The "Drug Wars" J. Edgar Hoover-Los Angeles, 1972

In 1972, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover died. At the time, I was a young US Customs agent working at Terminal Island near Los Angeles. The following year, I was transferred to the newly-formed DEA and reported to the LA office.

At that office was another agent who had a collection of signed photographs of high-ranking law enforcement officials. Sometime shortly before Hoover died, this agent wrote a glowing letter to the director asking for a signed photograph.

Sometime after Hoover's death, the agent received a package from FBI Hqs. It contained a photo of Hoover (not signed), and thanked the agent for his request. The letter went on to explain that due to the director's death, the photo could not be signed, but that the FBI was sending it with their compliments.

Prior to having the photo framed, the agent took out a pen and wrote his own inscription. It looked something like this.......