Long-hidden report details FBI crimes

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Long-hidden report details FBI crimes
February 19, 2004

WASHINGTON -- An internal FBI report kept under wraps for three years details dozens of cases of agents fired for egregious misconduct and crimes, including drug trafficking, attempted murder, theft, misuse of informants and consorting with prostitutes.

The report, released Wednesday by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), found that about one in 1,000 agents was dismissed for serious misconduct or criminal offenses by the FBI during the period examined, from 1986 to 1999. The average was between eight and nine per year.

Grassley, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a letter Wednesday to FBI Director Robert Mueller that he was concerned about ''a lack of response to the findings and recommendations, a general lack of support for the project and even efforts to prevent its completion.''

FBI Assistant Director Cassandra Chandler said: ''Director Mueller is committed to undertaking the reforms necessary to strengthen the disciplinary process within the FBI."