A new profile of the man who was director of the FBI for nearly 50 years. It would appear that the Mafia had some kind of hold over him. The American Mafia, it is asserted, had damaging evidence about Hoover's sex life and they knew about his homosexuality. Hoover's attitude to organised crime underwent a sea change between the 1930s and 1940s. He turned a blind eye during the vital years of its growth allowing it to gain a firm grip on American society.