Though 95 percent of those relocated are criminals, only 10 percent re-offend, an admirably low recidivism rate. And despite what must be the stress of disappearing into a new life, the dropout rate is reputedly low, though one famous participant, Henry Hill of Goodfellas fame, was booted after seven years and went on to open a restaurant in West Haven, Connecticut—which, you may be unsurprised to learn, promptly burned to the ground. So best, perhaps, to ask for Omaha and hope for Honolulu.
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Department of Justice. The U. Marshals Service provides for the security, health and safety of government witnesses, and their immediate dependents, whose lives are in danger as a result of their testimony against drug traffickers, terrorists, organized crime members and other major criminals.
The Witness Security Program has successfully protected approximately 19, participants — including innocent victim-witnesses and cooperating defendants and their dependent family members — from intimidation and retribution since the program began in That means that witnesses who have remained in it and followed all the rules—more on that later—have not been harmed as a result of testifying. One of them was Joe Valachi , who was sort of an inspiration for the program.
In , Valachi turned in criminals he knew from his participation in the Mafia in exchange for safety in prison. Government officials realized that offering protection was an effective way to convince criminals and witnesses to come forward, and they officially started WITSEC around Barboza, a murderer who testified against the mob in the late s, was sent to California with a new identity.
Unfortunately, he may have killed again. Around 10 to 20 percent of them will go on to re-offend. According to Shur, people hoping to enter witness protection have to sign a list of rules. One of the rules is a pledge to, in his words, "be a good person and live a normal life. Family members go through medical, dental, and psychological exams. Each adult is also interviewed about their job skills so they can be placed in a new location with a job that makes sense.
Witnesses also receive new Social Security numbers and legalized name changes. Kids get school records copied in their new name—and though some parents wanted these records subtly improved, Shur refused. The program ensures that furnished houses, schools, and even religious institutions are in place at the locations where people get sent.
For about six months, witnesses received a stipend. So people from cities were sent to cities and people from small towns were sent to small towns. The marshals take them. They can also make phone calls to their families via secure lines that the program sets up for them. In the late '90s, it was discovered that certain witnesses like this had received special meals and phone call privileges in exchange for testifying.
There's at least one documented case of witnesses being identified in their new lives—by one another. An audit published in revealed that two witnesses, who were acquainted before entering WITSEC, ran into each other at a convenience store.
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