Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia
Encyclopedia
Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia (Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-66637-4) is a non-fiction crime book written by Joseph D. Pistone
. It is the true story of FBI agent Joseph Pistone going undercover and infiltrating the Mafia
. In 1997, the book was made into a feature film titled Donnie Brasco
, starring Johnny Depp
and Al Pacino
.
ring. The operation pays off when the FBI arrests one of the largest and most profitable theft rings in history.
After the success of the operation, the FBI and Pistone consider going undercover and infiltrating truck hijacking
gangs and the Mafia
. After months of preparation, the FBI erases Pistone's personal history and he goes undercover as Donald Brasco, an expert jewel thief from Miami, Florida
. Hanging out at known crime spots, such as bars and social clubs, he eventually befriends a bartender and joins a crime gang.
He moves on to Jilly Greca's crew, who are associates in the Colombo crime family
. The crew are involved in truck hijacking and selling stolen merchandise. Brasco meets Anthony Mirra
and the two begin hanging out. Mirra is a soldier in the Bonanno crime family
and is a lot better connected, respected and feared than Greca's crew. Brasco decides it would be a better choice for the operation to go with Mirra, so he starts hanging out more with Mirra and less with Greca.
Through Mirra, Brasco meets another Bonanno soldier called Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero. When Mirra is sent back to prison, Brasco and Lefty become close friends. Brasco gains the reputation of a being a trustworthy, good earner. He is responsible for several lucrative business ventures, including the Kings Court Bottle Club in Florida, which begins a good relationship with the Bonannos and Santo Trafficante
.
The Bonannos, particularly captain Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, are happy with Brasco's work and are prepared to sponsor him for membership into the mafia. All the while Brasco is struggling in his personal life because he does not see his real family often, spending months without seeing his wife and three daughters. A family dispute breaks out over who "owns" Donnie Brasco. Mirra claims he owns him since he brought him in, Lefty says he owns him because he was the first to put a claim on him, and Sonny Black as the captain says Brasco belongs to him.
After six years undercover, the operation becomes increasingly dangerous. Three powerful captains are murdered; gunned down by fellow Bonanno family members. The FBI want to pull the plug on the operation due to the danger of Brasco getting killed. Pistone wants to stay at least until he gets "made
", in order to prove that the mafia is not invincible. A date is set when Brasco is ordered to come out of the operation. There are six weeks left until Brasco is revealed to be an FBI agent.
To become a made man, Brasco is ordered to kill Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato, although Bruno has fled New York. FBI agents eventually reveal to Sonny Black that their associate is actually an agent. Although Sonny Black and others consider it hard to believe that Brasco is an agent, he informs his superiors. The men responsible for bringing Brasco into the family are ordered to be murdered. Sonny Black and Mirra are murdered, while Lefty escapes death when he is arrested before he arrives at a meeting.
Pistone's work is not complete yet as he has to testify at trials all over America. Operation Donnie Brasco leads to more than 200 indictments and over 100 convictions of mafia members.
Joseph D. Pistone
Joseph Dominick Pistone, alias Donnie Brasco, , is a former FBI agent who worked undercover for six years infiltrating the Bonanno crime family and to a lesser extent the Colombo crime family, two of the Five Families of the Mafia in New York City...
. It is the true story of FBI agent Joseph Pistone going undercover and infiltrating the Mafia
American Mafia
The American Mafia , is an Italian-American criminal society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing"...
. In 1997, the book was made into a feature film titled Donnie Brasco
Donnie Brasco (film)
Donnie Brasco is a 1997 crime drama film directed by Mike Newell, starring Al Pacino, Johnny Depp and Michael Madsen. It is loosely based on the real-life events of Joseph D. Pistone, an FBI agent who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family, one of the Mafia's Five Families based in New York City...
, starring Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
and Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
.
Plot
Pistone becomes an FBI agent after spending a few years working for Naval Intelligence. He first goes undercover to infiltrate a theftTheft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
ring. The operation pays off when the FBI arrests one of the largest and most profitable theft rings in history.
After the success of the operation, the FBI and Pistone consider going undercover and infiltrating truck hijacking
Truck hijacking
Truck hijacking is the taking of a truck: normally for the consignment being carried, by force, or the threat of force to the driver....
gangs and the Mafia
American Mafia
The American Mafia , is an Italian-American criminal society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing"...
. After months of preparation, the FBI erases Pistone's personal history and he goes undercover as Donald Brasco, an expert jewel thief from Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. Hanging out at known crime spots, such as bars and social clubs, he eventually befriends a bartender and joins a crime gang.
He moves on to Jilly Greca's crew, who are associates in the Colombo crime family
Colombo crime family
The Colombo crime family is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
. The crew are involved in truck hijacking and selling stolen merchandise. Brasco meets Anthony Mirra
Anthony Mirra
Anthony "Tony" Mirra was an Italian-American mobster and soldier for the Bonanno crime family...
and the two begin hanging out. Mirra is a soldier in the Bonanno crime family
Bonanno crime family
The Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
and is a lot better connected, respected and feared than Greca's crew. Brasco decides it would be a better choice for the operation to go with Mirra, so he starts hanging out more with Mirra and less with Greca.
Through Mirra, Brasco meets another Bonanno soldier called Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero. When Mirra is sent back to prison, Brasco and Lefty become close friends. Brasco gains the reputation of a being a trustworthy, good earner. He is responsible for several lucrative business ventures, including the Kings Court Bottle Club in Florida, which begins a good relationship with the Bonannos and Santo Trafficante
Santo Trafficante, Jr.
Santo Trafficante, Jr. was one of the last of the old-time Mafia bosses in the United States. He allegedly controlled organized criminal operations in Florida and Cuba, which had previously been consolidated from several rival gangs by his father, Santo Trafficante, Sr...
.
The Bonannos, particularly captain Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, are happy with Brasco's work and are prepared to sponsor him for membership into the mafia. All the while Brasco is struggling in his personal life because he does not see his real family often, spending months without seeing his wife and three daughters. A family dispute breaks out over who "owns" Donnie Brasco. Mirra claims he owns him since he brought him in, Lefty says he owns him because he was the first to put a claim on him, and Sonny Black as the captain says Brasco belongs to him.
After six years undercover, the operation becomes increasingly dangerous. Three powerful captains are murdered; gunned down by fellow Bonanno family members. The FBI want to pull the plug on the operation due to the danger of Brasco getting killed. Pistone wants to stay at least until he gets "made
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
", in order to prove that the mafia is not invincible. A date is set when Brasco is ordered to come out of the operation. There are six weeks left until Brasco is revealed to be an FBI agent.
To become a made man, Brasco is ordered to kill Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato, although Bruno has fled New York. FBI agents eventually reveal to Sonny Black that their associate is actually an agent. Although Sonny Black and others consider it hard to believe that Brasco is an agent, he informs his superiors. The men responsible for bringing Brasco into the family are ordered to be murdered. Sonny Black and Mirra are murdered, while Lefty escapes death when he is arrested before he arrives at a meeting.
Pistone's work is not complete yet as he has to testify at trials all over America. Operation Donnie Brasco leads to more than 200 indictments and over 100 convictions of mafia members.
Reception
- "Courageous and extraordinary" - New York Times
- "So entertaining you have to remind yourself it's deadly serious" - Boston Globe
- "Compelling and gripping... Raw, hard-hitting non-fiction at its best... A revealing investigative work" - Toronto StarToronto StarThe Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
- "A penetrating look into the inner circle of the Mafia... There's no shortage of real-life drama" - Detroit News
- "New ground is broken... There are few ways, short of participating in it, that you'll get a better look at the business of crime than by reading Pistone's recollections of his life in it" - The Canon RepositoryCanton RepositoryThe Repository is a daily newspaper serving the greater Canton, Ohio, area. Founded March 30, 1815, by John Saxton, it started as a weekly, and began publishing seven-days-a-week in 1892...