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A Clever Book Report: WITSEC: inside the Federal Witness Protection Program reviewed by The Phantom |
This is the true story of the creation of the Witness Protection Program, co-written by Pete Earley and Gerald Shur. Earley is the author of many crime stories. He won an Edgar for Best Fact Crime writing with his book, Circumstantial Evidence. Gerald Shur is the Federal bureaucrat who is responsible for the development of the program which began in the early 1960s and continues today. Together Earley and Shur piece together the story of this most intriguing of Federal programs. Witness Protection is a term that's familiar to everybody, but it's really not something we know very much about, other than maybe some vague recollection of Steve Martin as a hit man in the movie, My Blue Heaven. So reading this book is truly an eye-opener. Shur and Earley, in a very straight-forward manner, outline in detail the stumbling beginnings of the program, which was put into place as a tool to help Federal prosecutors with their efforts to bring the Italian Mafia to justice. They figured the only way they could get evidence against the Mafia was by convincing Mafia members to rat on their own group. Out of that effort sprang the program, so it's clear that the informants were criminals themselves. Over ninety percent of the people in WITSEC were and are criminals, together with their families and close loved ones, who, in exchange for testifying against Mafia crime bosses, are given new identities, new papers, jobs, housing, and even living allowances, until they are ready to make it in their new lives. Shur makes no apologies for using tax payer money for this program and in fact, he makes a good case for continuing this program. The book is fascinating from cover to cover. It's filled with lots of anecdotes of the most memorable Mafia informers and what went on behind the scenes to protect them. One particularly interesting chapter is written by a wife of one of the witnesses. She gives a vivid and sympathetic account of what it feels like to be thrown into the program with absolutely no warning. It came as something of a surprise to me to find out just how complex this program has become. From now on, I'll take a close look at the new neighbors when they move in next door. You never know... FYI: You can purchase this book through amazon.com and support Clever Magazine while you're at it! Click here for the details! |
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