10 hardened criminals who helped solve crimes
There's a reason why thrillers and police procedurals are so popular on TV and in literature: we all love a good mystery to solve. Detectives pour over information, interviews and clues, building a puzzle of what-ifs and alibis until it all fits perfectly into a neat, completed puzzle and the big picture becomes clear. Law enforcement officers use all kinds of techniques to track down the bad guys, but sometimes even these advanced tricks are not enough and the case becomes somewhat impossible to solve.
It is very useful in these circumstances to think like a criminal and have insight into an operation or just the underworld in general. Actually you need a criminal. Here are ten hardened criminals who helped police crack hard-to-solve cases.
Related: Top 10 Notorious Father Son Mafia Combos
10 Paul Skalnik
Paul Skalnik has been sent to prison for passing bad checks, draining his wife's accounts and depleting her credit cards. He spent many years in and out of prison. Skalnik is known as one of the most prolific prison informants ever.
He first became an informant when the police wanted information about the Moody Park Three (activists against police brutality who incited a riot). He testified in court that the suspects had confessed to him, which led to their conviction. Since then, Skalnik has provided information in approximately 37 other cases between 1981 and 1987.
His most controversial involvement, however, stems from his role in the conviction of James Dailey, who was accused of killing Shelley Boggio without any forensic evidence linking him to the crime. Instead, they relied on the testimonies of three prisoners, including the infamous Skalnik.[1]
9 Sammy Gravano
Born during the golden age of the Mafia, Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano was a notorious gangster who earned his nickname at a young age when he fought two older boys over his bicycle. From there it was one-way traffic to the mafia.
For decades, Gravano was a prominent gangster and underboss of the Gambino family, participating in hits and enforcing mafia rule as only a true gangster can. But there is tension in any organization, and a regime change brought infamous Mafia leader John Gotti and Gravano into racketeering charges, which Gotti blamed on Gravano. Feeling betrayed, Gravano agreed to break the only rule imposed by death: he would testify against Gotti.
With Gravano's testimony, there was enough evidence to convict not only Gotti – the infamous Teflon Don – but also forty other gangsters in one of the largest crackdowns on organized crime in history. Live to tell the story. Sammy the Taurus even has his own podcast.[2]
8 Frank Abagnale
Probably the most famous on the list thanks to the 2007 film Catch me if you can Abagnale, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is known for his history of forging fraudulent checks and cashing them to the tune of millions of dollars.
It is believed that between the ages of 16 and 21, Abagnale posed as a Pan Am pilot to score free flights, posed as a lawyer, and even posed as a doctor (although some of his claims are disputed). However, it was in the check forgery department that Abagnale made a name for himself, ultimately landing him in prison for twelve years.
Abagnale is also known for escaping from prison, but was sent back to serve the remainder of his sentence (four years). In exchange for a reduced sentence, Abagnale agreed to assist the federal government (without compensation) by teaching law enforcement agencies and has been involved with the FBI for more than 35 years. He is considered one of the foremost authorities on securities and check fraud.[3]
7 Frank Lucas
Frank Lucas, also immortalized in a Denzel Washington film, was a drug lord in the 1970s. His drug of choice was heroin. Not every man can compete with the mafia, especially something as sophisticated as a drug gang. Still, Lucas found a way and made nearly $1 million a day from trading.
Lucas used the coffins containing the bodies of dead soldiers returning from Vietnam to smuggle the drugs into America and sell them on the streets. However, it all finally came crashing down when he was arrested and sentenced to 70 years for his crimes.
Lucas had his sentence reduced for becoming a police informant, which he did, specifically against a corrupt branch of law enforcement, the NYPD's Special Investigations Unit. Fifty-two of the SIU's seventy members were ultimately jailed or charged.[4]
6 Kevin Mitnick
Mitnick was on the most wanted list when it came to hacking, bypassing cybersecurity and stealing computer code from companies. These were the crimes for which he pleaded guilty and spent almost five years in prison. It is estimated that his pranks cost the targeted companies (including Nokia, Sun Microsystems and Motorola) approximately $300 million.
Mitnick was released from prison and shortly afterwards stood before the US Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, where he had to explain himself. Thus began his path to something resembling redemption.
Putting his talents to good use, Mitnick started a consulting firm and used his skills as a cybersecurity expert instead of trying to bypass security systems for his own amusement.[5]
5 Frank Calabrese Jr.
Frank Calabrese Sr., the father of Frank Calabrese Jr., was sentenced to life in prison and ordered to pay $24 million, plus payment of restitution to the families of the murder victims, for his involvement in a conspiracy of extortion, including murder. What makes this case so fascinating, however, is that his son, Calabrese Jr., was the one who ultimately threw him under the bus.
It was in a prison in Milan that Calabrese Jr., while locked up with his father for a loan sharking scheme, turned a corner. He wanted to leave mafia life for good. Calabrese Jr. wrote a letter sharing his willingness to cooperate in keeping his father behind bars. That got the ball rolling.
Calabrese Jr. eventually agreed to wear a wire so that conversations with his father could be recorded. Calabrese Sr. started spilling the beans in a fit of anger. In a trial in which the government had more than 600 pieces of evidence and relied on the testimony of more than 100 witnesses, Calabrese Sr. and his accomplices found guilty.[6]
4 Wayne Bradshaw
Wayne “Big Chuck” Bradshaw is known as the only motorcycle outlaw to ever become a sworn police officer after years of gang-related activities.
It was in the US Army on a base operation in Germany, where regular fistfights were part of his life, that he became disillusioned with the system. Upon his return to the US, he joined the Pagans motorcycle gang and worked his way up.
After smashing a man's face in a bar known as the 'Bucket of Blood' (a place where they regularly got into fights), he realized that a life of violence was not for him. So he did a 360, changed his life and became a cop. Bradshaw finally took out a hero with twenty years of criminal takedowns under his belt.[7]
3 Joseph Valachi
Unofficially, Joseph Valachi was the first man to openly acknowledge that the Italian-American mafia as we know it exists. He was first part of Salvatore Maranzano's crew before joining the Genovese criminal family. There, Valachi was a crucial part of their operations and had an intimate knowledge of how they functioned.
He was a ruthless killer and bonebreaker for the mafia. He was incarcerated on a drug charge and would spend 15 to 20 years behind bars. That was the moment he reconsidered his life choices. After getting on the wrong side of Genovese and beating to death a man he wrongly believed was there to kill him, Valachi became a state witness.
Valachi made public the Italian term “Cosa Nostra” (“Our Ting”) and told how he received the Kiss of Death, sealing his fate. Ultimately, Valachi cemented the existence of the Mafia into public attention and paved the way for the FBI, as they now knew how the Mafia operated.[8]
2 Kenel William Brown
Kenyal Brown was a criminal in the flesh, involved in drug trafficking, assault and numerous violent crimes involving weapons. He was also a seasoned informant with all the connections and information the police could want.
After Brown's initial arrest, he served a prison sentence before being released on parole. During his time out on parole, Brown had committed at least seven violations, most of which were due to missing or failed drug tests and drunk driving charges. He was arrested again, but they released him on federal warrant.
Brown provided information about a local street gang involved in narcotics. However, Brown was involved in multiple murders, including six deaths in three cities, two carjackings and a non-fatal shooting, so he was deactivated as an informant and the mission was deemed a total failure.
Brown committed suicide while fleeing from police.[9]
1 Johannes Martorano
John Martorano was a hardened criminal and hit man who served only twelve years in prison because he admitted to killing twenty people after he made a deal and decided to cooperate with prosecutors.
Martorano was asked to testify against James “Whitey” Bulger, his longtime partner in crime, who was accused of participating in 19 murders in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as racketeering, drug trafficking and running illegal businesses.
The crazy thing about Bulger was that he was an FBI informant himself. In fact, that was the main reason why Martorano decided to become an informant in the first place. Heartache. Deception. All things that can get you killed in the mafia world. Bulger was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.[10]