FBI special agent Don Berecz had imagined the scene a hundred times: walking
into a bank and putting handcuffs on a bank manager charged with fraud and
embezzlement.
The possibility of doing just that was one of his reasons for joining the
FBI. "It always infuriated me when people and the justice system looked at
white-collar crime as victimless," he says.
Berecz is an accountant by training. As a junior in college, he started
wondering whether public accounting was what he really wanted to do. He talked
things over with his uncle, who was also interested in law enforcement.
"One day he planted a seed that the FBI was looking for accountants because
of all the white-collar crime they investigate."
Berecz was 21. At 28, he applied to the FBI. "Most FBI agents have had
careers that are not in the FBI."
Special agent Dawn Moritz was an attorney before joining the FBI. "This
isn't something I intended to do. It was just something I became aware of
and I thought it sounded interesting and challenging," she explains.
Does Moritz use her law training? You bet. "We have to prepare search warrants,
and a number of legal issues come up all the time."
Berecz has used his accounting training a lot for the FBI. "About half
the years I've been involved directly with white-collar crime."
Berecz was once part of an interview team that helped get a suspect to
confess to a bank robbery and implicate two accomplices. It turned out the
three were also responsible for 50 other local crimes, including burglary.
"They were drug users and that's how they paid for it."
Then there was the $10,000 bankruptcy fraud -- the owner of a small car
dealership borrowed money against inventory that didn't exist. Another case
had Berecz investigating subjects who were using the Internet to distribute
pornography.
The FBI is always investigating crimes, but Berecz doesn't just deal with
the criminal element in society. "You come in contact with an awful lot of
good people. Witnesses, professionals [and] experts in the community can help
you understand what's going on."
One of the most prominent cases Berecz worked on was the nuclear plant
construction fraud in Washington. "Have you heard of WPPSS? It stands for
Washington Public Power Supply System. They called it Whoops."
Whoops indeed. Five power plants were supposed to be built, but only one
actually appeared. The FBI brought fraud and bribery charges against some
of the key players involved in the plants' construction.
It sounds like fodder for television programs like Top Cops
and America's Most Wanted. Berecz says many FBI stories are re-told for television
audiences, but unless he personally knows the people involved, he makes a
point of not watching. "It's hard for me to watch any of those shows. It's
like bringing work home with you."
Moritz's job is very interesting. "This is the kind of job I look forward
to doing every day, because you don't know what your day is going to be like."