I recently started a new job and am trying to figure out a prior mess that was left to me.I just received a bill to pay for an Erisa bond. No one seems to know if we have an active 401K. Is there any way to research this on line? The originating agent is no longer in business.

You can research whether your company has filed documents with the department of labor here:

Free Employee Benefits Data - FreeERISA (http://www.freeerisa.com/)

This should at least tell you if your company ever filed the required disclosure documents, and may also disclose who the plan administrator is (it's typically a bank, insurance company, or brokerage house). I also wonder if the company that is selling you the ERISA bond has any information on this?