Declassified Files on Gangsters & Criminals

Anastasia, Albert – [185 Pages, 11.93MB] – Albert Anastasia (pronounced ah-nah-STAH-zee-ah) (born Umberto Anastasio, September 26, 1902 – October 25, 1957) was one of the most ruthless and feared Cosa Nostra mobsters in U. S. history. A founder of the American Mafia, Anastasia ran Murder, Inc. during the prewar era and was boss of the modern Gambino crime family during most of the 1950s.

Barnes, George “Machine Gun Kelly”  – [ 8,782 Pages Total, Multiple PDF files ] – George “Machine Gun Kelly” Barnes (1895 –1954) was a notorious criminal during the gangster era. This release covers the investigation of the Charles Urschel kidnapping and the resulting court case. This release covers the years 1933-1959.

Bonnie & Clyde – [ File #1 42.39MB | File #2 6.58MB | File #3 35.85MB | File #4 212.61MB | File #5 0.3MB | File #6 11.68MB | File #7 20.85MB ] – [ 948 Total Pages ] Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (1910-1934) and Clyde Champion Barrow (1909-1934) were violent criminals who were active in the Mid- and Southwest between 1932 and 1934. The FBI began to investigate “Bonnie and Clyde” and their fellow gang members after Barrow stole an automobile in December 1932. The couple died in an ambush by local and state police officers from Louisiana and Texas on May 23, 1934. This release consists of the FBI Dallas Field Office’s file, which ranges from 1933 to 1934.

Broady, John G. – FBI Release #1 – [943 Pages, 54MB]  Broady, John G. – FBI Release #2 – [97 Pages, 5.8MB] – John G. Broady was a private investigator and attorney who pleaded guilty to “three charges of eleven-count of indictment charged with conspiracy and making false representations in order to obtain information from telephone companies”. Judge Mitchell D. Schweitzer sentenced Broady to a six-month suspended sentence on Feb 25th.

Capone, Al – – [2,447 Pages, 167MB] Individual Files (The same as large file, just not searchable, but broken down): [ File #1 18.46MB | File #2 23.06MB | File #3 23.36MB | File #4 25.96MB | File #5 19.69MB | File #6 6.60MB | File #7 11.01MB | File #8 10.11MB | File #9 14.51MB | File #10 11.93MB | File #11 12.39MB ] – [ 2,447 Total Pages ] Alphonse Gabriel “Al” Capone (1899-1947) rose to infamy as a gangster in Chicago during the 1920s and early 1930s. The Bureau of Investigation (the FBI’s predecessor) joined the Bureau of Prohibition and other agencies in investigating Capone. In 1931, Capone was sentenced to prison for tax evasion. Suffering from a case of syphilis that left him too mentally ill to resume his previous criminal activities, he was paroled in 1939 and settled in Florida, where he lived until his death in 1947.  Note: Despite the above release, there appears to have been additional records that were destroyed, along with additional files that have been lost. This is according to a March 26, 2019, letter from the FBI.

Castro, Ariel – [107 Pages, 8.98MB] – The Ariel Castro kidnappings took place between 2002 and 2004 when Ariel Castro kidnapped Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Georgina “Gina” DeJesus and held them captive in his home in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. They were imprisoned until May 6, 2013, when Berry escaped with her six-year-old daughter, to whom she had given birth while imprisoned, and contacted the police.  Police rescued Knight and DeJesus and arrested Castro within hours. On May 8, 2013, Castro was charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape.  He pleaded guilty to 937 criminal counts of rape, kidnapping, and aggravated murder, as part of a plea bargain. He was sentenced to life plus 1,000 years in prison without the possibility of parole.  One month into his sentence, he committed suicide by hanging himself with bed sheets in his prison cell.

Cooper, D.B. – FBI Release #1 – [161 Pages, 27.7MB]  Cooper, D.B. – FBI Vault Release #1-40 [13,783 Pages, 588MB] – D. B. Cooper is a media epithet popularly used to refer to an unidentified man who hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft in the airspace between Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, on November 24, 1971, extorted $200,000 in ransom (equivalent to $1,160,000 in 2015), and parachuted to an uncertain fate. Despite an extensive manhunt and an ongoing FBI investigation, the perpetrator has never been located or positively identified. The case remains the only unsolved air piracy in American aviation history!

Dillinger, John – [107 Pages, 8.98MB] – Alphonse Gabriel “Al” Capone (1899-1947) rose to infamy as a gangster in Chicago during the 1920s and early 1930s. The Bureau of Investigation (the FBI’s predecessor) joined the Bureau of Prohibition and other agencies in investigating Capone. In 1931, Capone was sentenced to prison for tax evasion. Suffering from a case of syphilis that left him too mentally ill to resume his previous criminal activities, he was paroled in 1939 and settled in Florida, where he lived until his death in 1947.

Dillinger Gang aka The Terror Gang – [ 107 Pages, 8.98MB ] – The Terror Gang consisted of John Herbert Dillinger, Jr., who was the leader, Baby-Face George Nelson, Russell “Boobie” Clark, Harry Pierpont, Pretty Boy Floyd, Homer Van Meter, Oklahoma Jack Clark, John “Red” Hamilton, Machine Gun Kelly, Charles Makley, Walter Dietrich, Harry Copeland, and Edward W. Shouse. They all met in jail. Nelson and Van Meter met John Dillinger after the First Dillinger Gang was made in Michigan City Prison; all remained there until Dillinger had gotten out on parole and broken his friends out. They were captured by police soon afterward. The other two[who?] met Dillinger inside Crown Point Jail, from which they all escaped in 1933.

Estes, Billie Sol – [34 Pages, 4.44 MB] – Billie Sol Estes (January 10, 1925 – May 14, 2013) was an American businessman; a former financier best known for a business scandal that sent him to jail for fraud multiple times and complicated by his ties to friend and future U.S. President Lyndon Johnson. Estes was living in Granbury, Texas at the time of his death. His body was discovered on May 14, 2013 at his home in DeCordova, Texas. Please note: This was a limited release on his full file, which is estimated to be 77,000 pages in length.  I amended my request after some electronic communication with the FBI by stating, “I understand the Estes made some (unfounded) claims about the death of John F. Kennedy towards the end of his life, connecting the murder to LBJ. That’s a small nutshell, but in essence, what I am looking for is anything related to JFK’s assassination and LBJ.”

Harris, Eric – [169 Pages, 9.3MB] – Eric David Harris, born on April 9, 1981, in Wichita, Kansas, became infamously known as one of the two perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. Along with his accomplice, Dylan Klebold, Harris orchestrated the attack that resulted in the deaths of 13 people and injuries to 24 others before both committed suicide. Prior to the shooting, Harris exhibited troubling behavior, including creating violent online content and showing a fascination with weapons. Despite appearing outwardly sociable and intelligent, he harbored deep-seated anger and resentment, which culminated in the tragic and devastating act of violence at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The massacre profoundly impacted the United States, leading to increased scrutiny of gun laws, school safety measures, and the influence of media on youth.

Hunt, Everette – [169 Pages, 9.3MB] – Everette Howard Hunt, Jr. (1918-2007), commonly known as E. Howard Hunt, is most known for his role in engineering the 1972 Watergate break-ins. This release consists of a 1981-1982 file concerning Hunt’s request for a presidential pardon and a special inquiry file that contains background investigations of Hunt between 1948 and 1971.

Kott, Irving J., FBI Release #1 [1,396 Pages, 528.6 MB] Kott, Irving J., FBI Release #2 [250 Pages, 10.6 MB] (Bookmarks stipulate different FBI files) A Canadian financier and stock promoter with long history of civil and criminal violations. Kott pleaded guilty in 2004 to two felony charges related to his undisclosed ownership interest in J. B. Oxford Holdings Inc., a brokerage based in Beverly Hills, Calif. J.B. Oxford, whose employees pushed several stocks linked to Kott and his associates, had contended that he was merely a consultant. There are more than 5,000 more pages available, for a fee of $160.

Lansky, Meyer  – [ 3,523 Pages Total, Multiple PDF files ] – Meyer Lansky (1902-1983) was involved in a wide-range of organized criminal activity and was associated with many other well known criminal figures from the 1920s to the 1970s. Lansky was especially active in gambling ventures, including the rise of Las Vegas and efforts to build casinos in Cuba before the communist revolution there. In 1972, he was indicted on charges that he and others had skimmed millions of dollars from a Vegas casino that they owned; the indictment on Lansky was later dismissed since he was considered too ill to face trial. The files in this release range from 1950 to 1978.

Manson, Charles – [156 Pages, 27.9MB] – Charles Milles Manson (November 12, 1934 – November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and cult leader. In mid-1967, he began forming what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune based in California. Manson’s followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations in July and August 1969. In 1971, he was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of seven people, all of which members of the group carried out at his instruction. Manson was also convicted of first-degree murder for two other deaths.

Moriarty, Joseph Vincent – [862 Pages, 39.06MB] – Joseph Vincent Moriarty (1911 – February 26, 1979), also known as Newsboy Moriarty, was an Irish American mobster in Hudson County, New Jersey who controlled the numbers game.

Murphy, Jack Roland – [544 Pages, 39.06MB] – Jack Roland Murphy, known as “Murph the Surf,” was a complex figure whose life story reads like a mix of crime thriller and redemption narrative. Born on May 26, 1937, and passing away on September 12, 2020, Murphy gained notoriety for his involvement in the biggest jewel heist in American history — the 1964 burglary of the jewel collection at New York’s American Museum of Natural History. In addition to his criminal exploits, Murphy was a champion surfer, a musician, an author, and an artist. His life took a dramatic turn when he was convicted of murder in 1969. However, after his release from prison in 1986, he underwent a remarkable transformation, dedicating his later years to serving as an ordained minister and working with inmates in prison ministry​​.

Rich. Marc – FBI Releases #1-2 – [886 Pages, 125.2MB]  Rich. Marc – FBI Releases #3-6 – [1,779 Pages, 179.3MB]  Rich. Marc – FBI Releases #7-9 – [936 Pages, 55.6MB]  Rich. Marc – FBI Releases #10 – [319 Pages, 49.10MB]  Rich. Marc – FBI Releases #11-12 – [484 Pages, 30MB]  Rich. Marc – FBI Releases #13-21 – [2,021 Pages, 44MB]  Rich. Marc – FBI Releases #22-24 – [597 Pages, 20MB] – Marc Rich (born Marcell David Reich; December 18, 1934 – June 26, 2013) was an international commodities trader, hedge fund manager, financier and businessman. He was best known for founding the commodities company Glencore and for being indicted in the United States on federal charges of tax evasion and making controversial oil deals with Iran during the Iran hostage crisis. He was in Switzerland at the time of the indictment and never returned to the United States. He received a controversial presidential pardon from U.S. President Bill Clinton on January 20, 2001, Clinton’s last day in office. Note: The above records were received electronically through The Black Vault’s FBI FOIA Case 1361219-000.

Serial Killers in the United States – 1960 to Present – [ File #1 | File #2 ] – Information on serial killers provided by the FBI’s Training Division and Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico, Virginia.

Stroud, Robert (Birdman of Alcatraz) – [ 111 Pages, 70.1MB ] – Robert Franklin Stroud (January 28, 1890 – November 21, 1963), known as the “Birdman of Alcatraz”, was a federal American prisoner who has been cited as one of the United States’ most notorious criminals. During his time at Leavenworth Penitentiary he reared and sold birds and became a respected ornithologist, but despite his nickname, he was not permitted to keep his birds at Alcatraz, where he was incarcerated from 1942.

Sturgis, Frank (Watergate Burgler) – [112 Pages, 57.4MB]  Sturgis, Frank (Watergate Burgler) Release #2, October 2015 – [ 62 Pages, 17.5MB ] – Frank Anthony Sturgis (December 9, 1924 – December 4, 1993), born Frank Angelo Fiorini, was one of the five Watergate burglars whose capture led to the end of the Presidency of Richard Nixon. He served in several branches of the United States military, aided Fidel Castro in the Cuban revolution of 1958, and worked as an undercover operative.

Wilson, Frank – [24 Pages, 11.5MB ] – Frank J. Wilson (May 19, 1886 – June 22, 1970) was the Chief of the United States Secret Service and a former agent of the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Internal Revenue, later known as the Internal Revenue Service, most notably in the 1931 prosecution of Chicago mobster Al Capone and federal representative in the Lindbergh kidnapping case.

Uniformity of Write-ups of White Slave Cases (80-HQ-8) – [ File #1 ] – [23 Pages, 12.21MB ] – Due to the lack of uniformity  in regard to writeups of White Slave cases, both in Weekly-Report and  Interesting Case Forms, it is suggested that the following rules be adopted relative to writing up this particular class of cases…

Volpe, Paul – FBI Release #1 – [672 Pages, 70.1MB]  Volpe, Paul – FBI Release #2 – [157 Pages, 10.2MB] – Paul “The Waiter” Volpe was a notorious Canadian mobster and a reputed high-ranking member of the ‘Ndrangheta, an Italian organized crime syndicate, operating in Toronto, Ontario. Born in Italy in 1927 and emigrating to Canada in the 1950s, Volpe quickly rose through the ranks of the criminal underworld, becoming a key figure in the Canadian Mafia. His moniker, “The Waiter,” was derived from his early days of working in restaurants before he moved into the more lucrative and dangerous ventures of loan sharking, gambling, and narcotics. Volpe’s influence extended beyond illicit activities; he was known to have connections within the political realm, which he leveraged to protect his operations. His criminal career came to an abrupt end in 1983 when he was found dead in the trunk of his car, a victim of the very underworld he had once helped to command. His murder was believed to be part of an internal power struggle within the ‘Ndrangheta’s ranks, signaling a violent shift in the dynamics of organized crime in Canada.

The post FBI Files: The Gangster Era through Modern Day Criminals first appeared on The Black Vault.

The following was released on December 22, 2020, by the Department of Justice:

Today, following months of virtual meetings, testimony and study, U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr submitted the final report of the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice to the White House.  This report represents the first comprehensive study of law enforcement in more than 55 years.

On Oct. 28, 2019, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order No. 13896, which directed the Department of Justice to establish the “Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice.”  The purpose of the Commission was to conduct a modern study of the state of American policing and determine specific measures to reduce crime and promote the rule of law.  At the conclusion of this study, the Commission was to issue a report.

“This report is the result of significant effort and commitment by hundreds of working group members, dozens of staff, nearly 200 individual testimonies, and of course the 18 distinguished commissioners, who, as I’ve said before, truly reflect the best there is in law enforcement,” said Attorney General Barr.  “We could not have foreseen the challenges 2020 would present when we set out to accomplish our goal of researching important current issues facing law enforcement and the criminal justice system.  Yet despite these challenges, the Commission produced a thoughtful and comprehensive report.”

At a ceremony in January 2020, Attorney General Barr announced the establishment of the Commission and the individuals who would serve as commissioners.  From January through July, the Commission met formally more than 50 times – adjusting to the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic – with the goal of making improvements to American law enforcement for years to come.  Throughout that time, the Commission assembled a report that reviewed a variety of important issues affecting law enforcement and their capacity to safeguard American communities. 

Document Archive

Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, Final Report — December 2020 [332 Pages, 16.2MB]

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Federal Bureau of Investigation Files

Confidence Microphones (FBI Release) – [ 126 Pages, 7.00MB ]   Confidence Microphones (Air Force Release) – [ 2 Pages, 0.5MB ]

Digital Evidence Policy Guide – [ 60 Pages, 30.25MB ] – The FBI’s 1/3/2014 “Digital Evidence Policy Implementation Guide” was created to establish and consolidate FBI policy and procedures with regards to the proper handling, reviewing and processing of digital evidence collected in the course of FBI investigations. Redactions were made to protect personal privacy and law enforcement techniques.

Handwriting Analysis – [ 27 Pages, 1.58MB ] – Handwriting Analysis or Graphology is the study of handwriting. As a theory or practice for inferring a person’s character, disposition, and attitudes from their handwriting, graphology is generally considered pseudoscience. The term is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to forensic document examination.

Department of the Navy Files

 The “Black Swan” problem in national security affairs – Briefing to the CNO’s Strategic Studies Group (16 October 2009) – [ 58 Pages, 6.63MB ] – As the defense analytical community faces the 21st century, the new challenges of irregular warfare and counterrinsurgency- not to mention climate change and the shifting sands of global geopolitics- might demand new analytical methods, models, and tools.

The post Technology and Intelligence Gathering first appeared on The Black Vault.

Manual of Investigative Operations and Guidelines (MIOG) Part 1 – Update [184 Pages, 9.5MB]

Manual of Investigative Operations and Guidelines (MIOG) Part 2 [1,225 Pages, 63MB]

Manual of Investigative Operations and Guidelines (MIOG) Part 2 – Update [425 Pages, 17.3MB]

Manual of Investigative Operations and Guidelines (MIOG) Index [172 Pages, 8.8MB]

The post Manual of Investigative Operations and Guidelines (MIOG) first appeared on The Black Vault.

It consists of 21 regional U.S. Trustee Offices nationwide and an Executive Office for U.S. Trustees (EOUST) in Washington, DC.

US Trustees Office Brief Bank – copies of legal briefs maintained for reference for attorneys in the Executive Office of United States Trustees[13,340 Pages, 90.1MB]

The post US Trustee Program (USTP) first appeared on The Black Vault.

The changes primarily clarify and enhance the definitions of terms and procedures used in the original DIOG. Each change has been carefully looked at and considered against the backdrop of the tools our employees need to accomplish their mission, the possible risks associated with the use of those tools, and the controls that are in place. The DIOG was first issued to help implement the new Attorney General’s Guidelines for Domestic FBI Operations that were issued earlier that year.

Those guidelines had reconciled a number of previously separate guidelines, the first of which had been issued in 1976. A redacted version of this manual was released and posted to the FBI’s FOIA website in early 2011 along with some training materials used in briefing FBI personnel on Section 4 of that manual. The second edition of the DIOG was released on October 15, 2011. A redacted version of this revised edition was released on 11/07/2011.

Declassified Documents

FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) [689 Pages, 18.59mb] – FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) This release consists of the October 15, 2011 revision of the DIOG; it was first made on 11/07/2011. This version of the DIOG was revised and updated based on comments and feedback received since the original DIOG was launched in 2008. The changes primarily clarify and enhance the definitions of terms and procedures used in the original DIOG. It also incorporates several older, separate policies that remained in force after the first version of the DIOG went into effect. Training materials based on this 2008 version were previously released and posted on the Vault; these may be found in a separate folder below. Key changes include the following: 1. Advice of rights in connection with operational terrorists inside the US (the Quarles rule). 2. Uniform file review procedures for Assessments and Predicated Investigations. 3. Clarifications and enhanced definitions of terms and procedures described in the original DIOG, including electronic and physical surveillance; Sensitive Investigative Matters, and assessment types. 4. New NSL delegation policy. 5. Creation of the Sensitive Operations Review Committee (SORC), a joint DOJ/FBI committee to review and monitor sensitive activities not within the purview of other oversight committees. 6. Allow the use of trash covers to check the credibility of potential informants.

FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) 2008 Version [381 Pages, 18.93mb] – The FBI’s DIOG was issued on December 16, 2008 to help implement the new Attorney General’s Guidelines for Domestic FBI Operations that were issued earlier that year. These guidelines reconciled a number of previously separate guidelines, the first of which had been issued in 1976. This release consists of the first version of the DIOG, issued on December 16, 2008.

FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) 2008 Version Training Material and Related Documents[298 Pages, 12.58mb] – This release contains training material and other documents pertaining to Section 4 of the FBI’s Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG). Section 4 of the DIOG outlines the FBI’s oversight, self-regulation, and strict adherence to the Constitution of the United States in dealing with “Privacy and Civil Liberties, and Least Intrusive Methods,” as the section is titled. The section states that the FBI is “responsible for protecting the American public, not only from crime and terrorism, but also from incursions into their constitutional rights.” (Page 32). We released this material on January 5, 2011, in answer to multiple FOIA requests for additional information on Section 4 and to explain more fully the established rules under which FBI employees carry out their mission with full respect for the constitutional and statutory rights of U.S. citizens. The section largely consists of presentations from two FBI components, the Corporate Policy Office and the Directorate of Intelligence. Documents in this release were created to provide instruction regarding the concepts and principles underpinning Section 4 of the DIOG. Redactions were made to protect personal privacy, internal personnel rules and practices, and law enforcement techniques and procedures. This release was partially updated on February 3 to make images more legible.

The post FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) first appeared on The Black Vault.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) launched the Law Enforcement Information Exchange (LInX) initiative in 2003.  LInX is designed to enhance information sharing between local, state, and federal law enforcement in areas of strategic importance to the Department of the Navy.  LInX provides participating law enforcement partner agencies with secure access to regional crime and incident data and the tools needed to process it, enabling investigators to search across jurisdictional boundaries to help solve crimes and resolve suspicious events.  LInX is designed to facilitate cooperation and sharing.  Ownership and control of the data remains with the agency that provided it.

LInX is organized regionally, with each region having its own Governance Board.   There are currently ten (10) geographical regions and one (1) region consisting of the law enforcement agencies of the Department of Defense known as the Law Enforcement Defense Data Exchange (D-DEx).  NCIS provides program management for both LInX as a whole and for the D-DEx region.  LInX contains data from over 1,300 law enforcement sources.  Additionally, LInX has a cooperative agreement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) National Data Exchange (N-DEx).   The combination gives access to law enforcement data from over 4,000 sources.

The LInX regions depicted clockwise starting with the Northeast on the map below are:

• Northeast
• National Capital
• Virginia
• Carolinas
• Southeast
• Gulf Coast
• Rio Grande
• California
• Northwest
• Hawaii
• D-DEx

Document Archive

 User Operations Guide For LInX Release 5.0 October 2013 [ 365 Pages, 10MB ] – LInX – the Law Enforcement Information Exchange – is an advanced information sharing system and analytical data warehouse containing information from participating state and local law enforcement agencies located within the a regional LInX system. LInX is a joint initiative sponsored by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) of the U.S. Department of the Navy and various regional and local law enforcement agencies located throughout the nation.

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