Mr. Big (sometimes known as the Canadian technique) is a covert investigation procedure used by undercover police to elicit confessions from suspects in cold cases (usually murder). Police officers create a fictitious grey area or criminal organization and then seduce the suspect into joining it. They build a relationship with the suspect, gain their confidence, and then enlist their help in a succession of criminal acts (e.g., delivering goods, credit card scams, selling guns) for which they are paid. Once the suspect has become enmeshed in the criminal gang, they are persuaded to divulge information about their criminal history, usually as a prerequisite for being accepted as a member of the organization.
The Mr. Big technique was developed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), with the first documented case taking place in British Columbia in March of 1965, during the investigation of David Louis Harrison, a former Vancouver police constable who was tried and convicted for taking part in the robbery of $1.2 million of cancelled currency from the Canadian Pacific Merchandise Services warehouse in Vancouver. Harrison was convicted using evidence gained by Cpl. Allan Richards, posing as crime syndicate hoodlum John Clarke, and his sting partner, police operative Al Brooks. Harrison testified that he believed John Clarke was a violent syndicate hoodlum. Harrison further testified that Clarke was often packing a gun, that Clarke carried a vial of nitroglycerine around his neck that he would throw at a police car if it got too close to him, and that he was afraid he would be harmed if he didn’t play along."Mountie Played 'Hood'", The Brandon Sun-Canadian Press (15 March 1967). Page 1, Second Section, Second Edition. Accessed 13 September 2022.
The Mr. Big tactic has been used in more than 350 cases across Canada as of 2008.R v Hart, 2014 SCC 52, para. 56 The RCMP claims that the person of interest was either cleared or charged in 75% of cases (the rest remaining unresolved and requiring further investigation). Of the cases prosecuted, an estimated 95% result in a conviction.
The use of this technique is essentially prohibited in some countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. In Germany, which has high standards for what constitutes a voluntary confession, it may be more difficult to use confessions obtained by this technique. The procedure has been used by police in Australia and New Zealand, and its use has been upheld by courts in both countries.
Description In a Mr. Big case, the police usually place the suspect under extended surveillance, typically for weeks. Having thus learned about the suspect's personality and habits, the police develop an interactive scenario. Pretending to encounter the suspect by happenstance, an undercover operative solicits a small favor from the suspect, such as fixing a flat tire. Exploiting this acquaintanceship, the operative soon offers entertainment, gifts, companionship, meals, and eventually employment.
The undercover operative pays the suspect appreciable money for petty tasks, such as counting cash or making deliveries, associated with fictitious criminal activity. As these tasks grow in importance and frequency, the suspect is treated as an "up-and-comer" in a criminal organization. As many as 50 operatives may be involved, crafting "a steady escalation in association, influence and pressure, leading up to the creation of an atmosphere in which it is deemed appropriate to encourage the target to confess".R v Hart, 2014 SCC 52,¶233 Eventually, the suspect is introduced to Mr. Big, the fictitious crime organization's kingpin, who is actually a skilled police interrogator.
Employing enticements and threats, Mr. Big tells the suspect of receiving incriminating information about the suspect from the police, whose impending arrest threatens the gang, to explain why Mr. Big must know the unsolved crime's details. Mr. Big may offer to clean up the situation by framing someone else, or Mr. Big might claim that a mole within the police department can tamper with incriminating evidence. Sometimes, the confession is demanded to show good faith, loyalty, or trustworthiness or serve as "insurance" to Mr. Big. The final meeting is usually recorded.
Once the police either obtain a confession or become convinced of the suspect's innocence, the lavish lifestyle and elaborate underworld evaporate, and (where a confession has been obtained) the suspect is arrested. The Mr. Big technique is often a last resort in cold cases, or where the police's strong suspicion is paired with insufficient evidence. The Mr. Big technique has been used to secure convictions in hundreds of cases and has been highly effective in obtaining confessions from suspects. Still, the technique also gives some innocent suspects compelling motivation to remain in the criminal organization; to maintain the new lifestyle and new friends, falsely confessing to Mr. Big may then seem an acceptable risk.
Legal history The Andy Rose case In October 1983, Andrea Scherpf and Bernd Göricke were murdered in Chetwynd, British Columbia. In 1991, Andy Rose was convicted of these killings, relying almost exclusively on testimony from a woman who claimed she saw him the night of the murder "drunk and covered in blood... claiming to have killed two people"."". The Fifth Estate (January 21 2009). Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Accessed 18 August 2018. Rose was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in prison. The conviction was overturned on a technicality in 1992, but a new trial was ordered immediately, and Rose remained in prison. In 1994, Rose was again sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in prison, again almost exclusively on testimony from the woman who claimed to see him in Chetwynd, and his next appeal was denied in 1996. Rose was released on bail in 1997, when his second conviction was overturned on a technicality.
Mounting evidence against a possible third conviction complicated the developments for the Crown attorney's refiling, including the witness against Rose being off on her timing by at least two weeks and a man in California took his own life after confessing to his wifewith numerous consistent detailsto murdering two people near Chetwynd in October 1983.
In January 1999, an undercover operative of the RCMP contacted Rose to gain his trust in hopes of obtaining a confession through a Mr. Big operation. In the next eight months, the investigator befriended Rose. Rose was seduced into illegal activities, for which he received about $5,900 (). After eight months, the "gang" told him that they could gather information about his upcoming case and change the evidence for him so he would not have to go back to prison, or even to court. However, this support would only be granted if he became a recognized gang member, and it would be important to impress Mr. Big. At the meeting with Mr. Big in July 1999, Rose repeatedly reaffirmed his innocence. Then Mr. Big made it clear to him that he wanted to hear a confession and that Rose, known for his alcohol abuse, should consider this with a beer. After a few beers, Rose confessed. Based on this confession, the Crown filed for a third trial.
The third trial collapsed in 2001, and the proceedings against Rose were stayed, with the ability for the Crown to refile charges to a court. Rose's innocence was proven due to lack of DNA evidence and he was acquitted."Newfoundlander's ordeal with RCMP sting subject of CBC documentary". CBC News, January 21, 2009. Accessed 18 August 2018.
The Oreste Fulminante case
A confession obtained through a Mr. Big sting was declared inadmissible in the 1991 United States case of Arizona v. Fulminante. Oreste Fulminante was suspected of murdering his 11-year-old stepdaughter Jeneane Hunt in 1982 but was not charged with the crime. The following year Fulminante was serving time in prison for an unrelated crime when he was approached by undercover police agent Anthony Sarivola, who told him that there was a rumour going around the prison that he had killed a little girl. Sarivola warned Fulminante that he was in danger of "rough treatment" from other inmates because of the crime, then told him he had connections in organized crime and offered to protect him if he confessed. Fulminante agreed, confessing to Sarivola that he murdered his stepdaughter; he admitted to driving her out to the desert on his motorcycle, sexually assaulting her, choking her, making her plead for her life, and shooting her with his .357 revolver.State v. Fulminante, 161 Ariz. 237 (1988)
Fulminante argued at trial that his confession was coerced because he had feared that he would be subject to physical harm if he was not afforded protection by Sarivola. He was convicted and sentenced to death. The Arizona Supreme Court denied an appeal against his conviction in 1988, finding that although his confession was coerced, other evidence against him rendered it harmless error. Fulminante then appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1991. The court found that Fulminante's confession was indeed coerced, as he had faced a credible threat of physical violence if he did not confess, and that the confession was too important to the prosecution's case to be considered harmless error. The court therefore overturned Fulminante's conviction and ordered a new trial without the confession included in evidence.Arizona v. Fulminante, 499 US 279 (1991)
The Rafay–Burns case
Canadians Atif Rafay and Sebastian Burns were sentenced to life for the 1994 murders, in Bellevue, Washington, United States, of Rafay's father, mother and sister, despite the lack of physical evidence and the presence of multiple alibis, on the basis of a Mr. Big confession. Rafay and Burns are supported by multiple miscarriage of justice advocates and as of 2016 had been appealing their case for over a decade. The Netflix documentary series The Confession Tapes covers the Rafay–Burns case in the first two episodes.
The Nelson Hart case The flaws of the Mr. Big procedure came to light during the R. v Hart case. Nelson Hart, of Newfoundland, Canada, was charged in June 2005 with the deaths of his 2-year-old twin daughters who died as a result of drowning on Sunday, August 4, 2002. Hart claimed that he had taken the girls, Krista and Karen, to Little Harbour where there was a small wharf. Krista fell off the wharf, and Hart (who could not swim) panicked and left to get help, leaving the other child. In a later interview, Hart claimed that he had had a small seizure at the time that Krista fell into the water. Karen ostensibly fell in the water during Hart's absence. He drove home and returned with his wife. Krista was found alive but died at the hospital, and Karen was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Mr. Big operation began in October 2002. Preliminary surveillance revealed that Hart was socially isolated, had few friends and went everywhere with his wife. He was also on social insurance with only a grade four education, and had a history of seizures, which became more frequent after a car crash in 1998. The first contact took place when he was paid for assisting in finding an operative's sister. He was then asked to make some truck deliveries for which he was well paid. A friendship with his operatives developed. He began dealing in fake credit cards, forged passports, and counterfeit casino chips. Hart was made to believe that the gang was nationwide, with branches in Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax. As time went on, the seriousness of the illegal activities increased, along with the lucrativeness of the payoffs. He and his wife were treated to luxurious trips around the country, extravagant shopping sprees and expensive dinners. Hart aspired to join the gang as a full-time member.