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

Stobbe’s fascinating debut focuses on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s so-called Mr. Big sting operations, which aimed to get suspected murderers to confess their guilt to someone thought to be a gang leader, but is in fact an undercover police officer. Stobbe, a happily married father of two, himself became the potential target of such a sting after his wife’s 2000 murder, for which he was acquitted. After his acquittal, Stobbe got a doctorate in sociology and criminology and began researching Mr. Big sting operations. Despite the RCMP’s reluctance to share information, he discovered the operations apparently began in the late 1980s, and the methods have been exported to Australia and New Zealand. While the stings have put many convicted killers behind bars, Stobbe writes, possibly innocent people have paid a price. When two teenage boys were convicted of killing a girl at an outdoor music festival, both convictions were later overturned, but not until after one of the boys, who had been caught in a sting, had spent 10 years behind bars. Stobbe details how some Canadian judges have allowed recorded confessions and others haven’t while considering such legal challenges as entrapment. This nuanced account is essential reading for true crime buffs and anyone interested in the ethical and moral sides of policing and justice. (Sept.)