From The MAD World of William M. Gaines, page 165 or 145:

"The Phantom was wily. He hid in the building through the rest of the weekend, then, as a parting gesture, stole Mad's mail out of the postman's bag. Gaines called in the police, then the F.B.I., then the Pinkerton Agency, all with no results."

The Bufiles do not reference this incident. This event most likely occurred during 1960.

From The MAD World of William M. Gaines, page 191 or 171:

"The magazine has twice run afoul of the F.B.I., the first time after running an Al Meglin article on board games. One of the games was called 'Draft Dodger' and offered players an official draft-dodger card by writing 'to J. Edgar Hoover.' After Hoover's office was deluged with mail, two clean-cut, most polite, most insistent F.B.I. men suggested that Mad strive to avoid adding to the bureau's problems. The second visit from the F.B.I. occurred after Mad printed a three-dollar bill. This bill, however, was proving effective when inserted in money-changing machines in Las Vegas."

The November-December 1965 issue of FACT mentioned the Draft Dodger Club incident: "Another time, Mad ran an article on games, including a section of 'How to Become a Draft Dodger.' It recommended its readers, in order to get their official Draft Dodger card, to write to J. Edgar Hoover. Not long after, an FBI man paid a formal visit to the Madhouse on New York's Lexington Avenue [sic, Lafayette Street] to warn the staff that Hoover was decidedly not amused."

On August 3, 2002 the Wired News web site run an article titled "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Magazine" by Randy Dotinga. The article was about some of the MAD artists and writers attending the 2002 San Diego Comic-Con International. General Clyde J. Watts' comment was brought up. "In another case, Mad had to do the suing itself after a retired general in Oklahoma accused it of being 'the most insidious form of communist propaganda he'd ever read,' Feldstein said."

To receive the "C" rating the comic needed to meet the following criteria in the cultural area: 1) propaganda against or belittling traditional American institutions; 2) obscenity, vulgarity, profanity or language of the underworld; 3) prejudice against class, race, creed or nationality; 4) divorce treated humorously or as glamorous; 5) sympathy with crime and the criminal as against law and justice; and 6) criminals and criminal acts made attractive. Under the moral area criteria: 7) woman as gun moils, criminals and wielders of weapons; 8) any situation having a sexy implication; 9) persons dressed indecently or unduly exposed (costumes not appropriate to the occasion); 10) crime stories, even if they purport to show that crime does not pay; 11) stories that glamorize unacceptable unconventional behavior; 12) situations that glamorize criminals; 13) the details or methods of crime, especially if enacted by children; 14) thwarted justice; and 15) law enforcement officials portrayed as stupid or ineffective. And, under morbid emotionalism: 16) the kidnapping of women or children, or the implication of it; 17) characters shown bleeding, particularly from the face or mouth; 18) the use of chains, whips or other cruel devices; 19) stories and pictures that tend to have a sadistic implication or suggest use of black magic; 20) portrayal of mayhem, acts of assault or murder; 21) people being attacked or injured by wild animals or reptiles; 22) morbid picturization of dead bodies; and 23) stories and pictures which might affect national defense adversely. To get the bottom rating of "D" the comic needed to show an exaggerated degree of any of the above criteria.

Parents' magazine published the next evaluation in their August 1954 issue, the Committee gave MAD another "C". The annual review now listed why a comic received the rating. MAD got it because of reasons 1, 7, 8, 9, 18, 19, 20, and 22. Most comics received their "C" rating because of 3 or 4 reasons, MAD had found 8 reasons to be objectionable. And, Al Feldstein was outdone by Harvey Kurtzman, PANIC also received a "C" rating, but only for 3 reasons: 18, 21, and 22. MAD was less than 2-years old and already "propaganda against or belittling traditional American institutions" was going to be an ongoing concern for the FBI. MAD would later jump on reason 15, "law enforcement officials portrayed as stupid or ineffective," which the FBI would also have to investigate.

"Mr. ROSENTHAL. Mr. Speaker, this month marks the 10th anniversary of a publishing phenomenon that exemplifies one of the strengths of our free society. I refer to Mad magazine, which for the past 10 years has humorously pointed out the laughable foibles of business labor, advertising, television, sports, and entertainment - to say nothing of politics. Mad magazine has let people laugh at those in high places without damage to those high places themselves. It has poked fun at many aspects of the American scene, and the country is the better for its raillery. We are all apt to take ourselves too seriously at times, whether we are businessmen, newspapermen, lawyers, or even Congressmen. It is then that we are fair targets for the satirist, if we live in a truly free country with a truly free press. This magazine has succeeded in tickling America's funnybone during this Mad decade because Americans are always ready to laugh, even when the joke is on them. Some of our greatest Presidents, for example, relished the political satirists of their day. Lincoln was an Artemus Warde [sic, Ward] and Petroleum V. Naseby fan, Theodore Roosevelt read Mr. Dooley to his Cabinet, and the ready quips and hearty laugh of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman are familiar to all of us today. President Kennedy's quick wit is already historic. I see no reason, Mr. Speaker, why we in the Congress of the United States, who have so often been the target of Mad's jests, should not be in a spirit of good humor nevertheless publicly congratulate the magazine that mocks us and those responsible for its success. As their victims, we may not always be glad, but as good sports, we hope they will always stay Mad."

Matt Groening mixes in the FBI and MAD in the episode titled "Nukesadaisy." Below are excerpts from the script found at The Simpsons Archive web site.

Shot from inside the house reveals that the camera we have been looking through is attached to a miniature remote control spy-helicopter with FBI painted on the side.

MARGE: Homey, have you been upsetting the FBI again?

HOMER (taking out a rifle and shooting the chopper down through the window) Pesky Feds! ...

BACK IN BART'S ROOM.

LISA: Bart, we've been here for hours. We're never going to find it. Where did you learn how to do all this stuff?

BART: I've been reading up. Look. (Indicates the bed, where there is a copy of MAD magazine.)

LISA: MAD?? (Reading cover) How to Hack Into Secure Government Sites from Your Own Bedroom and Change Your Status as An Unlawful Immigrant. Isn't this illegal?

BART: It's only illegal if you get caught. And the beauty of the Internet is that no one knows who or where you are.