A Snitch's Story

In L.A., an informer blows the whistle -- on himself

Leslie White is a prime example of a shady fixture in American justice: the jailhouse snitch. Over the past decade White -- whose rap sheet lists crimes ranging from purse snatching to kidnaping -- has testified against at least a dozen California inmates who he claimed confessed their guilt to him. With information he provided, authorities have unearthed the bodies of murder victims and prosecuted a prison gang leader for murder. In exchange, lawmen accorded him special privileges, including early release, during his frequent returns to the slammer. "Every time I come in here," White boasts, "I inform and get back...

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