THESTORY OF THE WrittenbyEarlSchenckMiers EditorialProduction:DonaldD.WolfDesignandLayoutbyMargotL.Wolf WONDERBOOKSNEWYORK ADivisionofGROSSET&DUNLAP,Inc. Assumingthekneeling("double-ac-tion") firingposition,aspecialagent oftheFBIpreparestotesthis marksmanshipwithapistolatthe bureau's range inQuantico,Virginia. Library of CongressCatalog Card Number:65-21505 1965,byWonderBooks, aDivisionofGrosset& Dunl ap,Inc. Allri ghtsreservedunderInternationalandPan-Ameri canCopyrightConventions. PublishedsimultaneouslyinCanada.PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica. Note Companionvolumesa boutournationalgovernmentbyEarl SchenckMiersareTHEWHITEHOUSEANDTHEPRESI-DENCYandTHECAPITOLANDOURLAWMAKERS. Contents Page The Hollow Nickel4"The Ten Most Wanted" How the Bureau Began6 G-Men in Action On the Firing Line9 ATip TrapsaKidnapper New Approaches to Combating Crime14 Outwitting the Bank Robbers The Fighting Fronts of Science17 The War on Spies21 The FBI and CivilRights More About Jimmy's Nickel26 A Career with the FBI The Many Faces of Crime29Good Business for the Nation Afingerprint expertmarkspointsof iden-tificationonlatentandinkedfingerprints whichwillbeusedasevidenceinacourt trial.(Color photo on page1 .) AllphotographscourtesyFederalBureauofInvestigation,Washington,D.C. Page 32 34 36 39 43 45 47 Morethancollectingclues, findingthe criminal, and on occasion"shootingitout" withhim,theFBIa gent must al so be ready to assist withhistestimonyincourt inorder to obtain convicti on oftheguilty. Atrainingclassforfinger-print techniciansisconducted undertheauspicesofthe TechnicalSection,FBIIdenti -ficationDivision,Washington. TheHollowNi ckel "I'm collecting," Jimmy said. The womanwhoopenedthedoorat 3403Foster AvenueinBrooklyn,New Yorksmiledwithpleasantrecognition attheboywhodeliveredtheDaily Eagle.ThedatewasJune22,1953,a Monday.Assooftenhappenswhen newsboyscome"collecting,"neither Jimmynorhiscustomerhadtheright change,but aneighborfinallysupplied the proper amountand Jimmy wenton his way,a happy young businessman. Whenaboy"serves"papers,as Jimmydid,thefunisinthemoneyhe makes.Helikestojinglethecoinsin hispocket.If, allat once,acoinseems tohavea"peculiarring,"Jimmywill know it,probably witha sickening feel-inginhisstomachoverhavingbeen "gypped." On that June night, amongthe coins 4 Jimmyhadcollected,oneseemedsus-piciouslylightwhenhebalancedthe five-centpieceonthemiddlefingerof hislefthand.Thecoindroppedtothe floor and fellapart! IfJimmywassore,noonecould blamehim.Butthen,Jimmyalsowas fascinated, for when the two sides of his worthless nickel separated, a small strip offilmwasrevealed.Jimmytalked -what newsboy wouldn't? And a story as unusualasthiswascertaintobere-peated:byagirlJimmyknew;byher father,whohappened tobe a policeof-ficer;byadetective,inwhomhecon-fided.The detective secured both halves of the nickeland the microphotograph; withgoodsense,hesentthemtothe New York officeof the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In timeJimmy's"hollow nickel"and TheFBITrainingSchoolhasa"crime scene"roomwherehypothetical crimestakeplaceandwhereagents areinstructec:Iinproperexamination andcriminalinvestigation. Tracerbulletsprovideaspectacular displayasagentsfiremachineguns duringfirearmspracticeatnight. Ascalemodelofa streetscene,forusein atrial,ismeticulously constructedbytechni-cians of theFBIExhibits Section. 5 film strip reached the building at the cor-nerofNinthStreetandPennsylvania AvenueinWashington,D.C.that houses the United States Department of Justice and the headquarters of the FBI. Here a team of experts went to work on thenewsboy'smystery,butitrequired fouryearsandatouchofluckbefore the puzzle was pierced. Certainfactswereknownalmostat once.Whilesuchcoinsarecommon-placeamongmagicians,thiscoinwas too thinly hollowed to hide anything but atiny piece of paper or film,thusmak-ing it worthless in performing tricks. On onesideJimmy'scoinwasa1948Jef-fersonnickel,butthereversesidehad beenmade fromanother cointhathad been minted during World War II when a shortage of nickel necessitated the use ofacopper-silveralloy.Onthe1948 Jefferson-nickel side of the coin FBI ex-pertsdetectedatiny hole inthe second letter of the word "trust," sodrilled that afineneedleor someothersmallprod couldbeemployedinforcingthetwo partstoopen.The filmstripcontained in the coin revealed a seriesof numbers arranged in ten columns, but at the time thismicrophotographwaswithout meaning.Sincethetypewriterthathad producedthesefigureswasamakeun-knowntotheFBI,themachineobvi-ouslymusthavebeenmanufactured abroad. As the investigation continued,other "strange" coinsreachedFBI headquar-ters - fromNew York City a half dol-larsogroundthatsmallercoinscould be concealed under it; from Los Angeles a1953Lincolnpennythathadbeen coatedwithnickel;fromWashington, D.C.two hollow pennies.Yearspassed and the mystery of the newsboy's nickel remainedunsolved,but incrimedetec-tionnovirtueexceedspatience.One day,asthisnarrativewillrelate,FBI persistenceuncoveredthe linkbetween Jimmy'scoinandaplottoundermine national security. What happened there-after made America a bit safer for every citizen. Combatingespionagecertainlymust rankforemostamongthemanyfunc-tions of the FBI in its day-and-night war againstallthecriminalelementsthat threaten toweaken and eventodestroy our social structure.Within certain pre-scribedlimits,theFBIhasonlyone duty:to protect the rightsand freedom ofeveryAmericancitizen,nomatter whatriskisinvolvedor whosefeelings may be ruffled. This tradition of the FBI fitsan historic pattern created by a stub-born Presidentwhowasquiteadeptat matching witswith huffyCongressmen. HowtheBureauBegan TheodoreRoosevelt - "thatmad-man"and"thatcowboy,"hisenemies called him - brought a burst of restless energytotheWhiteHouse."Wewoke 6 upevery morning," a friendof hissaid, "wonderingwhatnewadventurewe wereoffonwhenRooseveltwasPresi-dent." One of "Teddy's" major crusades in those years wasbreaking up big-busi-nesstrustsintheEastandthwarting landthieveryintheWest,andinboth theseenterprises heusedSecret Service agentstogoodeffect.Intheprocess, however, Teddy was coming down hard onmore thanonesetofCongressional toes;glowersturnedintogrowlsand growlsintoaction,withtheresultthat Congresspassedalawforbiddingthe Department of Justice and all executive agenciesotherthantheTreasuryto employ Secret Service agencies in inves-tigativework. The Roosevelt neck and cheeks were famousfortheirflushofcolorunder suchcircumstances;Teddy'sfists clenchedandtheeyessnappedbehind hisgold-rimmedglasses;intheWhite House,asinCongress,aglowercould turnintoagrowlandagrowlintoac-tion.ThePresident'sresponsewasto order Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonapartetoorganizeaninvestigative branchfortheDepartmentofJustice ... and so, on July 26,1908, the Bureau of Investigationcameintoexistence. Initsinfancy,theBureaufollowed thecourseofallhumanenterprises:It hadtocreepbeforeitstooderectand thenstumbledbeforeitwalked.New CongressescouldenlargetheBureau's activities with the passage of the White SlaveTrafficActin1910andtheNa-tional Motor Vehicle Theft Act in 1919, butwhatwasclearlylackinginCon-gress and elsewhere wasan understand-ing of how an effective law-enforcement agency must be organized and operated. Too often, partisan politicsdecided the structureoftheBureausothat"its agents were appointed not on what they knew, but whom they knew." Never was the ineptitude of the Bureau more pain-fully revealed than during World War I. Its"untrainedandundisciplined"per-sonnelwerenomatchforGerman saboteurs intent on blowing up vital in-stallations;Germanspieseverywhere carriedontheiractivitieswithobvious contemptfortheeffectivenessofthe Bureau's agents. The situation steadily worsened until CalvinCoolidgereachedtheWhite House.Therewasatoughsidetothis sonofVermont,whichboththePresi-dent and the country needed, for one of Coolidge's first big jobs was to overcome the stigma of corruption in government leftby the"Teapot Dome"scandalsof the Warren G. Harding Administration. Perhaps it was entirely within character forthe flintyCoolidgetoplace hisreli-ance in men of strong will. His Attorney GeneralwasHarlanFiskeStone,later tobecomeChiefJusticeoftheUnited States;andStone,determinedthatthe Department of Justice must have an in-vestigative branch worthy of the nation' s respect,foundtheleaderhewantedin John Edgar Hoover,thentheBureau's assistant director. Hooverat thetimewas29yearsold - a broad-shouldered man who did l}ot really look the part of a futurenemesis tospies,kidnappers,bankrobbersand otherassortedbadmen.BornJanuary 1,1895, in the District of Columbia, he attendedtheDistrict'spublicschools and at the age of 18secured his firstjob asamessengerintheLibraryofCon-gress - again, small evidence that here walkedafellowwhowouldgrowinto alegend. 7 I I Th eDepa rt men tO'f JusticeBuil ding,Wash-ington,D.C.,headquar-ters of the FederalBureau of Investigation. J.EdgarHoover,Direc-tor of theFederalBureau ofInvestigation,U.S. Department of Justice. But there was a drive in J. Edgar Hoo-ver,a go-ahead quality that would have pleasedoldJusticeOliverWendell Holmes, who believed every young man needed"afireburninginhisbelly." NightcoursesattheGeorgeWashing-tonUniversityenabledHoovertoearn both abachelor's and a master's degree fromthishonoredinstitution,andhe wasmarkedforadvancementalmost fromthatmomentin1917whenhe startedtoworkintheDepartmentof Justice.Hestucktoatask;hewasag-gressive,plain-spoken,intelligent.The Attorney General knew the kind of man with whom he was dealing when in1924 he summoned Hoover tohisoffice. Stone was no bush-beater; he came to the point:how would Hoover like to be-comedirectoroftheBureau?Hoover also could come to the point: the answer wasyes,but withtwoconditions - he musthaveafreehandinrunningthe agency,and politicalappointmentsand interferencemustend.Inlateryears, whenboththeFBIandJohnEdgar 8 Hoover became virtually a part of Amer-icanfolklore,Stone'spridewouldbe pardonable,bothinhischoiceandhis decision. The changes did not come overnight. In those days the Bureau's investigators were called "brief case agents," for they were not permitted tocarry weaponsor make arrests.Clearly they lacked train-ingfortheirjobs,afactthatHoover knewaswellasanyone.Andsohebe-ganthetaskofimprovingtheBureau by weeding out the misfits. Occasionally apoliticiancriedthatoneofhispro-tegeshadbeenmisused;thedirector simply did not listen. WhatHooverwasreallyseekingin his FBI agents was a new breed of inves-tigator - menandwomenwillingto pursue the study and to acquire the dedi-cationofpurposenecessarytomaking lawenforcementacareer.Intimehe would stipulate the characteristics essen-tial to success in an FBI agent and other effectivelaw-enforcementofficers: "1.BEREADYtoservethepublic faithfully and fearlessly 24 hours aday. "2.UPHOLDtherightsofeveryin-dividual within the law. "3.STRIVEdiligentlytosecurethe evidenceto freethe innocentaswellas convict the guilty. ... ; - L "4.HONORhisbadge - nevertar-nishit withpersonalmisconduct,onor off duty. "5.BE COURTEOUS and FRIENDLY-formostcitizenstheonlycontactwith law enforcement isto report or seekin-formation. "6.AVOIDfavoritism - race,creed and influence have no place in the scales of justice. "7.ACTasa model to youth - help youngsterstobegoodcitizens. "8.KEEP in good physical condition. Ahealthybodyandmindmeanbetter work. "9.LEARNMOREaboutthelaw-enforcementprofession- acquiring knowledge isa never-ending process. "10.BELOYALtoself,organization, country and God." OntheFiringLine In those last years of the1920's, asJ. EdgarHooverpursuedtheslow,hard task of building up the efficiencyof the FBI, a wave of crime and violence swept acrossAmerica.Thetrafficinbootleg whiskeynotonly.producedwealthand power for an Al Capone in Chicago, but Shi eldoftheFederalBureauofInvestigation. other cities, such as Toledo, Detroit and New York, also were riddled by the vice and terror of mobster gang rule.A kind ofnationallethargyprotectedthese hoodlums; a man who, in defiance of the ProhibitionAct,madegininhisown bathtubwashimselfaviolatorofthe SealoftheFederalBureauofInvestigation. 9 GeorgeR.Kellypartici-pated inthe Urschelkid-nappingonJuly22, 1933.Hewasappre-hendedonSeptember 26,1933,inMemphis, Tennessee,byFBI agents,convictedand sentenced tolifeimpris-onment.Hediedina penitentiaryin1954. GEORGER.("MACHINEGUN'")KELLY lawand sohelooked indulgentlyupon professionallawbreakers.Storiescircu-lated that even judges took orders from Caponewhenhetelephonedfromhis headquartersinadowntownChicago hotel;at timesadaring bank robberor jailbreakerseemedtoacquirethe glamour of a movie idol Then in1932occurredacrimethat shocked the nation - the kidnapping of the infant son of Charles A.Lindbergh, everyone'sherosincethatMaydayin 1927whenhehadpilotedasingle-en-gine plane,The Spirit of St.Louis,ina nonstop flight from New York to Paris. Congressawakenedwithajolt.The Federalkidnappinglawof1932gave FBIagentsauthoritytopursuesuch criminals when they carried their victims acrossstatelines;andsoonCongress passedlawsnotonlyextendingthis power of pursuit to bank robbers, extor-tionistsandothermajorlawbreakers but also givingtoFBI agentstheright to carry firearms and make arrests. With the FBI thus placed "on the fir-ingline,"J.EdgarHooveropenedhis shooting war on crime in the traditional American spirit ofacceptingnosubsti-tute for an unconditional surrender. His 10 POLICEPHOTOOFLESTERGILLIS"BABYFACE"NELSON enemywasastoughand viciousashu-man imagination could produce - hell-cats like the Barker-Karpis mob,"Baby Face"Nelson,"PrettyBoy"Floyd, Frank Nashandhisnotoriouscronies. Amongthefirstofthesemobstersthat Hoover labeled a prime target was John Dillinger,aMidwesternbankrobber and holdup artist. Bystrictdefinition,whentheFBI started after Dillinger,hisonly Federal offensewastransportingastolencar acrossstate lines.Anobstinatepursuit followed.Thefirstencountercameat St.Paul,Minnesota,whereDillinger finally escaped after forcing a surgeon at gun point totreat hiswounds.Next the FBIcorneredthebanditatasummer resortinnorthernWisconsin;butDil-linger,surrounded,shothiswayout, leavingbehindonemankilled,two wounded.Asoncethedimenovelhad made a folk hero out of Jesse James,so didnewspaperheadlinesalmostdistort theimageofDillingeruponoccasion, but theFBI kept upitsrelentlesschase and on July 22, 1934, tracked him down toamovietheateronChicago'sNorth Avenue.Dyedhair,plasticsurgeryto alterthefeaturesofhisface,gold-Lten KATE("MA")BARKERJOHNDILLINGER rimmed glasses, a mustache were among thedevicesbywhichJohnDillinger soughttodisguisehisidentity,buthe did not mislead Samuel P. Cowley,who ledthesquadofFBIagentsonthat warmevening.Theywaitedfortwo hours until Dillinger left the theater; he wasshot,drawing hisgun. Anewlegend,anewfolkherowas rising inAmericaandanother mobster - "MachineGun"Kelly,akidnapper - helped to create both. Surrounded by aringofHoover'sstern-facedmen, Kellyheardtheshout:"We'reFBI agents!You'reunderarrest!"Begged Kelly:"Don't shoot,G-men!" But for these G-men - Government-men - the end did not always come this easily."Baby Face" Nelson already had killedoneFBIagentwhenhewas caughtonanIllinoishighway;Nelson shot it out with the two G-men who cor-nered him, wounding both mortally, btit not beforeoneput afatalslugintohis body. An FBI agent, along with an Okla-Dillinger'sfingerprints,takenafterhewasshotand killed,showmutilatedtips - hisfruitlessattemptto thwart identification. ApositiveidentificationofJohnDillinger fromhisfingerprintswaspossible,even thoughhe had mutilated them. RIGHTHAND THUMBINDEXFINGER LEFTHAND THUMBINDEXFINGER '.:r/ : : c ~ ~ ~ ~ .JohnDillinger's fingerprints,takenwhile he wasalive. RIGHTHAND THUMBINDEXFINGER LEFTHAND THUMBINDEXFINGER I I Agunrecoveredfroma suspectistaggedwithala-bel for proper identification. homa police chief and two KansasCity detectives, met death in the machine-gun battlethatendedtheattemptedescape ofFrank Nash fromarailroad station. AmongthoseinNash'sgangwhogot awaythat day was"Pretty Boy" Floyd, whohadcarvedtennotchesinahalf dollar he carried, perhaps to indicate the numberof victimswhohaddiedunder hisownflashingguns.Forsixteen monthstheFBIfollowedFloyd;then, catchinghim,theyshotit out. When in 193 6 the brutal Alvin Karpis was taken alive by Director Hoover and Anautomaticisdustedfor latent fingerprints byanexpertintheSingle- Fingerprint SectionoftheFBIIdentificationDivision. agentsat NewOrleans,virtuallyan en-tire generation of "public enemies"had been eliminated,and a finehistorianof the period,Frederick LewisAllen,rec-ognizedthedramaticchangethathad occurred in American life: "Hooverand hismen became heroes oftheday.Themoviestookthemup, taughtpeopletocallthemG-men,and presentedJamesCagneyintheroleof a bounding young G-man, trained in the law,inscientificdetection,intarget practice,andincidentallyinwrestling. Presently mothers who had been noting == Shownat rightareeight basicfingerprint patterns.Theenlargedessentialpattern isshownincoloraboveeachprint. 12 PLAINARCHTENTEDARCHRADIALLOOP )rints print ision. Latentfingerprintsarescrupulously comparedintheAssemblySection oftheFBIIdentificationDivision. with alarm that their small sons liked to play gangster onthestreet cornerwere relieved to observe that the favored part in these juvenile dramas was now that of the intrepid G-man, whose machine guns mowed down kidnappers and bank rob-bersbythescore.TherealG-men -withthenot-quite-so-heavily-advertised aidofstateandlocalpolice - contin-ued to followup their triumphs until by theend .of1936theycouldclaimthat everykidnappingcaseinthecountry sincethe passage of theLindberghlaw in1932 hadbeenclosed." Latent fingerprintsaresometimesdisclosedbyuseof carbonarclamps. ULNARLOOP PLAINWHORLCENTRALPOCKETLOOPDOUBLELOOPACCIDENTAL -NewApproachestoCombatingCrime Alaboratorytechniciananalyzesstainsonanenvel-ope that containedanextortionnote. ExtensiveX-rayequipmentisutil-izedtoexaminecastingsand metalpartsinthepursuitof identificationandlegalevidence. Tireandshoeprintsserveasmeansof identifica-tion,justassurely asfingerprints. TheFBl'sfliesof theseprintsarequiteextensive,sothat"tracking down"ashoemanufacturerortiremanufacturer becomesapainstakingbutefficientroutine. 14 WhereaspicturesandstoriesofG-menexchanginggunfirewithfamous desperadoes captured the public's fancy, the FBI's most effective work in law en-forcement in time would often occur far fromthe scenesof theactual crimes.J. EdgarHooverscarcelyhadgrownac-customed to signing his name as the Bu-reau'snewdirectorwhenhebegan thinking and planning how he could em-ploy scientific method and techniques in combating the nation's lawbreakers. Afirststep wasthe establishment on July1,1924,ofanIdentificationDivi-sion.Dataconcerningcriminalswas then scattered in many places and, quite sensibly,Hoover wanted one repository wheresuchinformationcould be made readily available. Fingerprint records of theNationalBureauofIdentification and of Leavenworth Penitentiary - or-ganizationswhichinthepasttwodec-adeshadaccumulated810,188prints - wereconsolidatedtoformthenuc-leus of the FBI's newdivision. Thefingerprintbythenhadbecome well-established as an indispensable ally incrimedetection.Nomatterhow quicklyacriminalmovedfromcityto cityorfromstatetostate,fingerprints were the unfailing proof of where he had been; a set of identical twinsmight baf-fleeventheirparentsintellingthem apart,but their individualitycouldnot behiddenonafingerprintcard;and eventhoughJohnDillingermutilated hisfingersinanefforttodisguisehis prints,hecouldnothoodwinktheex-perts. The point, of course, was the fact that as long as such prints were kept only inlocalagencies,theirusefulnesswas limited;butplacedinanationalfile, they became watchdogs that could roam thelengthandbreadthofthecountry (or of theworld,forthat matter). The wisdom behind the establishment Asuicidenote,illegiblebe-causeofstains(right),isre-vealedwhenphotographed underinfraredlight(left). of the FBI's Identification Division can bemeasuredbestbythestoryofits growth:In1932anInternationalEx-change of fingerprint data linked twenty nations in the common task of ferreting outcriminalactivities;in1939there were 10,000,000 prints on file and seven yearslatertentimesthatnumber;and asyoureadthesepages,thecardson file,reachingthedivisionat the rateof some24,000aday,willbeover 175,000,000. Stacked one on top of an-other, these cards would make approxi-mately116pilesashighastheEmpire State Building. Andwhatstoriesthesecardscould tell!Atrafficviolator,arrestedbyan Eastern sheriff,could not conceal from his fingerprint card the factthat hewas 15 AnautomaticpistolwasrecoveredbyFBIagents fromasuspect inthe shooting of apoliceman and submitted to theFBILaboratory, together with the bulletrecoveredfromthedeadofficer'sbody. Microscopicmarkingsonatest bullet,firedinthe laboratory fromthepistol, arecomparedunder a comparisonmicroscopewithmarkingsonthe bulletremovedfromthebody.Thisexamina-tiondisclosesthatbothbulletswerefiredfrom thesamegun.Amicrophotographisprepared, depictingthecomparisonofthebullets. Atechnicianfiresthepistolintothebulletrecovery box intheFirearmsIdentificationSection. Abovearephotographsofthetestbullet(left)and themurderbullet(right) . wanted in the South on a murder charge. Anamnesiavictimwasidentifiedfrom the prints taken when he had enlisted in the Navy eleven years before. A17-year-16 Preliminaryexaminationof anautomaticpistolinthe PhysicsandChemistrySectionof theFBILaboratory. oldboywholeftnofingerprintsand committedaburglaryinhisbarefeet wasidentifiedbytheprintofhisbig righttoe.Amummifiedcorpse,found in a boxcar, revealed his identity to FBI fingerprintexperts(inmanydisasters, suchasplane crashes,fingerprintssup-plytheonlymeansofidentifyingvic-tims).Awomanwhowasadoptedat theageofthreemonthswasreunited withherbrotherafteralapseofforty-three years through the patient search of FBI expertswholocatedtheman from fingerprintsmademanyyearsprevi-ously. Fascinatingandinvaluablethough fingerprint identification is, it represents but one wayinwhichscientificmethod andtechniquesareusedincombating crime.On November 24,1932 a "Tech-nicalLaboratory" - world-famousto-day asthe "FBI Laboratory" - had its modest beginning with the acquisition of somefilingcases,amicroscope,ultra-violetlightequipmentandadrawing board.Sincethenthisscientificarsenal inthenation'swaragainstcrimehas been manned with a wide variety of spe-cialistswhocanoutwitthecriminalby startling insights into where he has been, where probably he is going, what he has done and what he can be expected to do Photomicrographshowsthe markingsofbothbulletsas identical. Thelight p.art of the photograph(left)isthetest bullet;thedarkpart(right)is themurder bullet. next.Visitorstothe FBI Laboratory in Washington invariably come away shak-ingtheir headsinwonderment.Onlya foolwould believethat inbreakingthe lawhecouldforlongproveamatch against this team of dedicated experts! TheFightingFrontsofScience On more than a dozen fighting fronts the FBI enlists science in its war against the nation's lawbreakers. Take firearms, for example. The chances are good that the FBI has a model of almost any kind ofmodernfirearmthathasbeenem-ployedinacrime(includingweapons concealed in walking canes or an appar-ently harmless"fountain pen"that can shootagasvapor intendedtoblind its victim).To theFBI expertinfirearms it ispart of the day's routine to identify thegunfromwhichabullethasbeen discharged;andgunpowderandshot-pattern teststellhimthedistancefrom which the bulletwas fired.Nor does his day'sworkendhere:healsocantell from the marks left by punches,chisels, axes,hammers,prybars,drills,s a w ~ wrenches, pliers and screwdrivers, IntheFirearmsSection,anexpertoftheFederal BureauofInvestigationpreparesforatoolmark examinationbymeansof acomparisonmicroscope. 17 Longitudinalwholemountsof humanhair fromdiffer-entindividuals,showingcharacteristicstructures bymeansof increasedmagnification. Theappearanceofpaperfibers,asviewedthrough themicroscope,usingtransmittedlight. amongotherdevices,theexacttools criminals have used in their unlawful l ~bors.Examinationsofwood,glass,ex-plosivesand paper matches,enable the firearmsspecialisttoplaceasuspectat thesceneofamurder,burglary,sabo-tage,arson or theft. TheFBIexpertsinspectography, whomayuseanelectronmicroscope permitting magnification of an object to 100,000 times its size,specializes in the analysisofpaint,glass,metal,plastic, rubber,drugsandsimilarmaterials. Thesepatientscientists,workingwith such apparatus asthe spectrograph and 18 spectrophotometer(instrumentsfor photographingaspectrumorbandof coloredlight),demonstratedtheir pre-cise skill when theyreceivedfromSeattle, Washington,the clothing of a five-year- old boy who had been struck down by a hit-and-run driver.Despite the fact that the lad had lainonawind-swept,rain-soaked roadside formorethan an hour and his apparel wascaked with dirt and blood, FBI experts were able to identify eight layers of paint that had adhered to theclothesasaresultofthecollision and totellthat theouter layerof paint wasbrightpurple.Withthiscluethe Seattlepolicelocatedboththepurple Cadillacanddriverresponsibleforthe accident. To aid in such identifications the FBI maintainstheNationalAutomotive PaintFilewhichcontainspaintspeci-mens of the original finisheseach manu-facturer places on his automobiles - an invaluable repositorythat often hasen-abledthepolice,workingwithasmall fragmentof paint left at thesceneby a hit-and-rundriver,toestablish theyear and make ofthe car involved. Serology,ortheidentificationof bloodwhetherhumanoranimal,has trappedmorethanonecriminal(and alsohasestablishedtheinnocenceof more than one suspect).Toxicology,or theanalysisofcertainchemicalsub-stances, has led to the downfall of many poisoners;andinbombingsandexplo-sionstoxicologists learn much fromthe dynamiteresidues.Throughpetrogra-phy,or theexaminationof mineralevi-dence, the FBI has used soil deposits on heelsto place a criminal at the sceneof an offense,or through mineral particles foundon his clothing has placed himat the site of a burglarized safe, or through brick,mortar,plasteranddustfrag-ments has placed him in a building where acrime hasbeen committed.Hairsand fibersalso contribute important clues in establishingthewhereaboutsoflaw-breakers, as do shoe and tire prints. The FBImaintainsbothaShoePrintFile andaTirePrintFile. Sincenotwopersonswriteexactly alike,the art of documentevidence,in-volving the use of scientific instruments inmicroscopicmeasurementsandpho-tography, likewise hasbecome an essen-tialallyinmoderncrimedetection. Amongthecollectionsmaintainedby theFBIinobtainingthiskindofevi-denceare( 1)aTypewriterStandards File,enablingtheBureau todetermine onwhat makeofmachineadocument wasprepared(althoughinthecaseof thetencolumnsoffiguresonthefilm stripinJimmy'shollownickelthefile did not help); (2) a Checkwriter Stand-ards File which serves a similar function inexaminingcheckswrittenautomati-cally;(3) a Paper Watermark File, used in tracing the manufacturersof various brandsofpaper;and( 4)anAnony-mous Letter File, which includes holdup notesusedinbank robberiesand com-municationsfromextortioners. Afifthcollection - theNational FraudulentCheckFile - surelyisas importantasanyusedbytheFBIin fightingcrimebydocumentexamina-tion. As a typical fiscal year, in1963 the Anexaminer intheFBILaboratory comparestheheelof asuspect'sshoe withthat of acastmade at thesceneof acrime.TheBureaumaintainsanextensiveshoeprintfile. Bureaureceived32,381fraudulent checkshavingafacevalueof$5,972,-697; more than half of these frauds were identifiedbymaterialalreadyonfile, and approximately another 20 per cent ofthefraudswereidentifiedbysigna-tures on criminal fingerprintrecords. What experiencehastaught the FBI i ~ the fact that the fraudulent check pas-ser repeats his crime, and unfortunately isapersonwhobecomesinvolvedin suchother offensesasstealingautomo-biles and burglarizing stores, offices and homes.Toooften,thechroniccheck passer isa person whosecharm andin--AnFBItechniciandeveloping obliterated writingona check throughtheuseof iodine fumes. telligence disarms his victim; yet sooner orlaterthescienceofpersistentcrime detection places him(at ]east temporar-ily)where he belongs - in jail.Forged checks have been cashed though signed bysuchunbelievablenamesas"U.R. Stuck" and "N.0. Good" - the check forger endures because he believes with theold circus man,P.T.Barnum,that "a sucker isborn every minute." 20 The expert in electronics also plays a vital role in the many-sided labors of the FBI Laboratory. Not only are the radio-telephoneandradiotelegraphstandard equipmentinmoderncrimedetection, but in emergencies even fingerprints can be received and identified telephonically overaSpeedphotoTransceiver.Crypt-analysis - that is,the science of exam-ining code and cipher messages - must of necessity be a well-cultivated art with theFBI.Theproblemsthatconfront specialistsincryptoanalysiscanrange from gamblers transmitting information on horse races across state lines to cases of espionage(remember the micropho-tographinJimmy'shollownickel) whichthreatenournationalsecurity. Finally,atranslationservicepermits theFBILaboratorytohandledocu-mentswritteninmorethantwenty-five languages,including a letter froma13-year-oldboyintheNetherlandswho asked forinstructions toassist in o r m ~Aportionofthegun vaultattheFBIAcad-emyatQuantico,Vir-ginia.Overathousand gunsintheFBIcollec-tionareusedinscien-tificcrimedetectionto identifybulletsand weaponsinAringtests. ingan"FBIClub"sothatheandhis friendscould"solvesecretsandother problems." As the 1930's ended, the combination oftrainingandsciencehadwrittena proud record for the FBI. The majority of the nation's kidnappersor bank rob-bers either were in jail or had been exe-cuted.ButbynowHooverandhisO-menwereinvolvedinanotherstruggle. Measured intermsof the welfare of all citizens,the stakes involved constituted life or death for a way of existence. TheWaronSpies OnSeptember6,1939,President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a directive instructingtheFBI"totakechargeof investigative work in matters relating to espionage,sabotage,andviolationsof theneutrality regulations." Both the President and the director of theBureauwerekeenlyawareofthe dangers threatening America asa result oftherisingNazipowerinGermany. Asearlyas1926smallunitsofNazis. had begun to gaina footholdinAmeri-can-Germanc:ommunitiesamongpeo-ple who in large part and for a long time would fail to comprehend Adolf Hitler's trueintentions.MeanwhileHitler's shadowspreadlikeanuglywarcloud overEurope;andinAmericahisNazi agents,workinginnumerousways, sought togainanadvantagefroman Americanreluctancetobecomein-volvedinanyoverseasconflict. Astrangephenomenonresultedas bandsofAmerican-Germans,raising theirarmsatralliesintheNazi-Fascist salute, shouted approval at speakers who spewed forth the poison of Hitler's hate doctrines.Perhapsafewrealizedthat theseAmericancommunitieswerebe-ing exploited asa recruiting ground for a vast German espionage system, but far moreofthesepeoplewerefoolsrather thantraitors.Yetthenationalgovern-ment knew what was going on, including theextenttowhichNazi-Fascistdiplo-matsinWashingtonwereworkingto perfectaspyorganizationthatboded nogood forthe freeworld. Chargedwiththeresponsibilityof fightingthis menace, the FBI instructed some19,000localpoliceagenciesin methods for handling the security prob-lemsthat a war would produce; and on May 28,1940, the Bureau created a Se-curity Division. ThesewerebusydaysatFBIhead-21 quarters.Around-the-clockexperts studiedtheenemy'stechniquesofespi-onageandsabotage.Afterall,hard common sense dictated that, in the event of war,the country must be ready with aplan formovingimmediatelyagainst enemy aliens. When on December 7,1941, the Jap-aneseattackedPearlHarbor,theFBI swung into action within three hours and by nightfall of December 8 more than a thousandenemyaliensconsideredpo-tentially dangerous had been taken into custody.The FBI's accomplishments in safeguarding America against espionage andsabotageduringWorldWarII re-sultedfrompreparedness,alertness,a determinationtoout-thinktheenemy. FBI agents were sent on secret missions into Latin America to thwart enemy de-signs to use these neighboring countries as relay points for supplying submarines andspies;andespionageringswere smashed before they could begin opera-tions. Inmid-Juneof1942,orbarelysix monthsafterPearlHarbor,astrange 22 sceneoccurredalongtheshorefront near Jacksonville,Florida,and a beach nearAmagansett,LongIsland,N.Y. In both cases four Nazi saboteurs, trans-ferredfromsubmarinestocollapsible rubber boats, landed in predawn hours. They worked swiftly and efficiently, for theseGermanshadbeenmeticulously trained inBerlin forthetasksassigned them.The explosivesthey buried inthe sand forlaterusewereofhighlyeffec-tive quality and were disguised as lumps of coalorsuchinnocent-appearingob-jects as fountain pens. Each of the eight saboteursspokeexcellentEnglish,and two were naturalized American citizens. Amongthemtheycarriedmorethan $150,000 incash. Silentlytheyscattered,movingto points as far from the coast asChicago. The maintargetsthat theyintendedto destroywerevitaltoAmerica'swar ef-fortandpublicmorale - HellGate Bridge,NewYork City's water supply, principalrailroadjunctures,aluminum plants.Within twoweeksFBI alertness hadcapturedalleightsaboteurs,their TheFBIclassroomin whicheightNazisabo-teursweretriedbya military commission con-tainsthisplaque. ..)IJ ...,. ',.),..... Secret writingisrevealedby use of ultravioletlight.Undernat-urallight,only themisdirectingmessageinblackinkisvisible. explosivesandtheirmoney.Nosingle installationhadbeendamaged. The battle against sabotage wasonly onephaseoftheFBI'ssilentwaron enemy subversion.With good reasonJ. Edgar Hoover and his G-men were often in the headlines:By breaking up the es-pionagenetworkledbyFrederickJou-bert Duquesne early in the war, the FBI smashedthe largestspyringinthehis-tory of the United States; and when the membersofasecondringheadedby Kurt Frederick Ludwig were sentenced, the German conspiracy upon the Amer-ican mainland was brought under a con-trolthatendureduntiltheendofthe conflict. The collapse of the Nazi war machine strengthened the Soviet Communists so that,really,theFBI'sprivatewaron spiesandsaboteursenteredanewand even more intensified phase.In a book, AStudy inCommunism, J.Edgar Hoo-verhasidentifiedthesixprincipaltar-getsagainstwhichtheSovietsdirect their subversive activities: Firstaretheareasofscientificre-searchanddevelopment;suchareas would include installations where Amer-icabuildsitssatellites,guidedmissiles and rockets in addition to radar defense systems and centers engaged in projects concerned withelectronics,aeronautics and atomic energy. Next are areas vital to the nation's de-fense where information can be obtained relatingtothe methodsoftrainingour armed forcesandthedevelopmentand testingofnewweapons. Third, enemy spies pay particular at-23 tentiontostrategicareas,suchasmili-tary,navalandairforceinstallations; and to sensitive industrialsites,such as dams,harbors,railroad yardsandsteel mills, all places that would interest a po-tential saboteur in the event of war! Again,thespy,inseekingclassified information,constantly strivesto"bore fromwithin"byplacinghisinformers inpositionsoftrustin agenciesofthe United States Government. Afifthtargetisassociatedwith United States foreign policy, for the spy lookshereforinformationconcerning confidentialconversationsandsecret documents. Finally, the Soviet spy seeks to gather informationaboutanti-Communist emigregroupsintheUnitedStatesto usetohisadvantage. Thewaragainstspiesoftenispur-suedfordesperatestakes,asshocked Americanslearnedduring1950and 1951whentheywereconfrontedby whatthejudgecharacterizedas"the crime worse than murder." Asthe story of the FBI investigations unfolded, peo-ple realized for the first time the stagger-ingdimensionsoftheSovietespionage conspiracy aimedagainstthem. For sometimebeforethefirstbreak came inthiscase,theFBI hadlearned that informationabouttheatombomb had been given to a foreign power; then British intelligence officersarrested Dr. EmilJuliusKlausFuchs,aGerman-born scientistwhopreviouslyhad been employed in the United States on secret work involved in atomic research.Thus began the roundup of a group of widely 24 Thestaircaseinthepark,leadingtothe"bank." scatteredtwistedpersonalitieswhofor a variety of motives had become linked inthecentury'smostsordidcrime. Fuchs,forexample,whileadmitting that he had dealt with the Soviets, could not identifyhisAmericancontact.The FBI foundthatman - HarryGold,a Philadelphiachemist-and Gold'scon-fessionledtheG-mentoDavidGreen-glass,aUnitedStatesArmyenlisted manwhohadbeenassignedtothe atomic testing site inLos Alamos,New Mexico.Gold revealedthat hisinstruc-tions in these negotiations came through acontactheknewonlyas"John,"but the FBI alsotracked down"John":He wasAnatoli A.Yakovlev, a vice consul fortheSovietsinNewYorkCitywho had leftthe United StatesinDecember of1946. DavidGreenglass'stestimonyledto thedeeper,ifmoreincomprehensible sourceof thisconspiracy.Howhadhe and his wife Ruth become involved? The answer, David said, was the influence of Thelightpostappearsordinary... hissister Ethel and her husband,Julius Rosenberg- they,truly,hadbeenthe masterminds.WhyEthel,whowasna-tive-born,turnedfromAmericanfree-dom to the harsh disciplinesof commu-nismwasneverquiteunderstandable to judge,jury or the public;the change had occurred during student days. It was thenthatEthelhadledDavidtoem-brace the Soviet philosophy; it was then through communist interest that she met her future husband. As the FBI evidence was disclosed, the enormity of the crime the Rosenbergs had incited could not be denied - the microfilm supplied by Da-vid Greenglass had given the Soviets tell-ing insightintotheconstructionofthe atom bomb:The free world's most valu-able defense secret had been betrayed. After the Rosenbergs were sentenced to death, an American sense of fair play grantedthemsixseparateappealsbe-foretheywereexecutedatSingSing Prison inOssining,NewYork onJune 19,1953.InWashingtonandNew UpperManhattan'sFort TryonPark - astrange locationforabank,but an excellentplaceforthe "banking"transactionsof aspy ring.Thebase ofthe lightpostshowsthe aperturethroughwhich paymentsof$1,000and $600weremade. ... unlessyouknowitssecret. York, in London and Paris,ralliesthat werenotwithouttheirCommunistin-stigatorsdecriedthe"inhumanity"of PresidentEisenhower,AttorneyGen-eralHerbert BrownellandJohnEdgar Hoover in permitting the death sentence to stand. But the FBI stuck to its war on spies, knowing it was far from ended. And just threedaysaftertheRosenbergswere executed,Jimmy,theBrooklynnews-boy,received hishollow nickel. 25 MoreAboutJimmy'sNickel Thisishow thenickellookedwhenopened. :'07 1"'"' .nA.5C.u'- 11c' 1't n 1071 11 ... ._rc.. y..,Q,, :v 1233o '>V34.i,, 175J7J7j l13'-"'"""l :;i1743.3)1i ,1t '1Ol'l u71. 1uu,I1u7u') 'J,v-_a,'1171n33, 1,,v..;i:1-0..:,5 11L 7/4v1 .. 1::A-vu.JV5() .__ 14 t7i 1c:.:qo:._,,1.;., 1,_,._ o:,- 41742 J 1.._ .>777u14 ..;:.i l e i 1.i1'- .. t,.JtJ '.J t . f\7 2 145" ic ,1 'J7 11 7 71(,7ll"" 1 '1: 1i , 1 r,)r')'IJv 17 l17522 11.Jr'f.1111 1JJ:,,2t.l'.>Vl-t. 1i l l 11.j 'L.{ 1111Q5 511111..::7u771.J'.,, .. v,, ,roJC7u23 j7 175 ,",)v l\,JJ,';i l,- ...I \):.>4'i-'.,, ,1uc,