Images(2)

Step

Object number2016.38.4 a-e

Date1939-1945

MediumMetal

Credit LineIn memory of John F. Leahy

DescriptionSet of five detachable pole climbing steps.DimensionsHeight x Width x Length (a): 2.125 × 1.5 × 6.125 in. (5.4 × 3.8 × 15.6 cm)
Height x Width x Length (b): 2.125 × 1.5 × 6.125 in. (5.4 × 3.8 × 15.6 cm)
Height x Width x Length (c): 2.125 × 1.5 × 6 in. (5.4 × 3.8 × 15.2 cm)
Height x Width x Length (d): 2.125 × 1.5 × 6.125 in. (5.4 × 3.8 × 15.6 cm)
Height x Width x Length (e): 2.125 × 1.5 × 6 in. (5.4 × 3.8 × 15.2 cm)
Historical NotesWiretapping equipment. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent John Francis Leahy used this equipment to test and tap phone lines, investigating cases of industrial sabotage in Pittsburgh during World War II. Technically, Leahy’s actions were illegal. The 1934 Communications Act federally outlawed phone taps; the U. S. Supreme Court upheld this ruling in 1939. But in 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt issued a secret executive order allowing wiretapping for “subversives” and spies. The FBI, which maintained a field office in Pittsburgh since 1914, used the order to investigate suspected enemy agents in western Pennsylvania, a fear that was especially high during the early years of the war, c. 1942 - 43.

Related institution Federal Bureau of Investigation (founded 1908)

Previous owner John Francis Leahy

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