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In the United States, the Witness Protection Program (also known as WITSEC) is established by the Witness Protection Act, which in turn sets out the manner in which the U.S. Attorney General may provide for the relocation and protection of a witness or potential witness of the federal government, or for a state government in an official proceeding concerning organized crime or other serious offences. See 18 U.S.C.A 3521 et. seq. In most common law jurisdictions, the Attorney General is the main legal adviser to the government, and in some jurisdictions may in addition have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions. ... This article is about witnesses in law courts. ... A federal government is the common government of a federation. ... A state government is the government of a subnational entity in nation-states with federal forms of government, which shares political power with the federal government or national government. ... Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by criminal organizations. ...

Witness protection is the process in which witnesses, such as those who testify in criminal trials, are protected against intimidation before their testimony or criminal retaliation after. The U.S. Federal Government both relocates and gives new identities to witnesses who risk their lives by giving testimony as well as providing financial and employment aid. To help avoid discovery, witnesses are expected to sever all ties with former acquaintances. No program participant following security guidelines has ever been harmed while under the active protection of the Marshals Service; conversely, nearly all of the witnesses who were harmed had either failed to fully comply, oftentimes contacting old acquaintances[1], or had already left the program. This article is about witnesses in law courts. ... Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated the criminal law. ...

The Federal Government also gives grants to the states to enable them to provide the same program. The federal program is called WITSEC (the Federal Witness Protection Program) and was founded in the late 1960s by Gerald Shur when he was in the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the United States Department of Justice. Most witnesses are protected by the U.S. Marshals Service, while protection of incarcerated witnesses is the duty of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Justice Department redirects here. ... The United States Marshals Service, part of the United States Department of Justice, is the United States oldest federal law enforcement agency. ... The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a subdivision of the United States Department of Justice, and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. ...

Known government witnesses

• Henry Hill
• Frank Cullotta
• Sammy Gravano
• Joseph Valachi
• Joseph D. Pistone (Donnie Brasco)

Henry Hill (born June 11, 1943) is an American ex-FBI informant whose life was immortalized in the book Wiseguy, by crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi. ... Sammy Gravanos mugshot from 1990 Salvatore Sammy the Bull Gravano (born March 12, 1945) was underboss of the Gambino family in the 1980s under John Gotti. ... Joseph Joe Valachi (September 22, 1904 - April 3, 1971) was the first person to acknowledge the existence of the Mafia. ... Donnie Brasco (L) and Sonny Black Napolitano (R) in Florida (FBI photograph) Joseph D. Pistone (born 1939), alias Donnie Brasco, was an FBI agent who worked undercover for years to infiltrate the Bonanno family, a branch of the Mafia in New York City. ...

External links

• U.S. Marshals Service, Witness Security Program
• How Stuff Works, US Marshall's Witness Protection Program

Further reading

• WITSEC: Inside the Federal Witness Protection Program, Pete Earley and Gerald Shur, Bantam Books, Hardcover February 2002, ISBN 0-553-80145-7, Paperback April 2003, ISBN 0-553-58243-7

• Gregg and Gina Hill, On the Run: A Mafia Childhood, Warner Books, October 14, 2004, hardcover, 256 pages, ISBN 044652770X