The case of the orphaned PDAs
Some FBI insiders say Director Mueller's ambitious initiatives are often undercut by the people running the engines of the bureau--the powerful finance division, human resources, information technology. Even today, FBI field agents and officials at headquarters, including in the press office, are unable to send and receive E-mails consistently, despite repeated complaints. The bureau's conversion to a supposedly more efficient hiring system called QuickHire has been disastrous, leaving hundreds of support positions unfilled. And the hiring of agents, analysts, and translators is excruciatingly slow. A senior Justice Department official says Mueller is aware of the problems. "I know that Bob is very frustrated by the bureaucracy there and the pace of hiring and stuff like that," this official says. "He thinks it's byzantine."
Case in point: BlackBerries. Months ago, the FBI bought about 3,000 BlackBerry personal digital assistants to fulfill Mueller's goal of creating a giant global Internet cafe. But FBI officials say IT managers went with a "nickel and dime" server.
FBI sources say Mueller's chief information officer, Zal Azmi, said he didn't have the money to hire contractors to load the security packages and deploy the BlackBerries. The result: Hundreds of BlackBerries remain unpacked in boxes. "He [Mueller] has lofty ideas, but there's no follow-through; the finance people whittle it away," says one source. Then, citing the same lack of funds, Azmi came close to allowing the BlackBerry contract to expire March 1, causing great concern. It isn't just a question of E-mails or making calls. At some key airports, for instance, FBI special agents carry "no fly" lists and terrorist watch lists on their encrypted BlackBerries. Bureau officials staved off the crisis by piggybacking onto another contractor. "They're trying to band-aid it," says an FBI source, "through the summer."
This story appears in the March 28, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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