>The best version of this is found in a Balzac
>novel called "A Harlot High and Low," part of
>the plot involves a criminal master mind
>becoming the chief of police in Paris. It's the
>sequel to "Lost Illusions" (probably his best book).
Inspired by the real life of Eugène François Vidocq. Douglas Sirk made the story into a movie called Scandal in Paris, starring George Sanders.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Fran%C3%A7ois_Vidocq
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Scandal_in_Paris