Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, an F.B.I. agent who served as a Supervisor at the FBI crime lab from 1986 to 1998, blew the whistle on irregularities at the lab. Whitehurst received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Duke University and his law degree from Georgetown University before joining the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1982.

The F.B.I. considered Whitehurst the world's top expert in the forensic science of explosives and explosives residue. While at the Lab, he investigated, uncovered and reported misconduct which forced the F.B.I. crime lab to agree to major reforms.For his crusade against corruption in the Lab, Whitehurst was forced to defend himself from retaliation by the Bureau.

He was defended by David K. Colapinto of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, a Washington, D.C. law firm specializing in defending whistle-blowers. The FBI settled his whistle-blower case for over $300,000.

Fred Whitehurst's revelations of F.B.I. misconduct have affected the course of many prominent cases, including the Waco Siege (he is featured in the 1999 documentary film Waco: A New Revelation (1999) and the O.J. Simpson murder trial. He practices criminal law in the state of North Carolina.