Dial-a-Probe

An FBI hot line for corruption

When residents of Tampa, Fla.'s Hillsborough County dial 229-9241, they hear a most unusual reply: "Corruption hot line." It is not a wrong number, nor is the businesslike voice on the receiving end peddling tips on how much the local health inspector will take to overlook the roaches in a restaurant. The phone is manned by an alert agent of the FBI, who listens with poised pencil to any caller's allegation that local officials are crooks.

The agent does not sit around much hoping the phone will ring. The trouble with Hillsborough County is that all too many of its officials may indeed be crooks. The hot line was set up by the FBI after three of the five county commissioners were charged with conspiring to extort money from citizens seeking approval of a zoning application. After the arrests were announced, so many residents called the FBI's regular number to report that they knew of other bribes and corruption that the FBI decided to man a special telephone 24 hours a day.

In its first full week of operation the FBI hot line received reports from more than 140 citizens, many of them anonymous. "We're getting them from all walks of life," said Special Agent Dick Ross, "professional people, people who are in local government and people who think they just might have heard something that will help us." Partly because the tips have proved promising, a special federal grand jury will convene in March to consider more indictments. The grand jury will look into wrongdoing not only in Hillsborough County but all along Florida's west coast from Fort Myers to the Alabama border. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.