INQUIRER: But Adero Mahia Miwo fell for a drug dealer, and now she’s headed to prison for 30 months for conspiring to put the word out — with information from the controversial Web site whosarat.com — that a prosecution witness against him was a “rat” and a “snitch.” The Web site, which touts itself as the largest online database of informants and agents with more than 4,000, has caused consternation in the criminal-justice system, where informants play a critical role.
Miwo, now 26 and from Jenkintown, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to suborn perjury and witness tampering,
acknowledged that she took part in a scheme to try to get the prosecution witness to change his testimony against boyfriend Joseph Miles Davis, who is now serving a 17-year sentence as a result of a drug indictment in New Mexico. Acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid said she hoped that yesterday’s sentencing of Miwo would “strike a blow” against the “don’t-snitch culture” that has pervaded Philadelphia, where witnesses have often been too fearful to come forward.
Anyone who threatens or intimidates a witness, she said, should know that “we will find you and you will — like Adero Miwo — go to jail.” As a result of the Web site, the federal judiciary has limited public access to the kinds of court papers that had been posted at whosarat.com – plea agreements and sentencing documents that disclose who is cooperating with the government. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark S. Miller said a prison sentence was necessary. “Enough is enough,” Miller told U.S. District Judge Berle M. Schiller. “Whosarat and all this stop-snitching crap has to end right now.” MORE