American historian exposed FBI misconduct
Journalists and activists admired researcher
Athan Theoharis, who exposed FBI misconduct through his tenacious use of Freedom of Information Act requests, helping to reveal how the bureau investigated political opponents, intimidated critics and illegally eavesdropped on actors, civil rights activists and alleged radicals, died July 3 at his home in Syracuse, N.Y. He was 84.
The cause was pneumonia, said his daughter Jeanne Theoharis.
Theoharis, a professor emeritus of history at Marquette University in Milwaukee, was widely considered the dean of FBI scholars.
“Doing FBI history research is real detective work, ironically enough, and Athan Theoharis was a master at getting behind the bureau’s veil of secrecy,” said Douglas Charles, a Pennsylvania State University history professor who researches the bureau and studied under Theoharis.
While other historians examined individual cases or FBI targets, Theoharis focused on unravelling the agency’s byzantine filing and records procedures. His research led to the discovery of the “secret files” of Director J. Edgar Hoover and his top deputies.
Theoharis obtained tens of thousands of documents related to illegal wiretaps, mail openings and break-ins.
Some files revealed an investigation into communist infiltration in Hollywood.
Theoharis also exposed a secret, quarter-century partnership between the FBI and the American Legion, in which tens of thousands of Legionnaires were enlisted to report on other citizens.
As he reviewed the files, Theoharis began to argue that the bureau’s reputation for catching gangsters, spies and terrorists was grossly exaggerated, and that its surveillance programs threatened civil liberties.
The second of five children, Athanasios George Theoharis was born in Milwaukee on Aug. 3, 1936. His mother and father, a Greek immigrant, ran a diner out of the first floor of their home, where Athan worked as a boy. At 16, he earned a scholarship to the University of Chicago.
His wife of 53 years, the former Nancy Artinian, died last year. He is survived by his two daughters, his son, a brother, two sisters and five grandchildren.