[yarddog]

Here is a rough history of the ATF. At first the agents who enforced alchohol taxes were simply revenue officers of the bureau of Internal Revenue. That is what Eliot Ness was. They still have Revenue Officers in the IRS but they now enforce civil rather than criminal laws.

Somewhere along the line, probably in the late 40's they were called the Alchohol and Tobacco Tax unit of the Bureau of Internal Revenue.These are the guys you would see chasing down good ole boys in movies like "Thunder Road. These were fine agents.

Probably because of the 1968 Gun Control act they were given firearms and explosives and became a separate agency, The Bureau of Alchohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The agency became very politicized and also the victim of affirmative action. It was now separate from the IRS although still under Treasury.

I am not sure why they added the Explosives to their name as they were responsible for their enforcement for a long time.

[vrwc0915]