FBI AGENT EXPECTS FEW CHANGES

Oklahoma City's top FBI agent said that the agency's work in Oklahoma
probably won't be much different than it has been in the past, despite
national efforts to redirect federal resources to counterterrorism.
Although the FBI plans to reassign hundreds of agents nationwide to
counterterrorism, the effect on Oklahoma City's field office will be small,
said Richard Marquise, special agent in charge of Oklahoma City's FBI office.

"The impact is going to be minimal," Marquise said Wednesday. "The rest of
the crime problems won't just be dumped on local law enforcement."

On Monday, FBI Director Robert Mueller said that the agency will pull 480
agents away from the current duties to focus on counterterrorism. Most of
those will be taken from drug investigations while the rest will be
transferred from white collar and violent crime investigations.

Mueller made his comments at the National Sheriffs' Association Conference
in Tulsa. He said the move could put more pressure on local law enforcement
but emphasized the FBI's commitment to improved cooperation with sheriffs'
and police departments.

Most of the FBI's Oklahoma agents work on white-collar crimes, Marquise
said. While some agents will be redirected toward counterterrorism, it will
only amount to "a handful" of the FBI's 118 Oklahoma agents, he said.

Marquise couldn't say how many agents that would involve.

The FBI will work closely with local law enforcement on issues such as drug
and counterterrorism task forces, he said.

"The state's not going to suffer. The old days of the FBI working in a
vacuum are over."