Commissioner Orders Review of Criminal
Investigation Division

Commissioner of Internal Revenue Charles 0. Rossotti has announced that he will begin an independent review of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division (CID) to assess CID's effectiveness in accomplishing its mission.

The mission of CID is to enforce the criminal statutes relative to tax administration and related financial crimes.

"Since becoming Commissioner, I've called upon a number of experienced outside experts to review various aspects of the IRS," Rossotti said.

Rossotti has asked Judge William Webster to head the review of CID. Webster, currently a senior partner at Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, served as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency during the Reagan and Bush Administrations, and Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation during the Carter and Reagan Administrations. He also served as a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (11973 - 78) and on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (1970-73).

"I'm very pleased that Judge Webster has agreed to assist in this important effort. We're extremely fortunate to have someone with his background and expertise to direct this review," Rossotti said.

Webster will be assisted by Michael E. Shaheen, Jr., and a group of personnel with criminal investigatory and law enforcement experience within the federal government to support his review. Shaheen is Chief Counsel and Deputy Executive Director of the Commission on the Advancement of Federal Law Enforcement. He also served until recently as Counsel/Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility of the Department of Justice.

The task force is expected to review:

• CID's standards and methodology used in enforcing criminal laws and conducting investigations;
• the relationship between CID and IRS managers;
• the impact of CID procedures on the rights of targets of investigations; and
• the management structure of CID, and whether agents are managed effectively.

The review is expected to begin in mid-May. Based on his review, Webster will make whatever recommendations he deems appropriate to Rossotti.

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