Paid witnesses and informants: the bargains criminal cases are built on
Roger Reaves refused to inform while Barry Seal cooperated and was murdered, Chris Tarbell turned the hacker Sabu into an FBI asset, and Josh Dubin says the Ohio 4 were convicted on the word of a paid witness. Seen together, these stories show how heavily investigations rely on cooperation deals and what can go wrong for both the accused and the informant.
What trade does much of criminal justice run on? Show answer
Information in exchange for money, leniency or freedom.
What is the central danger of that trade? Show answer
The same incentive that makes someone talk can make them lie, or get them killed.
What choice did Roger Reaves make when offered a deal? Show answer
He refused to testify against people who had dealt honestly with him and fled the country.
What happened to Barry Seal after he cooperated? Show answer
He was killed, as Reaves had warned him the cartel would do.
How did Chris Tarbell find the hacker known as Sabu? Show answer
Another informant offered him up, and one dropped connection exposed his real address in the logs.
Why did Sabu cooperate, and what followed? Show answer
He faced up to 125 years. He worked with Tarbell for nine months, was thanked by the judge and walked free.
What did Tarbell learn from working with an informant? Show answer
That criminals are human beings, and that compassion gets further than acting as a hard-nosed cop.
What was the only evidence against the four men in the Ohio case? Show answer
The testimony of a single witness who wanted reward money. There was no forensic evidence or other eyewitness.
What warning signs surrounded that witness? Show answer
His story changed, he demanded money to testify, and a federal agency had stopped using him for false information.
Why did the witness not testify to his recantation in court? Show answer
He was warned he faced perjury either way and was refused immunity, so he declined.
What did former prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson conclude after reviewing the record? Show answer
He looked for any evidence of guilt and says he never found it.
What separates a reliable cooperator from a dangerous one, by these accounts? Show answer
Whether the account is checked against something independent, such as logs or physical evidence.