Witsec: Inside The Federal Witness Protection Program (2003) - Plot & Excerpts
* A relatively quick read with lots of good information, March 14, 2005 *For obvious reasons, the witness protection program has always been and probably always will be controversial. I believe the authors make a very good case for its merits, however. Thanks to this program, the law now has much more effective tools to protect ordinary people from the reckless, greed-crazed megalomaniacs who prey on them. It also gives those trapped in this soul-deadening lifestyle an opportunity to change their lives and make something worthwhile out of them. Apparently thousands of families' lives have been changed for the better as a result.Politicians and television journalists like Geraldo Rivera thrive on stories like that of protected witness Marion Pruett who murdered his own wife and four other people after having entered WITSEC. Often, though, certain inconvenient details get swept aside. Such as the fact that Pruett would have been released from jail by the time he committed his crimes, anyway, whether he had joined the witness protection program or not. Because his sentence would have run out by then.None of us like to see dangerous people on the loose, but the simple fact is that you can't keep everyone who has ever committed a crime in jail. Even if there weren't any ethical issues involved, there simply aren't enough resources. Thanks to our unrealistic drug laws, the United States is already the largest per-capita holder of prisoners in the entire world. What a sad commentary on the so-called land of the free and home of the brave.I recommend this book for the fascinating glimpses it provides of politics both inside and outside the Justice Department. I was irritated to read about how J. Edgar Hoover's solution to organized crime was to simply claim it didn't exist despite the overwhelming evidence that it did. And I was enraged to read about Jeb Bush's lobbying to get a dangerous anti-Castro terrorist an early release from jail in order to drum up votes in Miami's Cuban community for his father's re-election. But I was also gratified to learn how hard work by Gerald Shur, Howard Safir and hundreds of others has paid off over the years despite attempts by corrupt government officials in America and elsewhere to both exploit and defeat it.Also interesting was the story of how Shur and several deputy marshals traveled to Nicaragua during the Reagan years to protect the judge and jury of a trial against five soldiers accused of raping and murdering a carload of American nuns. The descriptions of the dangerous and seemingly hopeless conditions judges worked under in that country at that time made me thankful to be a citizen of a country which, while it is not perfect, at least offers its citizens a reasonably safe and reasonably fair environment in which to pursue meaningful lives.The description of Colombia under the reign of terror of Pablo Escobar and other psychopaths was also frustrating to read. It's only fair to blame those Americans and others who supported Escobar through the purchase of illegal drugs for enabling him to become so powerful and despotic. Nevertheless, those who persist in believing that the best course of action to take against drugs is to simply ban them must surely see that they do just as much to enable the Escobars of yesterday and today than drug users. For, certainly, the price of these drugs is kept artificially very high because of the risks that must be taken to produce and distribute them.Like all problems, the problem of illegal drugs is not a simple, black and white issue that can be solved by simply resorting to punitive measures. What is needed is innovative thinking such as what has gone toward the establishment and refinement of the witness protection program over the past four decades.
One of the co-authors of "Witsec," Gerald Shur, is the federal Department of Justice official largely responsible for creating a formal program for re-locating, providing new identities, housing, temporary financial support, and help finding a job to witnesses who would otherwise likely be killed if they testified at trial. The re-location program is largely the work of U. S. Marshals. In addition, in the 1970s the federal Bureau of Prisons developed separate facilities to house those witnesses convicted of crimes. The vast majority of the witnesses the re-location program were insiders in the criminal enterprises that the testified against, with only about 6% of witnesses being innocent people who happened to see something; however, more than 6% of those in the re-location program are not criminals, as it is necessary to protect the wives, children, lovers, and other relations of the witnesses. The need to gain witness testimony in order to convict Mafia defendents is what largely drove the establishment of the program in the late 1960s. The authors include many anecdotes about the witnesses. Although published in 2002, most of the events described took place in the 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s. Given that one of the co-authors founded the program, the authors are to be congratulated for including comments from those, as participants or otherwise, who are critical of the program. One enduring source of controversy is that although the recidivism rate is a good deal lower for those in witness protection than in the general population of reeaseed prisoners, it does happen. Defense lawyers will often charge that the program essentially buys testimony. The program can be difficult psychologically on participents, particularly those witnesses who are innocent; relationships with non-relocated relatives and friends are supposed to be ended upon relocation. The authors include a several page section written by the wife of a Mafia figure about her experience. Many of the criminal witnesses have difficulty adjusting to the notion of humdrum work for ordinary wages in a legal job.
What do You think about Witsec: Inside The Federal Witness Protection Program (2003)?
was curious about the inner workings of this government program. This was co-written by the creator of the program, Gerald Shur, so you get a fly-on-the-wall view of the inception all the way through its current troubled times. During Shur’s tenure WITSEC protected 6,416 witnesses and 14,468 of their family members.The program began because of the government’s priority of taking down the mob. The book is full of colorful stories about mob witnesses and the Justice Department’s struggle to keep them alive long enough to testify. Having little to no interest in the Mob, I still found this book fascinating. After the mob, drug lords, gangs, and terrorists all became witnesses in this storied program. This book highlights the good, the bad, and the ugly and some notables came out a little muddied. Hoover’s FBI and Geraldo Rivera did not look good. Also, there was an interesting story about Jeb Bush encouraging his Dad to pressure the Justice Department to release a terrorist to curry favor with Floridia Hispanics. But the book isn’t aimed at making people look bad. It is an honest and thought provoking look at the pros and cons of this program.I came away with great respect for Shur and the others who toiled with him to make WITSEC a success. Is it safe to put known killers and rapists in unsuspecting communities? Shur says it is for the greater good, but you’ll have to judge for yourself. I highly recommend this if you are at all interested in the Witness Protection Program, the mob, US Marshals, or the way that the Justice Department works.
—Stacy
coauthored with program founder Gerald Shur, this is a fascinating look into the relocation and new identity program administered by US Marshals that grew out of the FBI's fight against the Mafia in the 60s. After its peak in the 70s, the maturing program was instrymental in the fight against Escobar's cartel and later international terrorism. expected highlights are noted cases and failures, like Jimmy the Weasel and Mad Dog Pruett. unexpected gems is the account of going through the program written by a thug's wife, Geraldo Rivera's unfair journalism, and Shur needing the program himself
—Tom Schulte
This is the most fascinating non-fiction book I've ever read. Written by investigative journalist Pete Early and WITSEC founder Gerald Shur, it covers practically everything you may want to know about one of the most mysterious and controversial federal programs. Since it's creation, WITSEC has protected, relocated and given new identities to more than 7,500 witnesses and 9,500 family members, and not one single participant who has followed the program's rules has ever been killed.You'll learn how WITSEC was created in the early-1960s, when the government began cracking down on the Mafia and enticing life-long mobsters, such as Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, into breaking their code of silence and testifying against America's most notorious crime families in exchange for protection and relocation. You'll meet Deputy Marshal John Partington, the first U.S. marshal to become involved with the program and who would set the standard for all WITSEC inspectors to come.You'll read about the many ups and downs as WITSEC established itself. When witnesses, many of whom were criminals, used their second chance to make better lives for themselves, while others reverted to their old lifestyle under new names. You'll learn about Thomas Leonhard, a father who spent nearly a decade fighting and suing the government to see his children who, unbeknownst to him, had been taken into the program with their mother because of her second husband's mob ties.Also read about how WITSEC helped foreign governments protect their witnesses and, in a harrowing ordeal, founder Shur and his wife were forced to go into hiding when it was believed they had been targeted by a mob assassin. And in one very touching section, a woman recounts her experience living in witness protection and how entering WITSEC turned her once-happy life completely upside down. It's a heartbreaking tale of sadness, fear and tragedy.If I have one complaint, it's that the book only briefly touches on non-criminal witnesses. I would have liked to heard more stories about the innocent citizens who had to enter the program. It was these people for whom the program was the most difficult and traumatizing, as they were normal law-abiding citizens who were forced to sacrifice their entire sense of self just because they had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But from beginning to end, this is a well-written and extremely thorough book, densely packed with intriguing information and fascinating stories, and has enough drama, action and suspense for ten fictional stories. A definite must-read for any fan of true crime.
—Michael
