. At the same time in Italy, Falcone was prosecut-
ing his own Mafia trial—the Maxi Trial—which put
hundreds of mafiosi behind bars.
Although the Mafia for years threatened Falcone and his
family and assassinated his Italian colleagues, “he carried
on,” said Michael Kortan, assistant director of the FBI’s
Office of Public Affairs. “He was a champion of the rule
of law.”
Freeh remembered that although Falcone’s life was under
constant threat, he always felt safe in the U.S. surrounded
Remembering by his American law enforcement colleagues. “He loved
the FBI,” Freeh said, adding that the Mafia made a
Giovanni Falcone “serious miscalculation” by killing Falcone. Instead of in-
timidating the Italian police, they—and the FBI—“rallied
Italian Judge Assassinated by the to the investigation of his murder.”
Mafia 20 Years Ago After Falcone’s assassination, then-FBI Director
William Sessions introduced the idea of a Falcone
On May 23, 1992, Mafia hit men detonated a roadside Memorial Garden at the FBI Academy in Quantico,
bomb that killed Giovanni Falcone, his wife, and three Virginia. Two years later, then-Director Freeh saw
bodyguards as they drove near Palermo, Italy. The as- the plan through and dedicated a bronze memorial to
sassination was payback for all the organized criminals Falcone at Quantico.
Falcone had put behind bars as a prosecutor and judge.
Prosecutor Liliana Ferraro, a friend and colleague of
To mark the 20th anniversary of his murder, a tribute Falcone who took his seat after his assassination, said,
was held at FBI Headquarters to remember Falcone as “The Italian police and the FBI continue to work closely
a courageous opponent of the Mafia—and one of the together against common enemies. As they fight orga-
earliest advocates of international cooperation in the nized crime together, they still use many lessons from
fight against organized crime. Falcone, such as the importance of international coopera-
Director Robert S. Mueller, who was joined by two former tion and the protection of key witnesses.”
FBI Directors and several Italian dignitaries in paying She added that Falcone “believed in friendship, loyalty,
tribute to Falcone, noted, “Long before ‘globalization’ justice, and cooperation. On those shared values, we
became part of our vernacular, Judge Falcone recognized have developed a strong partnership that has enabled our
that no one department or country could fight crime countries to fight with success against organized crime
alone. He went to great lengths to cultivate strong rela- and terrorism.”
tionships—friendships—with partners here in the United
States and around the world.” “Judge Falcone always understood that there was strength
in numbers,” Mueller said, “and that defeating the Mafia
The FBI’s special relationship with Falcone was forged would require true solidarity. Due to his foresight, we
decades ago through two major cases in the U.S. and have dealt a devastating blow to organized criminal
Italy at a time when the Mafia was powerful in both syndicates.”
places. Louis Freeh, a federal prosecutor in New York
City who would later become Director of the FBI, was The relationships that Falcone forged years ago between
cracking down on the Mafia. In a case known as the Pizza the Italian National Police and the FBI “have borne
Connection, the FBI, the NYPD, and federal prosecutors tremendous fruit in this age of international crime and
teamed with Falcone and Italian authorities to bust an terrorism,” Mueller added. “Those friendships have set
international heroin smuggling ring that laundered drug the standard for global cooperation among law enforce-
money through pizza parlors. The 1985 trial cemented ment.”

May 22, 2012
Domestic Threat
White Supremacy Extremism
It was a gruesome and hateful crime—three men with
white supremacist tattoos punching and kicking the face
and body of an African-American man at a bus stop in
Houston last summer simply because of the color of his
skin. All three were recently convicted of the attack, fol-
lowing an investigation by the FBI and its partners.
It’s not an isolated case. It seems like a throwback to a
different era, but white supremacy—which sees whites as
inherently superior to those of other races—still exists
in America today. Having those kinds of beliefs is not ▪ In January 2012, the last of four Arkansas defendants
against the law…as a matter of fact, it’s protected by charged with firebombing the home of an interracial
the First Amendment. But white supremacy becomes a couple was sentenced to federal prison.
crime—and for the FBI, a form of what we call extrem-
ism—when it is furthered through threatened or actual ▪ In December 2011, a Washington man was sentenced
use of force or violence or other illegal activity. to 32 years in prison for attempting to bomb a Martin
Luther King, Jr. Unity Day march in Spokane.
The Bureau has been investigating the criminal activi-
ties of white supremacy extremists like Ku Klux Klan ▪ In May 2010, an Oregon man pled guilty to mailing
members since as early as 1918. Today’s extremists are a hangman’s noose to the home of the president of a
more challenging than ever. They’re affiliated with a local NAACP chapter in Ohio.
variety of white supremacy groups, and they can be mo- Moving forward, we see three keys to turning back the
tivated by any number of religious or political ideologies. ongoing scourge of white supremacy extremism:
We’re also seeing more lone offenders and small, violent
factions of larger groups at work, which makes detection ▪ Our increased emphasis on the lawful gathering,
of these crimes tougher. analyzing, and sharing of intelligence on current and
emerging trends, tactics, and threats.
White supremacy extremists specifically target racial,
ethnic, and religious minorities; the federal government; ▪ Continued collaboration with our local, state, tribal,
and in some instances, even each other. Their tactics and federal partners, especially on our Joint Terrorism
include assault, murder, threats and intimidation, and Task Forces around the nation.
bombings. They also commit other kinds of crimes—like ▪ And most importantly, the support of Americans who
drug trafficking, bank and armored car robberies, and find these types of crimes abhorrent and antithetical
counterfeiting—to fund their hate-filled activities. to our way of life.
Over the years, the federal government has successfully If you have information on domestic terror threats of any
charged white supremacy extremists using a number kind, submit a tip at https://tips.fbi.gov or contact your
of federal statutes, including civil rights violations, local FBI field office.
racketeering, solicitation to commit crimes of violence,
firearms violations, explosives violations, counterfeiting
and forgery, and witness tampering.
In recent months, the FBI has led or participated in
several significant investigations involving violence or
attempted violence by self-admitted white suprema-
cists. A few examples:
▪ In February 2012, an Arizona man was sentenced to
federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing and
transporting improvised explosive devices near the
U.S.-Mexico border.

May 25, 2012
Looking for Our Children

National Missing Children’s Day 2012
These are just a very few of the children who are far from can be for our kids…and our Resources for Parents page
home today. to learn how to protect them in today’s world.
Please take a minute to look at all the faces on our To further help keep kids safe, we are also launching
Kidnapping and Missing Persons webpage and see if you a new version of our Child ID app for Android mobile
can identify Asha, Daniel, Sierra, or any of the other phones today.
children listed there with their stories.
Note: The children pictured here may have been located since
Also take a look at the faces of the children who have the above information was posted on our website. Please
been kidnapped by a parent—Melissa Hinako Braden and check our Wanted by the FBI webpage for up-to-date infor-
the many other kids. mation.
And we hope you’ll visit our Crimes Against Children
page to learn all you can about what a dangerous world it

May 29, 2012
The Case of the

Misbranded Drug
Leads to Massive
Fine and Penalties
Fake treatments and bogus billings are all too common
in the mega-billion-dollar business of health care fraud.
But there’s another serious dimension to the problem,
especially when it comes to the health and safety of the
American people.
It’s called misbranding, and it involves hawking the
benefits of a prescription drug without government Health care fraud cases are typically labor intensive, and
approval or even claiming the drug can do something it this one was no exception, involving the review of thou-
can’t. sands of Merck documents and interviews of numerous
A good case in point: the prescription pain killer Merck employees, field sales representatives, doctors,
Vioxx, which first hit the shelves in May 1999 after consultants, researchers, and others. The case was truly
approval by the Food and Drug Administration a team effort with partners including the Department
(FDA). The drug—manufactured by Merck, (now known of Health and Human Services, FDA, Veterans
as Merck, Sharpe, & Dohme)—was designed to treat Administration, Office of Personnel Management, and
osteoarthritis, acute pain, and dysmenorrhrea (painful the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control
menstrual cramps). Units.
The trouble began when Merck sales reps began claiming The multi-year investigation paid off in a massive way:
the drug could also treat rheumatoid arthritis. Under Last month, Merck was ordered to pay a criminal fine
federal law, in order to change or add a new usage for an of $321 million for introducing a misbranded drug into
already-approved drug, companies must either amend interstate commerce after pleading guilty late last year. In
their original applications or submit a new one…complete November 2011, Merck also entered into a civil agree-
with information about clinical trials and proposed ment to pay $628 million to resolve additional allegations
labeling. Merck did submit an amended application, but regarding off-label marketing of Vioxx and false state-
not until 2001, almost two years after the company had ments about the drug’s cardiovascular safety.
been marketing Vioxx as a treatment for rheumatoid ar- Together, that’s nearly $950 million in penalties
thritis. FDA did not approve that application until April that will be returned to federal and state health care
2002. So that meant that from May 1999 to April 2002, programs, a significant windfall to taxpayers.
Merck was promoting and selling a misbranded drug—
despite an FDA letter of warning issued in September Another significant outcome: Merck agreed to enter
2001. into a corporate integrity agreement with the Department
of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector
At the same time, Merck representatives were making General that will strengthen the system of reviews and
inaccurate, unsupported, or misleading statements oversight procedures imposed on the company.
about Vioxx’s cardiovascular safety in order to boost
the sales of the drug. But in September 2004, Merck It all goes to show that crime doesn’t pay…or as Boston
voluntarily pulled Vioxx from the market when a study FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers says,
was halted because of an increased risk of heart attacks “No corporation is immune from being held accountable
and strokes in study patients taking Vioxx. for criminal and civil violations of the law.”
Our investigation began in late 2004, when our Boston

office and the local U.S. Attorney’s Office learned about
possible illegal activity surrounding the promotion and
marketing of Vioxx before it was taken off the market.

June 1, 2012
Left: A special agent overlooks the Shiprock land formation on the

Navajo Nation in New Mexico.
Investigators must also deal with the emotional strain of

the work—the brutality and frequency of the crimes can
take a toll.
“The work our people are doing on the reservations is
truly front-line,” said Carol K.O. Lee, special agent in
charge of our Albuquerque office. “Agents have to be
independent and adaptable to get the job done, because
even with the excellent help of our law enforcement
partners like the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the territory is
so vast you rarely have the resources you need.”
Nationwide, the FBI has investigative responsibilities
Journey Through for about 200 federally recognized Indian reserva-
tions. More than 100 agents in 19 of the Bureau’s
Indian Country 56 field offices work Indian Country matters full
time—and we’ve represented federal law enforcement
Part 1: Fighting Crime on on tribal lands since the 1920s. In New Mexico, home
Tribal Lands to a portion of the Navajo Nation—the largest reserva-
tion in the country, occupying an area bigger than the
Driving along a dirt road on the Navajo Reservation state of West Virginia—agents investigate cases against a
in New Mexico recently, a rancher crested a ridge and backdrop of majestic mesas and stark beauty.
noticed two animals intent on something in a nearby
ditch. As he approached, one of the scavengers loped The murdered man mentioned above was found eight
away—the other looked up, its mouth glistening with miles from the nearest paved road, not far from the
blood. The rancher guessed one of his sheep had been landmark Shiprock formation sacred to the Navajo
attacked, but he soon discovered something much differ- people. “The victim went out drinking with a bunch
ent: the discarded body of a murder victim. It was going of guys and ended up dead,” said Special Agent Mike
to be another busy day for our agents in Indian Country. Harrigan, who supervises an Indian Country squad. The
body has been identified and the death has been ruled
By law, the FBI is responsible for investigating a homicide, Harrigan explained, and investigators are
the most serious crimes within Indian Country— tracking down leads. He noted that if the rancher hadn’t
homicide, child sexual assault, and violence against happened by, or the body had been dumped a few feet
women among them. The numbers of such offenses further from the road, “there is a good chance the victim
are striking: approximately one out of every four never would have been discovered. Unfortunately, killings
violent crimes prosecuted federally by the Department like this are all too common in Indian Country.”
of Justice occurs on Indian reservations.
Despite the difficulties they face, the dedication and com-
Investigating crimes on native lands poses a unique mitment of FBI personnel in Indian Country has helped
challenge for FBI personnel and their law enforcement make Native American communities safer, said Special
partners. Working in Indian Country, as we call it, often Agent in Charge Lee. “We have a long way to go, but we
means operating in isolated, forbidding terrain where are definitely making a difference.”
cultural differences abound. Some older Native American
people, for example, do not speak English. Dwellings may Part 2: Making an impact on the reservation (page 48)
lack electricity or running water. On many reservations
there are few paved roads or marked streets. Agents might
be called to a crime scene in the middle of the night 120
miles away and given these directions: “Go 10 miles off to watch one in a series of related videos,
the main road, turn right at the pile of tires, and go up or visit http://www.fbi.gov/news/videos/.
the hill.” In some areas, crime scenes are so remote that
cell phones and police radios don’t work.

June 5, 2012
New Top Ten Fugitive

Help Us Find a
Rapist and Murderer
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.
Fidel Urbina is wanted for allegedly beating and raping a woman in
“Fidel Urbina is wanted for his role in two brutal attacks March 1998. Seven months later, while out on bond, he allegedly
beat, raped, and killed a second woman.
directed against innocent victims,” said Robert Grant,
special agent in charge of our Chicago office. “These We need your help. If you have any information about
crimes have demonstrated his violent nature and the Fidel Urbina, please call the Chicago FBI at (312)
need to locate and apprehend him before he can strike 421-6700 or your nearest law enforcement agency or U.S.
again. We are hoping that the publicity associated with Embassy or Consulate. You can also submit a tip online at
this case, along with the significant reward being offered, https://tips.fbi.gov.
will lead to his arrest.”
“He’s been on the run for over 10 years,” Araya said. “He
We are offering a reward of up to $100,000 for infor- may be hiding in Mexico thinking that he is safe, but our
mation leading directly to Urbina’s arrest. The fugitive, hope is that because of the Top Ten publicity, someone
who is now 37 years old, is a Mexican national who is 6 who knows him or who recognizes his picture will think
feet tall and weighs approximately 170 pounds. He has about that $100,000 reward and give us a call.”
black hair, brown eyes, and a noticeably pockmarked
right cheek. He has been known to use numerous aliases, Urbina is the 497th person to be placed on the FBI’s
including the names Lorenzo Maes, Fernando Ramos, Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Since its creation in
and Fidel Urbina Aquirre. Given the nature of the 1950, 466 fugitives on the list have been apprehended or
charges against him, Urbina should be considered armed located—154 of them as a result of citizen cooperation.
and dangerous.
The search for Urbina is being coordinated by our
Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF) in Chicago, which
includes FBI agents, detectives from the Chicago Police
Department, and Cook County Sheriff’s Office investiga-
tors.
Special Agent Pablo Araya, fugitive coordinator for the
VCTF, believes Urbina is hiding somewhere in Mexico.
“Wherever he is,” Araya said, “my guess is that women
are in danger there, because this guy has shown no
remorse and isn’t likely to change his ways. That’s why we
need to catch him.”
A federal arrest warrant was issued for Urbina in 1999,
and in 2006 a provisional arrest warrant was signed by Scan this QR code with your smartphone
a federal magistrate in Mexico. But despite law enforce- to watch a related video, or visit
ment’s best efforts—which have included the case being
profiled nationally on America’s Most Wanted and locally
on Chicago’s Most Wanted television shows—the fugitive
remains at large.
June 7, 2012
Left: Special Agent Mac McCaskill visits a home on the Tohajiilee

Reservation, a satellite reservation of the Navajo Nation where many
homes lack electricity and running water.
reservations and the kinds of crime we see here,” he

explained. “People are living in really difficult circum-
stances.”
In Tohajiilee, a satellite reservation that is part of the
Navajo Nation, many homes lack electricity and running
water, and social ills such as alcoholism are rampant.
These issues, along with the fact that there are only
a handful of tribal police officers assigned to patrol a
sprawling area of more than 120 square miles, contribute
to a serious crime problem.
Journey Through “There are terrible crimes that happen on the reserva-
tions that go virtually unnoticed by the world outside,”
Indian Country McCaskill said. “If they happened anywhere else, in
Denver or in Dallas, it would be front-page news for a
Part 2: Making an Impact on the week.”
Reservation As a result, he said, “we are serving a community that
isn’t used to getting much service.” Perhaps it’s not sur-
Snow swirled in New Mexico’s high plains as Special
prising then that women beaten by boyfriends or spouses
Agent Mac McCaskill slowed his vehicle at the bottom
or children sexually assaulted by family members may
of a hill on the Tohajiilee Reservation. He engaged the
believe a call to authorities will do little to help them.
four-wheel drive before continuing slowly up the steep,
bumpy track on his way to deliver a subpoena in a violent McCaskill works hard to change that perception. He
assault case. patiently explained to the young mother the importance
of serving the subpoena—so that the witness will testify,
McCaskill had driven an hour from Albuquerque on this
which could help make sure the violent offender stays in
20-degree morning—typical of the distances that often
jail and no longer poses a threat to the community.
separate agents from their cases in Indian Country—and
now he was knocking on the door of a small wooden “Our caseloads may be 75 percent sexual assaults against
structure with one boarded-up window. On the hillside children,” McCaskill said later. “People ask me if it’s
just beyond the dwelling sat a rusted trailer and an difficult emotionally to work these cases, and my answer
outhouse. A young woman holding an infant opened is always, ‘How can you not work them?’ These are cases
the door and told McCaskill the man he was looking for where on a very fundamental level you are able to make a
would be back later. difference in a victim’s life by taking an abuser out of the
family. When I help a victim and get to know the family,”
“On the reservation you can’t just call someone
he added, “I may be one of the few positive influences
because many people don’t have a phone,” McCaskill
that they’ve ever seen from outside the reservation.”
said, explaining the challenges of investigating crimes
in Indian Country. “Sometimes the best way to get Stopping that cycle of violence on the reservation is
anything done is to knock on doors.” “extremely rewarding,” McCaskill said. “We are helping
people here.”
In the process of knocking on doors and talking to
people, McCaskill and other agents working in Indian Part 3: Murder on the Zuni Reservation (page 51)
Country become not just law enforcement officers but
advocates for justice and sometimes even role models.
A New Mexico native, McCaskill said his eyes were “wide
open” when he took an assignment in Indian Country.
“Still, it’s difficult to comprehend the conditions on the

June 11, 2012
Crimes Rates are Down

According to 2011 Preliminary
Report
Preliminary figures released today indicate that the
number of violent crimes and property crimes reported by
law enforcement across the nation during 2011 decreased
when compared to 2010 figures.
According to our Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime
Report, January-December 2011, violent crimes fell 4.0
percent, and property crimes dropped 0.8 percent. This preliminary report includes four data tables. The
Arson—also a property crime even though its data is first two tables show the percent change in offenses
considered separately because of various levels of par- known to law enforcement for 2011 compared with those
ticipation by reporting agencies—was down 5.0 percent for 2010 by population group and region of the country,
overall. respectively. The third table reflects the percent change
Highlights from the preliminary report include: in offenses reported nationwide for consecutive years back
to 2007. The fourth table presents the actual number
▪ In the violent crime category, murder was down of offenses known to law enforcement for agencies who
overall 1.9 percent from 2010 figures, while forcible provided 12 months of complete data and who serve a
rape, robbery, and aggravated assault all fell 4.0 resident population of 100,000 or more.
percent.
All of the final figures will be published this fall in Crime
▪ There was, however, an increase in murder in the in the United States, 2011.
Midwest (0.6 percent) and an 18.3 percent jump in
murder in cities with populations of less than 10,000. Submitting Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data to
the FBI is a collective effort on the part of city, county,
▪ In the property crime category, motor vehicle theft state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies
saw the largest decline (3.3 percent) from 2010 to present a nationwide view of crime. Participating
figures, followed by larceny-theft (0.9 percent). agencies voluntarily provide reports on crimes known to
▪ The only overall rise in property crimes was in the them, using uniform offense definitions. For the most
burglary category, which was up .03 percent overall, part, agencies submit monthly crime reports to a central-
with increases of 3.2 percent in the Northeast, 1.3 ized repository in their state. The state UCR program
percent in the Midwest, and 0.7 percent in the West. then forwards the data to the FBI’s national UCR
program, where staff members first review the informa-
tion for accuracy and reasonableness, then enter it into
the national UCR database.
The information is then publicly disseminated through
various reports, including Crime in the United States, Hate
Crime Statistics, and Law Enforcement Officers Killed and
Assaulted, as well as through preliminary data reports and
special reports on particular topics.
As always, the FBI cautions against drawing conclu-
sions by making direct comparisons between cities or
individual agencies—valid assessments are only possible
with careful study and analysis of the unique conditions
that affect each law enforcement jurisdiction.

June 13, 2012
Left: A composite sketch of a suspect in a September 2005 sexual

assault whose DNA is linked to Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder.
Her remains were discovered the following January in a

remote field on a farm in Albemarle County, Virginia. A
camera she had that night and a distinctive Swarovski
crystal necklace she was wearing have not been recov-
ered.
FBI agents in our Charlottesville Resident Agency have
been assisting state investigators, and profilers from our
Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) have also provided
consultation.
“A lot of BAU’s work focused on the location of the body
Help Us Catch a Killer and what that told us about the offender,” Cappuzzo said.
“We believe he was intimately familiar with the farm and
Unknown Offender Linked by the surrounding area where the body was recovered. He
may have been comfortable there and felt he was not at
DNA in Two Separate Cases risk of getting caught.”
On a Saturday night in October 2009, college student DNA recovered in the Harrington case was linked
Morgan Harrington left a Metallica concert at the to an unknown offender in a September 2005 sexual
University of Virginia in Charlottesville and disappeared. assault in Fairfax City. A 26-year-old woman was
It would be several months before her body was discov- attacked at night while walking home from a grocery
ered in a field about 10 miles away. store. The offender was scared away by a passerby—but
the victim got a good look at him, enabling a Fairfax City
We need your help to find Harrington’s killer. The
Police artist to produce a sketch of the attacker.
individual we are seeking has also been linked by DNA
to a sexual assault in Fairfax City, Virginia, a suburb “It was a remarkable break to get the DNA match,” said
of Washington, D.C. Today, the Virginia State Police, FBI Special Agent Jane Collins. The forensic evidence
Fairfax City Police, and the FBI released two enhanced linked the two cases, so now we have a face to put
sketches of the suspect and are reminding the public there with the suspect in the Harrington case. The suspect is
is a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to described as an African-American male with black hair
an arrest and conviction in the Harrington case. and facial hair (at the time of the 2005 attack). He is
approximately 6 feet tall and was believed to be between
The multimedia campaign being launched today to draw
the ages of 25 and 35 years old at the time of the Fairfax
attention to the investigation will include information
City assault.
on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, a
public service announcement by Metallica, and electronic Help us catch Morgan Harrington’s killer. If you have
billboards in Virginia and along the East Coast. any information about the Harrington case or the Fairfax
City assault, contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, the
“Bringing renewed attention to the case will get people
Virginia State Police Tip line at 434-352-3467, or submit a
thinking about it again,” said Virginia State Police Special
tip online at https://tips.fbi.gov.
Agent Dino Cappuzzo. “Our hope is that someone will
come forward and provide a crucial piece of information
that will help us solve the murder.”
Harrington was a 20-year-old student at Virginia Tech
when she went to the concert that Saturday, October
17, at the John Paul Jones Arena on the University of
Virginia campus. At about 8:30 p.m., she left the building Scan this QR code with your smartphone
to watch one of three related videos,
and was unable to get back inside. She was last seen or visit http://www.fbi.gov/news/videos/.
hitchhiking nearby.

June 18, 2012
Journey Through
Indian Country
Part 3: Murder on the
Zuni Reservation
Special Agent John Fortunato walked behind the aban-
doned house on the Zuni Reservation in western New
Mexico and pointed out where Floyd Yuselew dug a grave
to bury the friend he had murdered with an ax to the
head.
Floyd Yuselew killed his friend in this house on the Zuni Reservation
during a confrontation after a night of drinking in 2009. The victim’s
The two had been drinking, and investigators believe body was found months later, still well-preserved by the winter freeze.
the murder was committed because Yuselew thought
his buddy had been flirting with his girlfriend. When “We have a close relationship with all the tribal police,”
tribal police and the FBI learned of the crime in March Fortunato said. “It would be difficult for us to do our jobs
2009, they found the victim still sitting in the chair where without that partnership, and they depend on us as well.”
he had been killed months earlier. Because the house was In the Yuselew case, for example, Fortunato called in the
unheated throughout the cold winter, the body—and the Bureau’s Evidence Response Team (ERT) to help work
crime scene—had been perfectly preserved. the crime scene.
Uncertain what to do with the body, and not wishing to “When ERT processed the scene,” he explained, “there
live in his house with a corpse, Yuselew and his girlfriend was a lot of blood and other evidence, like alcohol cans
moved in with friends. Periodically, he returned to dig in we were able to pull fingerprints from. The blood spatter
the frozen backyard to make a grave. Later, Yuselew was and other evidence inside the house made it clear it was
afraid his girlfriend would turn him in for the murder not the girlfriend who did the crime.”
when their relationship ended badly, so he called the Zuni In the end, Yuselew pled guilty to second-degree
police, told them about the body, and tried to pin the murder and is currently serving a 17-year sentence.
crime on her. The case is one of many senseless crimes Fortunato
As unusual as the case may seem, in many ways it and his colleagues investigate in Indian Country. “We
is a common Indian Country crime: a tragic killing invariably see the bad side of things here,” he said. “We
successfully investigated and prosecuted thanks to are constantly seeing tragedy, loss, and people who hurt
the strong relationships between tribal authorities, family members. That is the hardest thing for me about
the FBI, and federal prosecutors. Criminal jurisdiction working in Indian Country.”
in Indian Country is a complicated web of tribal, state, Still, Fortunato is pleased that justice was served in the
and federal rules. The sovereign status of many tribes Yuselew case, and he believes in the goodness of the vast
precludes most states from exercising jurisdiction. Instead, majority of Native Americans. “Anyone who has visited
that authority resides with the tribes, but only for non- the Navajo and Zuni reservations and spent time here
felony offenses. It is the FBI’s responsibility to investigate will tell you that most of the people are terrific, very
major crimes such as murder, and tribal authorities rely friendly, and welcoming.”
on the muscle of the federal judicial system to prosecute
those crimes to the fullest. Part 4: Teamwork makes a difficult job easier (page 52)
“By law these major crimes are federally prosecuted, and

the FBI is the vehicle for getting them to federal court,”
said Special Agent Mike Harrigan, who supervises a
squad of Indian Country investigators. “But the successful
investigation of such crimes isn’t just a Bureau role,” he
added, “it is a tribal and Bureau partnership.”

June 22, 2012
Left: The uninitiated can get lost very quickly on the reservation.
“When the sun goes down,” said a Navajo criminal investigator, “in
some places on the reservation you can’t see your hand in front of
your face.”
in 1994 on the Navajo Reservation and has since

expanded to 15 locations around the country. The idea
is to unite the Bureau with other federal, local, and tribal
law enforcement agencies to combat Indian Country
crime.
Through the task force and other initiatives, the FBI
provides invaluable training and equipment to tribal law
enforcement. “It has helped us do our job,” St. Germaine
said. “We are challenged financially on the Navajo
Nation. The FBI supplies us with vehicles and other
Journey Through equipment. Without that contribution,” he added, “I
think we would be in real serious trouble.”
Indian Country “And without our tribal partners,” said Special Agent
Part 4: Teamwork Makes a Lenny Johns, who supervises our Santa Fe Resident
Agency, “it would be virtually impossible for the Bureau
Difficult Job Easier to accomplish its mission in Indian Country. Many times
Louis St. Germaine, a long-time criminal investigator for it’s just one FBI agent on the reservation dealing with a
the Navajo Nation, has worked closely with FBI agents complex crime scene. The tribal criminal investigators
over the years and recalls the surprise many of them and evidence technicians are critical to the process of
express when first coming to Indian Country. conducting interviews and collecting evidence. Without
them, we’d get very little traction.”
“Sometimes agents expect to see street numbers and
paved roads,” said St. Germaine, who was born and “The FBI brings resources that we’re in dire need of,”
raised on the reservation. “Out here, you make one added veteran criminal investigator Leslie. “But they also
wrong turn at an isolated place and go a few hundred feet bring knowledge.” Leslie has received a variety of FBI
and you can get very lost very quickly.” training, both in the classroom and on the job at crime
scenes.
“And when the sun goes down,” said Malcolm Leslie,
another Navajo criminal investigator, “in some places on Donovan Becenti, a Navajo Nation crime scene techni-
the reservation you can’t see your hand in front of your cian, has processed many crime scenes with the FBI’s
face.” Evidence Response Team (ERT) and has benefited from
FBI training as well.
From the most basic task of finding a crime scene to more
complicated matters regarding language and cultural “The partnership is great,” Becenti said. “ERT out of
barriers, FBI agents in Indian Country depend on their Albuquerque is where I’ve gotten most of my training.
local, federal, and tribal law enforcement partners. And Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today as far
our partners rely equally on us—for expertise, training, as my skill level. And they also provide equipment—
and other resources. evidence collection supplies and whatever else I need to
help get the job done.”
“I don’t think one can do without the other,” said St.
Germaine. “Navajo Nation investigators—we’ve been Becenti was recently presented with an FBI Director’s
here a long time. We are familiar with the area, the Certificate for his many years of helping ERT process
crimes, and the people. The FBI is well-skilled in doing crime scenes on the Navajo reservation. “When you work
investigations. So we combine our talents, and it works alongside someone for 12 straight hours on a homicide
well.” scene in freezing fog and sub-zero temperatures,” he said,
“it builds mutual trust and respect.”
St. Germaine was one of the original members of the
first Safe Trails Task Force, which the FBI created Part 5: A zero-tolerance approach (page 56)

June 25, 2012
Operation Cross Country

Nationwide Sweep Recovers
Child Victims of Prostitution
In the continuing effort to address the national problem
of child sex trafficking, the FBI and our partners today
announced the results of a three-day law enforcement
action in which 79 child victims of prostitution were
recovered and more than 100 pimps were arrested.
Operation Cross Country VI, part of the Bureau’s
Innocence Lost National Initiative, was conducted
over the past 72 hours in 57 cities around the country
FBI and law enforcement personnel talk to a victim during the
with the help of state and local law enforcement and Operation Cross Country VI sweep.
the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
(NCMEC). “It is clear that child prostitution and sex trafficking
do not just occur somewhere else on the other side of
“Child prostitution remains a major threat to children
the world,” said Ernie Allen, president of NCMEC.
across America,” said Kevin Perkins, acting executive
“These insidious crimes are occurring in American
assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response,
cities, and the victims are American kids.”
and Services Branch. “It is a violent and deplorable crime,
and we are working with our partners to disrupt and put At a press conference today at FBI Headquarters in
behind bars individuals and members of criminal enter- Washington, D.C., Allen thanked the FBI for its leader-
prises who would sexually exploit children.” ship over the past decade in fighting domestic sex traf-
ficking. The Bureau, in turn, expressed gratitude to the
The Innocence Lost National Initiative was launched in
more than 8,500 local, state, and federal law enforcement
2003 by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division in part-
officers representing 414 separate agencies who partici-
nership with NCMEC and the Department of Justice’s
pated in the most recent Operation Cross Country and
Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
ongoing enforcement efforts.
To date, 47 Innocence Lost Task Forces and working
In addition to its enforcement successes, the Innocence
groups have recovered more than 2,200 children from the
Lost National Initiative brings state and federal law
streets. The investigations and subsequent 1,017 convic-
enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and social service
tions of pimps, madams, and their associates who exploit
providers from across the country to NCMEC, where the
children through prostitution have resulted in lengthy
groups receive training together.
sentences—including multiple sentences of 25 years to
life in prison—and the seizure of more than $3 million in
assets.
Operation Cross Country national sweeps usually grow
out of local law enforcement actions—officers and other
task force members target places of prostitution such as
truck stops, casinos, street “tracks,” and Internet websites.
Initial arrests are often for violations of local and state
laws relating to prostitution or solicitation. Intelligence
gathered from those arrested can reveal organized efforts
to prostitute women and children across many states.
FBI agents further develop this information in partner-
ship with U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Department
of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section to
bring federal charges against pimps and other sex traffick-
ers.

June 28, 2012
Left: J. Edgar Hoover is seen in a George Washington University Law

School yearbook picture from 1916.
But were the FBI files modeled on the Library of Congress

system? Actually, no. The FBI filing system is based on
the type of case the file covers. Each file is designated
by a classification number—for example, kidnapping
cases begin with the number 7, espionage cases with the
number 65. This is only vaguely similar to the Library’s
system. Also, these classifications were already being used
by the Department of Justice; Hoover’s Bureau simply
adapted them for its own purposes.
What is true, however, is that Hoover’s Library experi-
ence did have a significant impact on how the FBI’s
The Hoover Legacy, filing system was used and adapted. In a 1951 letter
referencing his former position, Hoover wrote, “[T]his job
40 Years After …trained me in the value of collating material. It gave me
an excellent foundation for my work in the FBI where it
Part 2: His First Job and the has been necessary to collate information and evidence.”
FBI Files This ability to synthesize information was key. In 1921,
as assistant director, Hoover oversaw the reform of the
J. Edgar Hoover was just 18 years old when he took his Bureau’s files, which were in disarray after several orga-
first job in government—an entry-level position as a nizational restructurings. For the reform, Hoover took
messenger in the orders department of the Library of something old—the Department of Justice system—and
Congress. something new—indexing the files as they were created.
It was October 13, 1913. No one knew it at the time, And then he used something borrowed—from the
but an important foundation in Hoover’s future career Library of Congress: the idea of extensive cross-references
as FBI Director (and in the Bureau itself) was being within the card indices that provided access to the
laid. content of the FBI files. Each cross-reference pointed
back to the original file and allowed for comparison of
Young Hoover excelled at his work. He impressed his information across all files. So an agent or clerk could
supervisors and was awarded multiple raises. His position find a person’s name, an event, a location, or any number
in the orders department—which acquired books, manu- of other things, even if it was spread across dozens of
scripts, and other items for the Library’s collections— different files at Headquarters and in the field offices. In
included working in the cataloging department and the a profession that requires intelligence at its fingertips and
loan division. The Library was a half-mile from his house the ability to know everything that’s available, this system
and allowed him to attend law school at night, where he was crucial to the success of Hoover’s Bureau as it grew
was studying hard and learning quickly. and adapted to its expanding mission.
On July 25, 1917, Hoover left the Library, and he took a In the end, Hoover’s work at the Library helped the
job the next day as a clerk in the Department of Justice, Bureau to create a filing system that—in comparison
where his story becomes better known. to others of the day—was “unique unto itself,” as one
Hoover’s experiences with the Library of Congress records manager noted in 1941 when surveying the state
and its innovative organization of knowledge have of records across the nation.
often been credited with influencing the creation of Part 3: Another side of Hoover (page 62)
the FBI’s own knowledge management system—the
FBI files. The filing system he helped architect became
almost legendary for its efficiency and over the years has
been fodder for books, news stories, movies, and even
conspiracy theories of all sorts that exaggerate the size
and scope of the files.

July 2, 2012
Inside the Denver JTTF

Part 1: Vigilance
Against Terrorism
It was September 2009—a few days before the eighth
anniversary of the 9/11 attacks—when the Denver
Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) received word that a
Colorado resident and al Qaeda recruit was about to carry
out a major terrorist attack. The jihadist needed to be
located with the utmost urgency.
“We got the call on Labor Day,” recalled Special
Agent John Scata, who supervises one of Denver’s two
James Yacone, special agent in charge of our Denver office, discusses
international terrorism squads, “and we immediately the role of the Denver Joint Terrorism Task Force, or JTTF.
began working around the clock.”
case was well publicized, but our squads handle many
Using the JTTF’s multi-agency approach to conducting other counterterrorism investigations—international and
investigations and gathering and sharing intelligence, task domestic. Protecting the country from terror attacks is
force members located Najibullah Zazi and helped track the FBI’s number one priority.”
him to New York City, where he intended to become a
suicide bomber in the subway system around the time of The JTTF’s team concept works well, Yacone explained.
the 9/11 anniversary. “If we hadn’t found him in Denver “All the local and state police officers and detectives on
as quickly as we did,” Scata said, “he might have gone the task force have the same clearances that our agents
into the wind and things could have turned out differ- do. They sit side by side, work together, and have the
ently.” same access to all our resources.” More than 100 FBI-led
JTTFs located around the country are organized the same
Zazi and two of his high school classmates had previ- way.
ously traveled to Pakistan to receive al Qaeda training,
including how to make bombs. His self-described plot to John Nagengast, a detective with Colorado’s Aurora
“weaken America” by killing innocent subway riders has Police Department, is a JTTF task force officer who
been characterized as one of the most serious terrorist worked on the Zazi case. “I am basically a local cop who
threats to the U.S. since the 9/11 attacks. deals with local crime,” he said. “Working the Zazi case
opened up my world to the threat of terrorism.”
“Zazi is part of the spread of homegrown violent extrem-
ism in America,” said James Yacone, special agent in Nagengast explained that “a lot of entities were involved
charge of our Denver office. “He was trained internation- in the investigation, including the military and the intelli-
ally but he became radicalized in the U.S. through the gence community—and the Denver JTTF was central to
Internet. He was planning and facilitating his attack in the operation. We were ground zero for the Zazi inves-
Colorado, but his target was New York City.” tigation.” He added, “I got to see very quickly how the
Bureau, locals, and state law enforcement came together
The plot was foiled thanks to an all-out effort by with agencies around the world to prevent this attack. It
law enforcement and intelligence agencies around was amazing to be a part of it.”
the world. Much of that effort was focused through
Denver’s JTTF, which is comprised of more than 20 Part 2: Partners help cast a wide safety net (page 58)
local, state, and federal agencies. There are actually
three separate squads that form the task force—two that
deal with international terrorism and one that concen-
trates on domestic terrorism.
Created in 1994, Denver’s JTTF is one of the Bureau’s
oldest (our New York office established the first in 1980).
“Our task force is very active,” said Yacone. “The Zazi

July 5, 2012
Left: “We have zero tolerance for drug trafficking in Indian Country,”
said U.S. Attorney Ken Gonzales. “We’ve made it a priority...to lower,
if not eliminate, our thresholds to take these cases.”
“When you take even one of those bad actors out

of the community, you’ve made a big impact,” said
Special Agent Lenny Johns, who supervises our Santa
Fe Resident Agency. “We have a very close working
relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office on the
no-tolerance program—and other programs—and we are
very proud of the results of that partnership.”
“Having the FBI and federal prosecutors working in a
side-by-side partnership to identify unique cases that
Journey Through impact the community—which we are finding to be gang
Indian Country cases and drug trafficking—and targeting those cases for
fast-track investigation and prosecution has really made a
Part 5: A Zero-Tolerance difference,” Johns added.
Coupled with other initia-
Approach tives such as the Tribal Law
The arrest of a 20-year-old Zuni woman for selling two Enforcement Act—passed
baggies of cocaine that each contained less than one by Congress in 2010 to
gram of the drug might be considered a minor offense strengthen law enforcement
in many jurisdictions—but in Indian Country, federal on the reservations and enable
prosecutors are taking a different approach. tribal courts to hand down
stiffer sentences—Johns and
“We have zero tolerance for drug trafficking in Indian Gonzales believe the federal
Country,” said New Mexico U.S. Attorney Ken justice system is making an
Gonzales. Because alcohol and drugs fuel serious crimes impact in Indian Country,
on the reservation, and because public safety is at stake, even though they acknowledge U.S. Attorney
Gonzales sees the no-tolerance program as an important there are many challenges. Kenneth Gonzales
part of his office’s efforts to fight crime on the reserva-
tions. “The Department of Justice can do a lot to prosecute
crime,” Gonzales said. “With the help of the FBI, the
“If you identify somebody in the community who has Bureau of Indian Affairs, and our local tribal law enforce-
been causing problems for years and years, has rotated in ment partners, we can investigate and take troublesome
and out of the criminal justice system, and is nevertheless people out of the community for extended periods of
out on the street causing big problems,” Gonzales said, time. In that way, we are also doing a lot to prevent
“we will take that case if the individual is caught traffick- crime. It’s all part of our overall anti-violence strategy.”
ing drugs, no matter what the amount. In most instanc-
es,” he explained, “we require a certain amount of drugs “There is no question that a serious crime problem exists
to be able to prosecute a case federally. But we’ve made it in Indian Country,” Johns said.
a priority in Indian County to lower, if not eliminate, our “The bottom line in all our efforts,” he added, “is that we
thresholds to take these cases.” are dedicated to making sure that innocent people on the
The 20-year-old Zuni woman, who was recently sentenced reservation are not victimized.”
to a year in prison for cocaine trafficking, “had a signifi- Part 6: Invaluable experience on the reservation (page 60)
cant tribal court history and was clearly a problem in the
community,” Gonzales said, which is why the FBI and
the U.S. Attorney’s Office got involved. Ordinarily, our
agents investigate major crimes in Indian Country. But
going after habitual small-time drug offenders is another
key way to make reservation communities safer.

July 9, 2012
If It’s Too Good to

Be True…
Massive Ponzi Scheme
Proves Age-Old Adage
If a respected member of your community offered you an
investment opportunity, you might consider it. Especially
if it’s a man of the cloth.
For nearly a decade, Martin Sigillito—a bishop in
the American Anglican Convocation and a St. Louis One of the United Kingdom hotel properties that victims of Martin
attorney—convinced 200-plus people to do more than Sigillito’s Ponzi scheme thought they were investing in.
just consider it: they actually entrusted him with their
take exorbitant fees for himself and his co-conspirators.
money to invest in a financial venture. But this venture
Even though he told investors he would then transmit
turned out to be an old-fashioned Ponzi scheme, and in
the money to the U.K., Sigillito actually kept most of
April of this year, Sigillito was convicted of leading a con-
the funds in one or more American bank accounts he
spiracy that swindled $52 million from victim investors.
controlled.
How the scam began. In late 2000, Sigillito opened a
For a while, the scam was self-sustaining: Many inves-
law office but didn’t actually practice law—instead, he ad-
tors let their interest payments accrue and rolled their
vertised his “international business consulting services.”
loans over every year, plus Sigillito brought in enough
One of the “services” he offered was participation in the
new investors to make interest and principal payments to
British Lending Program (BLP), transformed by Sigillito
any previous investor who asked for payment. And all the
into a Ponzi scheme. Through the BLP, investors could
while, he made enough in “fees” to support his affluent
“loan” money to a real estate developer in the United
lifestyle, which included exclusive club memberships,
Kingdom for short periods of time, mostly one year, at
expensive vacations, a country home, a chauffeur, private
high rates of return—between 10 and 48 percent.
school for his kids, and collections of rare and antique
This real estate developer, according to Sigillito, had books, maps, prints, coins, jewelry, and liquor.
a knack for spotting undervalued properties he could
How the scam ended. Eventually, an increasing number
flip for a profit, had options on land that would become
of investors meant increasing payout requirements, which
valuable when re-zoned, and had inside connections with
resulted in the BLP making late interest payments or
British authorities. It sounded like a win-win for investors.
missing interest payments all together. Then investors
Unfortunately, this British developer was not the wunder- began clamoring to withdraw their funds. And finally,
kind Sigillito made him out to be—he was just another Sigillito’s own assistant became suspicious of his activities
link in the criminal conspiracy. and contacted the FBI.
How did Sigillito convince his investors to part with The takeaway from this case? Fully investigate any invest-
their money? He exploited his personal ties to people ment opportunity before handing over your hard-earned
and particular groups he was affiliated with—like his money.
church, social clubs, professional acquaintances, family,
and neighbors—in a technique known as affinity fraud.
He also held himself up as an expert in international
law and finance and claimed he was a lecturer at Oxford
University in England (when in reality he had simply
taken part in a summer legal program at Oxford).
Sigillito, who also conspired with another American
attorney, insisted that his investors’ funds initially be
placed into his trust account, from which he would

July 12, 2012
Left: Steve Garcia, a major in the Colorado State Patrol who oversees
the Colorado Information Analysis Center, or fusion center, in Denver.
supervises the JTTF. He explained that the fusion center

not only provides tips and leads, it helps fill intelligence
gaps.
In the Zazi case (see page 55), investigators needed to
find out where Zazi had acquired bomb-making chemi-
cals. The fusion center’s 650 terrorism liaison officers
(TLOs)—consisting of local sheriff, police, and fire
department personnel—fanned out in their jurisdictions
to canvass beauty and farm supply stores where those
chemicals might have been purchased.
“We sent out a request for information through our
Inside the Denver JTTF TLO network,” Garcia said, “and they were able to
talk to local merchants to see if Zazi had been there
Part 2: Partners Help Cast a to buy the precursors to TATP, which is what he was
Wide Safety Net eventually found guilty of.”
“The TLOs are a significant force multiplier for us,”
The more than 100 FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces
Olson noted. “They can reach parts of the state that we
(JTTFs) around the country rely on a network of local,
can’t readily access.” In addition to gathering intelligence,
state, and federal partners to help protect the nation.
the TLOs can also be tasked with disseminating informa-
In Denver, one of our key partners is the Colorado
tion. By alerting local merchants that terrorists might
Information Analysis Center.
be seeking certain kinds of chemicals, for example, law
Known by its acronym, CIAC—pronounced “kayak”— enforcement can set tripwires so merchants will report
was established by the state legislature in the wake of the suspicious activity.
9/11 attacks to bring organizations together to gather,
“If somebody comes in your store that you don’t recognize
analyze, and share information. Working in tandem with
and requests a large amount of a precursor chemical, we
the JTTF, the CIAC’s multi-agency fusion approach casts
want you to reach out to your local authorities,” Olson
a wide security net throughout the Colorado region.
said. “That tip makes it to the fusion center through a
“We have representatives from the FBI, the TLO, and then it comes to the JTTF for further investi-
Department of Homeland Security, local law enforce- gation. That allows us to stay one step ahead of potential
ment, local emergency managers, and local firefighters problems.”
who all come together to share information,” said
The FBI maintains a full-time intelligence analyst at the
Steve Garcia, a major in the Colorado State Patrol
fusion center, which facilitates the immediate sharing of
who oversees the center’s operations. “That informa-
information. “Our motto at the CIAC is that information
tion is fused—hence the term fusion center—to create an
sharing is a contact sport,” Garcia said. “You’ve got to get
intelligence-sharing environment.”
up and talk to someone and share that information rather
The FBI is the fusion center’s investigative arm “and the than just sending an e-mail. It’s important to have that
single most important partner we have,” Garcia added, day-to-day, face-to-face contact.”
explaining how the two organizations work hand in hand.
Part 3: The JTTF’s WMD coordinator (page 63)
“Last year we received over 400 tips and leads that came
in to our website or 1-800 number regarding suspicious
activity. The FBI, being the primary agency for counter-
terrorism, goes out and investigates those leads.”
“Our relationship with the fusion center is as significant
as any relationship we have,” said Steve Olson, an as-
sistant special agent in charge in our Denver office who

July 17, 2012
Celebrating Women
Special Agents
Part 2: Two Women
Blaze a Trail in 1972
They were known as the nun and the Marine. The
respective backgrounds of Joanne Pierce Misko and Susan
Roley Malone could not have been more dissimilar. But
40 years ago, on July 17, 1972, the two women were drawn
together by a shared goal—to become FBI special agents.
Up until then, under the leadership of longtime FBI
Director J. Edgar Hoover, only men could be agents. But Joanne Pierce Misko, in red and lower right, and Susan Roley
Malone, seen at the FBI Training Academy in 1972 and today, were
just weeks after Hoover died in May 1972, the Bureau’s the first women of the modern era to become special agents.
acting director—motivated in part by new equal rights
laws—changed the men-only policy that had been in distractions in order to maintain the integrity of training.
place since the Prohibition Era. So on a balmy Monday “They wanted us to be like any other agent,” said Malone,
exactly four decades ago, the two women assembled who was 25 when she entered the FBI Academy. “They
with 43 similarly pressed and starched men at FBI didn’t want to make this inordinately special or set us
Headquarters to take their oath before heading down to apart from our fellow agents. I think that was very impor-
the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia for 14 tant at the time. We wanted to be just another agent.”
weeks (now 20) of physical and mental conditioning.
Despite following wildly divergent paths to Quantico
The new agent training was tough enough on its and having very little in common, Misko and
own—firearms, strength, endurance, self-defense, aca- Malone—the nun and the Marine—leaned on each
demics. But for Misko and Malone, who were expected other to get through training. “We supported each
to meet the requirements long in place for males, there other,” said Malone. “We were complementary. We
was the added dimension of their novelty, which was worked together. We would practice the run at night,
not universally embraced at first. we would go to the gym and work out. We were allies.
There’s that bond there when you’re someone’s roommate
“I’m sure when they first saw that there were two women
and you’re going through the same training. That’s a
in their class it was like, ‘Oh, we got them,’” Misko
lifelong bond.”
recalled in a recent interview. Malone, who had already
broken some stereotypes as a Marine, remembers a fellow Misko and Malone completed the training in October
classmate confronting her during a break, brusquely 1972 and, like all new agents, received orders to report
asking why she thought she could be an FBI agent. “And to one of the Bureau’s field offices. Malone was sent to
I sat down and I talked to him,” Malone stated. “I said, Omaha and Misko to St. Louis. Both women recall being
‘I love my country just like you do. I want to be here for met with some initial resistance in the ranks, but quickly
the same reasons that you want to be here.’” He heard her showed they could pull their weight. The former room-
out. And in the weeks that followed, the two women set mates would cross paths occasionally in their successful
out to demonstrate that they belonged in their coveted careers. They recognize today they were trailblazers, but
slots in New Agent Class 73-1. They won over some of that was never their goal.
the most ardent doubters by rising to every challenge and
“I honestly didn’t see myself as a pioneer,” said Misko,
helping their classmates over some hurdles along the way.
now 71. “It was just a role that I was fortunate enough to
“We got along pretty well and everybody kind of become a part of.”
pulled together as a class,” said Misko, who was 31 at
Malone, 65, echoed Misko’s comments. “I was an agent
the time. “Because in training I think we were all in the
first and Joanne was an agent first. We wanted to be
same boat. We were all trying to prove ourselves.”
agents first. We just happened to be women.”
Permitting women into the ranks of special agents was
Part 3: Early pioneers tell their stories (page 64)
a big story at the time, but the Bureau tried to minimize

July 20, 2012
Left: For agents, the unique experience of working Indian Country

crimes includes deploying—often by themselves—to remote sites
within pueblos or reservations.
fully navigating that environment to conduct interviews,

follow up on leads, collect evidence from a crime scene,
and build a prosecutable case for the U.S. Attorney’s
Office.”
“The sheer number of cases we’re handling adds to the
training experience,” said Fortunato, who worked in our
New York Field Office on counterintelligence matters
before coming to Indian Country several years ago. His
counterintelligence cases spanned months and even years.
Journey Through “Here,” he explained, “because we are reacting to crimes,

we investigate an assault or homicide with our tribal
Indian Country partners, and often within a matter of days we are making
an arrest.”
Part 6: Gaining Invaluable And where he had only a handful of cases in New York,
Experience on the Reservation Fortunato—and most of the agents working in New
Mexico’s Indian Country—have anywhere from 30 to 50
It wasn’t long after his arrival in Indian Country that cases to work at any given time. And they are all major
Special Agent John Fortunato started carrying dog crimes such as murder and child sexual assault.
biscuits in his FBI vehicle. Some of the wild dogs who
“It’s a 24-7 job,” noted Special Agent Mike Harrigan,
roam the New Mexico reservations are a lot easier to
who supervises an Indian Country squad. “An agent is
befriend or distract when they are offered food.
always on call. If something happens, even in the middle
That’s just one small example of how investigating of the night and the crime scene is two hours away by
crimes in Indian Country makes agents resource- car, the on-call agent responds from home. That’s how it
ful—and provides them with an intensive professional works in Indian Country.”
experience they may not get anywhere else in the FBI.
“The agents and professional staff working here in Indian
“We like to say that six months as an investigator on the
Country are as dedicated as any group I have served with
reservation is like two years at any other Bureau office,”
during my 25 years in the FBI,” said Carol K.O. Lee,
Fortunato said. “That’s mainly because of the nature of
special agent in charge of our Albuquerque office. “They
the crimes here and our jurisdictional responsibilities.”
really care about the people on the reservations and
Since 9/11, the FBI has become an intelligence-based, making those communities the best and safest places they
threat-driven organization. Regarding terrorism, for can be.”
example, the mission is to prevent acts of terror rather
than investigate them after they occur. “But in Indian
Country,” said Special Agent Lenny Johns, who super-
vises our Santa Fe Resident Agency, “the majority of the
crimes we have jurisdiction over are still very reactive for
us.”
That means when the FBI is called to the reservation,
usually a serious crime has already been committed. “Our
agents, and particularly new agents,” said Johns, “get a ton
of experience in Indian Country they can apply in other
programs later in their careers. That experience includes
deploying—often by themselves—to a remote site within
a pueblo or reservation, dealing with folks that have a
different cultural background than they do, and success-

July 24, 2012
‘Play How You Practice’

FBI’s WMD Training Workshop
Tests Massive Response
On May 18, a carrier ship bound for the Port of New
Orleans left a Caribbean nation weighted with 12,000
tons of ammonium nitrate. Intelligence later revealed
that two of the ship’s crew members were on terrorist
watch lists. Meanwhile, a few miles outside New Orleans,
police received a report of someone suspiciously circling a
chemical plant in a car while taking pictures.
What may have appeared at first to be isolated inci-
FBI agents and first responders from partner agencies showed some
dents were actually parts of an elaborate drill to test of their equipment at a workshop in New Orleans in May that tested
how well local, state, federal, and even international how well they would respond to a disaster involving weapons
of mass destruction.
emergency responders would coordinate and commu-
nicate in the fog of an unfolding terror plot. The mock infrastructures like chemical and power plants that would
scenario, which played out in a day-long tabletop exercise set off a disruptive ripple effect if attacked. Workshop
in New Orleans last May, was a cascade of escalating participants, including attendees from the Department
disasters that involved the revelation of the plot, multiple of Homeland Security, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the
shootings, a chemical leak, hostage-taking, and the Department of Defense, along with scores of state and
release of nuclear radiation. The object of the exercise local agencies, said the mock scenario helped them refine
was to overwhelm the region’s elaborate web of respond- their preparedness plans.
ers and investigators and force them to turn a critical “It opens everyone’s eyes to what the threats and
eye to how prepared they are for a real disaster involving hazards are,” said Lt. Eric Acosta, a fire safety officer
weapons of mass destruction, or WMD. at a port outside New Orleans. “And everyone knows
“We are training to identify what the WMD threat is everyone so it’s not like, ‘Who’s he?’ when something
around the critical infrastructures and around our key happens.”
resources,” said John Perren, assistant director of the That was a key take-away from the training—having
FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate, which strong working relationships in place makes for a
sponsored the three-day training workshop. “What we do smoother response to any emergency, whether it’s with
is we identify what our roles are, what our responsibilities first-responders or company CEOs. It’s why the FBI has
are, and how we bring that to the table as a force-multi- designated WMD coordinators in its 56 field offices—to
plier to handle this WMD.” knit a fabric of connections in their respective regions.
The workshop is a prime illustration of the WMD “You play how you practice,” said Stephanie Viegas, a
Directorate’s mission, which is to prevent a weapon of special agent and WMD coordinator in our Miami Field
mass destruction—chemical, biological, radiological, Office, who attended the workshop. “The time to get to
nuclear, or explosive—while at the same time preparing know each other is not when something’s happening. It’s
to respond to one. The preventive pieces, or countermea- having meetings together, going over each other’s opera-
sures, include creating and nurturing relationships with tional plans, getting together, and training together so we
experts in the field—scientists, law enforcement partners, have the opportunity to recognize and address any gaps.”
the private sector—so they know how to recognize suspi-
cious activity and how to report it. In the mock terror scenario, each escalating event
prompted a round of questions over who was supposed to
“Together, we form strategic partnerships,” said Perren, do what. Could it have been prevented?
who attended the training. “We identify the gaps. We
identify the vulnerabilities. Together, we develop a plan to “What keeps me up at night is not what I know—it’s
address that vulnerability or that gap.” what I don’t know,” said Perren. “And that’s why we do
these things: to establish tripwires to find out what we
New Orleans provided a challenging backdrop—it has don’t know.”
one of the country’s busiest ports and other critical

July 27, 2012
Left: Courtney Ryley Cooper rolls J. Edgar Hoover’s fingerprints,

circa 1936. National Archives photo
Evidence of this relationship is seen in a February

1938 letter that Hoover sent to Cooper’s wife,
Genevieve, or Gen as Hoover called her. Ryley had just
left D.C. after giving a talk at a joint session of the FBI
National Academy and the current new agent training
class. Hoover told Gen he found Ryley “feeling bad” and
thought his viewpoint was “colored through dark glasses.”
The Director says he tried unsuccessfully to cheer Ryley
up.
In what remains of Hoover’s writings, the letter is unique.
It shows a friendly and personal side of Hoover, who was
The Hoover Legacy, genuinely concerned about an apparent streak of depres-
sion in his friend. The Director himself admits to being
40 Years After “terribly weary and terribly tired,” with “tremendous and
almost overwhelming worries pressing in on me,” but
Part 3: Another Side of J. Edgar still committed to carrying forward. He signed the letter
“Jayee,” a nickname used by very few people in Hoover’s
The mid-1930s were an important turning point for life, again suggesting his close ties to the Coopers.
J. Edgar Hoover’s Bureau. It had just defeated a series
of dangerous gangsters. Its agents were now heralded as It’s not clear what happened over the next several years.
“G-Men.” And it was no longer one of several indistinct In 1940, Ryley Cooper began traveling in Mexico and
“Divisions of Investigation.” In July 1935, it was given California, digging up information for a story or series on
a new name to go with its rising success—the Federal Nazi propaganda and espionage in the United States.
Bureau of Investigation. Tragically, after returning to New York in September
Still, the young FBI faced plenty of criticism, some justi- 1940, Ryley Cooper committed suicide in a hotel room.
fied and some not. During this time, it worked closely Initial press reports indicated that Mrs. Cooper thought
with the Department of Justice (Attorney General Ryley might have been depressed on account of an FBI
Homer Cummings was leading a “war on crime” publicity snub. There is no evidence of this, and Hoover thought
campaign with respected reporter Henry Suydam) and it unlikely, noting that he hadn’t met with Cooper after
the news media to tell its story accurately and favorably. he returned from his travels nor had he discussed his
recent Nazi research with him. Although the 1938 letter
In 1933, Hoover began working with Courtney Ryley hints Ryley’s issues with depression were longstanding, the
Cooper. In the early 1930s, Cooper—a veteran author, mystery remains as to why he took his own life and what
reporter, and publicist—began writing about the problem Hoover made of the loss of his friend.
of crime in the U.S. and the FBI’s growing role in address-
ing it, including a series of articles for American Magazine. The story of Cooper and Hoover is not well known, but
His FBI-centered books included Ten Thousand Public it does shed important light on both Hoover’s personality
Enemies (on the criminal underworld), Here’s to Crime and the FBI’s evolving image during a pivotal time in FBI
(various criminal activities), and Designs in Scarlet (pros- history.
titution). Part 4: The evolution of U.S. intelligence (page 68)
Hoover admired Cooper. The two shared an interest in
denouncing the scourge of crime and a vision that the
FBI was performing an important public service. As a
result, Ryley Cooper (as he was known) came to be a
good friend of J. Edgar and a key influence in shaping the
Bureau’s public image during an often trying time.

July 31, 2012
Inside the Denver JTTF

Part 3: WMD Coordinator
Focuses on Preparedness,
Partnerships
A chlorine truck explodes on a major highway and a
potentially deadly spill occurs. Was it an accident or an
intentional act? Livestock become ill from an unidentified
organism. Is it a public health issue or an act of domestic
terrorism? An official receives a white powder letter. Is it
a hoax or a serious threat?
Providing answers to such questions is the job of our FBI agents train with local responders during a WMD exercise in May.
weapons of mass destruction (WMD) coordinators,
A key resource for Autrey is the Colorado Information
special agents located in each of the FBI’s 56 field
Analysis Center (CIAC)—a multi-agency fusion
offices who work with local, state, and federal law
center designed to use intelligence to facilitate
enforcement; government; academia; and private
criminal and other investigations.
industry to counter the WMD threat.
Robin Koons, a Ph.D. epidemiologist with the Colorado
The FBI created the Weapons of Mass Destruction
Department of Public Safety, works full-time at the fusion
Directorate in 2006 to ensure a coordinated approach
center as an analytical supervisor. She is a subject matter
to incidents involving nuclear, radiological, biological,
expert in biological, chemical, and radiological agents.
or chemical weapons. Carrying out that mission on the
Koons works closely with Autrey on WMD matters and
ground are the WMD coordinators, whose goal is preven-
praises the Bureau’s intelligence-driven, all-inclusive
tion through preparedness and partnerships.
approach.
“When there are potential WMD incidents like a tanker
“We have a very solid relationship with the FBI,” she said.
spill or industrial accident, we are very good at assess-
“The strength of that relationship can especially be seen
ing them,” said Special Agent Dave Autrey, the WMD
during suspicious powder events. Working together, we
coordinator in our Denver office. “Usually, we can quickly
are able to quickly exchange information on the scene
discern if there is any link to terrorism.”
between the fire department, health department, and
Working through the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), other responders, and then the JTTF coordinates the
Autrey relies on a network of organizations in Colorado— information coming in to form a complete picture of the
from first responders to executives at the state’s threat.”
Department of Public Health. “I reach out on a regular
The exchange of information “absolutely works,” Koons
basis to nearly 80 different agencies and departments in
added. “And a big part of why it works is because Dave
my area,” he said.
puts in a lot of time building relationships.”
That outreach consists of training—everything from
“The FBI relies heavily on our state partners,” Autrey ex-
threat briefings to tabletop exercises that play out WMD
plained. “They are the experts in their regions, and they
scenarios—to building relationships. “You don’t want to
know all the players. To effectively deal with the WMD
meet a partner from another agency for the first time on
threats we face requires everyone to work together.”
the scene of an incident,” Autrey said. “That puts every-
body behind the curve.”
“The idea is to get people on the same page,” he added.
“If everyone is properly prepared and sharing information
during an emergency response, firefighters and other first
responders can know exactly what they are dealing with
before they even get to the scene. And law enforcement
can rapidly determine if the incident is terrorist-related.”

August 3, 2012
Left: Agents at firearms training in the 1980s.
Once on the job, some women agents encountered bosses

who weren’t supportive or an occasional chauvinistic
man. Many were thrust into the most dangerous under-
cover work, since criminals didn’t suspect that females
would be agents. For these early women, the standards of
success were often higher than that of the men. As former
Special Agent Nancy Fisher (1978-2004) pointed out,
“You had to be very good. … My friends and I, the female
agents, would always say, ‘Why is it we have to work so
hard to just to be considered average?’”
For the most part, though, these early female agents
were given plenty of support and opportunities to
Celebrating Women succeed. During the Quantico training, most men were
accepting and helpful, going out of their way to run or
Special Agents workout with the women, for example. Former Agent
Yvonne Graham (1978-2001) said, “The guys couldn’t
Part 3: Early Pioneers have been more supportive, more generous of their
Tell Their Stories time…”
“It was a wonderful experience. I wouldn’t trade any of it for Once in their field offices, the women soon proved any
the world. And you know, I hope in some small way, maybe I doubters wrong with their work. They found the support
made it easier for women after me.” of their supervisors and colleagues incredibly helpful.
Former Special Agent Natalie Gore (1976-1986) said, “My
That sentiment—shared by former Special Agent Linda first office was Seattle, and that SAC (Special Agent in
Dunn, who served from 1973 to 1976—was echoed by Charge) there was very much in favor of me being there.
many of the trailblazing women who signed up to be the And that made a huge difference in how the entire office
first female agents in the modern era. dealt with women in the field.”
Their compelling and often moving stories can be These women agents went on to work some landmark
found in a series of interviews of retired Bureau cases—the Patty Hearst kidnapping, the Reagan assassi-
investigators—both women and men—conducted nation, the Unabomber murders, and the attacks of 9/11,
by the Society of Former Special Agents of the to name just a few. Over time, they made lasting contri-
FBI and posted on the website of the National Law butions, not only by paving the way for their colleagues
Enforcement Museum. but by becoming leaders at every level of the organization.
It was in 1972—40 years ago this year—that women Former Special Agent Birdie Pasenelli—the first woman
were allowed to join the ranks of FBI agents, reversing special agent in charge and assistant director—summed
a policy that had been in place since the 1920s. Their it up by saying, “All I ever asked for is, give me an equal
reminiscences several decades later reflect the diversity of shot at doing this, and I’ll prove myself.”
their motivations, experiences, and achievements. Yet, as
you read their stories, you can see that these early female She certainly did, just like all these pioneering women
pioneers wanted the same things—to serve their country, agents.
to make a difference, to be successful at what they did... Part 4: Pop culture’s take on women special agents (page 71)
just like the men.
They faced their share of challenges, to be sure. The
physical requirements of the new agent training, originally
developed for men, were difficult. Some women struggled
with pushups or running; for others, it was boxing and
wrestling. Some said they even faced resentment for
taking a man’s place at the Academy.

August 6, 2012
A Sordid Scam
Two Receive Life Sentences for
Preying on Aspiring Models
Some of the aspiring young models thought they were
getting the chance of a lifetime when they showed up in
South Florida to audition for a man they believed to be
a legitimate talent scout. Instead, they were drugged and
raped on camera—and the resulting videos were sold on A digital camera is documented as evidence in the case.
the Internet.
The two men responsible for this depraved scheme—one “It was clear the women were drugged and often barely
a former police officer and the other a self-described porn conscious,” Carpinteri said.
star—were each sentenced to 12 consecutive life terms in “Because of their memory loss, a lot of the victims
prison earlier this year, thanks in part to the investigative swore that nothing had happened,” she added, “until
efforts of Special Agent Alexis Carpinteri, Det. Nikki we showed them the videos.” Other women woke up in
Fletcher of the Miramar Police Department, and the U.S. their cars the next morning bleeding, covered in vomit,
Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. and disoriented. Some notified police.
“These are probably two of the worst offenders I have In 2007, Flanders and his partner, Emerson Callum, were
ever seen,” said Carpinteri, who works in our Miami arrested and charged by the state of Florida with multiple
office. “There were many more victims than the counts, including sexual assault and distribution of a
multiple women who were represented at trial.” controlled substance. Released on bond pending trial, the
Beginning in 2006, if not before, the subjects used pair eventually began victimizing women again.
Internet modeling sites as their “hunting grounds” to lure That’s when Carpinteri and Fletcher began working on
potential victims, Carpinteri said. They understood the the case to painstakingly unravel the scam. They iden-
industry well enough to impersonate representatives from tified and interviewed victims from various locations
major multinational companies. and pieced together evidence from police reports, rape
The young women, many aged 18 to 22, agreed to come treatment center examinations, DNA results, and cell
to Miami believing they were auditioning for a commer- phone records to help build a case for federal prosecutors.
cial for a prominent liquor company. They were persuaded The subjects were indicted federally in 2011 and later
to come alone because they were told family or boy- convicted by a jury of sexual battery, human trafficking,
friends would be a distraction. The former police officer, and other charges.
Lavont Flanders, Jr., “was not stupid,” Det. Fletcher said. “This was a difficult case,” Fletcher said, “but it had a
“He knew how to manipulate people, and he could be good outcome. It’s very satisfying to know that these two
charming.” individuals will never do this to anyone again.”
The women were told they would be doing a test shoot
in which they would have to drink the liquor they would
be advertising. But the alcohol was laced with a date-rape
drug that made them extremely compliant and often left
them with no memories of what had happened to them.
After the drugs took effect, the women were encouraged
to sign model release forms.
Based on those consent forms, Carpinteri said, “The
subjects thought they were going to get away with it.” Scan this QR code with your smartphone
Initially, investigators and prosecutors were “disturbed by to watch a related video, or visit
the videos” because it appeared the victims were willing
participants. But the raw footage told a different story.

August 9, 2012
Left: Example of monitor display when a computer is infected with
Reveton ransomware.
“While browsing the Internet, a window popped up with

no way to close it,” one Reveton victim recently wrote to
the IC3. “The window was labeled ‘FBI’ and said I was in
violation of one of the following: illegal use of download-
ed media, under-age porn viewing, or computer-use neg-
ligence. It listed fines and penalties for each and directed
me to pay $200 via a MoneyPak order. Instructions were
given on how to load the card and make the payment.
The page said if the demands were not met, criminal
charges would be filed and my computer would remain
locked on that screen.”
New Internet Scam The Reveton virus, used by hackers in conjunction
‘Ransomware’ Locks Computers, with Citadel malware—a software delivery platform
that can disseminate various kinds of computer
Demands Payment viruses—first came to the attention of the FBI in
There is a new “drive-by” virus on the Internet, and it 2011. The IC3 issued a warning on its website in May
often carries a fake message—and fine—purportedly 2012. Since that time, the virus has become more wide-
from the FBI. spread in the United States and internationally. Some
variants of Reveton can even turn on computer webcams
“We’re getting inundated with complaints,” said and display the victim’s picture on the frozen screen.
Donna Gregory of the Internet Crime Complaint
Center (IC3), referring to the virus known as Reveton “We are getting dozens of complaints every day,” Gregory
ransomware, which is designed to extort money from said, noting that there is no easy fix if your computer
its victims. becomes infected. “Unlike other viruses,” she explained,
“Reveton freezes your computer and stops it in its tracks.
Reveton is described as drive-by malware because unlike And the average user will not be able to easily remove the
many viruses—which activate when users open a file malware.”
or attachment—this one can install itself when users
simply click on a compromised website. Once infected, The IC3 suggests the following if you become a victim of
the victim’s computer immediately locks, and the monitor the Reveton virus:
displays a screen stating there has been a violation of ▪ Do not pay any money or provide any personal
federal law. information.
The bogus message goes on to say that the user’s Internet ▪ Contact a computer professional to remove Reveton
address was identified by the FBI or the Department and Citadel from your computer.
of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property
Section as having been associated with child pornogra- ▪ Be aware that even if you are able to unfreeze your
phy sites or other illegal online activity. To unlock their computer on your own, the malware may still operate
machines, users are required to pay a fine using a prepaid in the background. Certain types of malware have
money card service. been known to capture personal information such
as user names, passwords, and credit card numbers
“Some people have actually paid the so-called fine,” said through embedded keystroke logging programs.
the IC3’s Gregory, who oversees a team of cyber crime
subject matter experts. (The IC3 was established in ▪ File a complaint and look for updates about the
2000 as a partnership between the FBI and the National Reveton virus on the IC3 website at www.ic3.gov.
White Collar Crime Center. It gives victims an easy way
to report cyber crimes and provides law enforcement
and regulatory agencies with a central referral system for
complaints.)

August 13, 2012
Insider Trading
Proactive Enforcement Paying Off
Last week, an executive with a global pharmaceuticals
giant headquartered in the U.S. was arrested for insider
trading. He allegedly earned “substantial profits” by
trading stock options using inside information about
three companies his firm was looking to acquire before
they were sold.
Insider trading is just that: the trading of securities or
stocks by “insiders” with material, non-public information
pertaining to significant, often market-moving develop-
ments to benefit themselves or others financially. These using intelligence as well as sophisticated techniques like
developments can include pending mergers and acquisi- undercover operations to identify the most egregious
tions, anticipated earnings releases, and product line offenders. We’ve been able to link seemingly unrelated
developments. cases and uncover large criminal rings of insider trading.
The universe of people with access to this non-public And our new national Fair Markets Initiative will further
information is growing. It includes: focus our insider trading efforts by prioritizing cases, en-
hancing collaboration with the Securities and Exchange
▪ Securities professionals (traders and brokers); Commission (SEC), and increasing our emphasis on intel-
▪ Corporate executives and employees, along with ligence to identify and dismantle insider trading schemes.
employees of banking and brokerage firms and even Our growing caseload reflects the wisdom of our
contractors; approach—we’ve had a 40 percent increase in insider
▪ Lawyers working with companies on mergers and trading cases over the past year.
acquisitions; Coordination with our partners is vital to this success.
▪ Government employees who misuse their legitimate We work very closely with the SEC in a parallel law en-
need-to-know position; and forcement and regulatory effort to ensure fairly operated
financial markets. In fact, we recently embedded an FBI
▪ Even friends, family members, and business associates agent with the SEC in New York.
who are tipped off about the information.
The FBI also maintains a relationship with the North
In addition to this insider knowledge, all of these indi- American Securities Administrators Association—
viduals have another thing in common: the obligation to composed of state and provincial securities regulators in
keep this information in the strictest confidence. the U.S. and Canada—making presentations, offering
Historically, insider trading cases were usually handled training, exchanging best practices, etc.
as isolated incidents where trading was based on a Increasing globalization has led some of our insider
specific instance of material, non-public information trading investigations overseas, where our legal attachés
being provided. use existing relationships with their partners to follow
And these cases have been challenging: investigators up on leads. Individuals engaged in illicit insider trading
have relied on financial documents, phone records, often funnel money through offshore accounts, and
and—more recently—e-mails to determine when and overseas employees of American companies with opera-
how traders receive the non-public details. These criminal tions abroad could be just as susceptible to the lure of
insiders work hard to thwart law enforcement—includ- insider trading.
ing trading through multiple accounts, trading in others’ Insider trading has been a continuous threat to U.S.
names, and using disposable cell phones and prepaid financial markets and has robbed the investing public of
calling cards. some degree of trust that markets operate fairly. Through
But we’ve become much more proactive these days… our investigations, the FBI is working hard to curb that
corruption and help ensure fairness in the marketplace.

August 17, 2012
Left: Director Hoover receives the National Security Medal from Presi-
dent Dwight Eisenhower on May 27, 1955, as then-Vice President
Richard Nixon and others look on.
a new General Intelligence Division—also called the

Radical Division—in response to widespread domestic
terrorist attacks. The purpose of the division was to
gather intelligence about terrorist threats and determine
whether or not they were connected to foreign revolution-
ary movements.
Hoover continued his rise in the department and by 1924
was leading the Bureau of Investigation, the FBI’s pre-
decessor. But during the 1920s, the U.S. faced few major
national security threats. And excesses in the Bureau’s
response to anarchist violence led to a tempering of
The Hoover Legacy, domestic intelligence work during the decade.
40 Years After In the mid-1930s, though, the security picture was

changing. Evidence of Japanese and German (and to a
Part 4: The Evolution of lesser extent, Soviet) espionage began to accumulate, and
the FBI was called upon to investigate. With the start of
U.S. Intelligence World War II, these responsibilities expanded dramati-
cally, with Hoover’s FBI being tapped to handle domestic
Standing outside the White House on a sunny day in May counterintelligence and the collection of foreign intel-
1955, President Dwight Eisenhower smiled as he pinned ligence in the Western Hemisphere.
the National Security Medal on the lapel of one of its first
recipients—FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Throughout this time, Hoover dealt with a number of
challenges. There was no U.S. intelligence community
In the citation, the president recognized Hoover’s “out- of any real size or complexity before the war, so the FBI
standing contribution to the national security of the became a key part of a rapidly growing group and Hoover
United States” through “his exceptional tact, perceptive- a founding father. The number of players in the intelli-
ness, judgment, and brilliant leadership in a position of gence realm was large, and inevitable disagreements arose
great responsibility.” in the midst of some remarkable cooperation. Hoover
The medal had been created only two years earlier by played a central role in sorting out jurisdictional issues,
President Truman to recognize individuals—civilian addressing the inefficiencies of overlapping responsibili-
and military—who had made important contribu- ties, and helping the FBI and its partners navigate the
tions to national security in the field of intelligence. steep learning curve of intelligence.
The honor has since been supplanted by the National As the war ended and Soviet espionage became clear,
Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal. Hoover’s FBI took its hard-won knowledge of intelligence
Given that many Americans associate the early Bureau and its tradecraft and shifted its attention to the new
with chasing gangsters and solving murders and other threat, uncovering earlier Soviet efforts and moving
violent crimes, it might seem unusual for a law enforce- proactively against its current and future operations.
ment leader to have been given such an award at that The end result of Hoover’s leadership was not just the
point in history. But Hoover, as it turns out, had played National Security Medal, but a stronger and more capable
a key role in the evolution of the U.S. intelligence com- Bureau that would play a key role in America’s national
munity and the transformation of the FBI into a national security structure for decades to come.
security organization.
Part 5: A day in the life (page 79)
That evolution took place over several decades. Hoover
joined the Department of Justice two months after the
U.S. entered World War I, when intelligence issues were a
top priority. Within two years, he was appointed to head

August 21, 2012
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 illustrates how
when fraudsters manipulate that system, lenders can lose
millions—and innocent buyers and sellers also suffer.
“Imagine,” said Special Agent Denise Stemen, “a
world where buyers don’t fill out any mortgage paper-
Angel Puentes—also known as D’Angelo Salvatore—was so influential
work—and don’t even read it—because everything on he created his own glossy real estate magazine called House King.
the application is a lie.” The publication’s masthead is seen above.
The House King, Angel Puentes, used a classic loan from the mortgage, leaving the lender with a toxic asset.
origination scam, said Stemen, a veteran mortgage fraud Meanwhile, he was living large, taking trips to Paris and
investigator in our Miami office. “In this scheme, you had buying a Ferrari.
all the players,” she explained, from straw buyers—who
We began investigating Puentes in 2008. At the time,
were paid to lend their name to documents—to a real
before the real estate market began to collapse in South
estate agent, licensed mortgage broker, and title attorney.
Florida and around the country, many speculators were
Mortgage applications were falsified to inflate the value
buying properties and trying to flip them for quick profits.
of properties, defraud lenders, and line the pockets of the
But Stemen said, “Our investigation focused on the orga-
fraudsters.
nized group that was falsifying documents to profit from
Puentes—also known as D’Angelo Salvatore—was so the loan origination schemes.”
influential he created his own glossy real estate magazine
Puentes was indicted in February 2011 on multiple
called House King. “Five or six years ago, he was the
counts of wire and bank fraud and for defrauding
guru of South Florida real estate,” said Special Agent
three lending institutions out of approximately $10.5
Mark Soucy, who investigated the case, adding that “100
million. Although he fled the country for a time, Puentes
percent of the funding for the magazine came from the
eventually returned and was arrested. In June 2011, he
fraud he was committing.”
was sentenced to more than eight years in prison.
The House King paid straw buyers to sign bogus
Because of fraudsters such as Puentes, South Florida real
mortgage applications claiming that purchased homes
estate was artificially inflated and innocent people paid
would be their primary residences—when in reality,
too much for their homes. When the market crashed,
they had no intention of living there. The fraud was so
many of those homeowners were left underwater—their
extensive that some buyers had closings with three differ-
property worth less than what they paid for it.
ent lenders on the same day.
“Those are the true victims of this type of mortgage
An attorney signed off on the fake documents, and the
fraud,” Soucy said—“the legitimate South Florida resi-
lenders—believing everything was legitimate—made
dents whose home values were inflated because of these
the loans. The applications also inflated the value of
fraudulent transactions.”
the properties. If a home was appraised at $400,000, for
example, the bogus loan application might list the value
at $500,000. Puentes pocketed the extra money and used
it to pay his accomplices. He then paid the mortgage
for a number of months until he could flip the property
for a further profit—or sometimes he rented it out to
generate more income. But then he stopped paying. After
taking his ill-gotten profit, Puentes simply walked away

August 24, 2012
Left: 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
perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, and other related

atrocities—the worst of the worst—and apprehend them.”
These types of investigations are among the most
complex ones we work. They typically involve piecing
together fragmentary bits of information, interviewing
overseas witnesses in conflict zones, collecting evidence
in other countries, and accommodating language barriers.
And the key to successfully conducting them—according
to VanNest—is cooperation.
“The GWCU works shoulder-to-shoulder with our U.S.
Genocide and federal partners—most often with the Department
of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs
War Crimes Enforcement (ICE)—to determine if there’s a violation of
U.S. law,” says VanNest. “If so, we envision working many
New Webpage Designed to Raise of these cases jointly with our partners in ICE’s Homeland
Security Investigations.”
Awareness, Solicit Information
Internationally—because the bulk of these investiga-
Kosovo…Rwanda…Srebrenica. These places will forever tions occur overseas—we work through our network of
be associated with unspeakable, brutal acts of genocide legal attachés who have established relationships with
and war crimes. our counterparts in foreign nations and who coordinate
our work with international criminal tribunals. We also
The global community has banded together to help
cooperate with INTERPOL.
prevent crimes like these and to bring to justice the
perpetrators who commit them. The U.S. is part of this On the overview section of our new webpage, you can
international effort—most recently through the creation find out more about how we offer additional support—
of an interagency Atrocities Prevention Board. And the such as crime scene preservation, interviewing tech-
FBI supports the government’s efforts through its own niques, age-enhancing photos, language services, and
Genocide War Crimes Program. increasingly, victim/witness services—to foreign authori-
ties and who our primary domestic and international
Today, in an effort to raise awareness about these crimes
partners are.
and the FBI’s part in helping to combat them, we’re
announcing the launch of our Genocide War Crimes Members of the GWCU, usually in conjunction with our
Program webpage. In addition to educating the public on ICE counterparts, coordinate our genocide/war crimes
our role, the website solicits information from victims and investigations. Collectively, GWCU agents and intel-
others about acts of genocide, war crimes, or related mass ligence analysts in the unit are carefully selected for what
atrocities that can be submitted to us through tips.fbi.gov they can bring to the table—subject matter expertise,
or by contacting an FBI field office or legal attaché office. interviewing skills, experience in past critical incident
response, foreign language ability, and experience working
Why is the FBI involved, especially since these inci-
with partner agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
dents primarily take place overseas? Take a look at the
jurisdiction section of our new website, which explains “Our ultimate goal,” says VanNest, “is to ensure that
the 1998 Presidential Executive Order 13107 and the four perpetrators of these heinous crimes find no safe
U.S. laws dealing with genocide, war crimes, torture, and haven in the United States, or for that matter, no safe
recruitment or use of child soldiers. haven anywhere in the world.”
According to Special Agent Jeffrey VanNest, who heads
up our Genocide War Crimes Unit (GWCU), our mission
is to “systematically and methodically help track down

August 28, 2012
Celebrating Women
Special Agents
Part 4: Who Said It?
Pop Culture’s Take on
Women Special Agents
1. “I am in a dress, I have gel in my hair, I haven’t slept
all night, I’m starved, and I’m armed! Don’t mess with
me!”
2. “You see a lot, doctor. But are you strong enough to
point that high-powered perception at yourself? A scene from The X-Files, which featured agents investigating
What about it? Why don’t you—why don’t you look paranormal phenomenon. Hint: the female agent pictured
here said one of the quotes in the quiz.
at yourself and write down what you see? Or maybe
you’re afraid to.” a matter of time before women agents are cast as the
operational leaders they are in real life.
3. “He was kinda of cute...for a sociopath.”
4. “Hey, you think it’s easy being surrounded by guys Key to the Quiz
with guns all day?” 1. Special Agent Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) is an FBI agent in Miss Congeniality
Male agent: “I thought you liked guys with guns.” (2000) who isn’t entirely happy about going undercover in the Miss United States beauty
pageant to prevent a group from bombing the event.
“I like the guns.”
2. Special Agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), fresh out of new agent training, verbally
spars with the perfidious Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 film Silence of the Lambs.
5. “What are you doing here?”
Male scientist: “We’re trying to plug a hole in the 3. New Agent Janis Zuckerman (Mary Gross) teams with Ellie DeWitt (Rebecca De
Mornay) in FEDS (1988) to try to get through the hazing and hazards of FBI new agent
universe. What are you doing here?” training.
“Apparently the same thing.”
4. Special Agent Samantha “Sam” Spade (Poppy Montgomery) works on a fictional
Missing Persons Squad in New York City in the television series Without a Trace, which
6. “Sometimes looking for extreme possibilities makes ran from 2002 to 2009.
you blind to the probable explanation right in front of 5. In a series with parallel universes, Special Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) is part
you.” of a multi-agency task force investigating strange crimes with the help of an institution-
alized scientist in Fringe: There’s More Than One of Everything (2009).
7. “Journalist William D. Tammeus wrote: You don’t 6. Special Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) waxes philosophical with her partner
really understand human nature unless you know why Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) in the television science fiction drama The X-Files, which
ran from 1993 to 2002.
a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents
every time around and why his parents will always 7. In Criminal Minds: Cradle to Grave (2009), Special Agent Jennifer “JJ” Jareau gives
her signature voiceover to an episode featuring the fictional casework of the FBI’s
wave back.” Behavioral Analysis Unit at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
8. “A cup of tea, a German-English dictionary, and I’ll 8. Special Agent Diana Barrigan (Marsha Thomason) sets Peter Burke straight in the
“Deadline” episode of White Collar (2009).
have it translated in a day or two.”
Part 5: A diversity of backgrounds and experiences (page 72)
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 profes-
sion. 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. We think it’s just

August 31, 2012
Left: Brenda Heck, on competing to be on the FBI Hostage Rescue
Team in 1993: “I was driven by the challenge. It didn’t even occur to
me that I was being questioned because I was a female. It just never
occurred to me. I imagine I probably surprised a few people.”
Their stories, revealed in more than a dozen inter-

views 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.
Celebrating Women A common thread is that none aspired to be great women

agents, just great agents that happened to be women.
Special Agents Here’s a preview:
Part 5: A Diversity of ▪ A 24-year agent who early in her career competed
for a spot on the all-male Hostage Rescue Team:
Backgrounds and Experiences “I was driven by the challenge. It didn’t even occur to
me that I was a female and that I was being ques-
In the 40 years since the FBI began training women to
tioned because I was a female.”
be special agents, many have said it was a dream they
had held since childhood. They played cops and robbers ▪ A retired agent who rose through a series of
as kids, kept their noses clean, and maybe joined the leadership firsts to the Bureau’s third-highest
military or the local police, consciously burnishing their position: “At the time, when women became the first
credentials on the road to becoming G-Women. at anything, somebody always took notice. And often
it was the women who took notice because we were
“I’m not quite sure where the seed got planted,” said
trying to find our way and make sure that we had the
Katrina G., an agent who now runs the Bureau’s Forensic
opportunities that men who were agents had. And we
Audio Video and Image Analysis Unit. “But I thought the
did.”
FBI—fidelity, bravery, integrity—you can’t go wrong. I
always wanted to be someone to do the right thing, to be ▪ Special agent in charge of the Anchorage Division:
fair and honest, and to stick up for the little guys.” “I think women coming through today, they benefit
from the experiences of all the women that have gone
Others followed a less scripted route. Shelia T., an agent
before and the fact that it’s not considered so unusual
at the FBI’s Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory in
now.”
Quantico, Virginia, set out in college to be a research pro-
fessor and was well on her way when she drove a friend to The growing ranks of women agents echo the Anchor-
an FBI recruitment event on campus. “We went in and age agent’s comments—there are more than 2,600 today,
sat through the session,” she recalled. “My friend is listen- including 11 in charge of field offices. “As a whole, the
ing because she’s interested, and I’m in the back waiting Bureau is better for having women agents,” she said. “I
for her to finish so we can go study.” An agent suggested think we make the Bureau more complete.”
Shelia apply, too. She found herself at the FBI Academy
for new-agent training on August 16, 1998. A few years Part 6: Working undercover (page 78)
later, she was in Ken Lay’s office at Enron, collecting
evidence at the center of the Bureau’s largest-ever white-
collar crime scene.
to watch one in a series of related videos,
or visit http://www.fbi.gov/news/videos/.

September 4, 2012

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 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.
“Gulf Coast residents were shocked by the murders,”
Special Agent Royce Hignight initiated the investigation
Bell said. Local authorities worked the case unsuccessful-
of the sheriff and was soon joined by Bell.
ly for two years. The FBI opened an investigation in 1989,
“They were doing anything and everything illegal down and Bell was assisted in the investigation by Capt. Randy
here,” said Bell, who grew up on the Gulf Coast. “For Cook of the revamped sheriff’s office—Leroy Hobbs was
money, the sheriff and officers loyal to him would release convicted of racketeering in 1984 and sentenced to 20
prisoners from the county jail, safeguard drug shipments, years in prison.
and hide fugitives. Anything you can think of, they were
The federal investigation into the Sherry murders lasted
involved in.”
eight years. In the final trial in 1997, Pete Halat was sen-
Bell is quick to point out that there were plenty of honest tenced to 18 years in prison. Kirksey McCord Nix—the
officers on the force, and some would later help the FBI Dixie Mafia kingpin at Angola who ordered the hits—as
put an end to the culture of corruption in Biloxi. But for well as the hit man who killed the Sherrys each received
a long time, Sheriff Leroy Hobbs and his Dixie Mafia life sentences.
associates held sway.
As a result of the cases, Bell said, “Gulf Coast citizens
The Dixie Mafia had no ties to La Cosa Nostra. They started demanding more professional law enforcement
were a loose confederation of thugs and crooks who con- and better government.” Bell—who wanted to be an FBI
ducted their criminal activity in the Southeastern United agent since he first watched The FBI television series as a
States. When word got out that Biloxi—with its history child—added, “It meant a lot to me to return to my home
of strip clubs and illicit gambling—was a safe haven, the and do something about the corruption that had worked
criminals settled in. its way into government and law enforcement there.” He
added, “The majority of citizens realized that if the FBI
At the same time, members of the organization incarcer-
had not stepped in, the lawlessness and corruption would
ated at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola were
likely have continued unabated.”
running a “lonely hearts” extortion scam with associ-
ates on the street. The scam targeted homosexuals and
brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars—money they
entrusted to their lawyer, Pete Halat.
But Halat, who would later become mayor of Biloxi, spent
the money. When it came time to hand it over to the
crooks, he said the cash had been taken by his former law
partner, Vincent Sherry. So the Dixie mob ordered a hit
on Sherry, a sitting state circuit judge who had no direct
ties to the criminals. On September 14, 1987, Sherry and
his wife were murdered in their home.

September 7, 2012
pregnant. Often, they will fake a pregnancy in the hopes

of keeping a boyfriend or husband.” In most cases, she
added, the women intend no harm to the infants—and
maybe not even the mother. “They just want a child to
raise as their own and will do anything to get one.”
Another emerging trend, Douglas said, is that women
desperate for a child are turning to social network-
ing websites to locate victims. “We have seen several
recent cases involving social networking sites,” she
explained, “and we see how easy it is to use these
websites to gain access to targets.”
In January, for example, a 32-year-old Florida woman de-
veloped a friendship with a younger new mother through
Infant Abductions a social networking site. The woman lied about having
her own newborn and claimed the child was sick and
A Violent Trend Emerges in the hospital. The victim invited the woman to spend
the night at her house, and the next morning, when
It is relatively rare for infants to be abducted by strang- the victim was in the shower, the woman abducted her
ers. But it does happen. And recent analysis of abduction 2-week-old infant. She then deleted her contact informa-
cases by the FBI suggests there are new and troubling tion from the victim’s social networking site, thinking
trends for expectant parents to be aware of, including she would not be found. The baby was recovered and the
women kidnappers using violence to commit their crimes woman was arrested.
and social media to target their victims.
“Parents should check their privacy settings on social
In April, for example, a 30-year-old Texas woman shot networking sites,” Douglas said, and they should always
and killed a 28-year-old mother while kidnapping her use caution on the Internet. Without the proper settings,
3-day-old son from a pediatric center. The infant was pictures posted online can contain embedded information
recovered six hours later. that allows others to track your movements.
“For the most part, women are no longer going into hospi- “This information is important to share with parents,”
tals and dressing in nurse’s uniforms and walking out with Douglas said. “They should be aware of their physical sur-
children,” said Ashli-Jade Douglas, an FBI intelligence roundings and how they use the Internet. This can help
analyst who works in our Crimes Against Children Unit protect mothers and their babies.”
and specializes in child abduction matters. That’s because
hospital security has greatly improved over the years.
A recent case illustrates the point: Last month, a woman
entered a California hospital dressed in medical scrubs
and abducted a newborn girl, hiding the baby in a bag.
But when she attempted to walk out of the hospital, the
baby’s security bracelet triggered an alarm and the woman
was caught.
Because of heightened hospital security, Douglas said,
“now women who desperately want a child—and are
willing to go to extreme lengths to get one—have to gain
direct contact with their victims, and that’s when things
can turn violent.”
“The women who commit these crimes are usually
between the ages of 17 and 33,” said Douglas, who
provides analytical support to our Child Abduction
Rapid Deployment Team. “Usually, they are unable to get

September 11, 2012
30-Year-Old
Murder Solved
Fingerprint Technology
Played Key Role
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.
A latent thumbprint from the crime scene (inset) was matched to this
One immediate technology example that comes to mind IAFIS record.
is automated fingerprint searching—more precisely,
searches of latent prints of violent unknown perpetra- The re-investigation: In late 2008, the Omaha Police
tors left at crime scenes. (Latent prints are impres- Department received an inquiry on the case, prompt-
sions—usually invisible to the naked eye—produced ing technician Laura Casey to search the prints against
by the ridged skin on human fingers, palms, or soles of IAFIS (which didn’t exist in 1978). In less than five
the feet.) The FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint hours, IAFIS returned possible candidates for compari-
Identification System (IAFIS), which houses known son purposes. Casey spent days carefully examining the
records for approximately 73 million criminal subjects, prints and came up with a positive identification—Jerry
is used daily by local, state, tribal, and international law Watson, who was serving time in an Illinois prison on
enforcement for current cases, but increasingly for help in burglary charges.
solving cold cases as well. And once a year, the Bureau’s The case was officially re-opened and assigned to the
Criminal Justice Information Services Division recognizes cold case squad’s Doug Herout. Working with laboratory
an outstanding major case solved with help from IAFIS. technicians and analysts, Herout reviewed the original
The 2012 Latent Hit of the Year Award was presented evidence from the case, including a classified advertise-
last month to two employees of the Omaha Police ment flyer with “Jerry W.” scribbled on one of the pages.
Department—Detective Douglas Herout and Senior Herout also discovered that Jerry Watson had lived only a
Crime Laboratory Technician Laura Casey—for their few blocks from where the victim’s car was recovered.
efforts to identify the man responsible for a brutal murder And the discovery was made just in time—Watson was
more than 30 years ago. just days away from being released from prison.
The crime: In 1978, 61-year-old Carroll Bonnet was Herout traveled to Illinois to question Watson and
stabbed to death in his apartment. Police collected presented him with an order to obtain a DNA sample.
evidence, including latent fingerprints and palmprints Subsequent testing determined that Watson’s DNA
from the victim’s bathroom (officers believed the killer matched DNA recovered at the crime scene, a finding
was trying to wash off blood and other evidence before that—combined with Watson’s identified prints—resulted
leaving the apartment). The victim’s car was then stolen. in murder charges and a conviction. On October 17,
The investigation: The car was found in Illinois, but 2011—33 years to the day that Bonnet’s body was discov-
after collecting additional latent prints, investigators ered—his killer was sentenced to life in prison.
couldn’t develop any new leads. The crime scene evidence It’s yet another example of the vital role that technology
was processed, and latent prints recovered from the scene plays in getting dangerous criminals off our streets.
and the car were searched against local and state finger-
print files. Investigators also sent fingerprint requests to
agencies outside Nebraska, but no matches were returned
and the case soon went cold.

September 14, 2012
of his associates would ask for her cell phone number to

contact her offline and make plans to meet.
After some more flattery about their attractiveness,
sometimes hits of illegal drugs and alcohol, and even
mandatory sexual “tryouts” with Strom and other gang
members, the girls were lured into engaging in commer-
cial sex, often with the help of more senior girls showing
them the ropes. The girls might be sent to an apartment
complex with instructions to knock on doors looking for
potential customers…or driven to hotels for pre-arranged
meetings…or taken to Strom’s house, where he allowed
paying customers to have sex with them.
In addition to using the Internet, Strom and his associ-
Teen Prostitution ates recruited vulnerable young girls from schools and bus
and rail stops. He also went online to find customers—
Gang Used Social Media Sites to postings ads on various websites showing scantily clad
young women.
Identify Potential Victims Some of the juvenile victims were threatened with
It’s yet another reason why parents need to keep a close violence if they didn’t perform as directed, and many were
eye on their kids’ involvement with social networking given drugs or alcohol to keep them sedated and compli-
websites—during a three-year period ending in March ant.
2012, members of a violent Virginia street gang used some Strom and his associates did not discriminate—their
of these websites to recruit vulnerable high-school age victims were from across the socioeconomic spectrum
girls to work in their prostitution business. and represented different ethnic backgrounds.
After a multi-agency state and federal investigation, all The FBI’s Washington Field Office worked the investiga-
five defendants pled guilty to various federal charges tion alongside the Fairfax County Police Department,
related to the sex trafficking conspiracy. The leader of with the assistance of the Northern Virginia Human
the gang—27-year-old Justin Strom—was sentenced on Trafficking Task Force.
September 14 to 40 years in prison, while the sentences
handed down for the other four defendants totaled 53 After the group’s indictment in March 2012, then-Special
years. Agent in Charge Ronald Hosko of our Washington
Field Office reiterated the importance of working with
Strom headed up the Underground Gangster Crips our partners and community groups in combating these
(UGC), a Crips “set” based in Fairfax, Virginia. The types of despicable crimes. He also said, “Trafficking in
Crips originated in Los Angeles in the late 1960s and humans, especially for the purpose of underage prostitu-
early 1970s, and since then, the gang has splintered into tion, is among the most insidious of crimes…and the FBI
various groups around the country. Law enforcement has will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to track down
seen a number of Crips sets in the U.S. engaging in sex those who exploit our children and engage in human
trafficking as a means of making money. trafficking.”
That’s certainly what was happening in Virginia.
Strom and his UGC associates would troll social network-
ing sites, looking for attractive young girls. After identify-
ing a potential victim, they would contact her online
using phony identities...complimenting her on her looks,
asking to get to know her better, sometimes offering her
the opportunity to make money as a result of her looks.
If the victim expressed interest (and many did, being
young and easily flattered by the attention), Strom or one

September 18, 2012
New Top Ten Art Crime

Reward Offered for Stolen
Renoir Painting
An oil painting by French Impressionist Pierre Auguste
Renoir stolen from a Houston home last year—and
estimated to be worth $1 million—is the newest addition
to the FBI’s Top Ten Art Crimes list.
The painting, Madeleine Leaning on Her Elbow with
Flowers in Her Hair, was stolen during an armed
robbery on September 8, 2011. The homeowner was
watching television when she heard a loud noise down-
Madeleine Leaning on Her Elbow with Flowers in Her Hair
stairs. When she went to investigate, she was confronted
by an armed man in a ski mask. Sgt. Schneider said that while Houston has had its share
“We hope that adding the Renoir to the FBI’s Top Ten of art crimes, few have been as high-profile as the theft of
list and publicizing the reward of up to $50,000 for the Renoir. He added that the thief would likely try to sell
information leading to the recovery of the painting will the painting in a larger art community like New York or
prompt someone to come forward,” said Peter Schneider, Los Angeles, or possibly overseas.
a sergeant with the Houston Police Department who The FBI established the Top Ten Art Crimes list in 2005.
is a member of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force in Since then, six paintings and one sculpture have been re-
Houston. covered, including a Rembrandt self-portrait and another
Information about the painting has been included in Renoir work titled Young Parisian stolen from Sweden’s
the FBI’s National Stolen Art File, as well as other National Museum. The current list may be found on the
similar online tools—including the Art Loss Register art theft program page on the FBI Internet website.
and INTERPOL’s Works of Art database—that alert art We need your help: Anyone with information about the
dealers, gallery owners, and auction houses about missing stolen Renoir is encouraged to contact their local FBI
and stolen artwork. office or the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate, or to
“If the thief tries to place the painting with a reputable submit a tip online at https://tips.fbi.gov. A private insurer
dealer or gallery, or tries to sell it at auction, members of is offering up to $50,000 for information leading to the
the art community here and overseas who regularly check recovery of the painting.
these databases will see that the artwork has been stolen
and will alert the FBI,” said Bonnie Magness-Gardiner,
who manages the Bureau’s art theft program. “Our goal
is to provide information about this theft to the widest
audience possible,” she said.
Renoir, a master Impressionist, painted Madeleine Leaning
on Her Elbow with Flowers in Her Hair in 1918. The
canvas size is 50.17 x 41.28 centimeters, and the artist
signed the oil portrait in the lower right corner. The
painting was taken with its frame intact from the stairwell
where it hung.
The masked robber, who forced entry through the
back door of the home, is described as a white male,
18 to 26 years old, who weighs about 160 pounds and
is approximately 5’10” tall. He was armed with a large-
caliber, semi-automatic handgun.

September 21, 2012
in mortgage fraud, a wealthy investor; in public corrup-

tion, a CEO; and in organized crime, a business woman
in one case and a girlfriend to a male undercover agent in
another.”
Q. What qualities do you think undercover agents
need to be successful?
Agent #1: “I think the FBI needs a variety of people with
different qualities for undercover work…a loner would
be a great fit for some cases, while a gregarious, outgoing
person would be perfect for another.”
Agent #3: “Both life and job experiences contribute to
being a successful undercover agent—being a team player,
having a good work ethic and a sense of humor, staying
Celebrating Women flexible, and exercising good judgment and common
sense. I also think that the many roles we play in real
Special Agents life—wife, mother, girlfriend, etc.—help us get close to
our subjects.”
Part 6: Working Undercover
Q. Have the criminals in your investigations ever said
They’ve played the part of everyone from a college anything after they learned who you really were?
student to a CEO…created and run entire fictitious
Agent #1: “Yes. Many times, criminals offer us up (as
companies…attended motorcycle gang weddings…even
crooked colleagues) when they’re trying to cooperate in
been “arrested” for the good of the cause.
post-arrest interviews. It’s pretty interesting to see how
In the four decades since women have served as FBI convinced they are that we’re really criminals, too!”
agents, they’ve taken on one of the most difficult—yet
Agent #2: “I think the words that sum it up best are, ‘No
vitally important—roles in the Bureau: going under-
way, I don’t believe it!’ That makes me feel like I’ve done
cover.
my job well.”
Our early female pioneers had a lot of fascinating stories
Q. What’s your most memorable experience while
to tell about this work—how dangerous it was, how they
serving undercover?
gained the trust of criminals, how they used their special-
ized language and other skills. Agent #1: “It’s difficult to pick one. I’ve listened to
domestic extremists talk about how corrupt the U.S.
Recently, we talked with three current female agents
is; pretended to befriend a dirty drug-dealing cop; been
about their undercover experiences. Despite the chal-
arrested and jailed (twice!); attended high-end poker
lenges of the job, all are passionate about their work
games; and paid kickbacks to corrupt doctors.”
and believe that women bring unique perspectives that
enhance their effectiveness on the job. Agent #2: “During a health care fraud case, a target
doctor was showing me around his office and offered me
Because of obvious sensitivities, we’re keeping the identi-
free Botox injections in my forehead. I didn’t want to
ties of these agents confidential.
make him suspicious, so I got the injections. I had to do a
Q. What types of cases have you been involved in, and lot of paperwork explaining that one!”
what types of roles have you played?
“These women, and others like them,” says the agent
Agent #2: “I’ve worked cases involving outlaw motorcycle who currently oversees the Bureau’s Undercover and
gangs, espionage, and public corruption, among others. Sensitive Operations Unit, “are a huge asset…many past
I’ve had roles where I was the primary undercover, the and ongoing undercover operations owe their successes
secondary undercover, and even had cameo undercover to the unique perspectives, expertise, and diversity female
appearances in other undercover operations.” undercover personnel regularly provide in this elite and
demanding area.”
Agent #3: “A variety of cases and roles…for instance, in
health care fraud, a patient seeking prescription medicine; Part 7: Two made the ultimate sacrifice (page 90)

September 25, 2012
The Hoover Legacy,

40 Years After
Part 5: A Day in the Life
It’s 50 years ago today, a warm morning in late September
1962. The 67-year-old J. Edgar Hoover—who by then had
served as FBI Director for 38 years—woke up, showered,
and dressed.
Hoover’s long-time housekeeper, Annie Fields, served
breakfast, and the Director shared a fair amount of it with
his two Cairn Terriers—Cindy and G-Boy, his third dog
by that name. J. Edgar Hoover at his desk.
By 8 a.m., a Bureau driver arrived to get Hoover and then

Just before 10 a.m., Hoover moved to his larger, formal
drove a few blocks away and picked up Associate Director
office and began a series of public meetings. He met
Clyde Tolson. Since it was a nice day, the car stopped on
with Lieutenant Colonel Jose Lukhan, his counterpart
Virginia Avenue near the National Mall. The two elderly
in the Philippines. Then came a visit with Special Agent
gentlemen got out and walked the remaining six or seven
Robert G. Emond, who was about to become the head of
blocks to the Department of Justice building.
security at the U.S. Information Agency.
Once inside, Hoover and Tolson took the elevator to the
Promptly a few minutes before noon, Hoover and Tolson
fifth floor. Hoover’s office suite was at the corner of the
were driven to the Mayflower Hotel for their regular
building on Pennsylvania Avenue and 9th Street, and
lunch, which lasted an hour. Hoover’s afternoon included
Tolson’s was across the hall.
a meeting with a visiting retired agent and a dental
For the first hour or so, Hoover worked from his appointment. Shortly after 4:30 p.m., Hoover received
private office, reading through the many reports, a telephone call from President Kennedy’s chief of staff,
offering his comments, and issuing his orders on Kenneth O’Donnel; the two talked for some time. Given
the Bureau’s large and diverse number of cases and the developing Cuban Missile Crisis and the impending
administrative matters. His comments—written in blue desegregation of the University of Mississippi, the issue of
ink—showed a breadth of knowledge of Bureau activities the call was clearly of national importance.
and, sometimes, revealed Hoover’s personality and sharp
At 5:20 p.m., Hoover and Tolson left together and were
wit.
driven to their respective homes. Many days Hoover
stayed much later.
For the aging Hoover, this day—recreated from previ-
ously released office logs, FBI files, and other govern-
ment documents—was a typical one. The Director
would pass away in his sleep just under a decade later,
ending his remarkable 48-year run as head of the FBI. His
time in office, which represented a period of great cultural
and technological change for the nation, was not without
its missteps. But as Director, Hoover’s intelligence and
organizational skills helped turn a small, largely unknown
organization into what it is today—a premier national
security organization with both law enforcement and
intelligence responsibilities, one that protects the nation
Hoover meets with associates in his front office in the 1940s. from a variety of serious threats while providing leader-
ship to its partners around the world.

September 28, 2012
Left: National Academy students who successfully tackle the “Yellow
Brick Road,” a grueling 6.1 mile run and obstacle course, receive a
yellow brick to signify their accomplishment.
“The amount of knowledge is so vast among National

Academy students that there is pretty much no law
enforcement problem that can’t be solved,” Cappetta tells
classes when they first arrive at Quantico. “Whatever
problem you might be having in your police department,
there is someone in the session who has gone through the
same thing.”
Michael Connolly, a captain in the San Francisco Police
Department who graduated with this most recent class,
agreed. “Now I have nearly 270 new resources,” he said,
“colleagues and friends who can help me solve the next
FBI National Academy problem, or maybe I can help them.”
Celebrating a Milestone Robert Ferrari, a lieutenant with the San Juan County
Sheriff’s Office in Farmington, New Mexico, added,
The FBI’s National Academy, known as one of the “Being from a small town in New Mexico, I was feeling
premier law enforcement training programs in the world, that some of the issues in my organization—tight budgets,
graduated its 250th class earlier this month, and the management challenges—were just our issues. But then
graduates—like thousands who preceded them—returned you come here and find out that a guy from halfway
to their police departments and agencies in the U.S. and across the world in Africa is having the same problems.
overseas with new knowledge and many new friends. The National Academy gives you the ability to network
with all these people,” Ferrari said. “This experience has
“I have made some true friends for life,” said Kenneth
given me a lot of encouragement as a leader.”
Armstrong, detective chief inspector of the Strathclyde
Police in Glasgow, Scotland, referring to his classmates The program also emphasizes physical fitness, and
from the 10-week program held at the FBI’s training students train with academy fitness instructors during
facility in Quantico, Virginia. their 10 weeks at Quantico to tackle the “Yellow Brick
Road,” a grueling 6.1 mile run and obstacle course.
Established in 1935, the National Academy provides
Upon completion of the course they receive a yellow brick
advanced investigative, management, and fitness
to signify their accomplishment.
training to senior officers who are proven leaders
within their organizations. In addition to undergraduate “Law enforcement only succeeds if we build global
and graduate-level college courses offered in areas such partnerships,” Kevin Perkins, the FBI’s associate deputy
as law, behavioral and forensic science, understanding director, told this session’s graduates. “With every brick
terrorism and terrorists, and leadership development, you earned here,” he said, “we are building that founda-
students forge lasting connections that strengthen global tion.”
law enforcement partnerships.
“Everybody who has participated in the National
“If you’re a National Academy graduate,” said Special Academy, whether current students or past gradu-
Agent Greg Cappetta, chief of the National Academy ates—we all have an extreme sense of pride about being
Unit at Quantico, “it doesn’t matter where you go in the affiliated with the FBI,” Connolly said. “We aren’t agents,
world—someone there has gone through the program and but we are now part of the fabric of the FBI. I think
will be ready to help you.” that’s important, that we have something tangible that
connects us to the FBI.”
To date, more than 46,000 men and women have gradu-
ated from the program, and more than 28,500 are still
active in law enforcement work. The 250th graduating
class, consisting of 264 officers, came from 49 U.S. states
and 24 countries.

October 1, 2012
Living a Lie
Identity Theft That
Lasted Decades
When Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Richard
Blanco—a member of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task
Force (JTTF) in Jacksonville—interviewed an individual
suspected of driver’s license fraud in 2011, he wasn’t
initially sure if the man was the victim or the perpetrator
of identity theft.
That’s because the man—now imprisoned and official-
ly known as John Doe—had a stack of government-
issued identification acquired during the 22 years he When Blanco realized that he was dealing with a massive
had been using a living victim’s identity. That included and long-running case of identity fraud, John Doe was
a passport, driver’s license, birth certificate, Social arrested. The JTTF opened an investigation, and John
Security card, and identification allowing him unescorted Doe was eventually indicted federally on numerous
access to a port and military installation. counts of aggravated identity theft and fraud.
“He was extremely convincing that he was the victim,” JTTF investigators had to rule out any threat to national
said Blanco, a veteran trooper with more than 30 years on security, because John Doe had access to the Mayport
the force. “When you have 20 forms of identification and Naval Station as well as JaxPort, the Jacksonville Port
it’s in your possession,” Blanco explained, “it’s hard to not Authority. Although he was just working at those lo-
believe you are the person you say you are.” cations, Special Agent Paxton Stelly, who supervises
Jacksonville’s JTTF, pointed out that John Doe had
But John Doe was indeed an imposter, and while he passed the background checks required to gain access
was living under another man’s name, the real victim there. “He appears to have manipulated the system with
was living a nightmare. It all started in 1989, when the ease,” Stelly said.
victim’s car was broken into and his wallet was stolen. His
identity had been compromised. Last month, a jury convicted John Doe—who continues
to insist he is the real victim in the case—and sentenced
John Doe began using the victim’s name, even when he him to 10 years in prison. Despite DNA testing and
went to prison for aggravated battery. As a result, Blanco a thorough investigation, his real identity remains a
said, “if you run John Doe’s fingerprints, even today, they mystery.
will come back with the victim’s name.”
“It will continue to be a mystery unless he makes an
When the victim, a Miami resident, applied to become admission to us,” Blanco said, adding, “I don’t know what
a corrections officer, he had to explain why his records he’s going to do when he gets out of prison, because the
showed a felony conviction. He urged officials to compare man doesn’t have an identity.”
his fingerprints to those of John Doe’s. When the victim
applied for a passport, he was denied because the passport
office claimed he already had one—the one that John
Doe had applied for and received.
When Blanco was able to talk with the real victim,
he heard two decades worth of frustration. The victim
had filed a police report years before, but John Doe had
never been caught or stopped. Blanco remembers the
victim telling him, “This guy has been living my identity.
He’s gotten my license suspended, and he’s had kids in my
name.”

October 3, 2012
Left: Ahmad Abousamra is wanted for supporting al Qaeda and
seeking to kill U.S. soldiers.
adding that both Abousamra and Mehanna were inspired

by the 9/11 terror attacks. “They celebrated it,” she said.
Abousamra is of Syrian descent and has dual U.S. and
Syrian citizenship. He is 31 years old, 5’11” tall, and at
the time of his disappearance weighed about 170 pounds.
He has dark brown hair and brown eyes. He is fluent
in English and Arabic, has a college degree related to
computer technology, and was previously employed at a
telecommunications company. Abousamra last lived in
the U.S. in a prosperous Boston suburb and has family
members in the Detroit, Michigan area.
Help Us Catch One of his distinguishing characteristics is his higher-

pitched voice, which can be heard on our website.
a Terrorist Today’s announcement is part of a publicity campaign
U.S. Citizen Wanted for employing traditional and social media to seek the
public’s assistance. We are using social media to reach an
Supporting al Qaeda overseas audience—information about Abousamra such
as photos and audio clips can be found on the website and
The FBI today announced a reward of up to $50,000 for
our Facebook, You Tube, and Twitter pages.
information leading to the arrest of Ahmad Abousamra, a
U.S. citizen from Massachusetts charged with traveling to “Combining the reach and power of multiple media
Pakistan and Yemen to seek military training so he could platforms is a powerful way to inform the public about
kill American soldiers. our search,” DesLauriers said. “We believe publiciz-
ing Abousamra’s photo and characteristics will lead
“Knowing that the public is the FBI’s best ally in
to a tip about his whereabouts and, ultimately, to his
finding fugitives, today we’re requesting your as-
arrest.”
sistance to locate Abousamra,” said Richard
DesLauriers, special agent in charge of our Boston Thomas Daly, a sergeant with the Lowell Police
office. Department in Massachusetts and a task force officer on
the Boston JTTF since 2002, said catching Abousamra
Abousamra is charged with conspiracy to provide
“will close the chapter on this story. We had two people
material support or resources to al Qaeda. He was
who were planning to harm U.S. soldiers overseas,” Daly
indicted in 2009 for taking multiple trips to Pakistan and
said, referring to Abousamra and Mehanna. “These two
Yemen in 2002 and 2004 to seek jihad training. He also
were actively radicalizing others. We can only assume
traveled to Iraq with the hope of joining forces fighting
Abousamra is still on the same path and remains a threat
against Americans overseas. Abousamra left the U.S. in
to our soldiers overseas.”
2006 and may be living in living in Aleppo, Syria with his
wife, at least one daughter, and extended family. We need your help. If you have any information regard-
ing Ahmad Abousamra, please contact your local FBI
Abousamra’s co-conspirator, Tarek Mehanna, was
office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.
convicted of terrorism charges by a federal jury in
You can also submit a tip electronically on our website at
December 2011 and sentenced last April to 17.5 years
https://tips.fbi.gov.
in prison.
“Both men were self-radicalized and used the Internet to
educate themselves,” said Special Agent Heidi Williams,
a member of our Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in to watch a video on Abousamra, or visit
Boston who has been working the case since 2006. “They http://www.fbi.gov/news/videos/.
came to it independently, but once they found each other,
they encouraged each other’s beliefs,” Williams said,

October 9, 2012
Distressed Homeowner
Initiative
Don’t Let Mortgage
Fraud Happen to You
Talk about going from bad to worse—more than 4,000
financially strapped homeowners recently lost at least $7
million to a California business that allegedly operated a
loan modification scam. Last month, 11 representatives
of that company were federally indicted, but by that time,
many of the victims had already lost their homes.
FBI Associate Deputy Director Kevin Perkins, right, is joined by Attor-
Today, to help protect distressed homeowners around ney General Eric Holder at a press conference announcing the results
the country from a rising tide of fraud schemes—and of the yearlong Distressed Homeowner Initiative.
to raise awareness about them—the FBI joined the
Department of Justice, the Department of Housing FTC issued a rule that prohibited companies that offer
and Urban Development, and the Federal Trade loan modification or other types of mortgage assistance
Commission (FTC) in announcing the results of the services from asking for fees in advance (some states
Distressed Homeowner Initiative. This initiative was have similar regulations), but with an exemption in some
launched by the Bureau—co-chair of the Financial instances for lawyers performing legal work. Criminals
Fraud Enforcement Task Force’s Mortgage Fraud targeting distressed homeowners try to circumvent the
Working Group—in October 2011. rules by using attorneys—which by itself adds an air of
legitimacy to their fraudulent schemes—and calling their
This initiative combines the resources of federal, state, upfront fees “legal retainers.”
and local law enforcement agencies and the efforts of
regulatory agencies to target perpetrators both criminally The FBI’s Financial Intelligence Center played a critical
and civilly. Over 200 companies have been shut down, role at the outset of the initiative by reviewing and
and criminal charges were filed against 530 defendants. analyzing thousands of consumer complaints referred
These cases involved losses of more than $1 billion from to us by our partners at the FTC, which helped identify
more than 73,000 victims across the country. where high-priority offenders were operating and allowed
us to strategically deploy our investigative resources.
Said Associate Deputy Director Kevin Perkins, “In The analysis of information from our partner agencies
contrast with previous initiatives, where the fraud victims and from our own investigations will continue to be a
primarily were lenders, the focus here is on individual vital part of our efforts to protect homeowners. The FBI
homeowners, many times at their most vulnerable point.” also remains committed to targeting the most egregious
Based on intelligence from multiple sources, schemes criminal offenders with sophisticated investigative tech-
targeting distressed homeowners have emerged through- niques—like undercover operations and court-authorized
out the country, and while the majority of FBI mortgage electronic surveillance—and through joint efforts with
fraud cases involve loan origination fraud, we’ve had a our law enforcement and regulatory partners.
300 percent increase over the past three years in cases If you have been victimized by those who claimed they
involving distressed homeowner fraud. could get you some kind of mortgage relief but didn’t,
And with current mortgage data showing that 22.3 please submit a tip to us online at https://tips.fbi.gov or
percent of residential properties with mortgages are “un- contact your local FBI office.
derwater”—when borrowers owe more than their homes
are worth—we believe that fraudsters will certainly Scan this QR code with your smartphone
continue to target distressed homeowners. to watch a public service announcement
featuring Tim DeKay of the television
show White Collar, or visit
We’ve also noticed a disturbing trend among these http://www.fbi.gov/news/videos/.
cases—an increasing number of lawyers playing
primary or secondary roles in the fraud. In 2010, the

October 12, 2012
Left: In many cases, getting to remote Alaskan villages and towns
requires a plane or a boat.
Few FBI offices require snowmobiles to respond to crime

scenes, but Anchorage keeps two on hand. The harsh
Alaskan winters, where temperatures can plummet to
more than 50 degrees below zero and the sun rises above
the horizon for only a few hours each day, can make being
outdoors seem almost otherworldly.
“It can be a challenging place to work,” Rook acknowl-
edged. “But the flip side is that everybody knows it. So
everybody works together. We work great with each other
and with our local and federal law enforcement partners.
Everybody’s got each other’s back, because you just can’t
survive up here alone.”
North to Alaska Not surprisingly, it takes a certain kind of person
Part 1: Smallest FBI Office to work for the FBI in Alaska. “The most successful
Bureau people here are the ones who come with an idea
Takes on Big Job that this is going to be a great adventure,” said Rook,
whose assignment in Anchorage began in January 2011.
The FBI recently investigated a white powder letter
incident in Alaska with the help of a partner law enforce- Special Agent Catherine Ruiz, who transferred to
ment agency. “It took our partners two days to get to Anchorage with her husband last year from Chicago,
the place where the white powder letter was,” said Mary agreed. “Every few days you will be driving home and you
Frances Rook, special agent in charge of our Anchorage look up at the snowcapped mountains and say, ‘Wow, this
Field Office, “because they had to take a ferry and a is a beautiful place.’”
plane and an all-terrain vehicle to get to the school where
Bureau personnel who come to Alaska tend to be multi-
the letter had been sent.”
talented as well. “We don’t have a lot of resources,” Rook
Welcome to the Anchorage Division—the FBI’s said, “so everyone has to do a little bit of everything.”
smallest field office—whose agents are responsible for One of the office’s three pilots, for example, is also the
covering the most territory of any office in the Bureau. polygraph examiner and a full-time counterintelligence
That’s an area of more than 600,000 square miles, agent. “That’s not unusual,” Rook noted.
twice the size of Texas and packed with natural beauty
“I originally thought I would come to Alaska for a few
and hard-to-reach places.
years,” said Special Agent Eric Gonzalez. That was 15
Although the Anchorage Division investigates the same years ago. Gonzalez liked the place and the people—and
types of violent crime, public corruption, and national so did his family. He added, “Most of the Bureau folks I
security matters as FBI offices in the Lower 48, “there is know who worked here and left wished they would have
so much that is different here,” said Rook—and she’s not stayed.”
just referring to the bears and moose occasionally spotted
Part 2: An explosive situation in the dead of winter (page 86)
on downtown Anchorage streets.
“If you’re in Anchorage, there are roads to Fairbanks
and to the Kenai Peninsula, but other than that there
are no roads,” Rook said. Getting to remote villages and
towns requires a plane or a boat. Combine the geographi-
cal difficulties with extreme weather and one begins to
understand how the 49th state can pose considerable
challenges for the agents and support staff in Anchorage Scan this QR code with your smartphone
and our satellite locations in Fairbanks and Juneau. http://www.fbi.gov/news/videos/.

October 15, 2012
Safe Online Surfing

New Cyber Safety Website for
Teachers, Students
With school back in session, one topic that’s on many
class curriculums around the nation is cyber safety. After
all, it’s a hyper-connected world—with texting, social net-
working, e-mail, online gaming, chat, music downloading,
web surfing, and other forms of wired and wireless com-
munication now a regular part of children’s lives.
The FBI has a new program that can help. Today,
as part of its longstanding crime prevention and public
The FBI-SOS site highlights cyber security through games, videos,
outreach efforts, the FBI is announcing a free web-based and other interactive features.
initiative designed to help teachers educate students
about cyber safety. ▪ A printable teacher’s guide that spells out how
teachers can sign up their classes and use the site;
It’s called the FBI-SOS (Safe Online Surfing) Internet and
Challenge—and it was developed with the assistance of
the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children ▪ Detailed rules and instructions for students.
and with the input of teachers and schools. Can anyone visit the website? Absolutely. Kids of all
FBI-SOS is available through a newly revamped website ages—and even adults—can explore the site, play the
at https://sos.fbi.gov. The site features six grade-specific games, watch the videos, and learn all about cyber safety.
“islands”—for third- through eighth-grade students— However, the exam can only be taken by third- to eighth-
highlighting various aspects of cyber security through grade students whose classes have been registered by their
games, videos, and other interactive features. Each island teachers.
has either seven or eight areas to explore—with a specific An important note: the FBI is not collecting student
cyber safety lesson—and its own central character and names, ages, or other identifying information through
visual theme. For example, fourth grade features Ice the website. Students are identified only by number
Island, complete with falling snow and penguins. when taking the exams; their teachers alone know which
To encourage participation and enhance learning, number matches which student. And teachers only need
FBI-SOS includes both testing for students and to provide their name, school, and e-mail address when
competition among schools. Each grade level has its signing up. The e-mail address is needed to verify the
own exam, which can only be taken after teachers have teacher’s identity for registration purposes.
signed up their respective classes and all activities on the “FBI-SOS is a fun, free, and effective way to teach kids
island have been completed by each student. And once how to use the Internet safely and responsibly,” says Scott
all the exams for a class are graded (done electronically McMillion, head of the unit that manages the program in
by the FBI), schools appear on a leader board in three cat- the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “We encourage
egories based on the number of total participants. During teachers to check out the site and sign up their classes
each rating period, top-scoring schools in each category during the school year.”
nationwide are awarded an FBI-SOS trophy and, when
possible, receive a visit from a local FBI agent. All public,
private, and home schools are eligible to participate.
For teachers and schools, FBI-SOS provides virtually
everything needed to teach good cyber citizenship:
Scan this QR code with your
smartphone to watch a public service
▪ A free, ready-made curriculum that meets state and announcement on SOS, or visit
federal Internet safety mandates; http://www.fbi.gov/news/videos/.
▪ Age-appropriate content for each grade level;

October 18, 2012
Left: The elements can present special challenges for investigators—
in this case, bomb technicians.
After a harrowing drive from Anchorage that took

more than seven hours, FBI personnel arrived on scene
along with bomb techs from the Air Force and local law
enforcement. The meth lab theory was ruled out, “but
then you almost had to conclude that the guy could be
a terrorist,” Espeland said. “Everything we saw in the
house we had seen being used by terrorists in Iraq and
Afghanistan.”
As it turns out, the 21-year-old was neither a drug maker
nor a terrorist. He was just fascinated with explosives
and blowing things up. He had legally purchased all his
ingredients—of course, our agents didn’t know that at the
North to Alaska time. And because the house was a public safety threat,
Espeland said, “we couldn’t just walk away.”
Part 2: An Explosive
To neutralize the threat, it was decided to employ
Situation in the Dead of Winter several render-safe techniques using specialized equip-
The call came in to the Anchorage Field Office early on a ment. But that was easier said than done. Robots and
Sunday morning in January 2010. An explosion had taken other battery-powered equipment were inoperable in the
place at a Fairbanks residence, and a 21-year-old man had nearly 60-below temperature because the batteries were
been seriously injured. frozen. Espeland’s evidence camera froze to his face when
he tried to take a picture—inside the house. Vehicles had
After consulting with local authorities on the scene, to be kept running for fear they would freeze if turned off,
our weapons of mass destruction (WMD) coordinator even with warming blankets and engine block heaters.
and other FBI personnel were not sure if the explo- An extension cord designed for extreme cold snapped
sion was related to a drug manufacturing operation or and disintegrated.
linked to a terrorism threat. But everyone understood
that our assistance was required, because the house “The cold was drier than anything I ever felt before,”
contained a variety of hazardous, unstable materials. said Vicky Grimes, an ERT member. “It almost took your
breath away.”
Members of our Evidence Response Team (ERT), the
Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), and others from the A command post was established at the nearby fire
Anchorage office gathered their equipment and prepared station, and after a joint effort, the house was finally
to drive to Fairbanks—365 miles to the north—in the rendered safe. “Responding to this incident reinforced
middle of a violent winter storm. our understanding that we have to rely on our state and
local partners for assistance, just as they rely on us,” said
“It was 58 degrees below zero, with high winds, blizzard Special Agent Sandra Klein, Anchorage’s JTTF supervi-
conditions, and black ice on the highway,” said Special sor.
Agent Derek Espeland, the WMD coordinator who is
also one of Anchorage’s two special agent bomb techni- The 21-year-old recovered from his injuries, and—since
cians. he had committed no federal crimes—was not charged.
“This was a public safety threat that could have been
Based on the description of materials in the house, agents something far more serious,” Espeland said. “That’s why
initially thought the man was making methamphet- we responded, despite the conditions. That’s what we’re
amine—meth labs are an unfortunate reality in many here for.”
rural communities. The victim, who walked to a nearby
fire station despite the sub-zero temperature, was burned Part 3: A domestic terrorist with a deadly plan (page 92)
and bleeding. He claimed he was building a rocket when
it blew up. Before he could be questioned further, he was
flown to a burn unit in Seattle for treatment.

October 23, 2012
Remembering
Lou Peters
Selfless Actions Brought
Down Mob Boss
In 1977, things were going well for Lou Peters—he was
living the American dream with his wife and three
daughters, running a successful Cadillac dealership in
Lodi, California. And in June of that year, he got an offer
he couldn’t refuse.
A man approached Peters expressing interest in buying
the dealership. When told it wasn’t for sale, the man was In National Archives footage, Lou Peters talks about his role in the
FBI’s case against the head of the Bonnano organized crime family.
insistent, telling Peters to “name any price.” Finally, Peters
said he would sell it for $2 million—nearly twice what the In the end, Peters got what we needed. When he told
business was worth. The man accepted—then told Peters Bonnano—during a recorded call—that he had been
that the buyer was none other than Joseph Bonnano, Sr., subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury regarding his
head of the Bonnano organized crime family, who wanted dealings with the family, the old man directed him to
the dealership to launder the family’s illegal funds. destroy any records that could be linked back to him and
Initially taken aback upon learning of mafia involve- his associates. Peters took the tape to the FBI agent on
ment, Peters eventually agreed to the sale, recounting, the case. While listening to it, the agent jumped up and
“I didn’t understand why these people wanted to come said, “You got him!”
into our county. And I wanted to find out.” He then went Thanks to Lou Peters, Joseph Bonnano, Sr. was found
to a local police chief and told him what had happened. guilty of obstructing justice and sentenced to five years in
When the chief asked what he was going to do next, prison—the first felony conviction in the mob boss’ long
Peters replied, “Well, I’m going to the FBI.” life of crime.
And to the FBI he went, telling all. The FBI saw an To show its appreciation, in October 1980 the FBI
opportunity to take down Bonnano and asked Peters for presented Peters with an award for his selfless and valiant
help. He was on board. “I felt it was the right thing to do, actions…an award that has been granted annually for
and I just did it,” he said. the past 30 years as the Louis E. Peters Memorial Service
Over the next nearly two years, Peters played the Award, bestowed upon the citizen who best exemplifies
part of a corrupt businessman, gaining remarkable the standards set by Peters in providing service to the FBI
access to the Bonnano family and even becoming a and the nation.
close companion of Joseph Bonnano, Sr. To gain his Shortly before his death in 1981, Peters said, “I was very
confidence, Peters recalled saying something to “the old proud of what I did for my country.” The country is very
man” along the lines of, “Well, this should really bring me proud of him, too. Thanks, Lou Peters.
into the family”—to which Bonnano replied, “Lou, you’re
already in the family.”
Through it all, Peters never took his eye off the ball—
gathering evidence, secretly recording conversations, and
debriefing agents on what he had learned. And his efforts
weren’t without personal sacrifice…besides the risk to his
life, he had to obtain a (temporary) legal separation from
his wife not only to protect his family but also to have a Scan this QR code with your smartphone
credible reason to move out of his house—and into an to watch a video interview of Lou Peters,
or visit http://www.fbi.gov/news/videos/.
apartment that was being monitored by the FBI.

October 26, 2012
Homeland Security and the National Security Agency—

on the FBI-led National Cyber Investigative Joint Task
Force.
A key aim of the Next Generation Cyber Initiative
has been to expand our ability to quickly define “the
attribution piece” of a cyber attack to help determine
an appropriate response, said Richard McFeely, execu-
tive assistant director of the Bureau’s Criminal, Cyber,
Response, and Services Branch. “The attribution piece is:
who is conducting the attack or the exploitation and what
is their motive,” McFeely explained. “In order to get to
that, we’ve got to do all the necessary analysis to deter-
mine who is at the other end of the keyboard perpetrating
these actions.”
Cyber Security The Cyber Division’s main
focus now is on cyber intru-
Focusing on Hackers and sions, working closely with
Intrusions the Bureau’s Counterterrorism
and Counterintelligence
Early last year, hackers were discovered embedding Divisions.
malicious software in two million computers, opening a
virtual door for criminals to rifle through users’ valuable “We are obviously con-
personal and financial information. Last fall, an overseas cerned with terrorists using
crime ring was shut down after infecting four million the Internet to conduct
computers, including half a million in the U.S. In recent these types of attacks,”
months, some of the biggest companies and organiza- McFeely said. “As the lead
Executive Assistant Director
tions in the U.S. have been working overtime to fend off domestic intelligence agency Richard McFeely
continuous intrusion attacks aimed at their networks. within the United States, it’s
our job to make sure that businesses’ and the nation’s
The scope and enormity of the threat—not just to secrets don’t fall into the hands of adversaries.”
private industry but also to the country’s heavily net-
worked critical infrastructure—was spelled out last In the Coreflood case in early 2011, hackers enlisted a
month in Director Robert S. Mueller’s testimony to a botnet—a network of infected computers—to do their
Senate homeland security panel: “Computer intrusions dirty work. McFeely urged everyone connected to the
and network attacks are the greatest cyber threat to our Internet to be vigilant against computer viruses and mali-
national security.” cious code, lest they become victims or unwitting pawns
in a hacker or web-savvy terrorist’s malevolent scheme.
To that end, the FBI over the past year has put in place
an initiative to uncover and investigate web-based “It’s important that everybody understands that if
intrusion attacks and develop a cadre of specially trained you have a computer that is outward-facing—that is
computer scientists able to extract hackers’ digital sig- connected to the web—that your computer is at some
natures from mountains of malicious code. Agents are point going to be under attack,” he said. “You need to
cultivating cyber-oriented relationships with the technical be aware of the threat, and you need to take it seriously.”
leads at financial, business, transportation, and other
critical infrastructures on their beats.
Today, investigators in the field can send their findings
to specialists in the FBI Cyber Division’s Cyber Watch
command at Headquarters, who can look for patterns
or similarities in cases. The 24/7 post also shares the
information with partner intelligence and law enforce-
ment agencies—like the Departments of Defense and

October 29, 2012
Latest Crime Stats

Annual Crime in the U.S.
Report Released
According to our just-released Crime in the United States,
2011 report, the estimated number of violent crimes
reported to law enforcement (1,203,564) decreased for
the fifth year in a row, while the estimated number of
property crimes reported to law enforcement (9,063,173)
decreased for the ninth year in a row.
You can access the full report on our website, but here are
a few highlights:
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program
Violent Crime is one of two statistical programs administered by
▪ The South, the most populous region in the country, the Department of Justice that measure the magni-
accounted for 41.3 percent of all violent crimes (lesser tude, nature, and impact of crime—the other is the
volumes of 22.9 percent were attributed in the West, National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), con-
19.5 percent in the Midwest, and 16.2 percent in the ducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Northeast). Both were designed to complement each other, providing
▪ Aggravated assaults accounted for the highest valuable information about aspects of the nation’s crime
number of estimated violent crimes reported to law problem, but users should not compare crime trends
enforcement at 62.4 percent. between the two programs because of methodology and
crime coverage differences. The UCR program provides
▪ Firearms were used in 67.8 percent of the nation’s a reliable set of criminal justice statistics for law enforce-
murders, 41.3 percent of robberies, and 21.2 percent ment administration, operation, and management, as well
of aggravated assaults (data on weapons used during as to indicate fluctuations in the level of crime, while
forcible rapes is not collected). the NCVS provides previously unavailable information
▪ In 2011, 64.8 percent of murder offenses, 41.2 percent about victims, offenders, and crime…including crimes
of forcible rape offenses, 28.7 percent of robbery not reported to police. Additional information about the
offenses, and 56.9 percent of aggravated assault differences between the two programs can be found in
offenses were “cleared”—either by the arrest of the the Nation’s Two Crime Measures section of Crime in the
subject or because law enforcement encountered a United States.
circumstance beyond its control that prohibited an Looking ahead to 2013 and beyond, the UCR program
arrest (i.e., death of the subject). is working to complete the automation of its data collec-
Property Crime tion system, which will result in improved data collection
efforts with new offense categories and revised offense
▪ 43.2 percent of the estimated property crimes definitions…as well as a faster turnaround time to analyze
occurred in the South (followed by the West with and publish the data. And beginning with the 2013 data,
22.8 percent, the Midwest with 21.1 percent, and the the new definition for rape will take effect—the FBI is
Northeast with 13 percent). developing options for law enforcement agencies to meet
▪ Larceny-theft accounted for 68 percent of all property this requirement, which will be built into the new data
crimes in 2011. collection system.
▪ Property crimes resulted in losses of $156.6 billion. UCR’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted,
2011 and Hate Crimes Statistics, 2011 will be available on
▪ Also cleared were 21.5 percent of larceny-theft our website later this fall.
offenses, 12.7 percent of burglary offenses, 11.9
percent of motor vehicle theft offenses, and 18.8
percent of arson offenses.

November 1, 2012
Left: The families of fallen agents Robin Ahrens and Martha Dixon
Martinez were given memorial plaques at a recent meeting of the
Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI.
four decades of women agents—punctuate how a desire

to serve has led women from all backgrounds to become
special agents since the position opened to women in
1972.
“You couldn’t tell her not to do that job because
we worry about you,” said Christian Ahrens, one
of Robin’s four brothers. “She would just go forage
forward. That’s [the decision] she made—to be a
special agent. I wish I could go back and say, ‘Be
careful. Watch your back.’ But that’s not possible.”
Celebrating Women Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Robin was one of six kids
who thrived outdoors, volunteering as a teenager on
Special Agents the National Ski Patrol. As a school teacher in Virginia,
she led a field trip to
Part 7: Two Have Made the the U.S. Marine base
at Quantico—home
Ultimate Sacrifice to the FBI Training
With eight kids under the roof, the Dixons’ one-bathroom Academy—and
house in Pittsburgh had no room for the mitts, hockey decided what she
sticks, and other accoutrements of active all-weather wanted to do. She
children. So everything was kept on the front porch. became an agent in
When things went missing, nobody was surprised when June 1985; just four Robin Ahrens and Martha Dixon
Martha, the sixth child and a future FBI special agent, months later, she was Martinez
initiated her own stake-out, sleeping on the porch and killed.
nabbing the culprit red-handed. It was the paperboy. “It was a tragic event,” said James Ahrens, Robin’s older
“That to me was probably the most revealing thing in her brother. “But when she was joining the FBI, she was
childhood of a law enforcement personality,” said Monica excited. She was so happy to be in. I keep looking at that
Dixon Dentino, Martha’s younger sister. “For her to say, part of it, too.”
‘Yep, I’m going to sleep by myself on the front porch to While Robin’s path to the FBI seemed serendipitous,
confront somebody that’s invading our house’—she was Martha Dixon’s journey appeared preordained. A
tough like that.” chemistry major in college, she worked in the lab of a
Many years later, in 1994, when a gunman began shooting local hospital, determined to one day work at the FBI
in a squad room at the Metropolitan Police Department Laboratory. She became an agent in 1987 and quickly
in Washington, D.C., Martha Dixon Martinez apparently discovered in her first office in Knoxville that she pre-
chose to confront the attacker rather then retreat. She ferred working on the front lines. “She liked solving the
and fellow Special Agent Michael John Miller were killed problems and closing a case,” her sister Monica said.
in the exchange, along with a D.C. police officer. Martha transferred to the Washington Field Office,
The event, recounted by Martha’s two sisters at a where she went to work on a cold case homicide squad.
recent convention of former special agents recogniz- On November, 22, 1994, a gunman passed her by as he
ing the 40-year anniversary of women agents, marked entered the squad room at police headquarters, possibly
the second time in the Bureau’s history that a woman mistaking her for a secretary. Then came the shots.
agent was killed in the line of duty. Nine years earlier, “She heard the noise and chose not to leave,” said Jan
in 1985, Special Agent Robin L. Ahrens was killed in Dixon Smith, Martha’s older sister. “She went in. She
Phoenix during an operation to arrest an armed robber. just knew that she might be able to do something. And
Both agents’ stories—the last part of our series marking that makes us very proud.”

November 5, 2012
Operation Universal
Money Fast
Putting the Brakes on
Health Care Fraud
With its aging, affluent population, South Florida is
ground zero for the multi-billion-dollar criminal industry
of health care fraud. Few cases illustrate the depth of
the problem—and our efforts to fight it—more than
Operation Universal Money Fast.
The case involved a massive, sophisticated fraud
Ramon Fonseca, Orlin M. Tamayo Quinonez, and Juan Carralero are
against Medicare and private insurance companies by wanted for allegedly conspiring in a scheme to defraud the Medicare
scammers who set up more than a dozen fake clinics program out of tens of millions of dollars.
across five states and submitted tens of millions of
“Insurance companies were alerted by their custom-
dollars in bogus claims related primarily to HIV
ers to the fraud,” Culp said. “People were getting
infusion therapy.
statements and seeing benefits for infusion therapy,
Using stolen identities and bribing physicians to lend and they were calling and saying, ‘Hey, I’m not HIV-
an air of legitimacy to the fraud, the thieves bilked the positive. What’s going on?’”
system for an estimated $70 million before we dismantled
During the height of the scam, said Special Agent Liz
the enterprise.
Santamaria, who worked on the case, “the subjects were
Despite the many safeguards built into the Medicare submitting Medicare bills at the rate of $100,000 per
reimbursement process—such as audits and on-site visits week. They were making easy money and spending it
to clinics and providers—the system is largely based as soon as they made it,” she added, explaining that the
on trust. If a business believed to be legitimate submits scammers thought nothing of dropping $10,000 in one
claims using proper paperwork and billing codes, those evening for a lavish dinner.
claims are paid quickly.
Our Medicare Fraud Strike Force opened an investiga-
The crooks were counting on that. They knew the fraud tion in 2009 and used investigative tools such as sources
would eventually be discovered, but they stayed one step and search warrants to stop the fraud and arrest the
ahead of authorities by opening shell companies and perpetrators. In 2010, ringleader Michel De Jesus Huarte
phantom clinics across Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North received a record sentence for health care fraud of 22
Carolina, and South Carolina. In reality, the clinics were years in prison. Nine other defendants received significant
empty storefronts—some were nothing more than a post- sentences as well. Three remaining subjects in the case
office box. No patients were ever seen or treated, and no remain at large and are believed to be out of the country.
doctors worked there.
“Large-scale fraud like this undermines the financial
“All they needed was a laptop, stolen identities, and integrity of the Medicare program,” Culp said. “The FBI
billing codes,” said Special Agent Randy Culp, who works and our partners are committed to fighting these white-
health care fraud investigations out of our Miami office. collar criminal enterprises, and we are gratified that those
“By the time the insurance companies suspected fraud, who commit these frauds are getting significant prison
the fraudsters had already moved on to some new ficti- terms for their actions.”
tious clinic.”
To conceal their true identities, the subjects registered
the bogus businesses in the names of nominal owners and
opened a check-cashing store—called Universal Money
Fast—to launder more than $50 million in benefits paid
by Medicare and private insurers.

November 9, 2012
Left: Paul Rockwood, seen here in a surveillance image, lived in the
small fishing village of King Salmon. He had begun compiling a list of
targets in the U.S. military he might assassinate in the name of jihad.
spotted, so attempts at surveillance were impractical. “We

couldn’t use 90 percent of the traditional investigative
techniques we use in the Lower 48,” Klein explained.
In addition, small, regional airlines in Alaska are not
regulated by the Transportation Security Administration,
so anyone can fly with weapons. On Rockwood’s frequent
trips from King Salmon to Anchorage, Klein said, “he
could have had a gun or a bomb and we never would have
known.”
During those Anchorage visits, Rockwood met the
North to Alaska undercover operative and discussed buying electronics

and downloading schematics of cell phones to make
Part 3: A Domestic bomb detonators. At one meeting, he said he was getting
ready to relocate to the mainland and had plans to steal a
Terrorist with a Deadly Plan cache of explosives in Boston—where he grew up—that
would help him go operational.
By the time he moved to Alaska in 2006, Paul Rockwood,
Jr. was an ardent follower of the American-born radical By early 2010, Rockwood had formalized his hit list to
cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who he met at a Virginia mosque include 15 specific targets—all outside Alaska—and
in late 2001. he gave the list to his wife, Nadia, who was aware of his
intentions.
Shortly after he settled with his family in the small
fishing village of King Salmon to work for the Even with no overt acts of terrorism to charge him
National Weather Service, our agents in Anchorage with, it was decided that for the sake of public safety,
were aware that Rockwood had begun compiling a list Rockwood could not be allowed to leave Alaska. In May
of targets in the U.S. military he might assassinate in 2010, JTTF agents questioned Rockwood and his wife as
the name of jihad. they attempted to fly out of Anchorage. Both denied any
involvement with a hit list or terrorist plot.
“If you were wearing a U.S. military uniform,” said Special
Agent Doug Klein, who worked the case from Anchorage, The couple was charged with making false statements
“as far as Rockwood was concerned, you were a target.” to the FBI in a domestic terrorism investigation, and in
July, Rockwood was found guilty and sentenced to eight
A military veteran himself, Rockwood believed it was his years in prison—the maximum sentence under the law.
religious duty to kill those who desecrated Islam. In 2009, His wife was also found guilty and received five years of
he began sharing his deadly plans with an individual he probation.
thought held similar views. But that person was actually
an undercover operative employed by our Joint Terrorism “We can never be sure if he would have acted,” Klein
Task Force (JTTF) in Anchorage. said, “but Rockwood was clearly a threat, not only to the
individuals on his list but to the entire community.”
For a time, JTTF personnel wondered how determined
Rockwood was about his plans. “But one day when he Part 4: The shot that pierced the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
was with our undercover in Anchorage, he identified the (page 96)
building of a cleared defense contractor and said, ‘This
is the kind of building I want to blow up,’” Klein said.
“That’s when we knew he was a serious threat.”
Keeping track of Rockwood was difficult, however,
because King Salmon is some 300 miles from Anchorage
and only accessible by airplane. And with only a few
hundred residents, outsiders would be immediately

November 14, 2012
Two Most Wanted

Terrorists Named
Third Man Sought for Questioning
Two individuals—one a United States citizen who alleg-
edly provided support to a foreign terrorist organization,
the other wanted for his alleged role in the overseas
kidnapping of an American—have been added to the
FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list.
A third man wanted for questioning in connection with
providing material support to terrorists has been added to
our Seeking Information—Terrorism list. Omar Shafik Hammami (left) and Raddulan Sahiron
Most Wanted Terrorists The FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list was created in
October 2001. We subsequently created the Seeking
Omar Shafik Hammami, formerly from Alabama, has re-
Information—Terrorism list to publicize our efforts to
portedly been a senior leader in al Shabaab, an insurgency
locate terrorism suspects not yet indicted in the U.S.
group in Somalia. Al Shabaab was designated a foreign
terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department in In addition to the beneficial aspect of worldwide public-
2008; it has since repeatedly threatened terrorist actions ity, individuals named to the Most Wanted Terrorists list
against America and American interests. Hammami must:
allegedly traveled to Somalia in 2006 and joined al
▪ Have threatened the security of U.S. nationals or
Shabaab’s military wing, eventually becoming a leader in
U.S. national security;
the organization. Hammami—who has been indicted in
the U.S. on various terrorism charges—is believed to be ▪ Be considered a dangerous menace to society;
in Somalia.
▪ Have indicated a willingness to commit or indicate to
Raddulan Sahiron, a native of the Philippines, is wanted commit an act to cause death or serious bodily injury,
for his alleged involvement in the 1993 kidnapping of an prepare or plan terrorist activity, gather information
American in the Philippines by the Abu Sayyaf Group, on potential targets for terrorist activity, or solicit
designated a foreign terrorist organization in 1997. funds or other things of value for terrorist activity;
Sahiron, believed to be the leader of the Abu Sayyaf
▪ Have provided material support such as currency or
Group, was indicted on federal hostage-taking charges
financial services or assistance to a terrorist organiza-
and may currently be in the area of Patikul Jolo, Sulu,
tion but do not necessarily have to belong to that
Philippines.
organization;
Seeking Information—Terrorism
▪ Be subject to lawful detention, either by the U.S.
Shaykh Aminullah is wanted for questioning in connec- government based on an active federal warrant for a
tion with providing material support to terrorists…with serious felony offense or by any other lawful authority;
the aid of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (designated and
a foreign terrorist organization in 2001). Among other
▪ Be the subject of a pending FBI investigation.
activities, Aminullah allegedly provided assistance,
including funding and recruits, to the al Qaeda network; Individuals on the Seeking Information—Terrorism list
provided funding and other resources, including explosive are being sought for questioning in connection with ter-
vests, to the Taliban; and facilitated the activities of anti- rorist threats against the United States. Unlike those on
coalition militants operating in Afghanistan by raising the Most Wanted Terrorists list, these individuals have
money in support of terrorist activities. He is believed to not been indicted by the U.S. government.
be in the Ganj District of Peshawar, Pakistan.
If you have information about any of these men, please
submit a tip at https://tips.fbi.gov or contact the nearest
FBI office abroad or in the United States.

November 16, 2012
During the same time period, senior-level employees of

AU Optronics Corp. regularly exchanged information
with its Houston-based subsidiary—AU Optronics Corp.
America—on sales of LCD panels for the purpose of
monitoring and enforcing adherence to the prices agreed
upon by other LCD manufacturers in the U.S.
The end result of all this price-fixing? Artificially inflated
prices for consumers, and more money into the coffers of
the conspiracy’s participants.
Change in tactics. These meetings went on until mid-
2005, when participants learned that one or two of their
major LCD customers may have become aware of the
conspiracy, so the top leaders who had been attending
LCD Price Fixing these meetings began sending lower-level employees.
The meetings were also moved out of hotel rooms and
Conspiracy into public restaurants and cafes.
And a year later, the co-conspirators became even more
Taiwanese Company, concerned when they heard about an ongoing price-fixing
Execs Sentenced investigation in the U.S. into the dynamic random access
memory (DRAM) industry. To avoid detection, group
Did you buy a computer notebook, computer monitor, or
members decided to meet one-on-one with each other in
big-screen TV anytime from late 2001 to 2006? If you did,
restaurants and cafes.
odds are that you paid too much for it because of an inter-
national criminal conspiracy to fix the prices of the LCD The FBI became involved in the case in mid-2006 at the
(liquid crystal display) panels used in these products. request of DOJ’s Antitrust Division, and Bureau inves-
tigators joined forces with Antitrust Division prosecu-
Recently, AU Optronics Corportation—the largest
tors. In antitrust cases, as in many of our white-collar
Taiwanese producer and seller of LCD panels—and two
crime cases, the FBI uses its full arsenal of investigative
of its former top executives were sentenced for their roles
weapons—executing search warrants, interviewing wit-
in this conspiracy. The company was ordered to pay
nesses and others, analyzing records, conducting lawful
a $500 million criminal fine, and the executives each
surveillance, using cooperating witnesses, etc.
received three years in federal prison. AU Optronics is
the eighth company convicted as a result of a joint FBI- Additional sanctions. In addition to the extraordinary
Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division effort to criminal fine levied on AU Optronics and the sentencing
uncover this worldwide price-fixing conspiracy. of two former executives, the company was also ordered
to implement an internal compliance program, hire an
Anatomy of a conspiracy. A few days after the terror-
independent corporate compliance monitor, and take out
ist attacks of 9/11, top-level executives from a number
ads in U.S. and Taiwanese newspapers publicizing the
of Asian manufacturers of LCD panels met secretly in a
criminal sanctions taken against it.
Taiwan hotel room and agreed to a plan to fix the prices
of LCDs in the U.S. and elsewhere. These actions send a powerful message to would-be
perpetrators of price-fixing and other antitrust schemes—
During subsequent monthly meetings, group members
the U.S. criminal justice system will uncover your illegal
exchanged production, shipping, supply, demand, and
activities and hold you accountable.
pricing information on LCD panels used in computer
notebooks, monitors, and flat-screen TVs. Participants
agreed on prices and would then sell their products at
these prices to some of the world’s largest technology
companies who used LCD panels in their products.

November 19, 2012
Making the Ultimate

Sacrifice
Report on Law Enforcement
Officer Deaths Released
Tragically, during 2011, 72 law enforcement officers from
around the nation were killed in the line of duty, while
another 53 officers died in accidents while performing
their duties. And 54,774 officers were assaulted in the line
of duty…all according to our just-released annual report
Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2011.
Beyond services provided by the LEOKA program, the
Here’s a look at some of the data collected for this FBI offers additional training initiatives geared toward
report: officer safety to our law enforcement partners.
▪ While the 72 officers killed in the line of duty came For example:
from city, university and college, county, state, tribal,
▪ Our one-week Law Enforcement Training for Safety
and federal agencies, the majority (50) were employed
and Survival program at the FBI Academy is designed
by city police departments.
to teach participants basic survival techniques as well
▪ The average age of the officers feloniously killed as the skills and mindset required to identify and
was 38, while their average length of service was 12 handle critical situations in high-risk environments
years. Forty-nine of these officers were slain while on (i.e., arrests, low light operations, ballistic shield
assigned vehicle patrol. deployment).
▪ Most of the 72 officers slain were killed with firearms, ▪ Our National Academy curriculum includes a com-
and 51 of these officers were wearing body armor at munications course for law enforcement leaders on
the time of their murders. how to incorporate measures into their policies that
will help ensure the future emotional well-being
▪ Of the 53 officers who died accidentally, 39 were
of officers who have survived shootings (as well as
killed as a result of vehicle-related accidents.
officers who have shot suspects).
▪ The rate of officer assaults in 2011 was 10.2 per 100
In addition to the above training, the FBI’s National
sworn officers.
Crime Information Center (NCIC)—accessed by more
Our Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted than 92,000 agencies—offers a measure of protection for
(LEOKA) report is intended to provide law enforcement law enforcement as well, particularly through its recently
agencies with detailed descriptions of circumstances added Violent Persons File. Once fully populated with
leading to officer fatalities. This data can then be incor- data from our users, a quick response from an online
porated into police training programs to help officers stay NCIC query can warn officers on the spot if, during a
safe during similar situations. routine traffic stop or another type of encounter, they
come across an individual who has a violent criminal
The primary goal of our overall LEOKA program is
history or who has previously threatened law enforce-
to reduce incidents of law enforcement deaths and
ment.
assaults. In addition to its annual report, the program
also offers an officer safety awareness training course The release of this latest LEOKA report clearly demon-
that provides potentially life-saving information to help strates what we already know—despite the dangers of law
law enforcement personnel enhance their situational enforcement, the profession continues to attract brave
awareness during activities like arrests, traffic stops, foot men and women willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to
pursuits, ambushes, and other high-risk encounters that protect their fellow citizens.
police face on a daily basis.

November 23, 2012
Left: In 2001, a resident of Livengood, Alaska—a town of less than

two dozen people about 50 miles north of Fairbanks—shot a hole in
the pipeline with a high-powered rifle.
inside with several inches of high-density insulation. But

the single shot from Daniel Lewis’ rifle somehow did
penetrate the pipeline, and oil began streaming out with
tremendous force. “If you would have put your hand in
front of the leak,” Milne said, “the pressure would have
taken it off.”
Lewis, described later in court as a career criminal, had
been released from jail only weeks before the shooting
incident. He was detained by troopers after he and his
brother were spotted near the spill.
Milne and his colleague, Special Agent Mark Terra, were
North to Alaska called in to investigate. They recovered the rifle—the
scope had blood on it where it had recoiled against Lewis’
Part 4: The Shot That Pierced the face—made plaster foot casts at the crime scene, and
Trans-Alaska Pipeline began interviewing people who knew the Lewis brothers.
“Alyeska security and local troopers did a tremendous
Located less than 200 miles from the Arctic Circle, our amount of work on this case as well,” Milne said.
resident agency in Fairbanks is one of the FBI’s most
remote offices—but its three investigators cover an Meanwhile, oil spewed from the pipeline for days
expansive amount of territory and help safeguard some of before engineers could stop it. More than 285,000
the country’s most valuable infrastructure. gallons of crude were spilled as a result of that small
bullet hole and—according to press reports at the
Within the office’s area of responsibility is the Trans- time—the cleanup took many months and cost $13
Alaska Pipeline, an 800-mile engineering marvel million.
that has carried billions of gallons of crude oil from
Prudhoe Bay to Valdez since it began pumping in Lewis was charged with a range of federal and state
1977. crimes, from weapons offenses to oil pollution, criminal
mischief, and driving while intoxicated. In 2002 he
“For as long and as exposed as the pipeline is, it is defi- received a 10-year federal sentence; the following year in
nitely not a soft target on the ground or in the air,” said state court, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison. His
Special Agent Bruce Milne. That’s because the pipeline’s sentences are running concurrently.
owner, Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, provides
extensive security and maintains strong ties with local Coming less than a month after the 9/11 terror attacks,
and federal law enforcement. the pipeline shooting served as a reminder that protecting
the country—whether from terrorists or other crimi-
“We all take the security of the pipeline very seriously,” nals—requires constant vigilance. “Everyone here recog-
said Milne, a 25-year FBI veteran who was drawn to nizes that the stakes are as high in Alaska as anywhere
Alaska in part because of his interest in dog sledding. else,” Milne said. “That’s why we work so closely with our
“Our Joint Terrorism Task Force coordinates closely partners to maintain the highest level of security.”
with Alyeska and Alaska State Troopers to protect the
pipeline,” he added.
One case that stands out for Milne occurred in October
2001, when a resident of Livengood—a town of less than
two dozen people about 50 miles north of Fairbanks—
shot a hole in the pipeline with a high-powered rifle.
A bullet would not ordinarily breach the pipeline’s
exterior, which is constructed of thick steel and lined

November 27, 2012
Counterintelligence
Awareness
Teaching Industry How to
Protect Trade Secrets and
National Security
The FBI vigilantly investigates cases of industrial espio-
nage and theft of intellectual property, but the Bureau
also places great emphasis on preventing such crimes
by educating industry on ways to keep trade secrets
safe. One such innovative program in North Carolina’s
Research Triangle is a collaborative effort with other The threat from inside a company may be employees
federal partners called RED DART. secretly sent by foreign countries to steal secrets. RED
DART briefings help employees spot suspicious behavior,
The threat to America’s trade secrets—and to our such as a staffer working odd hours, asking inappropriate
national security—is real, whether it comes in the questions, or making frequent trips overseas. Externally,
form of international spies, hackers probing online foreign agents may pose as potential investors or custom-
security systems, or disgruntled employees out for ers to gain access to technical information that could
revenge. RED DART seeks to mitigate the threat by compromise a company’s trade secrets. And weak online
raising counterintelligence awareness. security is always an invitation to hackers.
Through briefings to cleared defense contractors and Griff Kundahl, executive director of the Center of
others in technology-rich North Carolina, RED DART Innovation for Nanobiotechnology in North Carolina,
makes executives and employees aware of how counterin- a state-funded organization that fosters new technology
telligence works and how they can spot suspicious activity in the region, has worked closely with the RED DART
both inside and outside their companies. program to help educate the center’s members.
“Everybody wants to emulate U.S. technology,” said Brent “Our core constituents are early-stage companies,”
Underwood, a special agent with the Naval Criminal Kundahl said. “They developed a product that might treat
Investigative Service who helped create RED DART. “If cancer, for example. They are trying to raise money and
countries can shortcut 10 or 20 years’ worth of research get their product to market. They don’t have much time
and development by stealing our technology, that puts or the resources to consider security risks. If RED DART
them at an obvious advantage.” can get them to understand these risks, it helps every-
Despite the occasional high-profile case where a spy body. When they realize that all their efforts could be for
accesses highly classified documents, the majority of naught if their technology is stolen or compromised, it
stolen technology is unclassified, said FBI Special Agent can be eye-opening for them.”
Lou Velasco, who manages the program out of our “Our challenge is to show how real the threat is,” Velasco
Charlotte Division. “With the right amount of informa- said. “We arm people with tools so that they can make
tion,” he explained, “state actors can reverse-engineer our appropriate business decisions.”
products or build them from scratch.”
Michelle Brody, a special agent with the Defense Security
When that happens, our adversaries can be more com- Service and a founding member of RED DART, added,
petitive on the battlefield as well as in the global market- “When RED DART helps a company protect itself a
place. “A big part of our program is putting information little better, it not only helps them, it helps our national
out there about the threat so that people understand security.”
just how serious it is,” Velasco said. “When a company’s
trade secrets are compromised, it can threaten national
security, but it can also hurt that company’s bottom line
and its ability to keep people employed.”

November 30, 2012
in several ways: visiting AIDS facilities, putting ads in a

local religious newspaper offering cash to terminally ill
individuals, and even looking through his own company
files.
The ads purchased by Caramadre were especially
fruitful…in them, he claimed to be a philanthropist and
offered the terminally ill a few thousand dollars to assist
with their funeral expenses. The ads also got him access
to hospice care facilities, nurses, and social workers who
could spread the word about his offer.
Radhakrishnan would visit patients and their families
to supposedly determine whether they qualified for the
donation, but he was actually assessing their life expec-
Preying on the Weak tancies…the shorter the time, the better for the scheme.
Patients who accepted Caramadre’s cash offer were asked
Estate Planner Victimized to sign a document, ostensibly because the philanthropist
needed it for tax records, but in reality it was so their
Terminally Ill signatures could be forged later on. Sometimes, they
It was a despicable scheme—stealing identities of ter- were asked to sign signature pages from actual annuity
minally ill individuals to fraudulently obtain millions of and brokerage account applications that were disguised
dollars from insurance companies and bond issuers. as something else. Sometimes, they were told that actual
accounts would be open, but that all profits would go to
Attorney Joseph Caramadre, president and CEO of his other terminally ill people. And they were always asked
own estate planning company in Rhode Island—along for personal information, like Social Security numbers,
with Raymour Radhakrishnan, an employee—pled birthdates, driver’s license numbers, etc.
guilty earlier this month in federal court to conspiracy to
commit identity theft and wire fraud. Once armed with the fraudulently obtained identity in-
formation, Caramadre purchased annuities and death put
Caramadre’s investment strategies depended on lying bonds. And both he and Radhakrishnan took numerous
to terminally ill individuals and their loved ones to steps to deceive the insurance companies and brokerage
obtain identity information. He abused two financial houses to hide Caramadre’s true ownership interest.
instruments—variable annuities and death put bonds—to
carry out these strategies. In addition to buying annuities Caramadre’s scheme went on for about 15 years—from
from insurance companies listing terminally ill individu- 1995 to 2010—until some of the insurance companies
als as annuitants, he also purchased bonds of distressed and brokerage houses he defrauded filed complaints and
companies for significantly below face value listing termi- investigators with the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service,
nally ill individuals as “co-owners.” When the terminally Internal Revenue Service, and U.S. Attorney’s Office
ill person died days or weeks later, he would exercise the began looking into the matter.
death benefits associated with the investments. Lesson to be learned. If you or a family member is suf-
Caramadre recruited investors by falsely telling them he fering, physically or financially, don’t make quick business
found a loophole that permitted the use of terminally ill decisions…you still need to do your due diligence.
patients as annuitants on annuities and co-owners on
brokerage accounts used to purchase death put bonds.
He then entered into profit-sharing agreements with
them, but received a significant percentage of the profits
himself.
In recruiting terminally ill individuals for his scheme,
Caramadre was only interested in those with a life
expectancy of six months or less. He looked for victims

December 4, 2012
Stopping a Would-
Be Terrorist
Who was One Chemical
Away from Building a Bomb
The 20-year-old Saudi Arabian man living in Lubbock,
Texas was intent on waging jihad against Americans—
possibly even a former U.S. president—and he was one
ingredient away from being able to build a powerful bomb.
But Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari’s deadly plans began to
unravel when a shipping company’s suspicions were
raised—illustrating once again how the FBI relies on Surveillance image of Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari
private industry and the general public in the fight
against terror. Christmas lights in apparent attempts to fashion timers
and initiating devices.
In early February 2011, a Lubbock shipping firm received
a package from a North Carolina chemical company “His apartment bedroom was basically a storage
containing 10 bottles of phenol intended for Aldawsari. room where he kept his chemicals and equipment,”
Combined with just two other chemicals, phenol can be Thompson said. “He was sleeping in the living room
used to make a potent explosive. Delivering such poison- on the couch or the floor.”
ous chemicals to an individual’s home is not common, so The investigation revealed troubling things about
the shipping company contacted the North Carolina firm. Aldawsari, who had come to the U.S. legally in 2008
Both decided that the phenol should not be delivered and on a student visa. “Based on evidence from the Internet
that local law enforcement should be alerted. A Lubbock and his journal entries,” Thompson said, “Aldawsari was
Police Department officer was called to the scene. radicalized before he ever came to the United States.
“That officer and his supervisor—because of their rela- It appears he started planning this attack when he was a
tionship with the FBI—decided that this was something teenager and sought a scholarship to study specifically in
we needed to know about,” said Special Agent Frazier America.”
Thompson, who works in our Dallas Division. “Our By this point, surveillance teams were monitoring
initial focus was to identify Aldawsari to see if he had a Aldawsari around the clock. “He was searching online
legitimate reason for purchasing phenol.” for large targets such as dams and electrical plants,”
In a matter of days, members of our North Texas Joint Thompson said. He also searched for ways to conceal
Terrorism Task Force learned that although Aldawsari explosives in baby dolls and carriages and even sought the
had once been a chemical engineering student at Texas Texas address of former President George W. Bush.
Tech, he was no longer enrolled there and had no affilia- On February 23, 2011, after agents were certain that
tion with the university. Aldawsari was working alone, he was arrested and
“He was trying to pass himself off as a Texas Tech student charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruc-
doing research on cleaning products,” said Special Agent tion. In November, after being convicted by a jury, he was
Mike Orndorff, who worked the investigation. “Those sentenced to life in prison.
credentials, if legitimate, would have allowed him to buy “Aldawsari wanted to take out a lot of people,” Thompson
the phenol.” said. “It scares me to think what might have happened if
Most alarming was that Aldawsari had already purchased we hadn’t stopped him.”
the two other chemicals needed to make his bomb, along
with test tubes, beakers, and protective gear. Through
covert operations, investigators learned he had disas-
sembled clocks and cell phones and stripped the wires off

December 7, 2012
Left: The 1998 arson at a Vail, Colorado ski resort caused more than
$24 million in damages.
charges. That leaves two Operation Backfire fugitives still

at large, and there is a reward for information leading to
their arrest.
“Two years ago we had four fugitives. Now we have two—
so we are halfway there,” said Special Agent Tim Suttles,
who works in our Portland Division and has been investi-
gating the eco-terrorist group since 2005.
Although Suttles said it is “very satisfying” to see Rubin
surrender and submit herself to the judicial process,
the Operation Backfire investigation will not be closed
until the last two fugitives—Joseph Dibee and Josephine
Eco-Terrorist Surrenders Overaker—are in custody.
We need your help to locate these two individuals. A
Two Operation Backfire reward of up to $50,000 each is being offered for in-
Fugitives Still at Large formation leading to the arrest of Dibee and Overaker,
both of whom are believed to be living abroad.
After a decade as an international fugitive, Canadian
Here is what we know about the two:
citizen Rebecca Rubin gave up life on the run last week
when she turned herself over to the FBI at the interna- ▪ Dibee was indicted
tional border in Washington state. in 2006 on charges
of arson, conspiracy,
The 39-year-old alleged member of the domestic
and animal enter-
terrorist cell called “The Family” will face federal
prise terrorism. He
arson charges for her role in the largest eco-terrorism
was believed to be
case in U.S. history, known as Operation Backfire.
living in Syria with
With Rubin in custody, only two members of The Family
family members but Joseph Dibee and Josephine Overaker
remain at large.
may have fled the
Along with a dozen other conspirators, Rubin is charged country due to the recent violence and upheaval
with multiple crimes from 1996 through 2001 in the West there.
and Pacific Northwest, including in Oregon, Colorado,
▪ Overaker was indicted in 2004 and 2006 for her in-
and California. The Family committed an estimated $48
volvement with the 1998 Vail arson and other crimes.
million worth of arson and vandalism under the names
She is believed to have spent time in Germany and
of the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation
may have settled in Spain. She speaks fluent Spanish.
Front.
Suttles believes Rubin may have surrendered because
The cell’s most notorious crime was the 1998 arson of
she was tired of life on the run. “She may have realized
a Vail, Colorado ski resort that caused more than $24
that being a fugitive meant she could never go home or
million in damages and drew international attention to
could never have contact with her mom, who she is very
eco-terrorists—those who break the law in the misguided
close to.” Like many long-term fugitives, he added, “she
attempt to protect the environment and animal rights.
may have come to the realization that coming in, admit-
The FBI took the lead in the Vail investigation, working
ting what you did, and taking your punishment will allow
closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement
you to move on with your life.”
partners, and in 2004, multiple eco-terrorism investiga-
tions were condensed into Operation Backfire. To date, Operation Backfire investigators have solved
more than 40 criminal acts ranging from vandalism to
In July 2011, one of Rubin’s conspirators, Justin Solondz,
arson. Seventeen individuals have been indicted, 15 of
was turned over to U.S. authorities by the Chinese gov-
whom pled guilty and were sentenced in 2007 to jail time
ernment. Solondz had been imprisoned in China on drug
ranging from more than three years to 15 years.

December 10, 2012
Hate Crimes Accounting

Annual Report Released
In 2011, U.S. law enforcement agencies reported 6,222
hate crime incidents involving 7,254 offenses, according
to our just-released Hate Crime Statistics, 2011 report.
These incidents included offenses like vandalism, intimi-
dation, assault, rape, murder, etc.
The data contained in this report, which is a subset of the
information that law enforcement submits to the FBI’s
Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program, includes the
following categories: offense type, location, bias motiva-
tion, victim type, number of individual victims, number UCR program’s new system, scheduled to go online in the
of offenders, and race of offenders. coming months. (The 2013 crime data will be published
in 2014).
Highlights from the 2011 Report:
FBI’s Role in Investigating Hate Crimes
▪ Of the 6,222 reported hate crimes, 6,216 were single-
bias incidents—46.9 percent were racially motivated, Hate crimes continue to be the highest priority of the
20.8 percent resulted from sexual orientation bias, Bureau’s civil rights program because of their heinous
19.8 percent were motivated by religious bias, 11.6 nature and their impact on victims and communities.
stemmed from ethnicity/national origin bias, and 0.9 We investigate hate crimes that fall under federal ju-
percent were prompted by disability bias. risdiction, assist state and local authorities during their
own investigations, and in some cases—with the U.S.
▪ Law enforcement agencies reported 7,713 victims of Department of Justice Civil Rights Division—monitor
hate crime—victims can be individuals, businesses, developing situations to determine if federal action is
institutions, or society as whole. Sixty percent of appropriate.
these 7,713 were victims of crimes against persons,
while 39.8 were victims of crimes against property. In addition to responding to hate crimes, we’re also taking
a proactive approach to hate crimes overall. We’re inte-
▪ Thirty-two percent of the 6,222 hate crime incidents grating a cadre of analysts with our experienced investiga-
reported took place in or near residences; 18 percent tors to not only establish a national threat picture but to
took place on highways, roads, and alleys; and 9.3 identify risk factors that can be used by FBI field offices
percent took place at schools or colleges. The remain- to assess the potential for hate crimes at the local level.
ing percentage took place at locations like houses of
worship, parking lots, bars, government and office Increasing Hate Crime Awareness
buildings, etc. Most of all, we’re working to increase awareness of these
New in Hate Crime Reporting crimes by establishing liaisons with civic and religious
leaders and credible community organizations. Through
Beginning in 2013, law enforcement agencies reporting our UCR program, we offer training to help law enforce-
hates crimes will be able to get even more specific when ment recognize hate crimes and also assist our partners in
reporting bias motivation. developing their own hate crimes training programs.
For example, the new bias categories of gender and gender
identity—which added four new bias types—were added
to the FBI’s hate crime data collection as a result of
the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes
Prevention Act. Other bias types were modified to
comply with the race and ethnicity designations specified
by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Data sub-
mitted under these new specifications will be part of the

December 13, 2012
Left: Multiple long guns were seized in the case of Daniel Patrick
Boyd, who conspired to kill Americans at home and abroad. He was
sentenced in August to 18 years in prison.
to get to the front lines to fight. “That’s when we began

to understand how serious this threat was,” said Special
Agent Paul Minella, a JTTF member who worked the
case.
Over the next three years, the JTTF monitored the
group—with the help of partner agencies and the support
of the U.S. Attorney’s Office—using a variety of investi-
gative tools, including court-ordered wiretaps and sources
who infiltrated the group.
During one monitored conversation inside the food
market Boyd owned, said Maria Jocys, who supervises the
Homegrown Violent Raleigh-Durham JTTF, “in an effort to ingratiate himself
Extremism with Boyd, one of the foreign-born co-conspirators
bragged about his experience as a skilled sniper and
Dismantling the Triangle graphically described how he shot a man overseas.”
“The talk at the market was often about fighting jihad
Terror Group and how, in their belief, fighting jihad was an obliga-
To his sons and others in their rural North Carolina tion,” added Special Agent Bill Logallo, another JTTF
community, Daniel Patrick Boyd was a charismatic figure. member.
But the U.S. citizen used his persuasive powers to no good
Investigators tracked Boyd’s network across the United
end—he promoted violent jihad against Americans at
States and six foreign countries. “It became very clear,”
home and abroad.
Jocys said, “that Boyd’s followers wanted to fight on the
After a four-year investigation by the Raleigh-Durham front lines overseas. And if they didn’t have the op-
Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), Boyd and two of portunity to do that, then they would wage jihad here at
his sons, along with five other conspirators—known home.”
as the Triangle Terror Group—were arrested and
As the investigation continued, “we saw them buying a
charged with providing material support to terrorists
lot of weapons and ammunition,” Logallo said. Boyd dug
and conspiring to murder persons overseas, includ-
a hole in his yard to bury a cache of weapons and posi-
ing U.S. military personnel. Boyd pled guilty and was
tioned long guns in every room of his house. He took his
sentenced in August 2012 to 18 years in prison.
sons and recruits out to train with weapons and taught
Chris Briese, then-special agent in charge of our them military tactics.
Charlotte office, noted at the time, “People who are
Even after Boyd suspected that the FBI was onto his
plotting to harm Americans are no longer a world away
group, “they kept going,” Minella said. “That’s how com-
from us.” The men and women of the JTTF who inves-
mitted they were to jihad and how right they thought
tigated the Boyd case learned that fact firsthand as they
they were about their obligation to kill non-Muslims.”
worked to unravel the network of homegrown violent
extremists. After a carefully orchestrated takedown planned months
in advance, Boyd and the rest of his Triangle Terror
The case began in 2005 with a tip from someone in
Group were arrested in July 2009. They had committed
the Muslim community that one of its members was
no acts of violence, but the JTTF was certain it was only
becoming radicalized. Boyd was a hero to young Muslim-
a matter of time before they did.
Americans because at the age of 19 he had traveled to
Pakistan and Afghanistan to receive military training and “Boyd and his followers wanted to kill people,” Jocys said.
to fight with the mujahedeen. “We had to stop them.”
In 2006, one of Boyd’s North Carolina jihad recruits
traveled to Jordan and e-mailed his mentor to ask how

December 17, 2012
Help Catch Bank

Robbers
New Website Targets
Suspects Nationwide
Bank robbers last year walked away from federally insured
banks, credit unions, savings and loan associations, and
armored trucks with more than $38 million in cash,
according to the last full year of FBI bank crime statistics.
In one in five cases, the money was recovered. In the
unsolved cases, surveillance images of suspects were often
posted online—on FBI wanted posters and elsewhere—to Bankrobbers.fbi.gov features a gallery of suspects and a fully integrat-
enlist the public’s help. ed map feature; due to the sensitive nature of these crimes, robbers
will not always appear on the map if the location is not publicized.
To further that effort, the FBI has launched a new
Wanted Bank Robbers website at bankrobbers.fbi.gov, Users of the new website can filter searches of serial and
the first national system of its kind. non-serial bank robbers. Following are some examples of
serial cases:
The new site features a gallery of unknown suspects and
a map function that plots robbery locations. Users can ▪ The AK-47 Bandit is sought in California, Idaho, and
search by name, location, or other factors. Search results Washington for multiple bank robberies. The suspect
deliver a Wanted by the FBI poster that contains more often wears tactical gear and is armed with an AK-
images, a suspect’s full description, and a brief narrative 47-style assault rifle.
of the crime. ▪ A white male, aged 30-40, is wanted in Washington
“This website is an operational tool that will help law in connection with five armed bank robberies in the
enforcement identify and prosecute bank robbers more Seattle area since September.
quickly, with the public’s help,” says Jason DiJoseph, who ▪ Two black males, believed to be in their 20s, are
runs the bank robbery program at FBI Headquarters. wanted in Virginia in connection with four armed
“The idea is to make it easier for the public to recognize bank robberies in March and April.
and turn in potential suspects and to draw connections
between robberies in different cities and states.” The bank crime statistics bear out the Bureau’s emphasis
on violent cases. While demand notes are bank robbers’
The FBI has had a primary role in bank robbery most frequently used tools (2,958 times in 2011), they
investigations since the 1930s, when John Dillinger and are followed by firearms (1,242 times) and the mere
his gang were robbing banks and capturing the public’s threat of weapons (2,331 times) or explosive devices (154
imagination. In 1934, it became a federal crime to rob times). Even in cases where weapons have not been used,
any national bank or state member bank of the Federal DiJoseph said, the risk of violence increases each time a
Reserve System. The law soon expanded to include bank serial bank robber strikes.
burglary, larceny, and similar crimes, with jurisdiction
delegated to the FBI. Today, the Bureau works with local Of the 5,086 bank robberies, burglaries, and larcenies
law enforcement in bank robbery investigations, but the last year, 201 included acts of violence; 70 involved the
focus is mostly on violent or serial cases. discharge of firearms. Thirteen people were killed during
bank robberies last year, though it was usually the perpe-
“Bank robbery sounds like an old-fashioned crime, but trator (10 incidents).
it is a dangerous and often violent criminal act that still
results in the loss of lives and takes a significant toll on Visit the website to help us solve the most pressing bank
local communities,” says DiJoseph. robbery cases from our 56 field offices.

December 20, 2012
After the loans were issued, most borrowers made

little effort to pay them back. To prevent these loans
from appearing as delinquent on the books, Raguz
directed the credit union to issue so-called reset loans
(new loans made to cover delinquent payments on old
loans) in the names of other SPCFCU members with
active or even inactive accounts, deceased SPCFCU
members, and fictitious businesses. Raguz even let some
of the borrowers of the original fraudulent loans obtain
additional loans.
The crooked borrowers didn’t get off scot-free: so far,
16 have been convicted on various fraud charges. Some of
the more prolific individuals include:
▪ Koljo Nikolovski, of Eastlake and Skopje, Macedonia,
Bank Fraud Hits Home who fraudulently obtained several loans totaling more
Historic Community Credit than $5 million…none of which he paid back. He
also wired $2.3 million overseas to a bank account
Union Collapses in Skopje. (At one point, he threatened Raguz if
he refused to provide a loan or told anyone about
For years, the St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union in previous loans.)
Eastlake, Ohio—about 30 miles northeast of Cleveland—
had provided financial support to Croatians who had ▪ Eddy Zai, an Eastlake businessman and the single
settled in the area and to others in the community. largest recipient of fraudulent loans, who submitted
Through loans and additional services, the credit union false documents to defraud the credit union of ap-
helped many achieve their dreams of owning a home or proximately $16.7 million.
business. ▪ Arben Alia, of Eastlake, who fraudulently obtained
That all came to an end in April 2010, when the in- several loans totaling approximately $4.5 million,
stitution was placed into conservatorship and declared which he used—in part—to fund gambling excur-
insolvent by the National Credit Union Administration— sions and to buy a bar.
the independent federal body that oversees federal credit The impact of the credit union failure was significant:
unions. Because the credit union was federally insured, innocent
The failure of the St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit investors with accounts of $250,000 or less were fully
Union, or SPCFCU, was one of the largest credit reimbursed. But some members with more money in
union collapses in American history, but it didn’t have their accounts—including some businesses and other
to happen. Much of the blame has been placed squarely institutions—were not reimbursed beyond that amount
on the shoulders of its chief operating officer, Anthony and ended up losing hard-earned dollars. And aside from
Raguz, who over a 10-year period accepted more than $1 the financial losses, the community lost an invaluable
million worth of bribes, kickbacks, and gifts in exchange resource that had helped so many for so long.
for issuing a thousand fraudulent loans valued at more Special thanks to the Cleveland office of the Internal
than $70 million. Last month, Raguz was sentenced to 14 Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division and the
years in prison on charges of bank fraud, money laun- Eastlake Police Department for working this case with
dering, and bank bribery and was ordered to pay $71.5 our Cleveland Field Office.
million in restitution.
The fraudulent loans Raguz approved went to conspir-
ing account holders who submitted paperwork listing
minimal or no assets, income, or employment history. He
also knowingly allowed borrowers to obtain loans using
nominee names (family members, friends, business associ-
ates, etc.).

December 24, 2012
A Byte Out of History east of Chicago. It was their signal to the FBI that they
didn’t want to take the car across state lines and trigger
The Hunt for Roger ‘The Bureau jurisdiction. But they didn’t realize that they
would soon run afoul of the Selective Service Act. On
Terrible’ Touhy and His Gang October 16, one week after the no longer imprisoned
criminals failed to register for the draft, the FBI entered
The careful plans were laid. In the early morning hours the case.
of December 29, 1942—70 years ago this month—FBI
agents surrounded an apartment building on Kenmore The FBI had numerous leads to begin its search
Avenue in Chicago filled with a dangerous band of for Touhy and his gang. The Bureau knew Touhy
escaped convicts. With searchlights illuminating the well, arresting him nine years earlier on suspicion of
building and nearby neighbors evacuated, an agent with being involved in the kidnapping of the president of a
a loudspeaker called for the men to surrender. Even Minnesota brewing company. While in custody, Illinois
Director J. Edgar Hoover was on hand. courts convicted Touhy of abducting a rival criminal
named John “Jake the Barber” Factor. Touhy was sent to
At the time, America was at war—fighting in theaters prison in 1934.
in Europe and the Far East during World War II. The
FBI was supporting the effort in many ways, protecting Life on the run was not easy, and the gang began to have
the homeland from espionage and sabotage and supply- problems. Two members disobeyed the gang’s rules and
ing valuable intelligence to its partners and to national were nearly beaten to death. The gang moved often and
leaders. One of its other wartime responsibilities was was careful to cover its tracks. The Bureau figured that
enforcing a newly enhanced Selective Service Act, which Touhy and his cohorts would use IDs stolen through pick-
subjected all men of certain ages to either enter or register pockets and muggings and worked with local police to
for military service. As it turns out, this law was the legal collate these crimes and look for those assuming victims’
hook enabling the FBI to hunt down these criminals. identities.
The prison break had taken place nearly three months It worked, leading to the capture of the first fugitive.
earlier, on October 9. A group that included Roger “The More success followed. On December 16, agents observed
Terrible” Touhy, Basil “The Owl” Banghart, Edward a known acquaintance of one gang member participating
Darlak, and several other violent criminals escaped from in a suspicious meeting with an unknown contact. Agents
the Stateville Penitentiary at Joliet, Illinois. They had tracked the unknown man, which led them to two more
guns smuggled in, cased the prison from all angles, and gang members (who died in a gunfight with Bureau
executed a well-planned break out. agents) and ultimately to Touhy, Banghart, and Darlak.
Following the early morning arrest, the gang was quickly
Stealing a guard’s car, they sped away. Hours later, they returned to prison. They were home for the holidays—
abandoned the car openly in the middle of a small suburb well, back in the big house anyway.
Roger “The Terrible” Touhy (above) and other violent criminals escaped from a penitentiary in Illinois in 1942.

December 27, 2012
Plot to attack Pentagon and U.S. Capitol: Also in

November, a 27-year-old man was sentenced in Boston to
17 years in prison for plotting an attack on American soil
and attempting to provide detonation devices to terror-
ists. The man built detonators for improvised explosive
devices and provided them to FBI undercover operatives
he believed were members of al Qaeda.
Attempted bombing of New York Federal Reserve
Bank: A 21-year-old Bangladeshi national was arrested in
October for attempting to detonate a 1,000-pound bomb
in Lower Manhattan to strike the U.S. financial system
on behalf of al Qaeda. The man allegedly traveled to the
U.S. in January 2012 specifically to conduct a terrorist
attack.
The Year in Review Plot to attack U.S. Capitol: A 29-year-old Virginia
A Look at FBI Cases, Part 1 resident was sentenced to 30 years in prison in September
for attempting to carry out a suicide bomb attack at the
The FBI worked thousands of investigations during 2012 U.S. Capitol in February 2012.
involving everything from terror plots to cyber theft,
financial fraud, and crimes against children. As the year Plan to send weapons to Iraqi insurgents: A former
comes to a close, we take our annual look back at some of resident of Iraq residing in Kentucky pled guilty to ter-
the Bureau’s most significant cases. rorism charges in August for attempting to send Stinger
missiles and other weapons to Iraq to be used against U.S.
Part 1 focuses on our top investigative priority—pro- soldiers.
tecting the nation from terrorist attack. Working with
local, state, federal, and international partners, we ‘Revolution’ leader sentenced: A New York City resident
thwarted a number of potential attacks on U.S. citizens at was sentenced in June to more than 11 years in prison for
home and abroad. using his position as a leader of the Revolution Muslim
organization to promote violent extremism online against
Here are some of the top terror cases of 2012 in those he believed to be enemies of Islam.
reverse chronological order:
Violent extremists in Alaska: Also in June, the leader
Alabama men arrested on terrorism charges: Two U.S. of an Alaska militia was found guilty of conspiring to
citizens living in Alabama were arrested in December and murder federal officials and possessing illegal firearms
charged with planning to travel overseas to wage violent including silencers and grenade launchers.
jihad. The pair met online and later confided their plans
to an individual who—unbeknownst to them—was a Supporting terrorism: A 45-year-old Philadelphia
confidential source working for the FBI. resident was arrested in March and charged with
conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic
Plot to destroy Ohio bridge: Four men were sentenced Jihad Union, an extremist organization responsible
to prison in November for their roles in a conspiracy for bombings and attacks against coalition forces in
to destroy a bridge near Cleveland. The men—all self- Afghanistan.
proclaimed anarchists—pled guilty to conspiracy to
use weapons of mass destruction. The group allegedly Part 2: Fraud, fugitives, espionage, and more (page 107)
planned a series of crimes in the Cleveland area.
Conspiracy to provide support to terrorists: Four men
were charged in Los Angeles in November with conspir-
ing to provide material support to terrorists after they
allegedly made arrangements to join al Qaeda and the
Taliban in Afghanistan to kill Americans, among others.

December 31, 2012
The Year in Review

A Look at FBI Cases, Part 2
With our partners in the law enforcement and intelli-
gence communities, the FBI worked thousands of inves-
tigations during 2012, from cyber crimes to economic
espionage and multi-million-dollar fraud schemes. As
the year draws to a close, we take a look back at some of
2012’s most significant cases.
Part 1 focused on terrorism. This segment highlights
some of the year’s top cases from the FBI’s other
investigative priorities:
Insider trading: Charges against seven investment profes- Nationwide sweep recovers child victims of prostitu-
sionals were announced in New York in January alleging tion: The FBI and its partners announced the results of
an insider trading scheme that netted nearly $62 million Operation Cross Country, a three-day law enforcement
in illegal profits. action in June in which 79 child victims of prostitution
were recovered and more than 100 pimps were arrested.
California gang takedown: A total of 119 defendants
were charged in San Diego in January with federal International cyber takedown: Also in June, a two-year
racketeering conspiracy, drug trafficking violations, and FBI undercover cyber operation culminated in the arrest
federal firearm offenses in one of the largest single gang of 24 individuals in eight countries. The investigation
takedowns in FBI San Diego history. The target was the focused on “carding” crimes—offenses in which the
Mexican Mafia gang and its affiliates. Internet is used to steal victims’ credit card and bank
account information—and was credited with protecting
Economic espionage: In February, a federal grand jury over 400,000 potential cyber crime victims and prevent-
in San Francisco charged five individuals and five coming over $205 million in losses.
panies with economic espionage and theft of trade secrets
in connection with their roles in a long-running effort Health care fraud: In July, global health care company
to obtain U.S. trade secrets for the benefit of companies GlaxoSmithKline pled guilty to fraud allegations and
controlled by the People’s Republic of China. failure to report safety data and agreed to pay $3 billion in
what officials called the largest health care fraud settle-
Cyber hackers charged: Several hackers in the U.S. and ment in U.S. history.
abroad were charged in New York in March with cyber
crimes affecting over a million victims. Four principal Russian military procurement network: In October,
members of the hacking groups Anonymous and LulzSec 11 members of a Russian military procurement network
were among those indicted; another key member previ- operating in the United States and Russia, as well as a
ously pled guilty to similar charges. Texas-based export company and a Russia-based procure-
ment firm, were indicted in New York and charged with
Anchorage man indicted for murder: In April, Israel illegally exporting high-tech microelectronics from the
Keyes was charged with the kidnapping and murder of an U.S. to Russian military and intelligence agencies.
Anchorage barista. Keyes is believed to have committed
multiple kidnappings and murders across the country
between 2001 and March 2012. In December, after Keyes
committed suicide in jail, the FBI requested the public’s
help regarding his other victims.
Financial fraudster receives 110-year sentence: In
June, Allen Stanford—the former chairman of Stanford
International Bank—was sentenced in Houston to 110
years in prison for orchestrating a 20-year investment
fraud scheme in which he misappropriated $7 billion to
finance his personal businesses.

2012: The FBI Story Index
ART THEFT Genocide and War Crimes: New Webpage Designed to

Raise Awareness, Solicit Information, page 70
New Top Ten Art Crime: Reward Offered for Stolen
Renoir Painting, page 77 Living a Lie: Identity Theft That Lasted Decades,
page 81
CIVIL RIGHTS
Help Us Catch a Terrorist: U.S. Citizen Wanted for
MLK Parade Bomber: Horrific Hate Crime Prevented; Supporting al Qaeda, page 82
Case Solved, page 4
North to Alaska: Part 2: An Explosive Situation in the
Human Trafficking Prevention: Help Us Identify Dead of Winter, page 86
Potential Victims, page 6
North to Alaska: Part 3: A Domestic Terrorist with a
Protecting Civil Rights: Part 1: Memphis Agent Seeks Deadly Plan, page 92
Justice for Victims, page 10
Two Most Wanted Terrorists Named: Third Man Sought
Protecting Civil Rights: Part 2: Closing a Memphis for Questioning, page 93
Murder Case, page 11
Stopping a Would-Be Terrorist: Who was One Chemical
Domestic Threat: White Supremacy Extremism, page 43 Away from Building a Bomb, page 99
Teen Prostitution: Gang Used Social Media Sites to Eco-Terrorist Surrenders: Two Operation Backfire
Identify Potential Victims, page 76 Fugitives Still at Large, page 100
Hate Crimes Accounting: Annual Report Released, Homegrown Violent Extremism: Dismantling the
page 101 Triangle Terror Group, page 102
The Year in Review: A Look at FBI Cases, Part 1,
COUNTERTERRORISM
page 106
On Guard Against WMD: Inside the Biological
Countermeasures Unit, Part 1, page 15 CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN
On Guard Against WMD: Inside the Biological A Mother’s Worst Nightmare: Fusion Center Key in
Countermeasures Unit, Part 2, page 16 Rescue of Abducted Infant, page 5
Help Us Bring Bob Levinson Home: $1 Million Reward Cyber Alerts for Parents & Kids: Tip #2: Beware of
Offered for Missing Retired FBI Agent, page 19 ‘Sextortion,’ page 12
Eco-Terrorist Sentenced: Help Us Find Remaining Operation Atlantic: Taking International Aim at Child
Operation Backfire Fugitives, page 23 Predators, page 18
Domestic Threat: White Supremacy Extremism, page 43 New Top Ten Fugitive: Child Pornographer Added to the
List, page 29
Inside the Denver JTTF: Part 1: Vigilance Against
Terrorism, page 55 Child Forensic Interviewers: Part 1: Providing Critical
Skills on Sensitive Investigations, page 32
Inside the Denver JTTF: Part 2: Partners Help Cast a
Wide Safety Net, page 58 Child Forensic Interviewers: Part 2: Training Our Law
Enforcement Partners, page 33
‘Play How You Practice’: FBI’s WMD Training Workshop
Tests Massive Response, page 61 Looking for Our Children: National Missing Children’s
Day 2012, page 44
Inside the Denver JTTF: Part 3: WMD Coordinator
Focuses on Preparedness, Partnerships, page 63 Operation Cross Country: Nationwide Sweep Recovers
Child Victims of Prostitution, page 53

Infant Abductions: A Violent Trend Emerges, page 74 DIRECTOR/FBI LEADERSHIP

Teen Prostitution: Gang Used Social Media Sites to Help Us Bring Bob Levinson Home: $1 Million Reward
Identify Potential Victims, page 76 Offered for Missing Retired FBI Agent, page 19
Safe Online Surfing: New Cyber Safety Website for Community Leaders Recognized: Their Actions Improve
Teachers, Students, page 85 Lives, page 22
CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SERVICES The Cyber Threat: Part 1: On the Front Lines with
Shawn Henry, page 25
Police Week: FBI Honors Law Enforcement’s Sacrifices,
page 40 The Cyber Threat: Part 2: Shawn Henry on Partnerships,
Challenges, page 26
Crimes Rates are Down: According to 2011 Preliminary
Report, page 49 Major Financial Crime: Using Intelligence and
Partnerships to Fight Fraud Smarter, page 28
30-Year-Old Murder Solved: Fingerprint Technology
Played Key Role, page 75 A Byte Out of History: The Alvin Karpis Capture,
page 35
Latest Crime Stats: Annual Crime in the U.S. Report
Released, page 89 The Hoover Legacy, 40 Years After: Part 1: The End of
an Era, page 36
Making the Ultimate Sacrifice: Report on Law
Enforcement Officer Deaths Released, page 95 Police Week: FBI Honors Law Enforcement’s Sacrifices,
page 40
CYBER CRIMES
Remembering Giovanni Falcone: Italian Judge
Malware Targets Bank Accounts: ‘Gameover’ Delivered Assassinated by the Mafia 20 Years Ago, page 42
via Phishing E-Mails, page 2
The Hoover Legacy, 40 Years After: Part 2: His First Job
Cyber Alerts for Parents & Kids: Tip #2: Beware of and the FBI Files, page 54
‘Sextortion,’ page 12
The Hoover Legacy, 40 Years After: Part 3: Another Side
Looking for Love?: Beware of Online Dating Scams, of J. Edgar, page 62
page 13
The Hoover Legacy, 40 Years After: Part 4: The
Operation Atlantic: Taking International Aim at Child Evolution of U.S. Intelligence, page 68
Predators, page 18
The Hoover Legacy, 40 Years After: Part 5: A Day in the
The Cyber Threat: Part 1: On the Front Lines with Life, page 79
Shawn Henry, page 25
FIELD CASES
The Cyber Threat: Part 2: Shawn Henry on Partnerships,
Challenges, page 26 Closing a ‘Crime Superstore’: Not-So Garden Variety
Fraud in the Garden State, page 3
New Internet Scam: ‘Ransomware’ Locks Computers,
Demands Payment, page 66 MLK Parade Bomber: Horrific Hate Crime Prevented;
Case Solved, page 4
Safe Online Surfing: New Cyber Safety Website for
Teachers, Students, page 85 A Mother’s Worst Nightmare: Fusion Center Key in
Rescue of Abducted Infant, page 5
Cyber Security: Focusing on Hackers and Intrusions,
page 88 Human Trafficking Prevention: Help Us Identify
Potential Victims, page 6

Cargo Theft: How a Memphis Task Force Combats a Journey Through Indian Country: Part 5: A Zero-
Costly Problem, page 8 Tolerance Approach, page 56
Protecting Civil Rights: Part 1: Memphis Agent Seeks If It’s Too Good to Be True: Massive Ponzi Scheme Proves
Justice for Victims, page 10 Age-Old Adage, page 57
Protecting Civil Rights: Part 2: Closing a Memphis Inside the Denver JTTF: Part 2: Partners Help Cast a
Murder Case, page 11 Wide Safety Net, page 58
Cyber Alerts for Parents & Kids: Tip #2: Beware of Journey Through Indian Country: Part 6: Gaining
‘Sextortion,’ page 12 Invaluable Experience on the Reservation, page 60
Trying to Sell That Timeshare?: Beware of Fraudsters, Inside the Denver JTTF: Part 3: WMD Coordinator
page 14 Focuses on Preparedness, Partnerships, page 63
Help Us Bring Bob Levinson Home: $1 Million Reward A Sordid Scam: Two Receive Life Sentences for Preying
Offered for Missing Retired FBI Agent, page 19 on Aspiring Models, page 65
New Top Ten Fugitive: Child Pornographer Added to the Mortgage Fraud: ‘House King’ was a Royal Con Man,
List, page 29 page 69
‘Booster’ Behind Bars: Professional Shoplifter Gets Prison A Byte Out of History: Murder and the Dixie Mafia,
Term, page 31 page 73
New Top Ten Fugitive: Help Us Find Adam Mayes, Living a Lie: Identity Theft That Lasted Decades, page 81
page 38
The Case of the Misbranded Drug: Leads to Massive Fine Supporting al Qaeda, page 82
and Penalties, page 45
North to Alaska: Part 1: Smallest FBI Office Takes on
Journey Through Indian Country: Part 1: Fighting Crime Big Job, page 84
on Tribal Lands, page 46
North to Alaska: Part 2: An Explosive Situation in the
New Top Ten Fugitive: Help Us Find a Rapist and Dead of Winter, page 86
Murderer, page 47
Remembering Lou Peters: Selfless Actions Brought Down
Journey Through Indian Country: Part 2: Making an Mob Boss, page 87
Impact on the Reservation, page 48
Operation Universal Money Fast: Putting the Brakes on
Help Us Catch a Killer: Unknown Offender Linked by Health Care Fraud, page 91
DNA in Two Separate Cases, page 50
North to Alaska: Part 3: A Domestic Terrorist with a
Journey Through Indian Country: Part 3: Murder on the Deadly Plan, page 92
Zuni Reservation, page 51
LCD Price Fixing Conspiracy: Taiwanese Company,
Journey Through Indian Country: Part 4: Teamwork Execs Sentenced, page 94
Makes a Difficult Job Easier, page 52
North to Alaska: Part 4: The Shot That Pierced the
Operation Cross Country: Nationwide Sweep Recovers Trans-Alaska Pipeline, page 96
Preying on the Weak: Estate Planner Victimized
Inside the Denver JTTF: Part 1: Vigilance Against Terminally Ill, page 98
Terrorism, page 55
Stopping a Would-Be Terrorist: Who was One Chemical
Away from Building a Bomb, page 99

Homegrown Violent Extremism: Dismantling the The Hoover Legacy, 40 Years After: Part 4: The
Triangle Terror Group, page 102 Evolution of U.S. Intelligence, page 68
The Year in Review: A Look at FBI Cases, Part 1, Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 4: Who Said It?
page 106 Pop Culture’s Take on Women Special Agents, page 71
The Year in Review: A Look at FBI Cases, Part 2, Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 5: A Diversity
page 107 of Backgrounds and Experiences, page 72
FOREIGN COUNTERINTELLIGENCE A Byte Out of History: Murder and the Dixie Mafia,
page 73
Economic Espionage: How to Spot a Possible Insider
Threat, page 39 Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 6: Working
Undercover, page 78
Counterintelligence Awareness: Teaching Industry How
to Protect Trade Secrets and National Security, The Hoover Legacy, 40 Years After: Part 5: A Day in the
page 97 Life, page 79
GENERAL Remembering Lou Peters: Selfless Actions Brought Down

Mob Boss, page 87
Helping Victims of Crime: Therapy Dog Program a First
Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 7: Two Have
for the Bureau, page 34
Made the Ultimate Sacrifice, page 90
HISTORY A Byte Out of History: The Hunt for Roger
A Byte Out of History: Closing in on the Barker/Karpis ‘The Terrible’ Touhy and His Gang, page 105
Gang, page 7
INTELLIGENCE
Investigating Financial Crime: A Retrospective, page 21
Overcoming the Language Barrier: Translation Center at
A Byte Out of History: The Alvin Karpis Capture, the Ready to Assist U.S. Intelligence, page 1
page 35
FBI Financial Intelligence Center: Getting Ahead of
The Hoover Legacy, 40 Years After: Part 1: The End of Crime, page 24
an Era, page 36
Economic Espionage: How to Spot a Possible Insider
Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 1: May 12, Threat, page 39
1972—A New Chapter is Opened, page 41
The Hoover Legacy, 40 Years After: Part 4: The
Remembering Giovanni Falcone: Italian Judge Evolution of U.S. Intelligence, page 68
Assassinated by the Mafia 20 Years Ago, page 42
The Hoover Legacy, 40 Years After: Part 2: His First Job to Protect Trade Secrets and National Security,
and the FBI Files, page 54 page 97
Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 2: Two Women INTERNATIONAL
Blaze a Trail in 1972, page 59
Operation Atlantic: Taking International Aim at Child
The Hoover Legacy, 40 Years After: Part 3: Another Side Predators, page 18
of J. Edgar, page 62
Help Us Bring Bob Levinson Home: $1 Million Reward
Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 3: Early Offered for Missing Retired FBI Agent, page 19
Pioneers Tell Their Stories, page 64

Eco-Terrorist Sentenced: Help Us Find Remaining Journey Through Indian Country: Part 2: Making an
Operation Backfire Fugitives, page 23 Impact on the Reservation, page 48
Economic Espionage: How to Spot a Possible Insider Crimes Rates are Down: According to 2011 Preliminary
Threat, page 39 Report, page 49
Remembering Giovanni Falcone: Italian Judge Help Us Catch a Killer: Unknown Offender Linked by
Assassinated by the Mafia 20 Years Ago, page 42 DNA in Two Separate Cases, page 50
Genocide and War Crimes: New Webpage Designed to Journey Through Indian Country: Part 3: Murder on the
Raise Awareness, Solicit Information, page 70 Zuni Reservation, page 51
FBI National Academy: Celebrating a Milestone, page 80 Journey Through Indian Country: Part 4: Teamwork
Makes a Difficult Job Easier, page 52
Supporting al Qaeda, page 82 Operation Cross Country: Nationwide Sweep Recovers
Two Most Wanted Terrorists Named: Third Man Sought
for Questioning, page 93 Journey Through Indian Country: Part 5: A Zero-
Tolerance Approach, page 56
LCD Price Fixing Conspiracy: Taiwanese Company,
Execs Sentenced, page 94 Journey Through Indian Country: Part 6: Gaining
Invaluable Experience on the Reservation, page 60
Eco-Terrorist Surrenders: Two Operation Backfire
Fugitives Still at Large, page 100 A Sordid Scam: Two Receive Life Sentences for Preying
on Aspiring Models, page 65
LINGUIST/TRANSLATION PROGRAM
Infant Abductions: A Violent Trend Emerges,
Overcoming the Language Barrier: Translation Center at page 74
the Ready to Assist U.S. Intelligence, page 1
30-Year-Old Murder Solved: Fingerprint Technology
MAJOR THEFTS/VIOLENT CRIME Played Key Role, page 75
A Mother’s Worst Nightmare: Fusion Center Key in New Top Ten Art Crime: Reward Offered for Stolen
Rescue of Abducted Infant, page 5 Renoir Painting, page 77
Cargo Theft: How a Memphis Task Force Combats a Latest Crime Stats: Annual Crime in the U.S. Report
Costly Problem, page 8 Released, page 89
Looking for Love?: Beware of Online Dating Scams, Making the Ultimate Sacrifice: Report on Law
page 13 Enforcement Officer Deaths Released, page 95
‘Booster’ Behind Bars: Professional Shoplifter Gets Prison Hate Crimes Accounting: Annual Report Released,
Term, page 31 page 101
New Top Ten Fugitive: Help Us Find Adam Mayes, Help Catch Bank Robbers: New Website Targets Suspects
page 38 Nationwide, page 103
Journey Through Indian Country: Part 1: Fighting Crime ORGANIZED CRIME/DRUGS

Closing a ‘Crime Superstore’: Not-So Garden Variety
New Top Ten Fugitive: Help Us Find a Rapist and Fraud in the Garden State, page 3
Murderer, page 47

Human Trafficking Prevention: Help Us Identify Journey Through Indian Country: Part 2: Making an
Potential Victims, page 6 Impact on the Reservation, page 48
A Byte Out of History: Closing in on the Barker/Karpis Crimes Rates are Down: According to 2011 Preliminary
Gang, page 7 Report, page 49
Cargo Theft: How a Memphis Task Force Combats a Help Us Catch a Killer: Unknown Offender Linked by
Costly Problem, page 8 DNA in Two Separate Cases, page 50
Remembering Giovanni Falcone: Italian Judge Journey Through Indian Country: Part 3: Murder on the
Assassinated by the Mafia 20 Years Ago, page 42 Zuni Reservation, page 51
Operation Cross Country: Nationwide Sweep Recovers Journey Through Indian Country: Part 4: Teamwork
Child Victims of Prostitution, page 53 Makes a Difficult Job Easier, page 52
Teen Prostitution: Gang Used Social Media Sites to Operation Cross Country: Nationwide Sweep Recovers
Identify Potential Victims, page 76 Child Victims of Prostitution, page 53
Remembering Lou Peters: Selfless Actions Brought Down Inside the Denver JTTF: Part 1: Vigilance Against
Mob Boss, page 87 Terrorism, page 55
PARTNERSHIPS Journey Through Indian Country: Part 5: A Zero-

Tolerance Approach, page 56
the Ready to Assist U.S. Intelligence, page 1 Inside the Denver JTTF: Part 2: Partners Help Cast a
Wide Safety Net, page 58
MLK Parade Bomber: Horrific Hate Crime Prevented;
Case Solved, page 4 Journey Through Indian Country: Part 6: Gaining
Invaluable Experience on the Reservation, page 60
A Mother’s Worst Nightmare: Fusion Center Key in
Rescue of Abducted Infant, page 5 ‘Play How You Practice’: FBI’s WMD Training Workshop
Tests Massive Response, page 61
Cargo Theft: How a Memphis Task Force Combats a
Costly Problem, page 8 Inside the Denver JTTF: Part 3: WMD Coordinator
Focuses on Preparedness, Partnerships, page 63
Protecting Civil Rights: Part 1: Memphis Agent Seeks
Justice for Victims, page 10 Insider Trading: Proactive Enforcement Paying Off,
page 67
Protecting Civil Rights: Part 2: Closing a Memphis
Murder Case, page 11 Genocide and War Crimes: New Webpage Designed to
Raise Awareness, Solicit Information, page 70
Trying to Sell That Timeshare?: Beware of Fraudsters,
page 14 30-Year-Old Murder Solved: Fingerprint Technology
Played Key Role, page 75
Operation Atlantic: Taking International Aim at Child
Predators, page 18 FBI National Academy: Celebrating a Milestone, page 80
Police Week: FBI Honors Law Enforcement’s Sacrifices, Living a Lie: Identity Theft That Lasted Decades, page 81
page 40
Cyber Security: Focusing on Hackers and Intrusions,
Remembering Giovanni Falcone: Italian Judge page 88
Assassinated by the Mafia 20 Years Ago, page 42
Latest Crime Stats: Annual Crime in the U.S. Report
Journey Through Indian Country: Part 1: Fighting Crime Released, page 89

North to Alaska: Part 3: A Domestic Terrorist with a RECRUITING/DIVERSITY

Deadly Plan, page 92
Making the Ultimate Sacrifice: Report on Law the Ready to Assist U.S. Intelligence, page 1
Enforcement Officer Deaths Released, page 95
FBI Forensic Accountants: Following the Money, page 20
North to Alaska: Part 4: The Shot That Pierced
the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, page 96 Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 1: May 12,
to Protect Trade Secrets and National Security, page 97 Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 2: Two Women
Preying on the Weak: Estate Planner Victimized
Terminally Ill, page 98 Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 3: Early
Hate Crimes Accounting: Annual Report Released,
page 101 Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 4: Who Said It?
Pop Culture’s Take on Women Special Agents, page 71
Homegrown Violent Extremism: Dismantling the
Triangle Terror Group, page 102 Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 5: A Diversity
of Backgrounds and Experiences, page 72
Help Catch Bank Robbers: New Website Targets Suspects
Nationwide, page 103 Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 6: Working
Undercover, page 78
Bank Fraud Hits Home: Historic Community Credit
Union Collapses, page 104 Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 7: Two Have
Made the Ultimate Sacrifice, page 90
PUBLIC/COMMUNITY OUTREACH
TRAINING
Cyber Alerts for Parents & Kids: Tip #2: Beware of
‘Sextortion,’ page 12 Child Forensic Interviewers: Part 1: Providing Critical
Skills on Sensitive Investigations, page 32
Looking for Love?: Beware of Online Dating Scams,
page 13 Child Forensic Interviewers: Part 2: Training Our Law
Enforcement Partners, page 33
The State of Financial Crime: Our Latest Accounting,
page 17 Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 1: May 12,
Community Leaders Recognized: Their Actions Improve
Lives, page 22 Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 2: Two Women
The Grandparent Scam: Don’t Let It Happen to You,
page 27 ‘Play How You Practice’: FBI’s WMD Training Workshop
Tests Massive Response, page 61
Safe Online Surfing: New Cyber Safety Website for
Teachers, Students, page 85 Celebrating Women Special Agents: Part 3: Early
Help Catch Bank Robbers: New Website Targets Suspects
Nationwide, page 103 FBI National Academy: Celebrating a Milestone, page 80
Making the Ultimate Sacrifice: Report on Law
PUBLIC CORRUPTION
Enforcement Officer Deaths Released, page 95
A Byte Out of History: Murder and the Dixie Mafia,
page 73

WHITE-COLLAR CRIME LCD Price Fixing Conspiracy: Taiwanese Company,

Execs Sentenced, page 94
Closing a ‘Crime Superstore’: Not-So Garden Variety
Fraud in the Garden State, page 3 Counterintelligence Awareness: Teaching Industry How
to Protect Trade Secrets and National Security, page 97
Investigating Insurance Fraud: A $30-Billion-a-Year
Racket, page 9 Preying on the Weak: Estate Planner Victimized
Terminally Ill, page 98
Trying to Sell That Timeshare?: Beware of Fraudsters,
page 14 Bank Fraud Hits Home: Historic Community Credit
Union Collapses, page 104
The State of Financial Crime: Our Latest Accounting,
page 17
FBI Forensic Accountants: Following the Money, page 20
Investigating Financial Crime: A Retrospective, page 21
FBI Financial Intelligence Center: Getting Ahead of
Crime, page 24
The Grandparent Scam: Don’t Let It Happen to You,
page 27
Major Financial Crime: Using Intelligence and
Partnerships to Fight Fraud Smarter, page 28
Bankruptcy Fraud: Creditors and Consumers Pay the
Price, page 30
Nursing Home Abuse: Owner Cheats Government and
Neglects Residents, page 37
The Case of the Misbranded Drug: Leads to Massive
Fine and Penalties, page 45
If It’s Too Good to Be True: Massive Ponzi Scheme Proves
Age-Old Adage, page 57
Insider Trading: Proactive Enforcement Paying Off,
page 67
Mortgage Fraud: ‘House King’ was a Royal Con Man,
page 69
Living a Lie: Identity Theft That Lasted Decades, page 81
Distressed Homeowner Initiative: Don’t Let Mortgage
Fraud Happen to You, page 83
Operation Universal Money Fast: Putting the Brakes on
Health Care Fraud, page 91

FBI OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20535
Insulated in a full-blast suit, a bomb technician

demonstrates equipment used to neutralize
an improvised explosive device.

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U.S.

The Strategic Information and Operations Center

2012 The FBI Story I

2012 The FBI Story III

2012 The FBI Story 1

After the perpetrators access your account, they conduct

2 2012 The FBI Story

2012 The FBI Story 3

Left: On January 17, 2011, as hundreds of people gathered in down-

preserved that would help lead FBI agents to Harpham.

4 2012 The FBI Story

2012 The FBI Story 5

Many of our human trafficking cases are based on infor-

6 2012 The FBI Story

A Byte Out of History

2012 The FBI Story 7

8 2012 The FBI Story

▪ Disaster-related fraud, which became such a problem

2012 The FBI Story 9

“I don’t think it’s by happenstance or coincidence that

10 2012 The FBI Story

Protecting Civil Rights

2012 The FBI Story 11

software because the e-mails and messages appeared to

12 2012 The FBI Story

Looking for Love?

2012 The FBI Story 13

websites. These company representatives promised a quick

14 2012 The FBI Story

On Guard Against WMD

2012 The FBI Story 15

organisms, such as yeast and bacteria, and “reprogram”

16 2012 The FBI Story

2012 The FBI Story 17

offer an example of outstanding achievement through

18 2012 The FBI Story

Help Us Bring Bob

2012 The FBI Story 19

Responsibilities of FBI forensic accountants include:

20 2012 The FBI Story

2012 The FBI Story 21

▪ Anchorage: Covenant House Alaska offers services

22 2012 The FBI Story

2012 The FBI Story 23

During fiscal year 2011, FBI offices opened dozens of

24 2012 The FBI Story

The Cyber Threat

2012 The FBI Story 25

real for the victims—the money is actually gone—the

26 2012 The FBI Story

The Grandparent Scam

2012 The FBI Story 27

Left: FBI Director Robert S. Mueller addresses the Miami Chamber

▪ Three years ago, we established the Financial

28 2012 The FBI Story

New Top Ten Fugitive

2012 The FBI Story 29

The culprits. They typically include private citizens,

30 2012 The FBI Story