Six Criminals Who Joined Hands With U.S. Authorities to Fight Crime

When Criminals Play Double Agents

A criminal's mind is a hard thing to understand. Hurting someone emotionally or physically is usually not in a person's instinct. Various factors drive an individual to become a savage committing heinous transgressions. No one can understand such anti-social elements better than people who have walked in their shoes. Therefore, officers often link up with criminals in their custody or reach out to get help in their cases. Here are six lawbreakers who helped law authorities get big breaks in their investigations.

1. Paul Skalnik

Paul Skalnik worked as a jailhouse informant in Florida, Pro Publica reported. His most famous appearance in the witness box came concerning a 1985 Pinellas County murder. James Dailey was under trial for the murder of a 14-year-old girl. His roommate, Jack Pearcy, had implicated him in the crime, and the prosecutors wanted the death penalty. Detective John Halliday visited the jailhouse to ask for informants in the case. Skalnik approached the officer and agreed to give a testimony. In his statement to the jury, he shared that Dailey confessed to him that he had killed the girl and left her to die in the water. The testimony was so vivid that the prosecutors kept citing it repeatedly in their final statement. The jury convicted Dailey of first-degree murder and he was later sentenced to the death penalty. Skalnik was charged with "lewd and lascivious conduct on a child under 14" in 1982, which was later dropped to grand theft. At the time of Dailey's case, Skalnik was facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted of grand theft, ABC News reported. Skalnik was released from jail on his own recognizance and without bond, five days after the sentencing, 

2. Frank Lucas

Frank Lucas rose from extreme poverty to become one of America’s most notorious drug kingpins, in the 1960s, The New York Times reported. In 1975, Lucas was arrested at his New Jersey home and after that was convicted of federal drug charges in New York and state charges in New Jersey. He was sentenced to 70 years in jail. The sentence was reduced to seven years when he provided information on associates and officials who kept the establishment alive and running in the country. Lucas died in 2019. 

3. Sammy Gravano

In the 1980s, Sammy Gravano and John Gotti were two of the most powerful men in New York because of their connections with the mafia, Bustle reported. In November 1991, fearing Gotti striking against him, Gravano made a deal with the FBI. Gravano testified against Gotti in a criminal trial, which saw the latter get convicted for five murders, including the assassination of previous Gambino "boss of bosses," Paul Castellano. Gotti received a life sentence and died in 2002 of cancer. As per his deal, Gravano just got five years for his involvement in 19 murders, including the killings of his best friend, Louis Milito, and his brother-in-law, Nicholas Scibetta. He was released in 1995 and became a social media personality. 

4. Joseph Valachi

Joseph Valachi was a crucial mafia member from the 1930s to the '60s, The Mob Museum reported. Valachi was imprisoned in the late 50s at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary on a 20-year narcotics sentence. In the prison, he killed another inmate believing that he was targeting him at the behest of Mafia boss Vito Genovese.  To reduce his sentence, he revealed the Mafia’s inner workings in a 1963 testimony before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. "He confirmed the existence of the five families," now-retired New York Times reporter Selwyn Raab noted. "He outlined their organizational structure; he exposed the secret 'blood' induction ceremony; he explained the effectiveness of the omertà vow; and he identified the leaders of each family, thereby for the first time attaching a name tag to each Borgata." In 1971, Valachi died of natural causes.

5. Kevin Mitnick

In the 1980s and 90s, Kevin Mitnick tricked employees into helping him steal software and services from big phone and tech companies, AP News reported. He was arrested in 1995 on charges of causing millions of dollars in damages to companies including Motorola, Novell, Nokia, and Sun Microsystems by stealing software and altering computer code. Prosecutors found it difficult to gather evidence against him, and after four years, he reached a plea deal that credited him for time served. Later on, he became a respected cybersecurity professional, public speaker and author tapped for advice by U.S. lawmakers, for cases involving hacking. 

6. Kenyel William Brown

Kenyel William Brown was a seasoned criminal involved in drugs, assault, and gun crimes, USA Today reported. Brown reportedly worked as an informant for the Detroit Police Department and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. He gave them tips through his connections on the street. Several times, for his work, law authorities allegedly reduced his sentences and gave him probation. In 2020, Brown went on an apparent murder spree just a few days after a federal judge chose to release him – despite his multiple probation violations. After allegedly killing nine victims, Brown committed suicide by firing a single shot into his head.