[Nadya]

And depending who you work for - working for the government has just landed any close relatives (parents, children, spouse) on a hitlist. You'll be "spared" of course; so you can suffer the rest of your days knowing your decision is what led to your family being killed.

This is the threat many drug rings give dealer who get caught. You do your 10 years and you do not provide the feds with any information or everyone you love will be offed. It's a threat that is very effective at keeping mouths shut.

So the choice isn't always clear-cut "take the government and their protection and work for them".