Artifact of the Month
December 2021: Alvin Statuette
As mobsters grew more sophisticated throughout the 20th century, so did FBI agents. By the mid-1970s, the FBI turned high-level mobsters into secret informants and used long-term undercover operations to penetrate organized crime groups.
When the mafia proved difficult to infiltrate, the FBI turned to listening devices. FBI agents must secure a warrant before hiding a bug in a person’s car or house or any other private or public location. During the period specified in a warrant, agents can plant or remove bugs and retrieve recordings. They can hide bugs in household staples like lamps, pictures, and telephones—or toys.
The FBI’s December Artifact of the Month is a statuette of Alvin, a chipmunk in a fictional band called Alvin and the Chipmunks. FBI agents once placed a bug inside this toy during an organized crime case.
Listing
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December 2021: Alvin Statuette
The FBI’s December Artifact of the Month is a statuette of Alvin the Chipmunk in which FBI agents once placed a bug during an organized crime case.
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The FBI’s November Artifact of the Month is a Macintosh Plus that FBI Laboratory professionals used to create crime scene drawings.
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October 2021: Tray from USS Cole Bombing
The FBI’s October Artifact of the Month is a tray recovered from the USS Cole bombing.
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September 2021: 9/11 Responder's Hard Hat
The FBI’s September Artifact of the Month is a black hard hat that a 9/11 responder wore.
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August 2021: Mignon 4 Typewriter
The FBI’s August Artifact of the Month is a Mignon 4, a mechanical index typewriter.
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July 2021: Phone Bank from CENTBOM Investigation
The FBI's July Artifact of the Month is a phone booth from the FBI's investigation into the bombing at Centennial Olympic Park in July 1996.
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June 2021: Desk Used at Nazi Saboteur Trial
The FBI's June Artifact of the Month is a desk used during the trial of Nazi saboteurs in the 1940s.
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May 2021: Edward Lee Howard Dummy
The May 2021 Artifact of the Month is a dummy used by former CIA officer-turned-spy Edward Lee Howard to elude a special agent who was surveilling him.
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April 2021: The Unabomber's Cabin
The FBI’s April 2021 Artifact of the Month is Theodore (Ted) Kaczynski's cabin, where he was arrested on April 3, 1996 near Lincoln, Montana. It has been reconstructed at FBI Headquarters.
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March 2021: Limousine Piece from Reagan Assassination Attempt
The FBI’s March Artifact of the Month is a piece of the limousine struck during the assassination attempt of Ronald Reagan.
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February 2021: The Silence of the Lambs Business Cards
The FBI’s February Artifact of the Month is a set of business cards—one for Clarice Starling and one for Jack Crawford. They were one of the many small props to bring authenticity to the set of The Silence of the Lambs.
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January 2021: FBI Diver Helmet
The FBI’s January 2021 Artifact of the Month is a diving helmet like the ones FBI divers wear.
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December 2020: Richard Reid's Shoes
The FBI’s December 2020 Artifact of the Month is the pair of shoes Richard Reid—also known as the shoe bomber—tried to detonate in 2001.
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November 2020: Ross William Ulbricht's Laptop
The FBI’s November 2020 Artifact of the Month is a laptop that belonged to Ross William Ulbricht, who ran a darknet market called the Silk Road from 2011 to 2013.
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October 2020: Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd's Death Mask
The FBI’s October 2020 Artifact of the Month is a mask of gangster Pretty Boy Floyd’s face made after his death in 1934.
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