Witsec (49 page)

Howard Safir, who as chief of
WITSEC shaped it into the best witness protection operation in the world
.
 (Courtesy of Eugene Coon)

WITSEC chief Eugene Coon, who built on Safir’s changes to further improve its operation
.
 (U.S. Marshals Service photo)

A hooded witness testifying before a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee investigating Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega
.
 (AP Worldwide Photos)

James Cardinali, who testified against John Gotti, charged that he was an easy target for organized crime after getting dumped by WITSEC. He was relocated soon after he appeared wearing this placard in public
.
 (AP Worldwide Photos)

Former protected witness Marion “Mad Dog” Pruett, who killed his wife and four others during a lethal rampage, and was convicted of murder and eventually executed
.
 (AP Worldwide Photos)

Joseph Valachi, the first Mafia member to break the code of omertà, testifying before Senator McClellan’s Permanent Investigations Subcommittee in 1963
.
 (AP Worldwide Photos)

Vincent “Fat Vinnie” Teresa, one of WITSEC’s first bigtime mobster witnesses, was given numerous chances to reform but couldn’t stay straight
.
 (AP/Worldwide Photos)

Protected witness Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, whose testimony put crime boss John Gotti in jail, didn’t stay out of trouble for long. In May 2001 he pleaded guilty to running a drug ring
.
 (AP Worldwide Photos)

Attorney General Janet Reno and Assistant Attorney General Jo Ann Harris present Gerald Shur with the Attorney General’s Mary C. Lawton Lifetime Achievement Award for his 33-year career with the Criminal Division of the Justice Department
.
 (Courtesy of Gerald Shur)

G
erald Shur is deeply indebted to his colleagues in the Department of Justice with whom he worked from 1961 through 1995, especially those very dedicated public servants in the Office of Enforcement Operations. They consistently have served their country with integrity and dedication. Henry Petersen, John C. Keeney, and Phil Wilens deserve special recognition as mentors and friends. He thanks Fred Hess for allowing him to be his “partner” and for his support in OEO.

He is indebted to the original ten intelligence analysts: Peggy Alexander, Cathy Kimrey, Carol Cragg, Marcy Edelman, Pat Gerts, Andrea Grier, Patricia Harrison, Suzanne Hinson, Carolyn Prugh, Irene Rosenbloom, and to Linda Kuzmack, who soon followed them. Deep thanks to Hope Byrne and Susan Grimes, who became the first analysts solely dedicated to WITSEC, and to Betty Cleghorn, Dottie McElroy, and Janet Carter, his secretaries during WITSEC’s formative years. They were succeeded by many others who faced equal challenges with the same dedication. He is especially grateful to his special assistant Diane Reid for her many years of valuable advice.

He was privileged to work for and with a succession of many chiefs of the Organized Crime and Racketeering
Section, each of whom brought his own special talents and contributions to the war on organized crime: Edwyn Silberling, William G. Hundley, Henry Petersen, William S. Lynch, David Margolis, Kurt Muellenberg, and Paul Coffey. He is grateful for the efforts and cooperation of the federal investigators and the prosecutors who fought the real battles in the war on organized crime; they distinguished themselves every day. He is particularly grateful to G. Robert Blakey, the architect of the most significant laws used to fight organized crime, one of which was the foundation on which WITSEC was created. Had it not been for the imagination of Charles Rogovin, Martin Danziger, Joseph Nardoza, and Henry Ruth, many organized crime efforts would not have come to fruition.

There are many who served in the United States Marshals Service to whom he is especially indebted for the success of the Witness Program: Wayne Colburn, Bill Hall, Stan Morris, John Twomey, Louis McKinney, Eugene Coon, Howard Safir, John Cleveland, Hugh McDonald, and the hundreds of inspectors, deputies, and specialists. In the Bureau of Prisons, he is grateful to Norm Carlson, Mike Quinlan, Kathy Hawk-Sawyer, J. D. Williams, Shirley Stutely Ritchie, and the other BOP employees for their extraordinary contributions to the success of WITSEC.

He is indebted to his agent, Ron Goldfarb, and the book’s editor, Ann Harris, for making it a reality, and to his friend Joan Santelli for reading the manuscript and candidly sharing her views with him.

Gerry Shur is proud of the members of his family and grateful for the joy they bring to him: his wife, Miriam, who gives him her love and support always, and Ilene, Ronald, Jim, Leslie, Adena, Stephanie, David, Sam, Michael, Amanda, Evan, Walt, Ruth, Bob,
Rick, Jim, Paulette, David, Cindy, Katie, Barbara, and Jeffrey. He is especially indebted to Abe and Emma Heifetz, who accepted him as their son from the moment Miriam and he married, and to Lillian Nissell, his aunt, who has always demonstrated faith and pride in whatever he does. He is thankful to his parents, Rose and Abe, who died much too young, for their love, warmth, and constant reassurance that he had worth. It was from them he learned the importance of integrity and the necessity that we all give back.