CONFISCATING PROFITS FROM NOTORIOUS CRIMINALS
Six people are shot dead in ambushes and many others are wounded by a lone gunman who describes himself in letters to a journalist and notes left at crime scenes as a monster who is being driven by demons communicating through dogs to kill young women . Dubbed the “Son of Sam” as well as the “.44-Caliber Killer” by the media, he is eventually caught, convicted, and sentenced to a lifetime behind bars. From his cell, he grants interviews to writers and accumulates about $90,000 in royalties from pub- lishers. The individuals he wounded and the families of the people he murdered sue him to prevent him from cashing in on his notoriety. Eight years later, his attorneys arrive at a settlement: all the money he gained will be divided among those he harmed, and they will share any additional earnings this serial killer might receive. (Associated Press, 1984)
Four employees are taken hostage by a man who bungles his attempt to rob a bank. The police block his escape route and a lengthy siege ensues. Eventu- ally, the four captives are released, and he is captured, convicted, and imprisoned. Hollywood producers pay him $100,000 for the rights to depict his exploits in the movie Dog Day Afternoon. The money is seized by the New York State Crime Victims Board and doled out to his kidnap victims, his lawyers (to whom he owed fees), and his former wife (for alimony and child support payments). (Roberts, 1987)
One additional option for recovering losses remains open to just a handful of victims or their next of kin: going after the profits made by offenders who sell their firsthand accounts of how and why they committed their high-profile crimes. Cases such as the two well-known lawsuits cited above dramatize how victims can fight back when convicts seize opportunities to make a fortune from the sensationalism surrounding their well-publicized exploits. The practical issue that arises is when and how victims can take these “fruits of crime” away from the perpetrators of violence and mayhem.