Alexander
Bruce Bielaski was born in Montgomery County, Maryland.
He received a law degree from George Washington
University in 1904 and joined the Department of
Justice (DOJ) that same year. Like his predecessor
Mr. Finch, Mr. Bielaski worked his way up through
the DOJ. He served as a special examiner in Oklahoma
where he "straightened out the court records" and
aided in the reorganization of Oklahoma's court
system when the Oklahoma territory became a state.
Returning to Washington, Mr. Bielaski entered the
Bureau of Investigation and rose to become Mr.
Finch's assistant. In this position he was in charge
of administrative matters for the Bureau. At the
end of April 1912, Attorney General Wickersham
appointed Mr. Bielaski to replace Mr. Finch. As
Chief, Mr. Bielaski oversaw a steady increase in
the resources and responsibilities assigned to
the Bureau.
After leaving
the Bureau in 1919, Mr. Bielaski entered into private
law practice. According to The New York Times,
while on a trip to Cuernavaca, Mexico in 1921,
Mr. Bielaski was kidnapped. He escaped three days
later, saving himself and the ten thousand dollars
gathered to rescue him.
Mr. Bielaski
worked undercover as a prohibition agent operating
a decoy speakeasy in New York City. From 1929 to
1959 he headed the National Board of Fire Underwriters
team of arson investigators. In 1938, Mr. Bielaski
served as President of the Society of Former Special
Agents. He died in February 1964, at the age of
eighty.