60 Minutes - "Jack Falcone"

Anybody see 60 minutes last night(10/12)? Had a great story about an FBI undercover agent who infiltrated The Gambinos for 2.5 years. Get this...he weighs 390 lbs and is Cuban-American. He was proposed to be made before the feds pulled the plug; ala Donnie Brasco. He learned how to be a wiseguy by watching the movies, FBI training and the food network! You MUST go to the 60 minutes site and check out the video clips! Enjoy!

I saw it. Pretty interesting.
I laughed when he mentioned "The Sopranos" and is then seen driving a black Caddy Escalade.

He duped a moron,DePalma is not the smartest
gambino in the shed,he has longevity which
allows him to hold the rank of captain.

I did see that. I'll have to read the book. From the 60 minutes show it seems as if the agent basically did the same thing Pistone did. He posed as a jewel thief and gave his sponsors lots of cash and stolen goods which allowed him to pose as an earner. This impressed his boss and got him proposed for membership.

I thought that after the Pistone incident the rules were changed so that one person alone could not vouch for a member and that there had to be better evidence of a prospective member's criminal history.

Good point, Lilo. You would think that after Pistone, wise guys would be more diligent checking out an associates' roots (family, friends, neighborhood) - especially one proposed to get his button. But isn't it the sign of the times?..Arrogance & Greed. "Jack Falcone" showered the right people with the right stuff and told them how great they look, etc...Lo & behold "Happy Jack" is a Goodfella. There's not much difference between the guys on Mulberry Street, Wall St., and Pennsylvania Avenue. But even the wisest wiseguy would never suspect a 390 lb. Fed! Would they?!?

I picked up the book yesterday and skimmed it a bit last night. It looks promising. Much of it takes place in my neck of the woods (The Bronx, Westchester County), so it's that much more interesting for me.

The big difference between this guy and Pistone, is that Falcone got close to the elderly Bronx capo MUCH quicker. He was "under," made contact, and got proposed for his button in like two years!! Granted, he was a veteran undercover agent, but he was only "Jack Falcone" for a short time prior to moving up the hierarchy.

One thing about these cop bios, is that their egos are as big, if not bigger, than the criminals they go after. From Pistone (the original egomaniac), to Rick Cowan (TAKEDOWN), to this latest guy (JACK FALCONE), they really lead themselves to believe that they did it all by themselves.

I can already envision the book becoming a movie with The Sopranos Bobby "Bacala" in the lead role...anybody else?

I actually thought of the same actor! But, they'll have to give Steven Schirripa a fat pad again.

I keep hoping they'll release Falcone (2000) onto DVD...

I seem to remember Jason Gedrick (The Last Don's "Cross") having a big role in that?..Or am I thinking of something else that Joe Pistone had his hand in? As I recall, it was pretty good. They gave us Soprano nuts something to fill the void in between a season or two?

Yeah, Gedrick played the title character. Not sure why he isn't listed first.

That was the one, Mark. But I'm not a big fan of Gedrick's. He's too over the top. He seems forever stuck in "B" movies, and made for television dreck.

Just my opinion, though. Some people like him.

He was okay in "Wisegal" with Alyssa Milano on Lifetime, but I didn't watch that to see him...ha! He's almost turned into the same stale stereo typed "mob guy" actor playing the same part in a different film as a new character. I think he did okay in The last Don series all in all. That was a pretty good film series-IMO.

Not only that, Donnie Brasco posed as a jewel thief--and so did Falcone. You wonder if he didn't tell DePalma, "Credentials? Just check me out with Donnie Brasco." What a dunce! No wonder the Mafia's on the skids.
On the other hand, weighing 390 lbs is pretty damn good cover--far more Mafia than FBI.

You said it, PB! Although I loved the book "Donnie Brasco," and liked the movie a lot, Pistone's ego made me take everything with a barrel of salt. At lest Falcone was very personable--something I can't say for Pistone.

I love the part in the Falcone story when he shows the 60 Minutes guy what a real wiseguy uses as a "money clip"...that thick rubber band that you find holding a head of broccoli together at the supermarket produce section! Ha! I got one yesterday and cashed in a twenty for all singles...now I got my very own "wiseguy" money clip!

Cheap way to join the Mob.

One more thing, TB. At least "Falcone" isn't pretending that his life is in danger to make himself into a bigger hero and sell more books, as Pistone often has. Falcone says, "I'm the good guy, why should I be afraid, why should I hide?" Which, to me, is a pretty honest take on the situation. I never believed, not for one minute, that any boss would have sanctioned a hit on a Federal Agent. Maybe Lefty Ruggiero ran his mouth off about getting even with Brasco/Pistone, but I doubt it ever got any further than that. By claiming that any connected guy could collect on an alleged "open contract" on himself, Pistone really proved himself to be a bit of a narcissistic jerk. A hero, no doubt, but still a jerk.

Nor I. The "half-million-dollar price on my head" struck me as an invention of his ego, to help sell his books. The notion that Mafia families would contribute a half-mil--or even a thin dime--to help solve a problem the Bonannos brought on themselves through their own incompetence, is just plain absurd.

Have the Gambinos always had a presence in The Bronx and Westchester or was that more Genovese territory?

Yeah the capo didn't appear to be too bright. If he had so far managed to avoid jail/prison at his age you would think that he would be starting to avoid risky activities. So why in the world would he be dealing directly with an associate anyway. That's what lower level soldiers and associates are for-to insulate the important people...

The Genovese people have always been more abundant in the area, especially before private sanitation was deregulated, but the Gambinos were here, too. Gotti's consigliere and co-defendant, Frankie LoCasio, was a Bronx guy. He should've stayed here, he'd probably still be on the street.

All of the Families have a pretty significant presence in the Bronx except for the Colombos. The biggest there have always been the Genovese and Luccheses.

Saw the 60 Mins show, interesting!

Does anyone know if there was any fallout over this? With the Brasco deal Sonny Black and Tony Mirra were whacked out and Lefty was supposedly on the list so wondering if there was any of the same with the Falcone situation.

Ron

Nothing yet. Greg Depalma will almost assuredly die in prison. He's 76 years old, with one lung and a bad heart; and not eligible for parole until 2016. I'm not sure they'd consider retaliating against him worth the aggravation.

That was very interesting. I think when I finish the Brasco book I'm reading, I'll have to pick Jack Falcone up.

I'm not so sure I believe the feds tiresome line; "No undercover agent has been made..." Maybe I'm too cynical but it seems that it wouldn't make a lot of sense to admit if an agent ever got his button. For all we know, there could be or has been multiple active undercover ops in progress with some of the biggest names out there? Just think of the possible set ups the Feds can use with intell gathered from an informant! This guy set up that guy, this crew did this to that one, etc... Don't get me wrong - I'm not talking about a "Smokin' Aces" storyline! But you gotta wonder?...

Good point, Mark. Logically, if the FBI (or other law enforcement) thinks it valuable to get agents close to the Mafia, how much more valuable would the agents be inside the Mafia? And, sure, we'd never know about it for obvious reasons.
On the other hand, if an agent or undercover cop were made, he'd surely have to commit a murder or some other major felony to get made, or soon thereafter. That'd put law enforcement in an untenable position, and would make the made agents useless as witnesses.

I couldn't agree more, TB. The integrity of the undercover agent is forever compromised as an official witness if he does the "deed" to earn his button. However, for as much as he is worthless as a witness, he is twice as valuable as an informant. Remember the old saying..."knowledge is power."

Does anybody know how many agents went undercover like Pistone and this agent did?

Probably we'll never know.

The FBI under Hoover used to follow that dictum. They'd accumulate evidence illegally (usually through electronic surveillance that wasn't court-sanctioned), then use it to go after perps and witnesses. They'd confront them with what they'd heard without identifying the source or its illegality, then get them to plead out or turn rat. But, the occasional (and I mean very occasional) defense lawyer who challenged them to produce the evidence sometimes made them back down.

Kinda speaks to you about the state of the mob right now yeah? Theres some very blatant crap going on and they'll overlook it at the very prospect of someone who'd be a good, respectful earner.

I wonder how long the american mafia can function under such poor leadership, reminds of the of spanish empire in the carribbean nahmean?

Depalma was already on the outs with the Gambino Family leaders after he was caught on tape during the investigation into the Scores strip club extortion. After he got out of prison, a lot of people (including law enforcement) thought he was finished. But he jumped back into the rackets and soon got his captain rank back. But after this latest debacle, he really is finished. Shelved for life, even if he does get out of prison alive.

There was an article in my paper about this guy. The funniest part had to be that he gained 60 lbs. from all the restaurants that he went to while he was undercover.

I like how he watched the food shows on TV to make sure pronounced the dishes correctly.

Yeah, he said that.
When I was a kid, some people used to attribute that kind of obesity to "glands."

I saw his book at Barnes and Nobles, read the first chapter. Interesting. I'll buy it when I see it in the bargain books.

Ha! I got my "undercover" training every Sunday at my Nona's house in Cicero, Illinois! Every "dago" (no offense, folks - I am one too!) in good standing knows darn well that we eat "mauty-gaut", "moozadell", shkadole", "pasta-fazool" and "gravy"-not sauce! Anyone else have any good actual pronunciations?!?