Expensive Investigation Lesson

In 2001, a series of letters containing deadly anthrax powder were mailed, killing five persons and sickening 17 others.  Panic understandably ensued.  The FBI began an immediate, intensive investigation.  It soon focused on one person, a former Army biodefense researcher, Dr. Steven Hatfill, whose name appeared often in media reports.  When the investigation produced nothing to link Hatfill to the letters, he sued the federal government and various media organizations.  The Justice Department recently announced that it has settled Hatfill’s lawsuit against the government by paying him a lump sum of $2.825 million and purchasing an annuity that will pay Hatfill $150,000 per year for two decades.  Hatfill’s lawsuits against the media have been settled on a confidential basis or are still pending.  What can employers, who conduct investigations every day, learn from this?

Even when the matter being investigated is serious and fueled by panic, investigators need to be deliberate and reasonable.  You need to go as fast as you can, but that may still mean the investigation is slower than you would like.  So be it.

Investigators need to be as confidential as possible.  In the Hatfill case, it was no secret that the deadly anthrax letters had been mailed.  The FBI couldn’t ignore public concern.  It could have still investigated on a much more confidential basis than it did.

The FBI essentially invited the media to observe its agents searching Hatfill’s apartment while dressed in biohazard suits. The Attorney General announced at a press conference that Hatfill was a “person of interest” in the investigation.  Annonymous Justice Department representatives leaked information to the media.  The FBI tapped Hatfill’s phone.  FBI agents openly followed Hatfill every day, sometimes in a parade of FBI vehicles.  On one occasion, Hatfill got out of his car and began walking toward the FBI car following him to take a picture of the driver.  The FBI car moved forward and ran over Hatfill’s foot.  Keystone cops?

Lessons.  Don’t jump to conclusions.  It’s one thing to think you know who the culprit is.  It’s quite another to know–particularly early in the investigation.  Don’t focus entirely on one person.  The real culprit may get away, and evidence about him/her will become stale or be lost.  Conduct the investigation without going public if at all possible.  If the matter being investigated becomes public, you must still treat the investigation with confidentiality.  Don’t use the media or any other outside source you don’t control to help you with the investigation.  You may have to put an employee you suspect under surveillance, but don’t harass him/her.

Use the Hatfill fiasco as a training opportunity for human resources, security, internal audit, legal and other departments of your company or organization that have investigative responsibilites.  The last thing you want to do is end up like the FBI:  spend millions on an investigation, falsely accuse someone, pay millions to settle a lawsuit, and still be investigating after seven years with no resolution in sight.