Word to describe the satisfaction of manipulation
I think self-satisfaction in criminals is a kind of sinister self-satisfaction combined with disdain for the others, and you could name it a gloat. "Gloat" is a verb, but can be used informally as a noun. It means:
dwell on one's own success or another's misfortune with smugness or malignant pleasure.
- His enemies gloated over his death. (Oxford Languages)