Have you ever been curious about witness protection? The American Witness Protection Program aims to guard the witnesses before, during, and after a trial is taking place. These witnesses are often testifying against criminal groups in courts. A lot of them get a new identity – they are moved to a new place, given a new name, and given a new job.
Source: PostFun
Even notorious criminals and mobsters have gone under the Witness Protection Program when they decided to turn in their fellow criminals. Read on to see a list of some of the most notorious criminals who have been under the Witness Protection Program.
Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta was known to be the first Italian Mafia member who broke his oath of silence to be a government witness. This happened when the Mafia murdered some of his family. He testified in the 1986 Maxi Trial, which was considered the biggest Mafia court case in history.
Source: PostFun
As a witness, Tommaso revealed the inner workings of the Mafia from initiation rituals to public personalities who worked with the Mafia. Because of his very revealing information, he was able to stay under the Witness Protection Program until he passed away in 2000.
Angelo Lonardo
Angelo Lonardo is known to be one of the highest-ranking mobsters that have become an FBI informant. During the early 1980s, he was the acting boss of the Cleveland crime family. When Angelo was arrested in 1983, he testified against his fellow high-ranking mobsters.
Source: PostFun
As a result, Angelo became part of the Witness Protection Program when his trial ended in the early 1990s. He left the program later on and returned to Cleveland. Fortunately, he did not engage in other crimes after that.
Max Mermelstein
Max Mermelstein is a drug smuggler who got arrested in 1985 for sneaking in $12.5 billion worth of cocaine in the USA. He was placed under the Witness Protection Program and 30 family members had to be relocated. It was known to be the most massive witness protection relocation in the history of America.
Source: My New Plaid Plants
Max later assumed the identity of Wes Barclay and worked as an engineer in Florida. He was considered the most valuable government witness when it came to drug matters. In fact, he was able to help the government catch criminals from 1987 to 2008
Ken Eto
Ken “Tokyo Joe” Eto is a famous Japanese-American mobster. He ran an illegal gambling racket from the 1950s to the early 1980s in Chicago. After an assassination attempt in 1983, Ken agreed to work with the FBI in exchange for protection.
Source: PostFun
Eto exposed 15 mobsters and corrupt police officers during the trial. After the trial, he moved to Georgia and lived a new identity under the name Joe Tanaka. When he passed away in 2004, his life story was shared in a documentary called Tokyo Joe.
Henry Hill
Henry Hill is known to be a member of the Lucchese family and was one of the most notorious American mobsters who was heavily involved in drug crimes in the Bronx and Manhattan. The critically acclaimed movie, Goodfellas, is actually based on his life story.
Source: PostFun
Henry was arrested in 1980 and decided to become an FBI informant. His family had to move to several random locations and had to change their names each time. Henry was released from the Witness Protection Program in the 1990s after his testimonies has led to the arrest of 50 criminals.
Salvatore Gravano
Salvatore “Sammy” Gravano, also known as “Sammy the Bull” was an underboss of the Gambino crime family. He helped the US government persecute the Gambino’s crime boss, John Gotti. His testimony allowed him to leave prison early and go under the Witness Protection Program.
Source: PostFun
Under the program, he was given the name Jimmy Moran and he started a pool installation company. A year had passed before Salvatore ditched the Witness Protection Program because he felt restrained. He later started another drug ring in Arizona for which he got caught and had to serve 17 years in prison.
Joseph Barboza
Joseph “the Animal” Barboza earned his nickname for his violent crime streaks. He was the notorious hitman for the Patriarca family. At the same time, he also worked as a professional boxer and was a good one too as he won 8 out of 11 matches.
Source: PostFun
In the late 1960s, Joseph agreed to be an FBI informant to protect his family. They all entered the Witness Protection Program and relocated to California. With his new life, he wrote poems about the American Mafia and he also enrolled in a culinary arts school.
Ray Ferrito
Ray Ferrito had been working for the Italian-American Mafia ever since he was a young boy. He was best known for murdering Dany Greene, the Irish mob boss, in 1977. He went to jail in 1969 for criminal conspiracy and bookmarking.
Source: PostFun
When Ray was imprisoned, his mafia family turned on him. Because of this, Ray decided to help the government and he was placed in the Witness Protection Program, where he was able to start a new life.
Michael Townley
Michael Townley is a member of the Chilean secret police while Chile was under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Michael pled guilty to the murder of Chilean ambassador Orlando Letelier in 1978. Because of this, he received immunity from further protection and was enrolled in the Witness Protection Program.
Source: PostFun
In 1983, Michael was released after being in prison for 7 years – which was 3 years shorter than his sentence. He stayed in the USA as a witness until 1993. Unfortunately, the Italian court charged him for other murders that are still under investigation.
Jimmy Fratianno
While other people enter the Witness Protection Program to go into hiding, some still remained in the spotlight. Jimmy Fratianno was the boss of the Los Angeles Mafia family during the 1970s. He eventually admitted to committing five murders.
Source: PostFun
Jimmy entered the program in 1980. Instead of staying quiet, he was able to publish two biographies: The Last Mafioso and Vengeance is Mine. He even went on interviews. The Witness Protection Program then kept him under cover for 10 years after that.
Frank Gioia Jr.
Frank Gioia Jr. was involved with the Lucchese crime family. In 1999, he was arrested and agreed to be an informant. Frank helped convict 70 criminals. Because of this, he was entered into the Witness Protection Program.
Source: PostFun
The program gave him a new identity: Frank Capri. As Frank, he built restaurant chains that country stars Toby Keith and Rascal Flatts invested in. Gioia ended up stealing from the project and when the restaurants opened, most of them had unpaid leases and were forced to close. Gioia was then arrested for fraud and conspiracy.
Frank Salemme
Frank “Cadillac Frank” Salemme started out as a hitman until he became the Patricia crime family’s boss. He was arrested in 1995 and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. When he discovered that two of his gang members were working for the FBI, he exchanged this information to get a shorter sentence.
Source: PostFun
He worked as an FBI informant until he was released in 2003. He was then put under the Witness Protection Program. Unfortunately, he committed murder in 2018 and he had to return to jail for it.
Vincent Teresa
Vincent “Fat Vinnie” Teresa was involved with the Boston branch of the Patriarca family during the 1960s. He sold stolen bonds and ran gambling businesses for them. But in 1971, Vincent found out that some members of the Patriarca family stole $4 million from him. This was the moment when he agreed to become an FBI informant.
Source: PostFun
Vincent was able to indict 50 mobsters while he was under the Witness Protection Program. He wrote three books about his life. The book “Vinnie Teresa’s Mafia” is all about his life under the Witness Protection Program.
Marion Pruett
Of course, the Witness Protection Program is not perfect. This was proven in the case of Marion Pruett who was known as the “spree killer.” When an inmate in the program was murdered in 1979, Marion accepted $800 to gather information on the case and to join the Witness Protection Program.
Source: PostFun
Under his new alias, Charles “Sonny” Pearson, he managed to commit more crimes than before. In 1981 alone, Pruett was able to murder, kidnap, rob, and even bribe newspapers for information. It was not until 1999 that he was executed.
Anthony Casso
Anthony Casso was so vicious that even the Italian-American Mafia referred to him as a homicidal maniac. Anthony lost his title as underboss of the Italian-American mafia and became an FBI informant for protection. In exchange, Anthony confessed to 36 murders although everyone believed he committed more than that.
Source: PostFun
While in prison, the guards and FBI agents caught him lying and bribing. Because of this, Anthony got kicked out of the Witness Protection Program and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Leroy Nicholas Barnes
Leroy Nicholas “Nicky” Barnes is one of the most notorious crime bosses during the 1970s. He was known as “The Unstoppable” and was the leader of a crime syndicate called “The Council.” His syndicate worked with the Italian-American mafia.
Source: PostFun
Leroy was arrested in 1978. While in prison, he worked as a government witness. When he was released, he was placed under the program. He was allowed to write and publish his own memoir, “Mr. Untouchable: My Crimes and Punishments” in 2007. Leroy passed away in 2012 but since he was under the program, it was only until 2019 that his death was revealed.
John Kelley
As a hitman and robber for the Patriarca family, John Kelley had a lot of nicknames. He was called “Saint John,” “Red Kelley,” and “Swiss Watch.” When the family boss, Raymond Patriarca, was on trial for murder in 1968, John became famous for testifying against his boss.
Source: PostFun
Because of John’s testimony, Patriarca and his associates were sentenced to prison. John remained safe in the Witness Protection Program until he passed away from natural causes in 2000.
John McNamara
John McNamara started out as a businessman but then he resorted to fraud. While he worked for General Motors. He received $400 million to buy cars and customize them for reselling. Instead, he used the cash to purchase operations in other companies.
Source: PostFun
In 1992, John had been sentenced to 20 years in prison for multiple charges of fraud. He then agreed to expose people who bribed him so that he could get into the Witness Protection Program. When he was free, he was able to keep $2 million and used it to buy a mansion in Long Island. He also opened an auto supply parts company.
Peter Chiodo
Peter Chiodo was a captain for the Lucchese crime family during the 1980s and the 1990s. He was more known as “Fat Pete” because of his weight. In 1991, Peter was shot 12 times but he was saved because of the extra weight he had. The mobsters then threatened to harm Peter’s wife if he testified. This was against the Mafia rule about never harming women.
Source: PostFun
Peter decided to become an informant to protect his family. Unfortunately, the Lucchese family was able to get to some of his relatives and kill his uncle. Because of his help, Peter stayed with the program until he passed away in 2016.
Clarence Crouch
In 1968, Clarence “Butch” Crouch joined the motorcycle group Hell’s Angels. The Hell’s Angels was a notorious group and if you wanted to join them, they are required to kill. In 1983, Clarence confessed to an unsolved murder and was placed under the Witness Protection Program.
Source: PostFun
Clarence’s testimonies only led to acquittals but he and his family still had to live new lives under the program and this went on for 40 years. His daughter shared their story about living in the Witness Protection Program.