The federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a national agency dedicated to investigation federal crimes. Founded as a small team of special agents on July 26, 1908, the Bureau was first charged with enforcing the growing body of federal laws covering the United States as a whole. Almost from the beginning of its 100-year history, the Bureau has been the subject of legend and controversy. It has also evolved into a vast and sophisticated national law-enforcement agency. Whether as a federal crime-fighting force or a source of investigative support of local and state police forces, the modern FBI strives to embody its ideals of fidelity, bravery, and integrity. When people who commit bribery, extortion, or embezzlement work in local, state, or federal government, then their crimes are a form of public corruption. The perpetrators may be elected officials, judged, building and health inspectors, or even police officers. What these people have in common is a position of public trust, and they have chosen to violate that trust in exchange for money or something else of value. Rooting our corrupt officials and bringing them to justice is a task that falls to special agents of the FBI.