FBI's Most Wanted: How Does A Fugitive Make The List?

The FBI's Most Wanted Fugitives list got a bit of a shake-up today when alleged child pornographer Eric Justin Toth was added to the list. So how does a fugitive make the list?

IBTimes spoke to FBI spokeswoman Debbie Weierman to find out how a fugitive is picked and eventually put on its Most Wanted list.

To get on the FBI's Most Wanted Fugitives list, a fugitive must either be what the FBI calls a particularly dangerous menace to society -- he or she must have a proclivity toward commiting serious crimes and a history of violence, or a lengthy record of serious crimes -- as well as the bureau's belief that nationwide publicity will assist law enforcement in capturing the fugitive, Weierman explained.

If a fugitive changes locations frequently or has a certain modus operandi, it makes it more likely he or she will land on the Most Wanted Fugitives list.

Candidates for the list are submitted from the FBI's 56 field offices for consideration. The FBI's Criminal Investigative Division decides who makes the list.

There's one major misconception about the Top 10, according to Weierman -- contrary to popular belief, the fugitives are not ranked in terms of who is most dangerous or most important to capture.

Toth replaces al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden on the list. Bin Laden was killed during a U.S. Navy SEAL raid on his Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound in May.

The FBI still has not decided who will replace James Whitey Bulger, the Boston mobster who was captured after 16 years on the lam in June, Weierman said.

That is currently under review at this time, she said. When a candidate has been approved ... then that particular person's placement will be announced.