The "Mr. Big" Sting: The Cases, the Killers, the Controversial Confessions
How the police create an imaginary criminal gang to trick homicide suspects into a confession and a prison cell

There are people in prison who got away with murder until they told the boss of a powerful criminal gang all about it. When the handcuffs were snapped on, the killers learned they’d been duped — that “Mr. Big” was actually an undercover police officer. These killers ended up with lots of time to think about how tricky police can be.

In this captivating book, we learn why Mr. Big is so good at getting killers to confess — and why he occasionally gets confessions from the innocent as well. We meet murderers such as Michael Bridges, who strangled his girlfriend and buried her in another person’s grave. Bridges remained free until he told Mr. Big where the body was buried. We also meet people like Kyle Unger, who lied while confessing to Mr. Big and went to prison for a crime he did not commit.

The “Mr. Big” Sting is essential reading for anyone interested in unorthodox approaches to justice, including their successes and failures. It sheds light on how homicide investigators might catch and punish the guilty while avoiding convicting the innocent.
1138773036
The "Mr. Big" Sting: The Cases, the Killers, the Controversial Confessions
How the police create an imaginary criminal gang to trick homicide suspects into a confession and a prison cell

There are people in prison who got away with murder until they told the boss of a powerful criminal gang all about it. When the handcuffs were snapped on, the killers learned they’d been duped — that “Mr. Big” was actually an undercover police officer. These killers ended up with lots of time to think about how tricky police can be.

In this captivating book, we learn why Mr. Big is so good at getting killers to confess — and why he occasionally gets confessions from the innocent as well. We meet murderers such as Michael Bridges, who strangled his girlfriend and buried her in another person’s grave. Bridges remained free until he told Mr. Big where the body was buried. We also meet people like Kyle Unger, who lied while confessing to Mr. Big and went to prison for a crime he did not commit.

The “Mr. Big” Sting is essential reading for anyone interested in unorthodox approaches to justice, including their successes and failures. It sheds light on how homicide investigators might catch and punish the guilty while avoiding convicting the innocent.
19.95 In Stock
The Mr. Big Sting: The Cases, the Killers, the Controversial Confessions

The "Mr. Big" Sting: The Cases, the Killers, the Controversial Confessions

by Mark Stobbe
The Mr. Big Sting: The Cases, the Killers, the Controversial Confessions

The "Mr. Big" Sting: The Cases, the Killers, the Controversial Confessions

by Mark Stobbe

Paperback(No Edition)

$19.95 
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Overview

How the police create an imaginary criminal gang to trick homicide suspects into a confession and a prison cell

There are people in prison who got away with murder until they told the boss of a powerful criminal gang all about it. When the handcuffs were snapped on, the killers learned they’d been duped — that “Mr. Big” was actually an undercover police officer. These killers ended up with lots of time to think about how tricky police can be.

In this captivating book, we learn why Mr. Big is so good at getting killers to confess — and why he occasionally gets confessions from the innocent as well. We meet murderers such as Michael Bridges, who strangled his girlfriend and buried her in another person’s grave. Bridges remained free until he told Mr. Big where the body was buried. We also meet people like Kyle Unger, who lied while confessing to Mr. Big and went to prison for a crime he did not commit.

The “Mr. Big” Sting is essential reading for anyone interested in unorthodox approaches to justice, including their successes and failures. It sheds light on how homicide investigators might catch and punish the guilty while avoiding convicting the innocent.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781770416123
Publisher: ECW Press
Publication date: 09/28/2021
Edition description: No Edition
Pages: 264
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Mark Stobbe has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Saskatchewan and has taught at Keyano College and Okanagan College. He began studying the criminal justice system after being accused and acquitted of the murder of a loved one. Dr. Stobbe now lives and works in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Read an Excerpt

Mr. Big was not born. He was invented. The five W’s of journalism are who, where, when, what and why. The only group that might know the answer to the first three questions regarding Mr. Big is the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), but if this information is recorded in their files, they are not sharing. We can make some inferences with informed speculation. Mr. Big was created by an RCMP officer, but we don’t know which one. He was first created in British Columbia. The earliest Mr. Big cases were conducted in that province. We know that Mr. Big was created in the late 1980s or early 1990s, but we don’t know the day, month or year.

We can answer the “what” question. Mr. Big is an undercover operation in which police attempt to trick a suspect into a disclosure about a serious crime by convincing him that he is joining a criminal gang.

This brings us to “why.” Almost always, when Mr. Big was used the police were confronted with a brutal murder, a suspect and a lack of convictable proof. Often the suspect had been interrogated but either denied committing the crime or followed the standard lawyer’s advice of “just shut the fuck up.” In many cases the police wanted to file charges, but a prosecutor said there was not enough evidence to get a conviction. In one of these tense and frustrating cases some RCMP officer had a bizarre idea. Why not have an undercover police officer befriend the suspect by pretending to be a criminal? Why not pretend to recruit the suspect into an imaginary criminal gang? Why not introduce the suspect to the imaginary leader of this imaginary criminal gang? Why not call this imaginary crime leader “Mr. Big”? Maybe the suspect could be persuaded to tell Mr. Big about committing the crime. Maybe they could get the suspect to convict himself with his own words.

My guess is that the initial reaction to this suggestion was amusement and incredulity. There were likely jokes from other police officers that the imaginative officer had been smoking British Columbia’s largest illicit cash crop. The other police officers probably mocked the suggestion. No criminal, no matter how dumb, would be dumb enough to fall for that one. But desperate situations lead to desperate measures. Everyone involved was likely amazed that it worked. But because it worked, it was used again. And again. And again.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 An Introduction to Mr. Big 1

Chapter 2 The Good: R v. Bridges 28

Chapter 3 The Bad: R v. Unger 46

Chapter 4 The Murky: R v. Hart 65

Chapter 5 The Anatomy of Mr. Big 83

Chapter 6 Self-Accusation: The Power of Confession and Disclosure 130

Chapter 7 Dogged Determination vs. the Disease of Certainty 148

Chapter 8 Black and White and Many Shades of Grey 164

Chapter 9 Mr. Big Travels the World 179

Chapter 10 Mr. Big under Pressure: "Reining In" or "Getting Better"? 200

Chapter 11 The Future of Mr. Big 234

Appendix A Note on Sources and Further Reading 251

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