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eight by ten piece of paper and a sign that piece of paper that they will abide by the rules, and the rules are you know, and we don't want to go through the list The essentially it's. I will be good person and live in normal life. Above all else, keep your head down. You have to get a new job and a new place to live in a new city with new social security number and no credit history. You meet someone, you like you, can never tell them who you are or where you really from you can't kingdom home to your parents. All of these rules were the invention of one man Gerald Shore, the father of the Witness Protection program. Back in the nineteen six

he's, he was working for the Department of Justice, an organized crime when he realized there is a problem. Organized crime, specifically the italian mafia, had its own set of secret rules and These rules made it impossible for law enforcement to get anyone convicted here rules of organized crime. Gerald Shore summarize them in a nineteen sixty three for port. You may not engage in an affair with the wife of another member. You may not cajun an affair with the sister or daughter of another member know stealing from another member. No acts of violence against another member unless approved by the boss, know handling narcotics or deriving a profit from their sale. Many people have pointed out that this one doesn't seem to be taken too seriously, but

the most important rule of all is silence. Do not give information about the organization to any outside person, especially the police,. Some say the rules are explained to Mafia initiates during a sort of ceremony. The crime boss, pricks your finger and then smears the blood onto a picture of a saint than the picture is put into your hand and set on fire. You have to hold it while it's burning and repeat the oath and then you're introduced everyone else's quote a new friend of ours. If you break the rules, you'll burn like the card. Yeah you, how could a member I've organized crime group come forward and testify an live? I mean they would murder him before if they knew he was going to testify, will murder him after he testified, and indeed

I'd, even murder. Other members of his family. And so I thought we needed a way, At home in the city we have to move some place, and so from that came the idea of the Witness Protection program. It's against the law, not to testify, because you're scared, the Us Supreme Court- his held that not even the fear of death can diminish your legal duty to testify, but that doesn't stop. People from being scared is Gerald sure realized people only talk when they feel safe, so he found a way to protect them. I'm fee

the judge. This is criminal. It is thirty. Four years running, the Witness Protection Program Gerald Shore says he interacted with every single witness who entered it today, he's eighty six and he agreed to tell us some, but not all- of what he knows- fashion habit. Help out goal is only one area that I cannot go near and, of course, that this is anything that is classified yet or good. Jerry Shore grew up in New York City in the 1940s, his father

on the dress shop in the garment district, a part of the city that was to use Gerald's phrase modern fast. So, in order to keep his business running without any trouble, his father was friendly with the people he needed to be friendly with Gerald remembers mafia guys it is bar mitzvah when he was fifteen. He was eating cheese cake at a restaurant with his father when two men walked by in greeted them. His father said. I know them from work later Gerald read in the newspaper that they were suspected of throwing sulfuric acid in a journalist face at that same restaurant following organized crime became his hobby. I used to clip articles at a newspapers about like a nice crime and save them, and I started a scrapbook. He went to college, got married and went to law school in Texas,

he had two children and started his own legal practice in Corpus, Christi and then one day one thousand nine hundred and sixty one here eh in the Dallas morning, news that Robert Kennedy was expanding, the organized crime division at the Department of Justice, and that was of course something that struck me: who's ha. He was organized crime. So when I saw that he was going to have an organized crime drive I up to Washington and left end up, leaving my practice and going to work. For the organized crime in racketeering, section of the Department of Justice. His job was to collect evidence that would convict mob members. His territory was New York City and he started to notice very quickly that the mafia's code of silence was going to get in his way. People who talked got killed. He had the photographs of dead bodies to prove it even with pulley,

protection potential witnesses wound up dead, famously in one thousand nine hundred and forty one, the most fear Hitman in New York called Abe kid twist, Rellas agreed Testify against a high ranking mafia boss, he six police officers guarding his room at the half moon. Who Helen Coney Island and then on the morning he was scheduled to testify. He fell from his hotel window. Six stories to his death newspapers called him, the canary who could sing but couldn't fly in one thousand nine hundred and sixty one a heroin smuggler named Alberta, Quechee from the Buff low crime family threatened to inform on the Emily's boss, Don Stefano about a month later, his body was found in a field naked, his front teeth knocked out and a reported thirty

on the flash cut from his body Gerald remembers. One may who'd worn a wire for the FBI. He'd been caught and had wires jammed through his skull to send a message after you deal one thousand or so more of them more than one thousand you uh there's not much shocking left Gerald sure knew that, in order to get any results in the courtroom, they would have to find a way to keep these witnesses alive. In the early days he was just making it up as he went along no, never done anything like this before he is. Where is about US marshals, chasing on a family pet flying a boxer in to far with the board witness and even paying for one witnesses, white wife to get breast implants, a facelift, lift and dental work

but eventually he settled on a system. Can you take me through the steps of entering the program? If I were a potential witness that needed help. What what are the steps? What steps the steps they're getting into the program are: what are the crimes that they are testifying? The witnesses testifying to How important is that witness to the case and there's a considerable evaluation and that your are in danger? If you testify the they will ask you if you would agree to relocate. If you would, they then send an application form to my office, where my staff evaluated the infra, nation they provided and what is involved in relocating, how many people, how many children and then a psychologist will exam,

the witness and members of the family. So all that information is then, sent in to the office of enforcement operations in the United States Department of Justice. And there they have a staff of people that are really run the program and the staff work stop reviews it makes their recommendation, and if the director decides it's true sounds good, let's go. And they go ahead and send over to the Marshall Service, said Deputy United States marshal with go to the witnesses home, assessed there each, how many adults, how many children is anybody, sick, valuate, the situation and All of that information is gathered so as far as I'll take you with one breath, after all of that, the families relocated

to a secret location in Washington DC, where families entering the way as protection program, gopher kind of an orientation and then they're told how to act and people will work with them on getting used to their new names. It's getting used to the documents used to your new name and using it and respond then, when someone calls them This is in their families, get to keep their first name and their last initial Gerald I to give them time to catch themselves when they were signing a check. He also didn't anyone accidentally turn their head. Their old name was called and that's sort of thing you have to practice. Children had to practice writing down their new name over and over, and everyone got a whole new set

documents. So there would happen new drivers license no school records. How, whatever would you normally have would be changed into another name legally legally, legally, I mean a judge would perform the usual procedure associated with name changes. You have to leave everything behind photo albums diaries drawings are children made your memories, become a kind of liability and you're coached on how to change the subject. When someone asks you about yourself, The name of the school on your children's report cards changes the grades stay the same, even though Gerald says some parents have asked for artificial improvements. We have been asked by people who have been in the military, if we would make them offices,

you don't make somebody a lieutenant and of course we went I'm going to do that. The papers they get will reflect exactly as the pay real papers do. Only the names changed. Did people ever want to change their pasts like have this up unity to create a new identity, and so tell you make them from here or here, or tell you to say that they did this or that? Well, we will not make up a past four to pass on to others uh. We will report that they were carpenters, if that's the case, but the problem is who they going to give as a reference. You know if you give that you can't give the name of the Deputy Marshall that gives away is something very peculiar about that you're dealing with the deputy? How do you get a

up. If you don't have any work. History at first went out too several corporation. I had a friend who worked for the United States Chamber of Commerce who's located in Washington DC and he was very interested in crime and the fighting crime. An I mentioned to him that we were going to relocate people, but we have to find him work, and so he said, he'll set up a meeting with five or six corporate presidents, a luncheon and it'll be in a private room, and I would explain the program to them. And- and he said if they agreed that the majority Pretty them agree to help you he said, then I will help you wherever you know, and the result of that meeting was we put together almost, I think,

One thousand corporations that agreed to assist hiring relocated people, and it worked very, very well Gerald- says but the witness Protection program will support you financially for the first six months in your new location, but then you do have to get a job and take over your own expenses. The program couldn't afford to support everyone forever. In the early days, they spend as much as one million dollars relocating some witnesses. It was controversial. Yes, there were people that were very concerned about it and a concerned about the appearance of moving families tip paying money for them to do that and how? How would we deal with that? But they were there, but the actual total cause

still doing it, and I think I estimated that we would have five families. In New York City, In one year- and I think it turned out- I think they had twenty five. So obviously, I'm not good when it comes to math critics of asked whether it's buying testimony, which is a legal one. Marshall is said about a famous witness. The truth is we were buying his testimony to some degree. I know the Justice Department will deny it, but it is what we did. How else would we ever get inside Gerald says that ninety five percent of the witnesses who entered the program, we're involved in illegal activity themselves, and some critics asked whether it's fair to everyone else to move criminals into unsuspecting communities? Do

The people who ever entered the program commit more crimes, yes about fifteen percent. What would happen when someone who is in the time? Would you get involved? Yes, and we would put play some in another prison if he's convicted. If he's arrested by the state, a state. We would know it, Becaus witnesses are fingerprinted and all their fingerprints is sent to the FBI. When an arrest is made in any, city in the country they prints of the prisoner are sent to the FBI so anytime their arrest.

Could we get a notice and then the one of the early surveys again, the number of fifteen percent fifteen percent committed crime. Again, that must be incredibly frustrating well, we consider it a great success because the criminals who go to prison without being in the witness program. A much much higher rate of them commit crime again. Whereas those in the witness program that are in prison when they get out there getting help getting a job there. No, Longer in the society with the upper friends that are criminals- oh they they have someone out there to help him. So I think the help this personal assistance is the most important reason, but

for us having a very low recidivism rate, there have been some notable exceptions in one thousand nine hundred and seventy nine, a bank robber named Marian Pruitt was so driving time in an Atlanta prison when he agreed to sub I information about who had murdered his cell mate. The witness protection program relocated him to Albuquerque, two years later? Pruitt beat his wife to death. With a hammer and burned her remains in the desert. He then killed five more people and robbed a series of banks before he was caught. He later admitted that he had murdered his own cell mate and framed another man for it so that he could get into the witness protection program as one high ranking us Marshall once said, it's a pro problem program. It's always be a problem program because every element in it is human,

we'll be right back. Support for criminal comes from simply safe, simple, safe is award winning twenty four slash: seven home security with no contract or hidden fees. It's one of of awards from Cnet the New York Times wire cutter and more plus they have a video verification system that helps confirm whether break in his actual happening visits, simplysafe dot com, slash criminal will get free shipping and a sixty day. Risk free trial that simply safe dot. Com, slash criminal simplisafe, dot com, slash from thanks to super critter for their support was super critter hiring

is simple fast and smart. When Cafel tours Seo Dylan Masko it's needed to hire director of coffee, he went to zip recruiter posted his job and found the best person for the role in just a few days. Zip recruiters technology finds people with the right experience and invite them to apply to your job. Four out of five employers who post on Ziprecruiter, get a quality candidate within the first day right now you can drive zip recruiter for free at Ziprecruiter, DOT, com, slash, criminalthatziprecruiter, dot, com, Slash criminal, zipper crew, The smartest way to high the. How would you decide Bobby is going to Tucson and Cheryl's going to Tacoma. How did you pick the city for the first think it would look at is your workload. You have witnessed security inspectors throughout the country, but they can only have

So many witnesses a one time and the land needs, so you would look at the workload and not, and so that would eliminate certain cities. Then you would try to find one in which they would be comfortable, but if you don't talked about wanting to live in San Francisco. They wouldn't put you in San Francisco too easy to guess still. They try to match a witnesses with cities that might suit them military there felt to adjust, you know from New York City to Idaho. I think artist thing is well several elements. The community you live in is different having to adjust to that Having to light the neighbors but the first time, and they have a made up history and that's what they have to tell the neighbor the normal things that you do in life, the first

time they go to grocery store and use a charge card in a new name and remembering to sign the slip with the new name, not the old name. I guess also. Being cut off from all your family, that's being left behind, that's very difficult and when a mother dies, that's left back home and they want to go to the funeral We will somehow make arrangements for the to not necessarily be at the funeral, but they will get to see dear deceased, relative, the mother and Father, whom ever privately in the funeral home Gerald to say and being relocated with something. I would not wish on anyone. The only reason to

do it was if it was your only hope to stay alive, they can leave the program anytime, they want and if they wanna go back home. They can go back home all the witnesses that all don't go back home. Among other things, there was in nineteen. Seventy two was in the witness option program and decided break the rules and go check on his house. His house had been rigged with a bomb and when he opened the front door, exploded and killed him, but according to the US marshals, not a single witness who follows the rules have been harmed were killed while under active protection. The report- that's in one thousand nine hundred and seventy one they've successfully relocated and given identities, to more than eighty six bird witnesses nearly ten thousand of their family members

did anyone change their mind once they learned what they'd have to do? Yes, yes, there are people who have left the program and I even gone back using their real name, and Some are very free about that, but that's their choice. In nineteen. Seventy five, the New Jersey hit man named John Tully, enter the program. He was relocated to Austin TX and given the new name, John Johnson, he set himself up with a pretty successful fajita and hot dog stand business. Everything was going well until one thousand nine hundred and ninety one when he decided to run for mayor. For some reason he announced he would put John Johnson off to the side for now and told everyone who he really was. He provided journalist with a seven page rap sheet and said his cooperation with the government to help to convict nine p dot m

he said he been a thief before running for office, which was better than everyone else who quote got into office and then started cooking. You received four hundred and ninety six votes. Says that a lot of these cooperating witnesses are used to feeling like a big deal and to now have to live, quiet, simple law, lives as hard as he puts it to when was frozen for them being away from a life you, the forty year itch with patterns, you develop the French of Humane, changing and suddenly parental wilderness. You don't know anybody no, not a rising star you're. Just another person in our

will speak with the Son of a Colombo kingpin who testified against his father and then had to enter the whip. Protection program, Criminalist created by Lawrence Board and me needy, will serve as our senior producer audio mix. Bye, bye, bye, special mix in Atalia Julian Alexander, makes original illustrations for each episode of criminal. You can see them at this is dot com where We have a link to our shop where we All kinds of new things like a tote bag featuring my favorite art of a baby bird skeleton, and we have a new shirt that glows in the dark and you stickers for criminal and for this is love, we made a whale sticker

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