U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation MR. MARTIN G. WEINBERG ATTORNEY AT LAW SUITE 1000 20 PARK PLAZA BOSTON, MA 02116 Washington, D.0 20535 January 28, 2011 FOIPA Request No.: 1142669- 001 Subject: EPSTEIN, JEFFREY EDWARD Dear Mr. Weinberg: This responds to your Freedom of InformatiorVPrivacy Acts (FOIPA) request. The material you requested is located in an investigative file which is exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(A). 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(A) exempts from disclosure: records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information ... could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings... In applying this exemption, I have determined that the records responsive to your request are law enforcement records; that there is a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding relevant to these responsive records; and that release of the information contained in these responsive records could reasonably be expected to interfere with the enforcement proceedings. For a further explanation of this exemption, see enclosed Explanation of Exemptions Form. You may file an appeal by writing to the Director, Office of Information Policy (OIP), U.S. Department of Justice, 1425 New York Ave., NW, Suite 11050, Washington, U.C. 20530-0001. Your appeal must be received by OIP within sixty (60) days from the date of this letter in order to be considered timely. The envelope and the letter should be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Appeal? Please cite the FOIPA Request Number assigned to your request so that it may be identified easily. Enclosed for your information is a copy of the FBI File Fact Sheet. Very truly yours. (-644r / 3 David M. Hardy Section Chief, Record/Information Dissemination Section Records Management Division Enclosure EFTA01145891 FBI FOIA/PRIVACY ACT FILE FACT SHEET The mission of the FBI is to protect and defend the United States against terrorist and foreign intelligence threats, to uphold and enforce the criminal laws of the United States, and to provide leadership and criminal justice services to federal, state, municipal, and international agencies and partners. The FBI does not keep a file on every citizen of the United States. The FBI was not established until 1908 and we have very few records prior to the 1920's. FBI files generally contain reports of FBI investigations of a wide range of matters, including counterterrorism, foreign counter-intelligence, organized crime/drugs, violent crime, white-collar crime, applicants, and civil rights. The FBI does not issue clearances or nonclearances for anyone other than its own personnel or persons having access to FBI facilities. Background investigations for security clearances are conducted by many different Government agencies. Persons who received a clearance while in the military or employed with some other government agency should write directly to that entity. An FBI identification record or "rap sheet" is NOT the same as an FBI "file" - it is simply a listing of information taken from fingerprint cards submitted to the FBI in connection with arrests, federal employment, naturalization, or military service. The subject of a "rap sheet" may obtain a copy by submitting a written request to FBI, CJIS Division, Attn: SCU, Mod. D-2, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, West Virginia 26306. Each request must have proof of identity which shall consist of name, date and place of birth and a set of rolled-ink fingerprint impressions placed upon fingerprint cards or forms commonly utilized for applicant or law enforcement purposes by law enforcement agencies, plus payment of $18.00 in the form of a certified check or money order, payable to the Treasury of the United States. The National Name Check Program (NNCP) conducts a search of the FBI's Universal Index to identify any information contained in FBI records that may be associated with an individual and provides the results of that search to the requesting Federal, State or local agency. For the NNCP, a name is searched in a multitude of combinations and phonetic spellings to ensure all records are located. The NNCP also searches for both "main" and "cross reference" files. A main file is an entry that carries the name corresponding to the subject of a file while a cross reference is merely a mention of an individual contained in a file. The results from a search of this magnitude can result in several "hits" and "idents" on an individual. In each instance where UNI has identified a name variation or reference, information must be reviewed to determine whether it is applicable to the individual in question. The Record/Information Dissemination Section/Freedom of Information-Privacy Acts (FOIPA) search for records provides copies of FBI files relevant to a FOIPA request for information. FOIPA provides responsive documents to requesters seeking "reasonably described information." For a FOIPA search, the subject name, event, activity, business, or event is searched to determine whether there is an investigative file associated with the subject. This is called a "main file search" and differs from The National Name Check Program (NNCP) search. FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FBI, CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AT http://www.foia.fbi.gov EFTA01145892