The bogus criminal begged (8)
I believe the answer is:
besought
'begged' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'the bogus criminal' is the wordplay.
'criminal' is an anagram indicator.
'the'+'bogus'='thebogus'
'thebogus' with letters rearranged gives 'BESOUGHT'.
(Other definitions for besought that I've seen before include "Prayed" , "Begged, pleaded with" , "Earnestly entreated" , "Entreated, begged" , "Asked" .)