CORRUPTION OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS norfolk@fbi.gov Corrupt public officials undermine the public trust and can contribute to economic loss when their corrupt activities result in the public having to pay additional costs for capital improvements or services. The FBI has wide-ranging jurisdiction to investigate public corruption, places high priority on public corruption investigations and considers them among the most sensitive investigations.

A public official is any person elected or appointed to a position within any public governmental entity or political subdivision thereof. This includes Federal officials as well as officials at the state and local level. Public corruption investigations are conducted when allegations are received that a public official has abused his/her position within that governmental entity in violation of Federal criminal law -- usually for personal gain.

While the allegations need not rise to the level of probable cause, they must indicate more than mere suspicion that a crime has occurred in order to justify an investigation. The majority of FBI public corruption investigations address legislative corruption, judicial corruption, regulatory/contracting corruption, and law enforcement corruption. When a legislator is paid a bribe to promote a piece of legislation, that is legislative corruption.

When a judge is paid a bribe for a favorable ruling in a judicial proceeding, that is judicial corruption. When regulatory inspectors are paid bribes to overlook violations of regulatory codes, that is regulatory corruption. Payoffs or kickbacks associated with public contracts is contract corruption. Bribery of a law enforcement official to prevent enforcement of drug laws is an example of law enforcement corruption.

Public corruption investigations are difficult to conduct because few people generally have direct knowledge of the payment to the public official and/or the corrupt activity. Accordingly, investigators are challenged to use innovative techniques to develop evidence sufficient to prove whether or not criminal laws have been violated.

If you have knowledge of public corruption, please contact the FBI to report such activity. Only through the cooperation of the public can the FBI adequately address this problem. Effective enforcement of violation of criminal laws by public officials will help to maintain the confidence of the public in our governmental officials and institutions.

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