My dad had been a crime reporter for a Cleveland newspaper when my family moved from Ohio to a rural northern Illinois town in the early 80s. One day my dad needed to get his shoes repaired so he took them to the local shoe guy. When he introduced himself he realized he knew the shoe guy but couldn't figure out how since we had just moved there. Mr. Shoe repair had been a Greek mobster in Cleveland and my dad covered the story. WITSEC had moved him to rural Illinois and set him up with a shoe repair shop.
@@deavida Lol...that's ok. The Plain Dealer has all but gone out of business. I think they only have a couple weekday issues, and Sunday. Ur dad probably has some great stories. Was he around for the Danny Green stuff?
OMG, sounds about right. I grew up just outside of Cleveland, on the West Side, lived as an adult 30 years in the Chicago area, where stories of the mob are constant. I also heard the stories about the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, just outside of Cincinnati. So. rural Illinois...yeah, what better cover, for both the mob and WITSEC, unless they both find the same spot.
I think if a witness is valuable enough to the government to testify against a dangerous criminal AND had huge debts that could not be paid, the government would step in and pay off those debts. There is no way every single person going into witness protection was able to pay off all of their debts before entering the program. If this is true then they should be running this country and teaching all of us how to pay off our debts....lol
With all the facial recognition technology being put into businesses everywhere they're going to have to add plastic surgery to their list of things to do.
Could you imagine needing to go into this program but getting denied due to your outstanding student debt 😂 *Edit* You really just never know what you're going to get in the RUclips comments lol thanks for keeping me entertained throughout COVID guys.
Perhaps unlikely. Clearly if an individual is being considered for protection, it must be an important case that prosecutors wouldn't just let go based off of student debt. The DA would probably ensure that student loans are to be discharged or satisfied by the federal government. Also, if someone has massive debt, it's possible they could be given a death certificate, especially if the case is relying on witness testimony and very little hard evidence. In my opinion, if there are medical or law school loans, the federal government could employ them in their respective field and garnish a percentage of pay to offset costs of satisfying expensive student loans.
@@Steve-tq5ei Ah okay, I must've missed the joke since I find it difficult to envision someone having to go into such a program and experiencing debt as something to mock and laugh at. But yeah, good joke.
Imagine how many people(adults/entire families) out there that have been reported "MISSING" that could actually be in the Witness Protection Program? Think about it, it's possible. Isn't it? Those that reported them missing would never & will never really know what really happened to their loved one/s.
Lenise 1975 this is such a terrifying thought... imagine never being able to say by to your loved ones because you’re in witsec and losing all contact with them, your parents could be on their death bed and even if you knew you wouldn’t be allowed to say goodbye and they would die not knowing where you went, all the while literally restarting your life, restarting your resume, trying to live a normal social life etc
@@SmoovyNovaFan History Channel did a doc on it several years ago. Poor guy was running one of the mobsters "legit" businesses and he had a mistress. He saw and knew some stuff and went into hiding
If you're a former Jehovah's Witness, as I am, and your mother and several family members remain in the religion, you are already cut off from your former life and so are already in a Witness protection program, of sorts. (Pun intended.)
@Lord Inquisitor Shadowlord, with a wry and appreciative smile, I thank you. It still amazes me when I ponder some of the ostracizing methods I and my sister have experienced. But it makes us happily grateful to God that we were freed from the Witness concentration camp.
@@Obiwannabe, royally. An example: My mother and I arrived at a family baby shower neither knew the other was to attend. When she stopped her car in front of mine, I became joyful and said, "Oh! It's Mama!" I got out and stepped to her driver's window, saying, "Hey, Mama!" As soon as she realized it was I whose car she had stopped near, she stomped on the accelerator and left me standing, mouth open, in the parking lot. Out of the back window, my young nephew, who my mother is raising, waved sadly at me as she drove away.
Most people are living above their means bc they have a sense of entitlement. I've never been in debt- since I don't believe that I deserve things without first saving up to pay for them.
I worked for 13 years in the Federal Bureau of Prisons and here’s my contribution to the topic: 1- FBI isn’t responsible for running the program (Hollywood myth!). Federal US Marshals and the Bureau of Prison are the two Agencies designated to hide and shuffle America’s most notorious snitches. 2- You’re doing prison time. When becoming a government witness, you’re mostly negotiating a much lower sentence (doing 3 years rather than 40 to life, for example). Before running to an undisclosed location and claiming your new identity, you’re doing Federal time. Very few people escape punishment. 3- There are various Prison units designed to house WITSECs, and the security bubble around these fellows reminds me of the US Secret Service protecting the White House. No joke. 4- Never met a WITSEC happy with his choices. They accept the program is a variation of their sentence, with more freedom of movement, and alive. But no one looked forward to cutting ties with family and old friends. I could probably add more, but then could also get in trouble myself. Good piece! Brought back memories.
What I'm curious about is how they handle the disappearance of the original identity. Does the person just vanish into thin air? Are extended family members informed that their relative is leaving so as not to arouse suspicion with them? How do they manage it if someone files a missing person's report and plasters it nationwide? Do their new identities have fictional records dating back before they assume their new identities so that they don't arouse suspicion if they ever need to get a background check in their new life for whatever reason?
Makes you wonder how many people we've all come across that might be in witness protection. Could be the next door neighbor, people we work with, people we pass in the streets, who knows.
opinion: yeah, and the money you have to pay off the debts is probably illegally obtained funds therefore can be confiscated by numerous law enforcement agencies. If you have large amounts of "cash" on you or in your domicile that can be confiscated under "Civil Asset Forfeiture" laws "in some states". You can't win.
@@inkey2 You shouldn’t be able to use illegal money to pay legitimate debts. Stop trying to make it seem like they’re stealing your money lol it wasn’t the persons money in the first place
@@yeetteet3739 Stop trying to seem like tax dollars are the government's money or any of these debts are legit. If you're going to lick boots preface what you say with "I'm a sucka, and I bend over for big daddy government. They have a right to screw me" so we know what we're dealing with.
Had a segment of my family disappear back in the 60s. I believe cousins. They had told some of the family something had happened and shortly after, they were gone. Never to be seen or heard from again. We believe they were put in WITSEC.
Moto The Rabid Trash Panda am I the only person who finds this utterly terrifying? It doesn’t matter how close you were to them they just disappear forever and you have no way of contacting them, they wouldn’t even know if their own parents were on their death bed...
I believe the video says the program only started in 1970.... so I'm guessing they disappeared voluntarily or were "disappeared" by someone they pissed off.
Someone in the comments made a point that might diffuse this .. people go into witsec because they have snitched or done something that would make t and got their sentence reduced
Your medical history and the good people that helped you in life. When they told me to apply I had an interview first. The man told me, "We don't take care of anything you own. Sell your house or any property and we don't care about the price. You can't keep anything with a serial number on it. Car, to firearms to TV's anything, we toss it in the garbage. We don't care about your standard of living. We will try to get you a job for $10 an hour and no more. You loose all your VA benefits. You will not be able to get the Social Security money that you put in before you joined. Any questions, I'm retiring next month and I don't care if you do or don't join" I told the FBI I was going public with the way I was handled and low and behold, they put me in the undercover FBI. That's only because they needed me.
It's because you kept your first name and did a heist after promises no more crime. That's how and you said you forget a thousand things everyday make sure this is one of them went through his head everyday because he thought you did on the bank heist.
Wait - I'm going to get a whole new identity, get relocated, receive primary stipend, have cool dudes guarding me, AND have no contact with pesky relatives? DUDE THIS IS MY DREAM COUNT ME IN RN.
Sabah Naurin so there’s no one in your life who you care about enough to say goodbye before you leave them forever, it doesn’t matter if they’re on their deathbed a town over and you know about it, might as well catch a flight across the country tomorrow delete social media and change your legal name if this is what you actually want
I had a friend when I was younger who was in this. She said she needed to tell me something and I jokingly said “you aren’t in witness protection are you”. Her dad was a cop who busted a big drug guy apparently.
I once met someone who said they had been in it. They lived in a very remote location and did not give anyone their home address, even though they were no longer in the program.
My friend when I was 13 had to go into the witness protection program when his older brother was killed by a bunch of ppl ina gang. It’s been almost three years since I’ve seen him he was one of my closest friends I’ve ever had I still send him msg on instagram once a month knowing full well I wouldn’t get a response
As been mentioned by previous commenters, you only get considered for Witness Protection if you have very valuable information. So, I'm sure a deal is made to pay off outstanding debts. There could be a clause that a percentage is paid back, or not at all depending how how big the bust would be for the Federal Government.
The debt rule is true to an extent, depending on how much the debt is and how serious the risk is, sometimes the government will pay it off for you and then you pay it back over a period of time through your new identity
Can you imagine being a child, parents are criminals and you end up in this program?! What a horrible experience it must be for said child on so many levels.
Ranee McBride That be super simple. First, not everyone lives for social media. I have none, besides this I guess.🤔. Second, they have a whole new identity, so unless they’re totally stupid, which is a distinct possibility because they had to go into WP in the first place, (I’m leaving out honest citizens who told what they saw, but I’d say nowadays the majority of them are criminals who flipped). Which is what WP REALLY used to be for, innocent people. not habitual criminals trying to get excused from their crimes. It’s WAY out of hand. We all used to live before soc med. it’s really new.🤷♀️
Yu Wish Me neither🙄🤔. It’s so LAME. If everyone had to call on the phone, and say, here’s what I ate! Look at my ass! (Again)! I’ll send you a picture! Or me in the mirror! I’ll put them in the mail today! Look at me! Me! That’s what we used to have to do. And believe me, that isn’t what we spent our time doing lol. It’s SO vain. I just don’t get it. At all. Who cares?
People who get into the witness protection program are probably smart enough to understand that their anonymity, which keeps them alive, is more important than being a brain dead fuckhead that posts selfies online
I'd stay off the internet, until it's safe to go back on it and I'd set up new accounts. But, it would be hard to do so because a lot of stuff that I do is online. Same with many people. But, I can probably find ways to get by though. I can use physical copies of media like books and movies and music for example, like I've done before the internet.
To every person I walk by now I will tell them “hey don’t I know you from somewhere?” There’s a chance I will find an undercover person and get them worried as hell lmao
When I ran for Mayor of Austin, Texas in 1991, there was a guy named "John Johnson" who also ran. He was in the WPP and the government set him up in business in Austin with 3 hot dog vending carts which he operated on 6th street on the weekends. He was straight out of central casting, complete with the gruff Jersey accent and hard nosed attitude. When I asked him how many people he killed, he told me he'd never killed anyone, he was the "wheel" man. He'd been in the program for about 12 years at the time and didn't give a shit who knew about his past. He once went on T.V. during a debate wearing a US flag around his neck and drinking a can of Budwiser. He came on with a briefcase and when he stopped to open it to retrieve some stats, everyone ducked in laughter!! Throughout that campaign, he and I became friends of sorts and he wasn't a bad guy after all.
I remember coming home from church we don't have cable growing up and I seen a VHS tape that had Golden Girls titled on it I popped it and let me say it was a different Golden Girls
My husband worked with a guy who told the breakroom full of employees he was in WITSEC. A few days later he was gone and nobody has heard from him since.
I'd be afraid that after going through all of that someone would notice my face. You were that witness i seen on that murder mystery show. Don Corleone Says Hello.
For awhile, the real life Henry Hill lived in the same town my parents. Apparently, he moved around a lot because he kept blowing his cover. Crazy to think I might have bumped into a famous mobster at the grocery store and not even realized it.
-Hello? WITSEC, how can I help you? -Someone's trying to murder me! -Do you have any debts? -Do student loans count? -Sorry, can't help you. -But I have dirt on the criminal and will cooperate! *line cuts
I understand how it worked in the 70's, but I really wonder what it is like now with Facebook, Instagram and so on. I mean, does the government also forbid them using these sites? Because that is hella suspicious if a 15 yo girl in the family claiming she refuses to use social media. Because now even with a new name, the criminals can use face-recognition software to track down people from all around the globe and one facebook selfie can jeopardize the whole operation.
A video contrasting German and Japanese POW camps during WWII would be dope. Escapes, living conditions, relations between POWs and the Luftwaffe/Japanese, how the POWs kept themselves occupied, camps in the US, etc.
There's a reason why you hear a jail cell door closing sound effect at the end of Goodfellas. You don't have to worry about dropping the soap or getting stabbed by a utensil swiped from the chow hall. But you're still in prison because you're limited in your movements and isolated from loved ones.
This is crazy. My VERY Italian neighbor Valery who was in her late 70’s back in 2008 and has since passed away, was in the witness protection program. At first I thought she was just bullshitting. Turns out her husband and his partner owned a Mercedes & Datsun dealership in New York City in the 70’s through the early 80’s. Her husband’s partner had been in dealings with the Mofia. And he had gotten squeezed by the FBI and testified to stay out of prison. She couldn’t or wouldn’t tell me what happened to him. But her husband ended up having a heart attack during the trial. She said that she picked our town in Tennessee because at that time we had a fairly well known private school/ boys and girls Academy/ boarding school l. And if anything happened to her then her 3 kids would have somewhere to go. She was seriously a fascinating lady always dressed in her best, flirtatious as hell and ALWAYS had a “Thaaaat mother fucker” in the chamber, hammer cocked and finger on the trigger. 🤣🤣🤣
My friend witnessed a brutal assault from his window and called police to help the wounded man. They soon realized it was a gang related beating. Because we have no witness protection in my country, my friend noped out and withdrew his witness statement.
I heard getting into the Witness Protection Program is like having the time of your life. Getting into a bowling league and being a ringer (no one knows you are an excellent bowler) and maybe even getting a great paper route and make big bucks!
Mansa musa of Mali is the richest man to ever walk the earth(although some people count genghis khan, but his income was from his country). He had equivalent to 500 billion dollars in today’s money. On his pilgrimage to Mecca he ruined the economy of tons of cities because he gave billions of dollars worth of gold to the poor.
I can't imagine living a life in hiding struggling to claim a foreign identity. So, for the rest of your life, everything you knew is basically erased. Of course losing family has to be devastating.
Robin Cassidy RN I can’t imagine just out of nowhere cutting everyone I’ve ever known out of my life... not even being able to ask how they are... completely gone as if everyone I’ve ever know has died... and having every achievement in life erased
Meh, for me I would just fuckin jet. I've been outed of the family circle. I have no problem leaving friends. I'm gone, oh and don't forget about my personality I'm not a very socially attractive guy.
@@bewbew0016 Puting a political compass in your status, that's closely associated with low education and complaining about the people who chose degrees in a market that didn't promise a way to pay them off over immediate unemployment? That's sensible.
@@fionafiona1146 The left likes to tell you that Conservatives are uneducated fools, however, there is plenty of data to show that it's simply untrue. My picture is for the people who feel the need to call me "alt-right". Avoiding unemployment by racking up huge amounts of debt earning a gender studies degree isn't an exorcise in good judgment. We all have to start off working a shit job and work toward whatever you feel is better. I'm not uneducated, I spent quite a bit of time in college, and my work was not a low paying job for uneducated fools. I also voted for Trump and will definitely in 2020. You should look into what the left tells you instead of just absorbing and repeating it. Why do you people insist on deconstructing jokes like that? I hope you grow and not live the rest of your life being angry and triggered by everything outside of your echo chamber.
When I met Henry Hill it was in Gulfport MS he was in witset then he opted out he was free when I met him . He was driving a late model Lincoln town car had a car phone even though it was 1986 . He had more guns in the car than I have ever seen anyone have , mostly revolvers and one simiautomatic. He wasn't hiding who he was but he was prepared some for the day the ones wanted him gone found him. He was talking about them making his book into a movie. He didn't know the name. Goodfellas.
For those complaining about the debt bit, remember, the people getting these protection were already loaded to begin with and not for any good reasons. As far as the courts are concerned, paying all your debt at once before going into Witness protection is the worst you'll get. So don't go thinking it's such a unfair thing cause remember the people getting this are people who in any other cases would be serving the same time as the people they ratted out on.
Not all people are loaded. Some just happened to get information that they really wish they hadn't known... Or a plea deal along with the WPP to prevent retaliation. Remember the Billionaires Boys Cub? If I'm not mistaken, one of the guys took a plea deal, name change & ghosted...
When people are relocated are they also relocated to us territories ? Like US virgin island puerto rico? Or no? Only the 50 states? Was thinking about this a few days ago
Imagine getting killed because of a damn collection bill from sprint and they didn’t want to put you in witness protection over a $70 bill from years ago lol
Trust no one. Also, life is pointless, yet potentially very painful. Never pay into anything. Always be ready to drop everything in 30 seconds flat. Never have kids, wife, house, as these can be taken from you or murdered.
This makes me more anxious! Can never truly relax, can't tell anybody who you use to be, too many rules, and you may be alive, but you can't truly live!
If you had to be in WITSEC, what would be the hardest thing to leave behind?
Weird History not being a snitch
My family and friends
Free will. Has anyone ever told you that your voice sounds like that of Stephen Colbert?
My student loan debt
@@TyUrShoes
Amen.
If I had money to pay my debt, I wouldn't be in debt.
J R big brain moment
exactly what the hell i was thinking lol
Wow?
J R debt is a scam in America
J R Very true..lol
My friend must had joined in because I haven’t seen him since I lend him that 20$.
If getting rid of a leech only cost you $20.... you're lucky!
Can't take credit for that theory.... straight out of "A Bronx Tale".
Crooked Level lol
I think he lives near my dad, who also joined the program.
Crooked Level lol
They should have something like this for people who win the lottery.
no they shouldn't
You can do it yourself if you win the lottery if you win enough
Just have everyone you know clipped!
ultimate shota lol, your family win and run off? Why shouldn’t they?
Change your name and disappear, with enough money it's possible.
My dad had been a crime reporter for a Cleveland newspaper when my family moved from Ohio to a rural northern Illinois town in the early 80s. One day my dad needed to get his shoes repaired so he took them to the local shoe guy. When he introduced himself he realized he knew the shoe guy but couldn't figure out how since we had just moved there. Mr. Shoe repair had been a Greek mobster in Cleveland and my dad covered the story. WITSEC had moved him to rural Illinois and set him up with a shoe repair shop.
The Plain Dealer?
@@charlescarter4608 yes...it was a newspaper in Cleveland...*edit* lol sorry I just realized you were asking me, was it the plain dealer 😅
@@deavida Lol...that's ok. The Plain Dealer has all but gone out of business. I think they only have a couple weekday issues, and Sunday. Ur dad probably has some great stories. Was he around for the Danny Green stuff?
OMG, sounds about right. I grew up just outside of Cleveland, on the West Side, lived as an adult 30 years in the Chicago area, where stories of the mob are constant. I also heard the stories about the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, just outside of Cincinnati. So. rural Illinois...yeah, what better cover, for both the mob and WITSEC, unless they both find the same spot.
Annnnd you just outed him. Nice.
I think if a witness is valuable enough to the government to testify against a dangerous criminal AND had huge debts that could not be paid, the government would step in and pay off those debts. There is no way every single person going into witness protection was able to pay off all of their debts before entering the program. If this is true then they should be running this country and teaching all of us how to pay off our debts....lol
im pretty sure unless its college debt all the thing they have a debt on are just sold or returned to the bank and the debt is extinguished
With all the facial recognition technology being put into businesses everywhere they're going to have to add plastic surgery to their list of things to do.
Nathan Johansen This made me laugh but OMG that’s so true!!!! 😂😂😂🤯🤯🤯
Especially in China
They should do that anyway because, changing your appearance would make it a lot more challenging for whoever is after you to find you.
Tia Marie I was thinking that too.
I thought it would be one of the essential characteristics in joining the house of snitches
Sometimes they do especially in a facial beating or cutting so severe it cannot heal right.
Could you imagine needing to go into this program but getting denied due to your outstanding student debt 😂
*Edit* You really just never know what you're going to get in the RUclips comments lol thanks for keeping me entertained throughout COVID guys.
Hilarious bro! Best comment of 2019! You win
Perhaps unlikely. Clearly if an individual is being considered for protection, it must be an important case that prosecutors wouldn't just let go based off of student debt. The DA would probably ensure that student loans are to be discharged or satisfied by the federal government. Also, if someone has massive debt, it's possible they could be given a death certificate, especially if the case is relying on witness testimony and very little hard evidence. In my opinion, if there are medical or law school loans, the federal government could employ them in their respective field and garnish a percentage of pay to offset costs of satisfying expensive student loans.
Fernando Blanco you know it was a joke right? Lol
@@Steve-tq5ei Ah okay, I must've missed the joke since I find it difficult to envision someone having to go into such a program and experiencing debt as something to mock and laugh at. But yeah, good joke.
Yeah. That part got me, too!
Imagine how many people(adults/entire families) out there that have been reported "MISSING" that could actually be in the Witness Protection Program? Think about it, it's possible. Isn't it? Those that reported them missing would never & will never really know what really happened to their loved one/s.
Lenise 1975 this is such a terrifying thought... imagine never being able to say by to your loved ones because you’re in witsec and losing all contact with them, your parents could be on their death bed and even if you knew you wouldn’t be allowed to say goodbye and they would die not knowing where you went, all the while literally restarting your life, restarting your resume, trying to live a normal social life etc
No because if there missing in Federal or state database the government would no obviously your under there protection..
Oh wow, that is a very interesting thought.
Kid from movie varsity blues went missing here the cops told his mom he’s either dead or witness relocated Joe Pichler
🤯
Imagine a dad telling their child their going to the store to get milk but get enlisted in the witness protection agency
Ha!!
Roman Botello must’ve been what happened to mine! 😂😂
@@kierstenward852 it's an evil thing to do to peoples lives judt protect them till triple that's it
@@kierstenward852 lmaoooooo
Witness protection for what? Nobody was convicted of anything.
One in a million
If I can’t pay I can’t be protected? Also if I get a whole new identity then why not send a death certificate to the debt collection agency
BEYOND B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-T....
Stop using common sense! Its the government
@@oriecipollaro7889 F-A-N-D-A-M-N-T-A-S-T-I-C ANswer
Frances Norred not its not. That debt just gets passed on to your family
Bobbie actually, only you are required to pay your debt. Your family is only required to pay your debt if they agree to do so.
Extramarital partner? Imagine the spouse and the lover in the same house. Talking about awkward...
Johnny Valencia i think they mean like polygamous relationships lol
@@bae-jing4260 Nope, they do mean mistresses!
@@Renwoxing13 Yep a couple famous 80s era WP people were allowed to bring there mistresses. NOT in the same house but in a nearby community .
Pastor Jill how do you know this
@@SmoovyNovaFan History Channel did a doc on it several years ago. Poor guy was running one of the mobsters "legit" businesses and he had a mistress. He saw and knew some stuff and went into hiding
“You order some spaghetti with marinara sauce, and you get egg noodles and ketchup.”
That’s what Witness Protection is like.
Greatest movie ever...
I like egg noodles
Love that movie!!! Worst nightmare for an Italian .... 🍝🍝
@@mamarobyn I agree.
I'm an average nobody. I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook.
Lol so basically you have to have money first.
Yup
Not necessarily
and they take your money under a rico act!
They seize all your assets.
PotatoGirl I think what she means is that you have to have money to get rid of your debt first.
If you're a former Jehovah's Witness, as I am, and your mother and several family members remain in the religion, you are already cut off from your former life and so are already in a Witness protection program, of sorts. (Pun intended.)
@Lord Inquisitor Shadowlord, with a wry and appreciative smile, I thank you. It still amazes me when I ponder some of the ostracizing methods I and my sister have experienced. But it makes us happily grateful to God that we were freed from the Witness concentration camp.
Damn
@@andrewbmartin, why the exclamation? Lol.
were u shunned?
@@Obiwannabe, royally. An example: My mother and I arrived at a family baby shower neither knew the other was to attend. When she stopped her car in front of mine, I became joyful and said, "Oh! It's Mama!" I got out and stepped to her driver's window, saying, "Hey, Mama!" As soon as she realized it was I whose car she had stopped near, she stomped on the accelerator and left me standing, mouth open, in the parking lot. Out of the back window, my young nephew, who my mother is raising, waved sadly at me as she drove away.
Most people are in debt that they cant just pay ..even their life depended on it
go bankrupt
IIISW ILIII going bankrupt doesn’t get rid of student debt
It's called liquidating all assets
MrBeast1901 what gets rid of it 😂
Most people are living above their means bc they have a sense of entitlement. I've never been in debt- since I don't believe that I deserve things without first saving up to pay for them.
I worked for 13 years in the Federal Bureau of Prisons and here’s my contribution to the topic:
1- FBI isn’t responsible for running the program (Hollywood myth!). Federal US Marshals and the Bureau of Prison are the two Agencies designated to hide and shuffle America’s most notorious snitches.
2- You’re doing prison time. When becoming a government witness, you’re mostly negotiating a much lower sentence (doing 3 years rather than 40 to life, for example). Before running to an undisclosed location and claiming your new identity, you’re doing Federal time. Very few people escape punishment.
3- There are various Prison units designed to house WITSECs, and the security bubble around these fellows reminds me of the US Secret Service protecting the White House. No joke.
4- Never met a WITSEC happy with his choices. They accept the program is a variation of their sentence, with more freedom of movement, and alive. But no one looked forward to cutting ties with family and old friends.
I could probably add more, but then could also get in trouble myself.
Good piece! Brought back memories.
I’m guessing you wrote what was basically put in the video because you can’t give out anymore info 😂😂
THank You For your Informative reply=== It was VERY Interesting....
wmonroe21 another keyboard liar .
What I'm curious about is how they handle the disappearance of the original identity. Does the person just vanish into thin air? Are extended family members informed that their relative is leaving so as not to arouse suspicion with them? How do they manage it if someone files a missing person's report and plasters it nationwide? Do their new identities have fictional records dating back before they assume their new identities so that they don't arouse suspicion if they ever need to get a background check in their new life for whatever reason?
Interesting
I’m so early that I forgot to use my fake witness protection account
Jason G except a vist later, Jason.
Jk.
Ya dead
@Jacob L 🤣
[redacted]
Jason G. You.... are an asshole!
Makes you wonder how many people we've all come across that might be in witness protection. Could be the next door neighbor, people we work with, people we pass in the streets, who knows.
Hell, it could even be your own damn family after the fact. Your parents, grandparents etc... and they'd never tell you 🤯
@@YaaGirlTiny never say never
My son would be texting his friends,and blowing our cover, within an hour!!! Lmao
😂
Ok found the boomer.
Ahhhhhh the millenial generation.....the first generation in human history who's parents are cooler than they are.....
Shut up
😂🤣
Who can just suddenly pay off their debts? It seems this program is just for wealthy people.
opinion: yeah, and the money you have to pay off the debts is probably illegally obtained funds therefore can be confiscated by numerous law enforcement agencies. If you have large amounts of "cash" on you or in your domicile that can be confiscated under "Civil Asset Forfeiture" laws "in some states". You can't win.
@@inkey2 You shouldn’t be able to use illegal money to pay legitimate debts. Stop trying to make it seem like they’re stealing your money lol it wasn’t the persons money in the first place
@@yeetteet3739 Stop trying to seem like tax dollars are the government's money or any of these debts are legit. If you're going to lick boots preface what you say with "I'm a sucka, and I bend over for big daddy government. They have a right to screw me" so we know what we're dealing with.
Not everybody is in debt only stupid people get in debt
@@pelon7109 A mortgage is debt. A car loan is debt. Do only stupid people have mortgages and car loans?
Witsec: you must pay all debts to join this program
Me: Guess ill die.
Had a segment of my family disappear back in the 60s. I believe cousins. They had told some of the family something had happened and shortly after, they were gone. Never to be seen or heard from again. We believe they were put in WITSEC.
Moto The Rabid Trash Panda am I the only person who finds this utterly terrifying? It doesn’t matter how close you were to them they just disappear forever and you have no way of contacting them, they wouldn’t even know if their own parents were on their death bed...
Jacob L *dude, why does your mind immediately go there is the question?*
I believe the video says the program only started in 1970.... so I'm guessing they disappeared voluntarily or were "disappeared" by someone they pissed off.
Someone in the comments made a point that might diffuse this .. people go into witsec because they have snitched or done something that would make t and got their sentence reduced
WITNESS PROTECTION FOR WHAT NOONE WAS CONVICTED OF ANYTHING
Your medical history and the good people that helped you in life. When they told me to apply I had an interview first. The man told me, "We don't take care of anything you own. Sell your house or any property and we don't care about the price. You can't keep anything with a serial number on it. Car, to firearms to TV's anything, we toss it in the garbage. We don't care about your standard of living. We will try to get you a job for $10 an hour and no more. You loose all your VA benefits. You will not be able to get the Social Security money that you put in before you joined. Any questions, I'm retiring next month and I don't care if you do or don't join" I told the FBI I was going public with the way I was handled and low and behold, they put me in the undercover FBI. That's only because they needed me.
I was in witness protection in GTA V until Trevor Phillips found my location 🤬🤫
Lol😂
No, until your found out your wife having affair with that stupid tennis coach and then accidently collapsed Drug Warlord mansion in RAGE !!!
Then I was abducted by aliens or My son Jimmy put some LSD in my soda👀
It's because you kept your first name and did a heist after promises no more crime. That's how and you said you forget a thousand things everyday make sure this is one of them went through his head everyday because he thought you did on the bank heist.
@@jimmyevans4272 it wasn't LSD it was an anesthetic, probably ketamine
Fun fact : Michael wasn't in witness protection
WITNESS PROTECTION? FOR WHAT? NO ONE WAS CONVICTED OF ANYTHING!
Guys, Michael was in witness protection
@@AlMazrahHostileSoldier r/wooosh
I came here to say this you beat me to it lol
@@xansoui3028 r/wooosh
Did he say extramarital partner?! They just might be asking for another crime to occur with that living arrangement 🤨
One would hope WITSEC would have the common sense to relocate the extramarital partner somewhere far away from the family. :P
It's probably for those who are playing house.
I work at a student loan agency and went “daaamn😂” when you said you still gotta pay student loans
witness protection for what no one was convicted of anything
Wait - I'm going to get a whole new identity, get relocated, receive primary stipend, have cool dudes guarding me, AND have no contact with pesky relatives?
DUDE THIS IS MY DREAM COUNT ME IN RN.
Who are you going to Rat on for this "luxury"?
@@sallyforth7232 That's the only thing missing :(
Sabah Naurin so there’s no one in your life who you care about enough to say goodbye before you leave them forever, it doesn’t matter if they’re on their deathbed a town over and you know about it, might as well catch a flight across the country tomorrow delete social media and change your legal name if this is what you actually want
"Pesky relatives"
My Lord, please bless these people with a sense of humour.
I had a friend when I was younger who was in this. She said she needed to tell me something and I jokingly said “you aren’t in witness protection are you”. Her dad was a cop who busted a big drug guy apparently.
WITNESS PROTECTION FOR WHAT!? NO ONE WAS CONCVICTED OF ANYTHING!
"That reminds me of a guy i knew back in New York...I mean Kansas."
4:24 "Like some sort of government-funded Beyonce entourage"
More like Tekashi 69
Lmao
I once met someone who said they had been in it. They lived in a very remote location and did not give anyone their home address, even though they were no longer in the program.
My friend when I was 13 had to go into the witness protection program when his older brother was killed by a bunch of ppl ina gang. It’s been almost three years since I’ve seen him he was one of my closest friends I’ve ever had I still send him msg on instagram once a month knowing full well I wouldn’t get a response
As been mentioned by previous commenters, you only get considered for Witness Protection if you have very valuable information. So, I'm sure a deal is made to pay off outstanding debts. There could be a clause that a percentage is paid back, or not at all depending how how big the bust would be for the Federal Government.
Yeah I want to say the Soviets had a program like this. Entire families one day just disappeared.
Yeah it's called the KGP
Meaning killing or Genocide of the People.
Samer S KGB*
@@whitney524 Da
China just turns them into slaves. Yeah, slavery still exists.
This is nothing like madea
☠️☠️☠️
A lot of them came to Rio Rancho, New Mexico in the 70s. There is still a lot of New Yorkers here
That's how Rio Rancho was mainly created.
Andrea Talbot 😂 nobody caught the “new yorker” part
Andrea Talbot That explains why anyone would want to live in Rio Rancho.
The debt rule is true to an extent, depending on how much the debt is and how serious the risk is, sometimes the government will pay it off for you and then you pay it back over a period of time through your new identity
Can you imagine being a child, parents are criminals and you end up in this program?! What a horrible experience it must be for said child on so many levels.
My question is how do they keep people off social media.
Ranee McBride That be super simple. First, not everyone lives for social media. I have none, besides this I guess.🤔. Second, they have a whole new identity, so unless they’re totally stupid, which is a distinct possibility because they had to go into WP in the first place, (I’m leaving out honest citizens who told what they saw, but I’d say nowadays the majority of them are criminals who flipped). Which is what WP REALLY used to be for, innocent people. not habitual criminals trying to get excused from their crimes. It’s WAY out of hand. We all used to live before soc med. it’s really new.🤷♀️
I never understood why someone would want to spend their life scrolling through a neverending sea of peoples selfies, lunches and ass pictures.
Yu Wish Me neither🙄🤔. It’s so LAME. If everyone had to call on the phone, and say, here’s what I ate! Look at my ass! (Again)! I’ll send you a picture! Or me in the mirror! I’ll put them in the mail today! Look at me! Me! That’s what we used to have to do. And believe me, that isn’t what we spent our time doing lol. It’s SO vain. I just don’t get it. At all. Who cares?
People who get into the witness protection program are probably smart enough to understand that their anonymity, which keeps them alive, is more important than being a brain dead fuckhead that posts selfies online
I'd stay off the internet, until it's safe to go back on it and I'd set up new accounts. But, it would be hard to do so because a lot of stuff that I do is online. Same with many people. But, I can probably find ways to get by though. I can use physical copies of media like books and movies and music for example, like I've done before the internet.
I think in the old days it was head to Mexico.
@@robertprescott2284 you can always go farther
Did you see how fake those super shinny hundred dollar bills looked 😆
Lucciano Molaro glad someone else noticed it!
I saw it too
Hey! The ink was dry.
They all had the same serial number.
It was stock footage
To every person I walk by now I will tell them “hey don’t I know you from somewhere?” There’s a chance I will find an undercover person and get them worried as hell lmao
Toby's out here ruining lives
When I ran for Mayor of Austin, Texas in 1991, there was a guy named "John Johnson" who also ran. He was in the WPP and the government set him up in business in Austin with 3 hot dog vending carts which he operated on 6th street on the weekends. He was straight out of central casting, complete with the gruff Jersey accent and hard nosed attitude. When I asked him how many people he killed, he told me he'd never killed anyone, he was the "wheel" man. He'd been in the program for about 12 years at the time and didn't give a shit who knew about his past. He once went on T.V. during a debate wearing a US flag around his neck and drinking a can of Budwiser. He came on with a briefcase and when he stopped to open it to retrieve some stats, everyone ducked in laughter!! Throughout that campaign, he and I became friends of sorts and he wasn't a bad guy after all.
Another great vid, Weird History!
... if that is your real name.... * narrows eyes *
I remember learning a little about this on the golden girls with roses boyfriend miles
Anna Sherosky dangg me too
I remember that episode. It was pretty funny, as always : )
Haha take it back back to golden g.
Oh gosh, me too!
I remember coming home from church we don't have cable growing up and I seen a VHS tape that had Golden Girls titled on it I popped it and let me say it was a different Golden Girls
My husband worked with a guy who told the breakroom full of employees he was in WITSEC. A few days later he was gone and nobody has heard from him since.
Prob had to change his identity again for telling everyone
my dad is in the witness protection program, he walked out the door saying he was getting cigarettes to my mom, never seen him since!
I think he pounding another woman 😂😂
WITNESS PROTECTION FOR WHAT? NO ONE WAS CONVICTED OF ANYTHING!
I'd be afraid that after going through all of that someone would notice my face. You were that witness i seen on that murder mystery show. Don Corleone Says Hello.
I'm so damn ugly NO ONE forgets my face. People I supposedly knew 50 years ago are coming up and saying hi to me.
@@romanbotello15 hi Roman. Remember me? Watch ur back bro.
@@romanbotello15 PS. Yep, still ugly.
I feel like I joined it myself. Moved away, cut ties, paid off debts, changed careers? Check, check, check.
You guys should do a video on coppa. People need to hear about this.
Coppa?
No, I didn’t BUT thanks for the info!! 🙏🏽 steh blessed/ steh lifted/ steh pono (righteous) 😊🤙🏽
"I get to live the rest of my life like a shnook." Oh, Henry.
He got thrown out because he kept telling people who he was. lol
For awhile, the real life Henry Hill lived in the same town my parents. Apparently, he moved around a lot because he kept blowing his cover. Crazy to think I might have bumped into a famous mobster at the grocery store and not even realized it.
-Hello? WITSEC, how can I help you?
-Someone's trying to murder me!
-Do you have any debts?
-Do student loans count?
-Sorry, can't help you.
-But I have dirt on the criminal and will cooperate!
*line cuts
So what I’m hearing is, unless you have money you’re not getting protected
I understand how it worked in the 70's, but I really wonder what it is like now with Facebook, Instagram and so on. I mean, does the government also forbid them using these sites? Because that is hella suspicious if a 15 yo girl in the family claiming she refuses to use social media.
Because now even with a new name, the criminals can use face-recognition software to track down people from all around the globe and one facebook selfie can jeopardize the whole operation.
You may not be allowed to use Facebook or Instagram.
A video contrasting German and Japanese POW camps during WWII would be dope. Escapes, living conditions, relations between POWs and the Luftwaffe/Japanese, how the POWs kept themselves occupied, camps in the US, etc.
This would be a dream come true. Finally people would leave me alone.
I'd be interested in a listing of people that disappeared into the witness protection system
@bob ross ??
Ask Sammy the bull
@@mrfunluvin2840 Or Lorry the rhino
Joe Massino, Salvatore Vitale, Frank Lino, Sammy the Bull, Al D'Arco.........these are some of the famous people in Witsec.
How tf did Henry Hill pass the psych evaluation? He was crazy!
It was either women & hats or helicopters
So I learned if the District Attorney wants my testimony they'll have to pay off my mortgage and credit cards first.
There's a reason why you hear a jail cell door closing sound effect at the end of Goodfellas. You don't have to worry about dropping the soap or getting stabbed by a utensil swiped from the chow hall. But you're still in prison because you're limited in your movements and isolated from loved ones.
This is crazy. My VERY Italian neighbor Valery who was in her late 70’s back in 2008 and has since passed away, was in the witness protection program. At first I thought she was just bullshitting. Turns out her husband and his partner owned a Mercedes & Datsun dealership in New York City in the 70’s through the early 80’s. Her husband’s partner had been in dealings with the Mofia. And he had gotten squeezed by the FBI and testified to stay out of prison. She couldn’t or wouldn’t tell me what happened to him. But her husband ended up having a heart attack during the trial. She said that she picked our town in Tennessee because at that time we had a fairly well known private school/ boys and girls Academy/ boarding school l. And if anything happened to her then her 3 kids would have somewhere to go.
She was seriously a fascinating lady always dressed in her best, flirtatious as hell and ALWAYS had a “Thaaaat mother fucker” in the chamber, hammer cocked and finger on the trigger. 🤣🤣🤣
The hardest thing I left behind was family. I haven't seen my own grandmother for over decade, the isolation is what gets to you.
Do you get to pick your new DOB?
Sounds like its way easier to just serve out your sentence, and keep your trap shut while doing so.
10/10 would be happy to enter the programme NOW.
My friend witnessed a brutal assault from his window and called police to help the wounded man. They soon realized it was a gang related beating. Because we have no witness protection in my country, my friend noped out and withdrew his witness statement.
I must admit this is a lot less interesting than I thought it would be.
Ploppy Ploppy Watch the movie, “My Blue Heaven” - based, loosely, on the story of Henry Hill
Who else is watching while in the Witness Protection Program?
Haywood Jahblomy 👉🏾😁
Haywood Jahblomy snitch
Haha
I heard getting into the Witness Protection Program is like having the time of your life. Getting into a bowling league and being a ringer (no one knows you are an excellent bowler) and maybe even getting a great paper route and make big bucks!
This would totally suck. If social distancing drives us nuts, I can't begin to imagine how more horrible Witsec would be!
it's terrifying to think that you could know somebody and in all reality they're just in this program and their entire identity isn't real.
Glad I found this channel! (Didn’t know you were lost, did ya?) The playlist looks fascinating and I look forward to watching more! 😎💯🏝
yo viewer request here, you should do African history, the super rich empires and stuff. 😁
Disgusting
My Nilla fuck you My Nilla
Mansa musa of Mali is the richest man to ever walk the earth(although some people count genghis khan, but his income was from his country). He had equivalent to 500 billion dollars in today’s money. On his pilgrimage to Mecca he ruined the economy of tons of cities because he gave billions of dollars worth of gold to the poor.
Yeah. You can talk about how great South Africa and Rhodesia used to be.
Love this idea
I’d rather take my chances in normal life ...imagine living as a victim your whole life , I’d rather die
Zac Made Media you mean a quick death. Yeah sure but what if the ppl looking for you kidnap you and torture you? Fuck that lol
Dont get involved in the first place!!!
Ricardo Enciso go out on the shield lol
"A criminal background check?" 😂😂 wow
A+ video!
LOVE IT! Fascinating history!
In Plain Sight, Fantastic series on WITSEC program.
I can't imagine living a life in hiding struggling to claim a foreign identity. So, for the rest of your life, everything you knew is basically erased. Of course losing family has to be devastating.
Robin Cassidy RN I can’t imagine just out of nowhere cutting everyone I’ve ever known out of my life... not even being able to ask how they are... completely gone as if everyone I’ve ever know has died... and having every achievement in life erased
Meh, for me I would just fuckin jet. I've been outed of the family circle. I have no problem leaving friends. I'm gone, oh and don't forget about my personality I'm not a very socially attractive guy.
What if your friends and family are in on the whole thing, accepting hush money or political profits/future gains? Then fuck them, too.
@@tlc6912 That's definitely something to think about. Losing your parents and not able to attend their funeral. I couldn't do it
@@no-pz7xy Really? I bet there has to be someone who cares if you were gone..or missing.
What about a video showing some facts of the life of Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. Facts might be stranger than actually ficction.
Usually they are
The government tries to use you as a witness. "Sorry I have a degree in Lesbian Dance Theory that cost $100k".
Better to have a degree than be an ignorant high school dropout working three jobs for no money.
@@generationofswine-ge5rw Are you implying that I'm a high school dropout who's working three jobs for no money? If so, you couldn't be more off base.
@@bewbew0016 he must be the gender studies type of guy, idk you somehow triggered him with your splendid joke
@@bewbew0016
Puting a political compass in your status, that's closely associated with low education and complaining about the people who chose degrees in a market that didn't promise a way to pay them off over immediate unemployment? That's sensible.
@@fionafiona1146 The left likes to tell you that Conservatives are uneducated fools, however, there is plenty of data to show that it's simply untrue. My picture is for the people who feel the need to call me "alt-right". Avoiding unemployment by racking up huge amounts of debt earning a gender studies degree isn't an exorcise in good judgment. We all have to start off working a shit job and work toward whatever you feel is better. I'm not uneducated, I spent quite a bit of time in college, and my work was not a low paying job for uneducated fools. I also voted for Trump and will definitely in 2020.
You should look into what the left tells you instead of just absorbing and repeating it. Why do you people insist on deconstructing jokes like that? I hope you grow and not live the rest of your life being angry and triggered by everything outside of your echo chamber.
When I met Henry Hill it was in Gulfport MS he was in witset then he opted out he was free when I met him . He was driving a late model Lincoln town car had a car phone even though it was 1986 . He had more guns in the car than I have ever seen anyone have , mostly revolvers and one simiautomatic. He wasn't hiding who he was but he was prepared some for the day the ones wanted him gone found him. He was talking about them making his book into a movie. He didn't know the name. Goodfellas.
For those complaining about the debt bit, remember, the people getting these protection were already loaded to begin with and not for any good reasons. As far as the courts are concerned, paying all your debt at once before going into Witness protection is the worst you'll get. So don't go thinking it's such a unfair thing cause remember the people getting this are people who in any other cases would be serving the same time as the people they ratted out on.
Not all people are loaded. Some just happened to get information that they really wish they hadn't known...
Or a plea deal along with the WPP to prevent retaliation.
Remember the Billionaires Boys Cub?
If I'm not mistaken, one of the guys took a plea deal, name change & ghosted...
When people are relocated are they also relocated to us territories ? Like US virgin island puerto rico? Or no? Only the 50 states? Was thinking about this a few days ago
James St. Clair LOLOLOLOLO
OLOLOLOLO
🤔 Why? You Snitchin?
Buddy, you're off to North Dakota. Don't worry, the wolves relieve the boredom.
You get sent to work as a manger at Cinnabon in Iowa.
Michael Graham Omaha
Imagine getting killed because of a damn collection bill from sprint and they didn’t want to put you in witness protection over a $70 bill from years ago lol
itsbionickidd 😂😂😂😂
This sounds like such an awful fate.
Family is the hardest. Without someone to trust, theres nothing left.
Trust no one. Also, life is pointless, yet potentially very painful. Never pay into anything. Always be ready to drop everything in 30 seconds flat. Never have kids, wife, house, as these can be taken from you or murdered.
Someone whom I dated entered the program because of a situation with his job. I never saw him again. HIs home, furnishings, car, all sold at auction.
is still being scared of your high school bullies from 5 years ago an eligible reason to join the program
. no
Definitely
That makes you eligible to take a ball bat or a tree limb to their ass.
Why not?
I've been in for years, it's a great gig except that I am required to wear really uncomfortable wool pants.
Don't expect Arnold Swarzenegger to be your agent when your request at WITSEC is approved.
This makes me more anxious! Can never truly relax, can't tell anybody who you use to be, too many rules, and you may be alive, but you can't truly live!
"You can never EVER return to the same place you came from. Unless you want to. Then you can return. "
😅
How would the government transfer your medical history
If they fake ids they can probably fake some medical records
They would create a new medical record using the new ID and related info, insurance, etc.
Vee haff vays, Herr Grant.