Joseph D Pistone

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In the spring of 1976, Pistone volunteered to infiltrate the Bonanno crime family, a job for which his fluency in Italian, Sicilian heritage, and the knowledge of mafia idiosyncrasies gleaned from his Paterson background were well suited. For the undercover operation, the false identity of Donald "Donnie" Brasco was created, with a backstory that involved work as a low-level jewel thief. After extensive preparation including FBI gemology courses, he went undercover as a jewel thief.

The operation was given the code name "Sun-Apple" after the locations of its two simultaneous operations: Miami ("Sunny Miami") and New York City ("The Big Apple"). After months of planning, in September 1976, Pistone started his undercover operation—an operation that was initially intended to last for around six months turned into several years. The FBI erased Pistone's name on office rolls and his personnel file; anyone who called asking for him would be told that no one by that name was employed there. His co-workers, friends, and informants had no idea what had happened to him. The original focus of the operation was to infiltrate big-time fences and truck hijackings that would in turn lead to the Mafia. While Pistone worked in the Mafia, he informed on the activities of the mob during some of the most volatile power struggles in organized crime.

Pistone worked his way into becoming an associate in Jilly Greca's crew from the Colombo family, whose crew was primarily involved in hijackings and robberies. After about six months, Pistone shifted to the Bonanno family by developing a relationship with Anthony Mirra. When Mirra was sent to prison, Pistone was tutored in the ways of the Mafia by Bonanno soldier Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero, whose captain was Mike "Mimi" Sabella. Pistone also had vending machine dealings with Frank Balistrieri of the Milwaukee crime family. After the 1979 murder of Carmine Galante, Pistone reported to captain Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano.

Pistone was responsible for a lucrative business venture in Holiday, Florida, when he opened and operated the King's Court Bottle Club. In Florida, Pistone worked with another FBI agent working undercover as Tony Rossi. Napolitano later contacted Pistone, whom he hoped to make a made man, to murder Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato's son, Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato, who had previously evaded death after missing a May 1981 meeting which left "Sonny Red" Indelicato, Phillip Giaccone, and Dominick Trinchera dead.

The FBI then ordered the end of Pistone's operation. He wanted to continue until he was set to become a made man that December; Napolitano would lie about his "making his bones" (participating in a Mafia-ordered hit) to prove his loyalty. However, Pistone's superiors decided that the operation was becoming too dangerous and set an end date of July 26, 1981. Only after Pistone departed did FBI agents Doug Fencl, Jim Kinne, and Jerry Loar inform Napolitano that his longtime associate was an FBI agent. Pistone received a $500 bonus at the end of the operation.

Shortly thereafter, on August 17, 1981, Napolitano was murdered for having allowed an FBI agent to infiltrate the family; he was shot dead and his hands were cut off. Ruggiero was arrested by the FBI on August 29, 1981. Mirra was also later killed on February 18, 1982. About Napolitano's fate, Pistone had stated, "My intention in all of this was to put people in jail, not get them killed", but is also known to have stated that he never felt a sense of regret. In November 1982, Ruggiero, along with Nicholas Santora, Antonio Tomasulo, and Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito, would be convicted in a six-week jury trial for racketeering conspiracy, receiving a 15-year prison sentence.

The Mafia put out a $500,000 contract on Pistone and kicked the Bonanno family off the Commission. FBI agents visited Mafia bosses in New York and advised them not to murder Pistone. The contract was dropped by Paul Castellano who headed the Commission, as he thought killing a federal agent would "attract too much attention". Pistone publicly testified for the first time on August 2, 1982. The evidence collected by Pistone led to over 200 indictments and over 100 convictions of Mafia members. Although Pistone resigned from the FBI in 1986, he continued to testify when called upon, including at the Pizza Connection Trial.

While Pistone's infiltration decimated the Bonanno family, the family was consequently not a main target in the Mafia Commission Trial that saw the top leadership of the Five Families sent to prison, as the Bonannos had already been kicked off the Commission. By dodging this bullet, the family kept its leadership intact and was able to consolidate its power once again. The boss who led that resurgence, Joseph Massino, was convicted in 2004 of ordering Napolitano to be killed for allowing Pistone into the family.

Pistone lives in an undisclosed location with his wife Maggie and their three daughters, under assumed names. Pistone has been active as an author and consultant to worldwide law enforcement agencies, including Scotland Yard, and has been called to testify before the United States Senate as an expert on organized crime.

In September 2012, Pistone testified in Montreal, Quebec, at the Charbonneau Commission public inquiry into corruption, as an expert witness.

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