[lee eason]

What can a person on witness protection program not do

[Wondergirl]

From HowStuffWorks "How Witness Protection Works"

"The most important rule of the program is that witnesses must not make contact with former associates or unprotected family members. They also must not return to the town from which they were relocated."

Also --

"After the Relocation

Once the witness has been moved to their new location, they must never return to the location that they left. They also must never contact any family members or friends that are not protected. The witness must also aggressively pursue employment opportunities and if they should fail to do so, all payments from the government will automatically be stopped."

How the Witness Protection Program works.

[lee eason]

What would happen if the fbi finds out that this person is keeping in touch with someone form there past could they get married after all the court trials

[Wondergirl]

Is that person protected somehow? If it's a contact not permitted, I would guess the witness protection would end.

[Fr_Chuck]

Witness protection is not like TV

First you are allowed a few letters to family and friends each year, they have to be addressed though Federal Marshall headquarters, where they are edited and forwarded.

Next there are two levels, first where you have not testified yet and are still in protective custody. At that point they may take away your communication device. But if you keep breaking the rules, they will just stop protecting you and leave you on your own. Since you are doing this so someone will not kill you not very smart.

If you have already testified, the Feds take you to some new location, get you set up and just leave, you are on your own, what you do or don't do is your choice if you want to stay alive.

A large percent after a few years get tired of it and just go home ( and many die as a result)
Also many who contact directly people they know get them killed because of the contact.

If they have a loved one, they need to go into the program with them. When you you go in.

If you contact directly you will lose all funding, and all protection. Depending on how dagerous, most likely get the other person and/or their family killed and you killed.

[JudyKayTee]

what would happen if the fbi finds out that this person is keeping in touch with someone form there past could they get married after all the court trials

I worked for Salvatore Martoche, the Attorney in the (true) book and movie "Hide in Plain Sight."

It's my understanding that you violate the rules you lose the Government's protection - the very first time. You lose the protection and you risk, of course, being murdered.

Your family and friends are protected when you are in the program because under its terms they CANNOT know where you are. Once you marry and its known that you have had contact the very people looking for you now have an ability to get to you through family and friends. Up until then harassing them (minimally) serves no purpose because the family and friends cannot and do not know where the person is. After the person makes contact it's open season.

It's not like TV - but it is dangerous, very dangerous. No one goes into witness protection because there's no danger and it sounds like fun.

The very act of contacting someone and arranging marriage is enough to throw a person out of the program.

And the other side of this is these are OUR tax dollars at work, protecting people, running the program. I don't want anyone I know who works for law enforcement to be in danger because someone who BEGGED to be protected and have his/her identity changed has decided to be foolish. I don't want my friend/loved one to be guarding that person when someone else has the protected person's information and it's no longer secret.

I don't want my tax money spent protecting someone who thinks it's all a game and he/she can make up his/her own rules.

So - the choices are: take your chances on the street OR enter witness protection and follow the rules.