Office of the Inspector General
Department of Justice

The FBI Laboratory: An Investigation into Laboratory Practices and Alleged Misconduct in Explosives-Related and Other Cases
(April, 1997)

RESPONSE/REPLY APPENDIX DOCUMENTS

(Disclaimer: Because the pagination of these documents in hypertext format is different than the pagination in hardcopy, the page numbers reflected in the text will not be accurate.)

1) The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Comments dated February 12, 1997, on the Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) draft report titled, "The FBI Laboratory: An Investigation into Laboratory Practices and Alleged Misconduct in Explosives-Related and Other Cases."

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TRANSMITTAL LETTER

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A. Introduction
B. The FBI's Commitment to Quality
C. The FBI's Comments on the Draft Report
I. COMMENTS ON THE OIG'S ANALYSIS OF PARTICULAR MATTERS
A. World Trade Center
B. Oklahoma City
C. Florida v. George Trepal
D. Avianca
E. Other Matters
1. VanPac
2. O. J. Simpson
3. Paolo Borsellino
4. Gino Negretti
5. Conlon
6. Judge John Shaw
7. The FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility and
Office of the General Counsel
II. COMMENTS ON THE OIG’S FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING INDIVIDUALS
A. Roger Martz
B. David Williams
1. World Trade Center
2. Oklahoma City Bombing
C. J. Thomas Thurman
D. Other Individuals
1. Michael Malone
2. Richard Hahn
3. Robert Heckman
4. J. Christopher Ronay
5. Robert Webb
6. Charles Calfee
7. Wallace Higgins
8. Alan Jordan
9. Kenneth Nimmich
10. Rod Asbury
11. Thomas Mohnal
12. Howard Shapiro
13. Frederic W. Whitehurst
III. PLAN OF ACTION
A. Quality Assurance
1. ASCLD/LAB Accreditation and External Review
2. Restructuring the Explosives Unit
3. Principal and Auxiliary Examiners
4. Report Preparation
5. Adequate Peer Review
6. Case Documentation
7. Record Retention
8. Examiner Training and Qualification
9. Examiner Testimony
10. Protocols7
11. Evidence Handling
12. The Role of Management
B. FBI Request to the OIG for Further Inspection

IV. CONCLUSION

2) The FBI’s Comments dated March 24, 1997, on Part Three, Section H11: Higgins’ Alleged Alteration of Dictation.

3) The FBI’s Comments dated April 4, 1997, on Part Three, Section D: The Bush Assassination Attempt.

4) FBI Supervisory Special Agent Roger Martz’s reply dated February 4, 1997, to the OIG’s draft report.

5) FBI Supervisory Special Agent David Williams’ reply to the OIG’s draft report.

6) Comments dated February 11, 1997, from Stanley Rothstein, Terrorism and Violent Crime Section, Criminal Division, on Part Three, Section B: The VANPAC Case.

7) Comments dated February 27, and March 10, 1997, from the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York, on Part Three, Section C: World Trade Center Bombing.

8) Comments dated February 13 and March 7, 1997, from the United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York, on Part Three, Section E: Avianca Bombing.

9) Comments dated February 20, 1997, from the United States Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey, on Part Three, Sections H1 and H6: Yu Kikumura and the Conlon Case.

10) Comments dated March 3, 1997, from Robert Cleary, Special Attorney to the United States Attorney General, on Part Three, Section H9: The UNABOM Article.

11) Comments dated February 3, 1997, from the United States Attorney’s Office Middle District of Pennsylvania on Part Three, Section H12: Tobin Allegations.

12) Comments dated February 7 and 13, 1997, from Attorney John Doar on Part Three, Section H12: Tobin Allegations.

13) OIG’s Replies to responses to the draft report.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. REPLIES TO GENERAL RESPONSE MADE BY FBI IN THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF ITS RESPONSE

II - A. REPLIES TO RESPONSES MADE TO SPECIFIC SECTIONS OF THE DRAFT REPORT - Executive Summary through Section G

II - B. REPLIES TO RESPONSES MADE TO SPECIFIC SECTIONS OF THE DRAFT REPORT - Section H through Conclusion

 

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