There seems to be a lot of misinformation about Muller’s role in the false imprisonment of four low level Boston hoods for a murder that they didn’t commit. At the link is the best (short) explanation that I have seen. Here are some take-a-ways that I see.
Mueller’s experience in Boston as U.S. Attorney and in Washington D.C. share some commonality. In either case, when confronted with clearly established facts, he was unable to reach a conclusion.
In my experience there are two levels of police corruption. The first level relates to the actions of an individual officer. Corruption occurs when that individual violates the norms, rules or laws that govern acceptable behavior. This is an intentional act.
The second, more troubling type of police corruption is institutionalized and can come about due to a mistake or through intentional manipulation.
The mistake can be a flaw in design. This happens when policy is absent or inadequate. It could be the result of the lack of equipment or poor use of equipment.
Intentional manipulation occurs when the defect is discovered. The manipulation can be an act or omission. The mistake of an individual, or a policy flaw detected but uncorrected is an omission. That omission becomes an act when the mistake is repeated, ignored and unchallenged.
A Culture of Corruption
Forty years ago the McAllen, Texas, Police department installed a closed circuit camera in the booking area. It wasn’t long before a prisoner attacked an officer at the booking desk. The officer subdued the prisoner, beating the hell out of him in the process.
Afterwards he remembered the camera. According to officer telling the story, the involved officer had visions of immediate firing or the FBI coming to take him away. About a week later, he bumped into the Captain in charge of patrol. The Captain congratulated him on his boxing ability and stated that, “the asshole had it coming.”
It wasn’t long before the officers on the midnight shift were routinely abusing prisoners and mugging for the camera. The administration responded with positive comments. Nobody was disciplined.
It was all fun until the story hit the six o’clock news.
Follow the link above. During Mueller’s tenure as United States Attorney in Boston, two FBI agents in the Boston office were engaged in acts that resulted in their imprisonment. One died in prison and the other is still inside. Other FBI agents, including supervisors retired to avoid prosecution. Former FBI agents rally to the defense of those accused agents. Mueller didn’t uncover their wrong doing.
The story details a culture of corruption in the FBI. It extends from the field agent, to supervisors, to the headquarters of the FBI. The acts recounted happened in the sixties up until the new millennium. It is not a reach to believe that the culture of corruption exhibited,in the Boston office of the FBI, is not system wide and ongoing today.
It hurts to find out that an officer or agent, one worked with, has crossed the line into criminal behavior. It is even worse to allow such an individual to remain in the organization. There is a tendency to blame institutional failures, “the culture of corruption,” on individual failings. Ultimately that attitude is self defeating. It violates the trust of the honest officers and the public. They deserve better.
It is easy, but ineffective, to force change from the outside. Knapp commission investigations and consent decrees only create an us against them mentality. The bad guys scream loudest about being victimized. True change comes from within. What happens next can either be the FBI’s lowest point or a new beginning, the choice is Director Wray’s.