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The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives is a
most wanted list
A most wanted list is a list of criminals and alleged criminals who are believed to be at large and are identified as a law enforcement agency's highest priority for capture. The list can alert the public to be watchful, and generates publicity ...
maintained by the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
's
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 â May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation â ...
,
Director of the FBI
The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a United States' federal law enforcement agency, and is responsible for its day-to-day operations. The FBI Director is appointed for a singl ...
, and
William Kinsey Hutchinson
William Kinsey Hutchinson (June 27, 1896 – May 25, 1958) was an American reporter who became friends with presidents, legislators, cabinet members, and other U.S. government diplomats and officials. Between 1913 and 1920 William (Bill) wo ...
,
International News Service
The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909. (the predecessor of the
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...
) editor-in-chief, who were discussing ways to promote capture of the FBI's "toughest guys". This discussion turned into a published article, which received so much positive publicity that on March 14, 1950, the FBI officially announced the list to increase law enforcement's ability to capture dangerous fugitives.
The first person added to the list was Thomas J. Holden, a robber and member of the
HoldenâKeating Gang
The Holden-Keating Gang was a bank robbing team, led by Thomas James Holden (1896â1953) and Francis Keating (1899âJuly 25, 1978), which was active in the Midwestern United States from 1926 to 1932. Holden was described by a spokesman for the F ...
on the day of the list's inception.
Individuals are generally only removed from the list if they are captured, die, or if the charges against them are dropped; they are then replaced by a new entry selected by the FBI. In eleven cases, the FBI removed individuals from the list after deciding that they were no longer a "particularly dangerous menace to society".
Machetero member
VĂctor Manuel Gerena, added to the list in 1984, was on the list for 32 years, which was longer than anyone else.
Billie Austin Bryant
Billie may refer to:
People
* Billie Allen (1925-2015), American actress
* Billie Bird (1908-2002), American actress and comedian
* Billie Burke (1884-1970), American actress
* Billie Joe Armstrong (born 1972), American singer and guitarist for ...
spent the shortest amount of time on the list, being listed for two hours in 1969. The oldest person to be added to the list was
Eugene Palmer on May 29, 2019, at 80 years old. On rare occasions, the FBI will add a "Number Eleven" if that individual is extremely dangerous but the Bureau does not feel any of the current ten should be removed. Despite occasional references in the media, the FBI does ''not'' rank their list; no suspect is considered "#1 on the FBI's Most Wanted List" or "The Most Wanted".
The list is commonly posted in public places such as
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
s. Some people on the list have turned themselves in. On May 18, 1996, after surrendering at the U.S. embassy in Guatemala City,
Leslie Isben Rogge
Leslie Isben Rogge (born March 8, 1940) is an American criminal and bank robber. He became the first criminal in the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, FBI's Ten Most Wanted to be caught due to the Internet.
Biography
Rogge was born in Seattle, Wa ...
became the first person on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list to be apprehended due to the FBI's then-new home page on the Internet. The FBI maintains other lists of individuals, including the
FBI Most Wanted Terrorists
The FBI Most Wanted Terrorists is a list created and first released on October 10, 2001, with the authority of United States President George W. Bush, following the September 11 attacks on the United States. Initially, the list contained 22 of t ...
, along with crime alerts, missing persons, and other fugitive lists.
On June 17, 2013, the list reached a cumulative total of 500 fugitives having been listed. As of December 23, 2022, 529 fugitives had been listed, eleven of them women, and 493 of them were captured or located (93%), 163 (31%) of them due to public assistance.
New additions
The
Criminal Investigative Division
The Criminal Investigative Division (CID) is a division within the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The CID is the primary component within the FBI responsible for overseeing FBI investigatio ...
(CID) at
FBI Headquarters
The J. Edgar Hoover Building is a low-rise office building located at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Planning for the building began in ...
calls upon all 56 Field Offices to submit candidates for the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list.
The nominees received are reviewed by special agents in the CID and the Office of Public Affairs.
The selection of the proposed candidates is forwarded to the Assistant Director of the CID for their approval and then to the FBI's Director for final approval.
This process takes some time, which is why
James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger Jr., who was arrested in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa MĂłnica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
on June 22, 2011, remained on the list until May 9, 2012, despite no longer being at large.
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 â 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
similarly remained on the list for almost a year after his
death at the hands of U.S. forces on May 2, 2011.
List as of December 2022
Rewards
Reward may refer to:
Places
* Reward (Shelltown, Maryland), a historic home in Shelltown Maryland
* Reward, California (disambiguation)
* Reward-Tilden's Farm, a historic home in Chestertown Maryland
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Reward" ...
are offered for information leading to capture of fugitives on the list; the reward is a minimum of $100,000 for all fugitives, currently exceeded in the cases of
Jose Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez
Jose Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez (born January 16, 1978) is a Mexican drug cartel boss and former fugitive who was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on October 13, 2020. He was wanted for orchestrating the murder of Juan JesĂșs Gue ...
at $1 million and
Rafael Caro Quintero
Rafael Caro Quintero (born October 24, 1952) is a Mexican drug lord who co-founded the now-disintegrated Guadalajara Cartel with Miguel Ăngel FĂ©lix Gallardo and other drug traffickers in the late 1970s. He is the brother of fellow drug traffic ...
at $20 million (the latter was captured on July 15, 2022).
See also
*
Former FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
This incomplete list of former FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives are convicted felons that have been on the list of the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
Former FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives by decade Former FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 1950s
Former ...
*
List of Mexico's 37 most-wanted drug lords
This is a list of Mexico's 37 most-wanted drug lords as published by Mexican federal authorities on 23 March 2009. According to a ''BBC Mundo'' Mexico report, the 37 drug lords "have jeopardized MĂ©xico national security." As of 8 January 2016, ...
*
Specially Designated Global Terrorist
A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the US Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of US Executive Order 1 ...
References
External links
*
*
Ten most wanted fugitives list is turning 65 years oldFBI news blog
Additional information from ''America's Most Wanted''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fbi Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
1950 establishments in the United States