FBI – 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 running, investigating antitrust activities (now part of our public corruption program) in the meat processing and sardine canning industries. They also tackled a variety of financial frauds—from bankruptcy scams to accounting frauds in federal prisons and courts. The Bureau was also responsible for investigating several national banking law violations.
