Top 10 Famous People in the Witness Protection Program
#10: Vincent Palermo
Raised in Brooklyn, New York, Vincent Palermo became involved with the North Jersey Mafia when he married into the DeCavalcante family in the early ‘60s. Palermo gradually worked his way up to becoming the de facto mob boss, but was arrested in 1999 after one of his lieutenants became an FBI informant. Facing possible life imprisonment, Palermo testified against his counterparts in return for a placement in the Witness Protection Program. His new identity was exposed in 2009 as “James Cabella,” after it was alleged that he was running a shady strip club in Houston, Texas. The character of Tony Soprano from the HBO hit series “The Sopranos” was reportedly inspired by Palermo.
#9: John McNamara
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Businessman John McNamara is now infamous for pulling off one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history. Between 1980 and 1991, McNamara acquired loans of over $6 billion from automobile giant General Motors, claiming to buy vans from other manufacturers that he would convert and ship overseas. In reality, McNamara bought a grand total of zero vans and applied for larger loans every year, with which he offset the previous year’s debt. His scheme was finally discovered in 1991 and he was arrested on multiple fraud charges. With a twenty-year jail term and fines of $800 million on the line, McNamara agreed to rat on the local officials he bribed, in exchange for a reduced sentence and entry into Witness Protection.
#8: Jimmy Fratianno
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Jimmy the Weasel, as he was popularly known, was a mobster who became acting boss of the Los Angeles mafia in the ‘70s. In 1977, after a car bomb resulted in the demise of Danny Greene, an Irish mobster and FBI informant, Fratianno was arrested for his involvement in the incident. He decided to cut a deal with the FBI, which involved pleading guilty to multiple homicide charges and providing information against high-ranking mafia members. With his life in danger, Fratianno was placed in the federal Witness Protection Program, under which he wrote and published two books detailing his experiences.
#7: Vincent Teresa
Before the age of twenty, Vincent Teresa had already been arrested for burglary, expelled from school and dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Navy. Born into a family of mafia members, Teresa soon became affiliated with the Patriarca crime family, against whom he testified in 1971. Teresa’s testimony, which was given before the U.S. Senate, proved to be very useful, aiding in the arraignment of over fifty Patriarca family members. Naturally, this put a huge target on his back, leaving him with no choice but to enter the Witness Protection Program. Despite being a made man in the Italian mob, Teresa continued to maintain that he had never put an end to anyone’s life.
#6: Michael & Lori Fortier
The trials following the 1995 Oklahoma City tragedy ended with the two perpetrators, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, receiving sentences of capital punishment and life imprisonment respectively. In order to convict both men, the prosecution sought the help of Michael & Lori Fortier, the husband and wife who had acted as accomplices. The Fortiers agreed to testify against both men, and in exchange, Lori was granted full immunity while Michael was sentenced to twelve years in prison. Michael received an early release in 2006, having served seven-and-a-half years of his sentence. He was promptly entered into the Witness Protection Program afterwards.
#5: Frank Lucas
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One of the most prolific American drug traffickers, Frank Lucas operated a multi-million dollar smuggling ring, shipping in drugs from Thailand and selling them himself on the streets. In 1975, the DEA stormed Lucas’s house in New Jersey, arresting him and confiscating large amounts of cash from the property. After standing trial for multiple federal and state drug charges, Lucas received a hefty sentence of seventy years in prison. He then became an informant for the government and turned over information that helped convict more than a hundred drug dealers. His cooperation came at the expense of his safety, so Lucas was put in Witness Protection with his family. The events of his life were depicted in the 2007 movie “American Gangster.”
#4: John Franzese Jr.
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Although he was the son of a mob underboss, John Franzese Jr. never really fit in with the world of crime around him. In 2010, he became the first New York mobster son to rat out his own father when he struck a deal with the FBI to testify against his old man, Sonny Franzese. The testimony, for which Franzese Jr. was paid $50,000, helped prosecutors send Sonny to prison for extortion and racketeering. Due to the sheer weight of this case, Franzese Jr. had already entered into witness protection four years before he gave the damning testimony. After his identity was exposed in 2017, he opted out of the program, fed up with living on the run.
#3: Sammy Gravano
“Sammy the Bull” Gravano is a former mobster who currently runs a YouTube channel and a podcast in which he details his life experiences. But before he was telling us to like and subscribe, Gravano was instrumental in the takedown of one of the most powerful mob bosses in American history, John Gotti. In 1991, Gravano, Gotti’s second-in-command at the time, became a government witness and testified against his boss in federal court. Gotti was handed a life sentence and passed away years later in prison, while Gravano received just five years for his cooperation. Upon his release, Gravano was placed in witness protection, but he opted to leave the program just one year later.
#2: Nicky Barnes
Known as “Mr. Untouchable” for his ability to evade prosecution for years, Nicky Barnes was a crime lord who led a seven-man drug trafficking syndicate called The Council. In 1977, after boldly appearing on the front page of “The New York Times Magazine,” Barnes drew the ire of President Jimmy Carter, who ordered his arrest. He quickly lost his untouchability when he was dealt a life sentence the next year. Locked away in prison, Barnes soon realized that his Council members had abandoned him. In retaliation, he turned over a long list of names to the feds, helping to convict sixteen people. For his cooperation, Barnes secured early release from prison and subsequently entered the Witness Protection Program.
#1: Henry Hill
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A former mobster with ties to the Lucchese crime family, Henry Hill was a notorious criminal whose life story served as the basis for the 1990 Oscar-winning movie “Goodfellas.” In addition to drug trafficking, sports fixing and extortion, Hill was also involved in two high-stakes airport robberies, one of which was the largest cash heist in the U.S. at the time. He was arrested in 1980 on drug charges and decided to flip on his mafia associates, resulting in the convictions of fifty people. He and his family were placed in the Witness Protection Program in the same year, only to be kicked out seven years later after he slid back into the trafficking business.
