I checked it out from the library and it was really good. The first couple of chapters were slow, but then it picked up. It's all about the history of the Marshals Service as well as Witsec. It said that the US is divided into 93 federal judicial disctricts (I actually knew that) and each district has a US Marshal that is appointed by the president. Under the "main marshal" is however many deputy marshals are needed to get to the job done. Even though the Marshals Service is the oldest law enforcement agency in the country, there were no requirements for the job until the guy who started Witsec took over in the 50s. The appointed marshals just hired whoever they wanted, handed them a gun and badge and let them go. So they had no credibility among other agencies. It said the only difference between the marshals in the mid-1900s and the old west was they had cars instead of horses. So this guy, Shur, decided to establish a "head office" in DC and put someone in charge of the 93 marshals. Well, they all had the attitude that they were appointed by the president and shouldn't have to answer to anyone but him. So Shur had the deputy marshals made civil service employees, which meant he could establish job requirements and a training program. They had a boss in DC as well as answering to their local marshals.

Then he gets into how a formal witness protection program was developed. They were making it up as they went along. At first, none of the deputy marshals were interested in baby-sitting criminals, so the marshals working in that department were those that had screwed up or weren't liked and that was their punishment!

So if you're interested in how it all got started and how it works, this is a really easily readable book. Since it was written in 2005 (I think), it talks a little about modern gangs and terrorists and how they differ from the old-timey organized crime mobs.

I read that book, too, a couple of years ago and thought it was very informative. I liked the chapter written by "witness x" and all the changes she endured. They did a good job of providing information on how witnesses are relocated, name changes, etc. Fans of "In Plain Sight" should love this book.

I thought that chapter was interesting, too. I felt really bad for her. She had such a run of bad luck on top of having to leave her family behind. And I wasn't at all surprised about the New York boyfriend. Not only did it sound like what it was, but with her string of bad luck, you just knew it was going to happen to her. What got me was the story of the non-criminal family that was treated so badly and how the Marshals' screw-ups really ruined their lives. Also, the couple that was dismissed because they hadn't gotten a job after two years because they'd never gotten their Social Security cards. You put your life on the line and end up suffering. It's a wonder the program wasn't scrapped entirely.

I read that book too. It was pretty interesting. I did a search online to see if there's anything newer and found a new book about witness protection coming out by a guy that worked there.

There's even part of a chatper online at http://www.potomacbooksinc.com/Books/BookD...roductID=205100

Brice