Neal Caffrey: Con Man

White Collar is a television drama series. Neal Caffrey is a con man and criminal informant for the FBI. Peter Burke is an FBI agent and Neal’s handler. Throughout the series these two work together going undercover and solving cases. Neal is a huge asset to the FBI. The case close rate has increased drastically since the FBI added Neal to their team. He performs very well at the FBI, but he also continuously performs heists while working for the FBI. Neal may be an very intelligent, successful FBI consultant, but he is identified as a con man. Once a con man, always a con man.

Con man, Neal Caffrey was arrested for bond forgery and theft. He was sentenced to four years. Neal escaped prison months prior to his release in order to look for

his girlfriend, Kate. Neal managed to negotiate a deal with FBI agent, Peter Burke. Peter Burke is the agent who caught Neal the first time, and he managed to catch him a second time after Neal escaped. Neal would be released from prison working for the FBI as a consultant. He was required to wear a tracking anklet and was restricted to a two mile radius. Peter and Neal worked well together, and although neither of them would admit it, they were best friends. There always seemed to be slight conflict between the two. Neal would always be a con man and Peter never understood or agreed with that side of Neal.
While Neal is no longer in prison, he is still somewhat in rehabilitation, “Rehabilitation is a central goal of the correctional system” (Huebner). Working for the FBI is part of his rehabilitation. He is kept on a short leash and he realizes that by continuing his criminal ways he can be sent back to prison in the blink of an eye. The goal of sending an individual to prison is to rehabilitate them into a person who can live a crime free life. This is called criminal rehabilitation. What exactly drives an individual to commit a crime? “The decision to commit a crime is held to be determined, or at least heavily influenced, by a person's social surroundings, psychological development, or biological makeup (Rehabilitation - What Is Rehabilitation?). In Neal’s case, part of his criminal background may have came from his biological makeup. Throughout the television series, Neal refers to his father as a “dirty” cop, partially blaming his father for his criminal background.
Confidential/criminal informants or “CI” are widely used by law enforcement in order to get information about criminal information. A CI provides knowledgeable, quality information about criminal activities to law enforcement officers. This information is often used to incriminate organized crime. Criminal informants have often been convicted of a crime, and are now being used to consult on similar crimes, “Since the inception of the FBI in 1908, informants have played major roles in the investigation and prosecution of a wide variety of federal crimes’’ (Regarding the Use of Confidential Informants). This is the case with Neal Caffrey. He was convicted of bond forgery and theft, then consulted for the FBI on similar, white collar crimes.
During Neal’s work for the FBI, he often goes undercover posing as a potential buyer or investor. The FBI uses Neal to get information in order to infiltrate and arrest certain criminal groups. Going undercover can also be quite dangerous. Neal has put himself into many near death situations, but being the con man that he is, he always manages to find a way out.
People often have many different thoughts about criminal informants. Using criminals to catch other criminals? Some people may not feel very comfortable about informants, but law enforcement officials have found many more pros with informants than cons, “Not many people know very much about informants: and to many people, it's a queasy area. People are not comfortable with informants. There is a tradition against snitching in this country. However, the informant is THE with a capital "T" THE most effective tool in law enforcement today - state, local, or federal. We must accept that and deal with it” (Webster).
Neal Caffrey was portrayed as a very intelligent, charming con man. He uses his charm to get close to people, then he pulls a con on them. Peter did his very best to overlook Neal’s con side because he knew how much of an asset Neal was to the FBI. Informants are very beneficial and help increase the number of crimes solved, “Human sources are vitally important to our success against terrorists and criminals. They often give us critical intelligence and information we could not obtain in other ways, opening a window into our adversaries' plans and capabilities. Human sources can mean the difference between the FBI preventing an act of terrorism or crime, or reacting to an incident after the fact (Director Mueller). Peter’s success is partially attributed to Neal’s addition to his team. The FBI didn’t want to lose Neal because he was such a big asset to the bureau.
Criminals often have motive for a crime they commit. In Neal’s case, his motive seemed to be success and thril. He loved the thrill of pulling a successful heist, which is why he continued to do so. Motive typically plays are large role in crimes. Why are crimes committed? What is the reason behind committing a crime? In Neal’s case, his motive is the success and being about to say “I did it, I successfully pulled that con.” Being a con man is part of Neal’s identity, he wouldn’t have been the same without that part of him. Peter Burke was always suspicious about Neal and kept a close eye on him. Throughout the series you realize how much Peter really does care for Neal. When Neal slips up or makes a mistake on a con, Peter is doing everything he can to help Neal cover it up. While Peter knows he is doing the wrong thing by helping Neal, his friendship and care for Neal tends to cloud his judgement. Neal also cares about Peter and their friendship. He doesn’t want to hurt or upset Peter therefore, Neal does everything he can to hide the truth from Peter because he knows it will hurt him.
If Neal were ever to get caught for another crime, he could serve some serious jail time, “Federal criminal prosecution of FBI informants can result from the informant's unauthorized criminal conduct or from situations in which the informant exceeds the scope of his authority to engage in "otherwise illegal activity" under the Informant Guidelines. In such cases, the informants often claim in defense that the government authorized or immunized their crimes” (Criminal Prosecution of Informants).
Although it’s hard to admit, at the end of the day Neal hurts Peter more than he helps him.

Peter has been put on suspension because of Neal. Neal may have a bad side some viewers may not agree to, but he uses his charm to appeal to the audience. Neal continuously puts himself in situations that require Peter to come to the rescue. If it weren’t for Peter, Neal would have most likely been caught and charged with multiple crimes. Peter also puts his job as risk, “Serious FBI misconduct relating to the handling of informants can result in criminal prosecution (FBI Misconduct Relating to Informants). For example, special agent John J. Connolly, Jr. was charged with multiple crimes after mishandling his criminal informants, “In June 2002 John J. Connolly, Jr., who served as a Special Agent in the FBI's Boston office and handled complex organized crime investigations, was convicted following a jury trial of racketeering, obstruction of justice, and making false statements arising from his mishandling of FBI informants Whitey Bulger and Stephen Flemmi” (United States v. Connolly). In September 2002 FBI agent John Connolly, Jr. was sentenced to 10 years in prison for racketeering, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to investigators. If Peter wasn’t careful, he could of ended up like John J. Connolly

Jr.
So, can con men change? It depends on the situation and the crime that was committed that landed them into prison. I truly think some criminals can change and put their criminal history behind them, but also to some being a criminal is part of them, it’s in their DNA. They’re addicted to crime and can’t wait till the next heist they pull. In Neal’s case his prison time did not change or affect his behavior. Rehabilitation for others does help immensely because they realize the consequences that can occur for their criminal behavior. I think part of Neal’s mindset for continuing his criminal ways was Peter. He knew Peter always had his back and would come running whenever Neal needed him. Friendships are typically a two way street. In this particular case, Neal provides information for Peter and the FBI to solve cases, and Peter helps Neal when he is in trouble.