In your opinion WHAT IF for the sake of conversation and pure discussion
What if you took all the current living "rats, turncoats" and put
Them in a round table discussion, in the same room...Gravano, Alite, Franzese,Calabrese, whoever else
How do.you think it would come out?
Would you like to see a interviewer or simply have just start telling stories
Amongst each other??

The problem I see with anyone who interviews any of these informants is that they don't ask the right questions and the questions they do ask are 99.9% soft. And sometimes I'm not even sure if the interviewer is aware of the informant's past (aside from being mob affiliated in whatever way) or they know and aren't asking those questions or maybe the informants don't really want to delve into those areas because it's easier to tell stories than it is to tell the truth. Full disclosure isn't necessarily the cornerstone of any informant interview that I've seen so far. ~LisaB

I have the unfortunate experience of actually knowing a Rat :-) He planned and paid for the murder of an associate and to this day is still living the good life with all his money.
He Ratted out his life long friend that he hired to kill a wayward associate then was granted full immunity, cash assets and all, for his testimony in open court. His friend got life!
Who's at fault? I believe the Federal Government is the real culprit here. The Feds grant full immunity and shelter murders. So why not Rat out whom ever you need to be free?

The whole system stinks on ice. The Feds are only interested in getting big budget appropriations and publicity. All too often,an attorney will tell his client that he has two choices. One,take a plea and get a reduced sentence,or two,get convicted at trial and receive 3-4 times as much. What's the guy gonna do? Even if he's innocent,unless it's a really strong case,he could still be convicted.

When you go up the food chain to Mob defendants, the Govt really throws out the rule book. Gravano is a great example. The Feds wanted Gotti so bad that they dealt away 19 murders for a 5 yr sentence. The Bull walks away with all of his assets ,and proceeds to start a drug ring. If you can give up bigger fish for the "G",then you can write your own ticket. This is why the old time bosses were so adamant about controlling the drug business. They knew that the penalties were so severe that guys would flip to avoid 50 or 60 yr sentences,so individual dealing was not sanctioned.

If there's a big enough target at stake,the Govt will make a sweet deal with the biggest scumbags on earth.

Amen Brother. The bigger the fish, the bigger the deal. The Feds just don't give a flying F**K!

Funny how the informers, rats and turncoats are loathed due to their betrayal, yet the entire basis of LCN is based on betraying society and each other to begin with so it shouldn't be a surprise when it happens. These are not honorable people, so honor should not be expected. I suspect they'd sit around and laugh at how they had the last laugh.

I wouldn't say that the Mob betrayed society,since they've never sworn an oath to society. On the other hand,they have taken an oath not to betray Cosa Nostra. I think it's a big difference.

All semantics, if you intentionally and willingly decide the rules of a society don't apply to you and live your life by the rules of a criminal organization and not the society I see it as a betrayal. Either way, these folks are not stand up citizens and the misplaced anger that they betrayed anyone but there victims is nonsense and should not surprise anyone or anger anyone. The current crop of members is soft and in it for the ride as long as it can go until the cops come. Then it's off this ride and on to another one. Easy street is the name of the game, make money as easy as possible and save your own skin in the end. Not the organization. A little off course now, anyway just saying I find it funny the anger towards them like its a surprise.