WITSEC

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

Henceforth, these NONFICTION book reports will be a time-saving device. You need not read entire books anymore. Read these condensed versions instead. You'll have that much more time for your own blog.

Today I read "WITSEC" by Pete Early and Gerald Shur, published in 2002.

WITSEC stands for "Witness Security" and is generically known as the Federal witness protection program. It was founded by Gerald Shur in the early 1970's.

The majority of people given new identities and relocated by the program are career criminals-- members of organized crime, but some are innocent people who happened to see things they weren't meant to see.

WITSEC personnel are U.S. Marshals. At the start, different government agencies in law enforcement were possessive of their powers and information, so they viewed each other as rivals, but Shur got them to cooperate. He revolutionized law enforcement by starting a computer database that cross-referenced data on criminals.

Shur estimated that ten witnesses per year would seek to enter the program. However, By the beginning of 1970, upwards of fifty witnesses desired to join, even though the program is a last resort.

If a witness chooses not to testify against his fellow criminals, he will go to jail for a very long time. If chooses to testify and is not protected, he will be killed by the people against whom he testifies. It is not only this star witness who must be protected, but his family or whomever might be harmed by the witnesses' enemies.

When, say, a Mafioso is about to be caught for the usual crimes, the first canary to sing is usually the one who cuts the best deal with prosecutors. Of course, there is resentment from the public that a criminal is going unpunished, and that, indirectly American taxpayers are footing the bill to provide him and his family with a new life, but Shur argues that the number of criminals put away far exceeds the number of criminals who are rewarded with WITSEC protection.

It is psychologically stressful for the witness to turn against his friends, and many times, be separated from more distant family members. He and his immediate family must change their name, get new all identity documents, move from their place of residence while escorted by a Marshal (a bodyguard), find a new job, and cut off ALL communications with anyone who knew them in their former lives.

In the beginning, the Marshals harbored resentment at having to babysit criminals, some of whom were chronic complainers. Other federal law enforcement agencies viewed the Marshals as inferior, because there were no standards for getting hired as one. They were all political appointees-- provisionals. Eventually, standards were set. After much tooth-pulling, Shur got the minimal resources he needed to start WITSEC. He was under pressure to prove it was a necessary program. Fortunately, Shur installed competent people. There were problems, but Shur persisted, having a strong passion to make the program work. Luckily, the program got favorable publicity from newspapers and Reader's Digest in 1972.

There were isolated incidents of unanticipated situations. An ex-husband who had not entered WITSEC was unaware that his ex-wife, who had found another mate (the testifying witness/criminal), was being protected by WITSEC, as were her children. He desired to see the children (they were also his), but was not allowed, because that would blow his ex-wife's cover. If someone from her old neighborhood found out that he (who still lived in her old neighborhood) was visiting the children, she, her new mate, or the children might be kidnapped or killed.

There were a number of cases in which a witness entered WITSEC but then returned to a life of crime and had to be sent to prison. Had he not been in the program, he would not have committed any further crimes, because he would have been doing hard time.

WITSEC enjoyed its best years under Howard Safir from the late 1970's through 1989. He restructured and energized the agency.

Irony struck when, in 1991, Shur and his wife were thought to be in danger. An executive of the Medellin drug cartel in Colombia was caught by American federal law enforcement and an address book was found on him with Shur's name in it. As a precaution, Shur and his wife went into hiding, forced to experience what a WITSEC participant goes through. As is common, they became attached to their individual protector-- she was like one of the family. However, people in WITSEC were advised to maintain their professional relationships-- guard and guarded. The guarded have no privacy.

Shur recollects: "In the early days of the program, witnesses were dumped in motels, given a hundred bucks, and told to wait there until the local U.S. marshal sent one of his deputies to 'help' them... they simply weren't a priority. After Safir arrived, things got significantly better, but there were still problems... there were misunderstandings and there were still long delays in getting documents..."

Unfortunately, after Safir resigned in 1989, the Marshals' morale and program quality dropped to a level lower than when the program started, due to high turnover of WITSEC directors. Sadly, the directors were political appointees who didn't know what they were doing. I do not know what the current state of WITSEC is.

Mike's Third Grade Dictation Test

NEW FEATURE: COMEDY

Whenever I come across a snippet of comedy, I will share it with you, dear readers.

Henceforth, these comedy snippets will be a time-saving device. You need not read entire blogs anymore. Read only the best excerpts instead. You'll have that much more time for your own blog.

Here is the first gem Mike's Third Grade Dictation Test

Friday, July 09, 2004

Remember those writing tests you used to have to take in elementary school? I speak of the ones where the teacher would read about ten sentences (one at a time), and you'd have to write down each sentence.

For example, she might say, "The dog can't fit in the car, so someone will have to watch him when we go on vacation." Simple sentences and they just want to make sure you have basic writing skills.

My third grade teacher, Mrs. Swanek was an old miserable little woman. She gave us a lot of these tests. When she was absent, her daughter, Miss Swanek, would often be the substitute. She wasn't the smartest lady in the world, if you know what I mean. She wasn't all there, if you know what I mean. She was half off the cover price, if you know what I mean. She was kind of retarded, if you know what I mean.

So one day she was giving us this test. Sentences 1 through 5 were standard sentences. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then question Number Six came and changed my world forever. I remember to this day that it was Number Six.

Here was sentence Number Six:

6. Go shake Dick and wake him up.

Giggles ensue. I'm kind of surprised now that we understood the hilarity in that sentence. All of the sentences were repeated once during the test, so again, Miss Swanek said, "Go shake Dick and wake him up." Someone (one of the boys) said, "Can you repeat that?"

Go shake Dick and wake him up.

Someone else raises their hand. "Can you repeat that again?"

Go shake Dick and wake him up.

We finally moved on to number 7. At the end of the test, Miss Swanek asked, "Do you need me to repeat any of the sentences?"

Two boys immediately said, "Number Six."

Go shake Dick and wake him up.

Then another asked.

Go shake Dick and wake him up.

She never really caught on. But she was thinking we were a bunch of idiots. It was probably the easiest sentence on the test. She started to get kind of condescending and upset that we couldn't grasp this one simple sentence.

Go shake Dick and wake him up.

Finally, little Jessica Henderson said, "You don't have to keep saying it. They're just being disgusting."

I don't think Miss Swanek knew what was disgusting about it. But man, that was some funny shit. Sometimes I miss third grade.

Go shake Dick and wake him up.