Volume 30, No. 4                                          
January 23, 2005

ID-ology

   Some killers get life.  Others get a new life, and they have Mafia hitman Joe “The Animal” Barboza to thank for that.

   In 1967, when Barboza was arrested on minor charges, he expected help from his boss.  But Massachusetts mobster Raymond Patriarca had three of Barboza’s friends assassinated instead.  Thinking he was next, the shaken hitman told the FBI he’d testify against Patriarca, if the feds would protect him and his family.

   In the year leading up to the court case, Barboza, his wife and daughter were in hiding, guarded around the clock by 300 deputies working two-week shifts.  At the trial, Barboza fingered Patriarca and a dozen other mobsters, landing them all in prison, but the cost had been staggering — and the Mafia traitor still needed protection because of the $300,000 “contract” the mob put out on him.

   So Justice Department lawyer Gerald Shur had an idea.  Since mobsters seldom strayed from their home turf, he suggested giving witnesses new identities and moving them to a different part of the country.  It took time for the idea to catch on but, in 1970, what’s commonly called the Witness Protection Program became law.
   When criminals saw they could turn on their bosses and survive, the Mafia’s wall of silence began to crumble.  Since the start of the program, the government has relocated 7,000 witnesses and family members, resulting in about 10,000 criminal convictions.

   Those in the program get a new name and identity, help moving to a distant city and money for rent and other expenses until they find a job. There’s even a list of companies who’ve agreed to hire witnesses, but only the Chief Executive Officers know who those witnesses are and even they aren’t told anyone’s real identity.

   So far, no one in the program has been murdered in retaliation.  But 30 witnesses who’ve left the program and gone back to their old lives have been killed, including the man who started it all.  In 1976, Joe Barboza returned to drug dealing, extortion and murder.  He was killed in a San Francisco drive-by that police believe was a mob hit   In all of this, there are direct parallels with God’s witness protection plan, which provides safety and security for those of us who turn on the one who once controlled us and testify about how we used to do his dirty work.  Guilty of sin, we don’t deserve pardon or protection, but we get it anyway, because God allows another to take the rap. Only, in this case, Jesus was innocent and took our place willingly because of his unflinching, unfathomable love.

   In return for surrendering to God’s authority, the Holy Spirit gives us round-the-clock protection from evil until we stand before the Judge.  We and others in the program are supplied with a safehouse called the church, and Body armour for extra protection.  In Revelation 3:12, Jesus promises a new name and identity, “I’ll write my God’s name on them and they’ll be citizens in God’s city,”  He says.

   Even before we reach that distant destination, we get a fresh start, free from our shameful past.  But we live, not in hiding, but in hope. “Since we believe Christ died for everyone, we also believe we’ve died to the old life we used to live.  He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves.  Instead, they’ll live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them...  What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons.  They’re not the same anymore, for the old life is gone.  A new life has begun!” (2 Cor. 5:14,15,17)

   We want to include as many family and friends as possible in that new life — a life that may mean leaving behind certain people and practices with no place in who we’ve become  To help fill that void, God gives us the essentials of life and meaningful work.  Identity.  Purpose.  Destination.  It’s all in the witness protection plan as we testify to how much God has done for us.

   The only real danger is in going back to our old lives. “Don’t throw way your confident trust in God,” says Hebrews 10:35.  “ Patient endurance is what you need now. Then you’ll receive all He’s promised ... unlike those who turn their backs on God and seal their fate.”   Now that’s something to swear by.  

By Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the Followers of Christ church family in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications.  To receive these free weekly articles via email, send a note to sgamble@bfree.on.ca