U.S. Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Press Release

May 24, 2006

FBI CREATES A PUBLIC CORRUPTION WEBSITE

The FBI recently launched a new, national website to enable and encourage the public to report corruption to the FBI. Special Agent in Charge, Weysan Dun, of the Springfield Division, stated “The Springfield Division of the FBI is committed to doing our part to eliminate corruption within Central and Southern Illinois, and we will thoroughly examine all public corruption complaints.”

Corruption erodes public confidence in governmental operations and undermines the strength of our democracy. The vast majority of public officials are honest and committed to serving their community. However, even a small percentage of corruption and abuse is unacceptable. It does not matter if it is a big city or a small town. The violation and erosion of the public trust is the same.

The FBI is uniquely situated to combat public corruption. The FBI has the skills, training, and resources to tackle complex investigations, including undercover operations. Additionally, the FBI is insulated from political pressure by the fact that the Director of the FBI serves a statutory 10-year term.

The FBI has increased the number of Special Agents working corruption cases. Currently, there are approximately 2,200 public corruption cases pending nationwide. Over the last two years, corruption indictments are up 40%, and FBI investigations have led to over 1,000 convictions of elected or appointed officials involved in corrupt activities, at all levels of government.

The Springfield Division of the FBI is fully engaged in the battle against public corruption. Operation Shattered Trust, investigated by the FBI Metro East Public Corruption Task Force, resulted in the conviction of several officials from the East Saint Louis area. In February of this year, the former Director of the Division of Physical Services for the Illinois Secretary of State was indicted on federal Wire Fraud charges, and for making False Statements. Just this month, the former Executive Director of the Lawrence County Housing Authority was indicted on federal Program Fraud charges.

The FBI needs the public’s help to fight this fight. Support from our partners in federal, state, and local law enforcement is valuable. However, our most important partner in this fight is you: the public. Unfortunately, for many reasons, corruption is not always reported. Some may fear retribution. Others may not know where to turn. Because of this, the FBI is working to make it easier for the public to report corruption. While announcing the new website, FBI Director Mueller stressed “that there is a growing intolerance by the American people best illustrated by their willingness to come forward and report abuse of public office. The FBI is grateful for those who come forward to report corruption. That information is critical to our work.”

The FBI has established a new website to enable and encourage the public to send information about public corruption to the FBI:

reportcorruption.fbi.gov

This website provides instructions on how to report corruption to the FBI, either by phone, or online, using the internet. Through this website, and with help from the public, we will continue to build on our efforts to root out public corruption.