I attended a college job fair in 1992 a couple of months before graduation. I was an Accounting major and sprinkled into tables manned by folks from Price Waterhouse, Ernst & Young, Arthur Andersen, etc. was a table for the FBI. I remember speaking to the Agent manning the table and I asked him why the FBI was there. He explained that CPAs made up a decent percentage of the Special Agent population in addition to what was then known as the Financial Analyst position. I thought that was very interesting but didn’t give it much more thought.
Fast forward to the 2000-2001 timeframe. I was the Corporate Controller for a high tech firm in the Raleigh, NC area and was also working as a consultant for a friend’s startup company. The Dot.com crash in 2000 really crushed both companies I was involved with. I was already growing tired of the corporate rat race and doing accounting. Hence the move towards financial information systems. I also thought back to the FBI booth at that job fair in 1992 and made the decision to pursue that as a possible career path. Seemed like a very challenging and rewarding career path. So I reached out to the local FBI office and had a meet and greet with their recruiter. I liked what I saw and heard.
As for the financial crime side of things it’s a bit of both but mostly individuals or entities that slowly turned to the dark side through a combination of opportunity, life circumstances, and greed. I worked very few cases where the subjects just day one started with the intention of robbing everyone blind.
I might do some part time and remote contract work for another agency. My days of full time work and driving into an office are done.
My pension is based on my highest consecutive 36 month average salary. They call it the High Three (as in years). The percentage I get is calculated as 1.7% for first 20 years and 1% for each subsequent year. So if one worked 25 years as a FBI Agent their percentage would be 39% of their High Three average.
I’ve said it a few times. Whenever I had to work real late because normally I’m in bed by 9:30. Whenever we are doing defensive tactics training and I’m rolling around with some dude 20 years younger than me. I’m in awesome shape for someone 54 years old but there’s no substitute for being 30.
I was in the selection and hiring process for two years. That’s typical. Remember this was right when 9/11 happened so things certainly got delayed because of that. I didn’t hear a peep about my application for almost six months.
I recall them saying that post 9/11 the percentage of applicants for Special Agent that made it to the FBI Academy was between 1-2%.
They only select what they consider the most competitive of applicants to the next round. That’s Phase 1 testing. I’m sure it has changed a bit from when I did Phase 1 but it was several hours of psych and behavioral questions and scenarios plus a math test. Then it’s on to Phase 2 which is a panel interview combined with a writing exercise. All the while your extensive background investigation is ongoing. Then it’s national security interviews, polygraph exams, medical tests, and PT tests. A huge percentage of people are weeded out each step along the way.
Once one gets past those gauntlets it’s off to the FBI Academy for New Agent Training for 5-6 months.
It’s weird being in that process because you have to let your current employer know sort of early on because of the background check. So yeah, I worked for almost two years with my employer wondering if/when I was leaving.
Thanks for sharing the behind the scenes stuff… And thanks for preventing/solving whatever crimes/cases you were on.
For the cool stuff – Do you have special training to know if you’re being followed (by car, or on foot)? Can you ditch a tail if nec? Has this ever happened to you?
I never worked national security stuff so wasn’t necessary. Folks that work assets or are part of specialized surveillance groups certainly get that training.
My industry had a lot of fraud in the past. WorldCom, Enron, etc. At the time we all knew there was a lot of shady stuff going on and were no surprised when it blew up.
What business segments do you see today that have highly questionable practices?
Were you married at the time when you first applied? If so, was your spouse supportive of your decision for a career change and I imagine a significant decrease in salary?
Why did you decide to retire? Had the job become too much or did you finally reach a point where financially it was comfortable to retire? Also, if you have a spouse are they retiring also? I’m 51 and am starting to have these conversations with myself.
To what extent does serious organised crime still exist and how does it differ to the 5 families and what are the complexities in tackling it today versus the past - does big tech hinder law enforcement
What percentage of complex financial crimes you worked had an international component to them?
Were they harder, easier, or about the same to work as crimes that were fully domestic?
Did you work any that had a state actor behind them?
In your (obviously well-informed) opinion as a citizen, does the FISA warrant/court system work reasonably well enough to protect the rights of US citizens?
Yes, I was (and still am) married. My wife was very understanding and knew it would involve a relocation from somewhere we really loved living. Yes, it was initially a decrease in salary but once you get to GS-13 as an Agent the pay is pretty good.
As for retirement it was just time. It was a combination of not a big federal raise coming in 2025, personnel resource issues with my group (I’m too old to do more with less), and wanting to do whatever I wanted to do. I still had about 2.5 years until I was mandatory but just nothing really to keep me around.
I never worked OC but I don’t think the Italian mob is much a factor anymore. Mexican cartels, Russian OC, and Asian OC seem to be far more prevalent.
High tech seemingly does everything they can to not comply with legal orders or institute tech in their devices under the guise of “customer security/privacy” but is really a big middle finger to law enforcement. Apple is hands down the worst.