New FBI boss in St. Louis must refocus office's efforts

ST. LOUIS -- From time to time, the FBI field office in St. Louis gets a new boss. In the latest shuffle, the new boss is under orders to make it a new FBI.

White-collar crime and public corruption are out as the top targets of the legendary G-men. Counterterrorism is in -- here and at every FBI location.

"The Bureau" is becoming less about traditional law enforcement and more about gathering intelligence, explained Thomas E. Bush III, the new special agent in charge in St. Louis, responsible for the eastern half of Missouri.

"The changeover is huge," he explained in a recent interview. "There's a great majority of agents like me who are of the white-collar, organized-crime, drug mentality, and now our priorities are different and very clear."

Simply put, agents will spend more time tracking threats to national security and less time chasing bank robbers.

"The prevention of terrorism is the No. 1 thing that we now do and only we can do it," Bush said. "People may think the CIA does it, but the CIA is not a domestic agency."

Bush said his challenge has been to realign his force of some 70 agents to reflect the revised priorities and still handle the entire gamut of criminal enterprise.

"Who else is going to do all this? We're the safety net," Bush said.

Bush took over in St. Louis two months ago, replacing Bill Eubanks, who was promoted to FBI headquarters in Washington to fill a new position that coordinates the role of state and local authorities in the fight against terrorism.

Bush, 49, has risen through the bureau's ranks, going from a civilian fingerprint examiner with an annual salary of $5,600 a year in 1975, to his current executive post with a salary of $140,000.

A close friend and colleague, Monte Straight, the assistant special agent in charge in Kansas City, said, "Tom is an outstanding investigator, he's got a ready sense of humor, and he's got great people skills.

"He's got a natural, easy leadership demeanor. He's very genuine. He's the type of person people have confidence in."