Federal Bureau of Investigation
In 1908 Theodore Roosvelt founded a investigation bureau in the Department of Justice. After reorganization in 1924, J.E.Hoover made it into the FBI. They were able to fight the Mafia in the 30s. In 1939, due to bigger streaming of spies, the FBI became the status of a counterintelligence organization.Functions of the FBI, under its general responsibility of investigating violations of federal law, include the investigation of espionage, sabotage, subversive activities, and other actions related to national security; organized crime and drug trafficking; terrorism; and white-collar crime. It also controls the operations of other services at the ground of the United States. They work together with the CIA, but the FBI is the only service, which is not to provide the CIA with gathered information. On the other hand, if they want to operate abroad they must cooperate with the CIA or an another military service. The FBI is controlled by the Department of Justice. The FBI employees over 15,000 people of which almost 6,500 form the regular base. Applicants must be between 23 and 40 years of age and graduates of a state-accredited resident law school or a resident 4-year college with an accounting major and at least three years' work experience in this field. After a long and thorough preparation they became G-men (Government men). FBI also possesses the largest database of fingerprint sets (over 176 million sets).
During the Cold War they were able to discover some Soviet spies (Abel, Gold, Rosenbergs) but a pair of dirty affairs worsened their image. (Like the Martin L.King assassination or the Watergate affair). After the paranoid Hoover, Partick Grey was named chairman. He was replaced in 1976 by the St.Louis judge, William Webster (who became DCI in 1987). The main seat of the FBI is in Washington D.C., Pennsylvania Avenue.
