Investigation 

Before the Osage murders, the FBI, known then as BoI or Bureau of Investigation, was newly formed in 1908 and full of inexperienced agents. The agents did not get paid very much, with a starting wage of $2800 a year in 1926. Agents took extremely low bribes, so crimes were only solved if more experienced agents were brought in.

At the time of the investigation, the BoI was highly corrupt, with agents almost always accepting bribes. The BoI sent investigation info back to the main offices on March 14, 1923. The investigation was very drawn out because William Hale bribed almost everyone in the town to remain quiet. The townsfolk only fessed up when the agents offered higher rewards than the bribes, but it took a long time for this to happen because rewards for info came out of agents' paychecks.