Joseph L. Gormley

Joseph Leo Gormley (May 22, 1914 – June 6, 2004) was the chief of chemistry and toxicology for the FBI.^[1]

Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, he was raised in Somerville, Massachusetts. Gormley received his bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry from Boston College. With his wife Frances he fathered and raised nine children.

In 1940, he moved to Washington D.C. and joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Gormley earned two law degrees from Georgetown University and a master's degree in forensic science from George Washington University.

He spent more than thirty three years with the FBI, investigating some of the agency's most famous cases, including the Great Brinks Robbery in 1950 and the 1964 murders of three young civil rights workers, which became known as the "Mississippi Burning" case. He served as an expert witness in numerous trials, testifying on his knowledge of chemistry, toxicology and arson. For more than 20 years, Gormley supervised a program that developed the use of lie detector tests for investigative purposes.

He retired from the FBI in 1973, and moved temporarily to Maine to direct the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory. After returning to the Washington, D.C. area he worked in the research and training divisions of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. In addition to his work at the IACP Gormley worked as a consultant for law enforcement matters in his later years. The former president of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists, Gormley also taught at George Washington University and the University of Maryland College Park. He is remembered as one of the fathers of modern forensic science.

References

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Field offices	Atlanta Buffalo Cleveland Tampa
Organization	Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch Human Resources Branch Information and Technology Branch National Security Branch Science and Technology Branch Academy Behavioral Analysis Unit Behavioral Science Unit Communications Exploitation Section Criminal Justice Information Services Division Counterterrorism Division Criminal Investigative Division Crisis Negotiation Unit Critical Incident Response Group FBI Police FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Teams (SWAT) Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) Joint Terrorism Task Force Laboratory Division National Academy National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime National Crime Information Center Office of Professional Responsibility Scientific Working Group (Imaging Technology Bloodstain Pattern Analysis) Violent Criminal Apprehension Program
Technology	Airtel Bureaupedia Carnivore Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) Computer and Internet Protocol Address Verifier Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) Law Enforcement National Data Exchange (N-DEx) National Incident Based Reporting System
Rankings	Director Deputy Director Special Agent in Charge Special agent
Methods and activities	Abscam Bridgman Convention COINTELPRO FBI method of profiling Rod Blagojevich corruption charges FBI Files on Elvis Presley FBI Miami shootout FBI Silvermaster File FBI Special Advisor Program FBI Victims Identification Project Guardian High-Value Interrogation Group Lindbergh kidnapping Ruby Ridge Special Intelligence Service U.S. v. Scheinberg et al. (10 Cr. 336) Waco siege
Directors1	Bureau of Investigation Stanley Finch A. Bruce Bielaski William E. Allen William J. Flynn William J. Burns J. Edgar Hoover FBI J. Edgar Hoover L. Patrick Gray William Ruckelshaus Clarence M. Kelley James B. Adams William H. Webster John E. Otto William S. Sessions Floyd I. Clarke Louis Freeh Thomas J. Pickard Robert Mueller James Comey
People	Harry "Skip" Brandon Sibel Edmonds Mark Felt "Deep Throat" Helen Gandy Joseph L. Gormley Wesley Grapp David Icove
Buildings	FBI Headquarters Child Abduction and Serial Murder Center
Related	FBI portrayal in media G-Man Junior G-Men FBI–Apple encryption dispute
1 In order of service. Italics indicate Acting Directors.