Yes that's him. Thanks for finding it.

Another valid point. Because the Feds never put words in the mouths of their prized stool pigeons.

We never claimed what he did wasn't a big deal at the time. What annoys me is the additional bullshit about the fake contract on his life and taking credit for things others did or things that never happened. Out of his mouth he claimed there was a $500,000 contract on his life from the Commission. He said he took down the whole Bonanno Family. He's still walking around with those stupid sunglasses all the time. I respect him for what he did, but I lose respect for him because of the additional BS. The worst part is he's on so many documentaries telling the same lies over and over.

Yes, Philip Carlo is much worse than Volkman. The Gaspipe and Iceman books should be in the fiction section.

The science fiction section .

I respected Pistone much, but after I read a positive comment of his about a book which tries to "rehabilitate" the corrupt FBI agent Paul Rico who sold himself to Barboza and Bulger, I don't know what to think about Pistone now.

See what he has to say about rehabilitating wiseguys. What a hypocrite. But I guess when it's one of their own . . .

And you guys know me. I couldn't give two shits about most wiseguys. 99 percent of them are leeches and lowlifes, and when you kill people you belong in prison. Period. But that kind of outright hypocrisy really sticks in my craw.

Didn't Pistone also campaign and support FBI Agents Lynn Devecchio and John Connoly ?

Of course. Like I said, when it's one of their own . . . . it's a different story .

Pistone is ridiculous with his backup of DeVecchio.... It's a fuc*#ng joke. Always has been...

That was just a thought pizzaboy. I was recently listening to the phone call with lefty and that big thing about 250k that he said was bullshit and some implications that he was holding back money. Just made me think maybe he took the opportunity to fatten his pockets and keep it under the radar. Wasn't an accusation on my part, just a thought. I wasn't saying he was dirty, just bringing up the possibility based on conversations I heard and asking for opinions. Don't take it like I'm making definite claims

No problem, buddy. To be honest, I didn't even see the post until you just mentioned that you're the one who made it. That's why I said I don't know where it came from. And welcome to the board .

I don't think Pistone was dirty. if you listen to tapes, it was about Tony Mirra saying that Brasco owed money and was holding it back, this was after Mirra lost a sitdown involving Donnie Brasco to be on record with him and not being on record with Benjamin "Lefty Guns" Ruggiero. It was just a way for Mirra to stir shit up when he lost that sitdown as he never put Brasco on record with him before he went to prison. Once Mirra got out and heard how much of a good earner Pistone was, Tony got mad and wanted Joe to be with him so he could get his hands on that money that Donnie was bringing in.

I agree with PB as Pistone embellious some of his claims. Agent Pistone did go through a hell of a lot more then Garcia did and Garcia was not around mobsters that were in their prime or as sharp as they use to be. Joe had to be extremely careful around the Bonanno's. Massino did not suspect Brasco as a rat, he was jealous of the fact that Donnie was proposed for membership before his brother-in-law Salvatore Vitale.

I guess it's just funny if the official story is true. So Mirra, a feared ruthless gangster, was playing little child games because he was jealous. Like a 10 year old trying to get a classmate in trouble with his teachers out of bitterness. I guess these guys really are petty lowlives.

Oh, absolutely. You can't discount what Pistone accomplished just because he's an egotist and tends to overstate things.

As far as Garcia, he fooled ONE GUY. A desperate old man who, for all of his faults, would have seen right through that fat fuck if he was twenty years younger. He gets a lot of shit because of what happened when he got older, but the truth is, Greg was VERY guarded when he was younger. Garcia wouldn't have gotten within ten feet of him.

And like him or not, Pistone had half of Mulberry Street fooled. So there's no comparison between the two agents.

I think most people will concede that Pistone did an amazing job.
He came in as a complete stranger,established a totally fictitious persona,became a trusted member of Sonny and Lefty's inner circle,and stayed alive for six years.

I would think that he would have been happy to have that as his legacy,but then fame reared it's ugly head. Now all of a sudden,he's Superagent,the Mafia's most hunted man,the destroyer of the Bonannos and most of Organized Crime.

Chalk it up to ego,movie promotion,talk show circuit,whatever.
Bottom line,he lost some of my respect.

That's it in a nutshell, Lou .

There's a movie about Garcia in the works now. Maybe he'll be sporting a new pair of shades after that hits the silver screen.

Overblown.

Pistone, his shades and the interviews are all wash-out after the fact, minor diversions.

The guy went deep undercover in the 70's in NYC. For 6 years. Got proposed. Thats the heart of it. The rest are details.

He did an amazing job.

Could he have handled his post undercover life better? Sure.

But that doesnt change anything.

Mirra and Sonny B got clipped. Lefty was pulled off the streets by the Feds due to his imminent clipping. All due to JP's infiltration.
So people who think he wasnt serious? Well I dont know what serious is...

All respect to PB I do think this is simplifying what Garcia did.

He got in with Greg's crew. Hung out with ALOT of wiseguys. Hell, NOBODY in Gregs entourage called him out.

So yeah Greg in his younger days may have picked him up. But Nobody in Greg's crew said a word either.

So IMO Garcia fooled more than a dated ageing old gangster.

Was it 1970's NYC? No, but it was also more than one old dinasaur...

I can't imagine who would be playing him since Chris Farley is no longer with us..

I agree with you Sonny. GArcia was a like a professional undercover. He specialized in working undercover and he did it throughout his whole career on many, many cases for the Feds. I agree that no one in Depalmas crew or any other crew that GArcia met along the way ever questioned who he was. They did for Pistone. Massino warned everyone to stay away from Donnie Brasco. The fbi boss at the end of that 60 minute interview says that Garcia was one of their best agents in the fbi's history. You have to at least recognize that and give him his just due. MAybe it wasn't due to DePalma's age that he didn't see right through Garcia, maybe it was because Garcia was that good. Just a thought.

Speaking of this, how do undercover agents manage to work in more than one case? After he traps one organization and blows his cover to testify at the trial, shouldn't his reputation spread throughout the national underworld so he can't repeat the same trick anymore?

"they picked up Greg DePalma, age 73. He put on a dirty gray sweatshirt and used a cane to get to the car. In court, DePalma was told he faced 772 years in jail. "Oh, come on," he said, rolling his eyes as he was led away."

LOL

When Greg got out in 2003 NO ONE wanted anything to do with him outside of Craig and his friends. The other Bronx skippers and local soldiers kept him at arm's length from the day he came home. He was a laughingstock at the time. I do give him credit for getting himself back in action, but the guys who mattered never looked at him the same way again (except for Tony, but there were exigent circumstances there that I'm not going into here).


And again, who exactly was in Greg's crew in 2003 that didn't "call him out"? You got one thing right. It was an entourage at that point, it wasn't a crew anymore.


Did he fool Mario? Did he fool Louie? Did he fool Nicky? Did he fool Angelo? Did he fool the guy who was babysitting Tore's crew at the time? Do you even know the guy who was babysitting Tore's crew at the time?

My point is, it wasn't just Greg who wasn't the same at that point. It was the fact that the crew that he worked with for twenty years wasn't there anymore (and like I said, the few guys who were kept him at arm's length). But from now on, I'll be sure to defer to you on all matters regarding the Bronx .


I don't disagree with you, Beanshooter. And I certainly don't hate cops. But what Garcia did here in the Bronx wasn't his finest hour.

I guess thats whats called 'getting schooled'

Consider it retracted with Haste PB

Pizzaboy.

How important was Robert Vaccaro? Whos crew was he with? ( or still is )

Garcia made him to be a bit of a tough guy!

You're my pal, Sonny. And you're opinion is as valid as anyone's, including my own. But this really isn't even a matter of opinion as far as I'm concerned. By 2003 that was the gang that couldn't pee straight (and I mean that literally, half of them had prostate cancer).

And you know me well enough by now to know that when I have strong feelings about something that it's for a reason and not unfounded speculation or wishful thinking. And this just happens to be one of those times .

PB how the hell do you know all this shit? I get you're from there and all, but I lived in NY almost all my life and I can't even tell you my neighbors name. You gotta be the most interesting person here by a mile. You should write a book

He's as important as his last envelope. Just like the rest of them.


Funzi and Louie split that crew up. But Louie's practically retired, so Andy can probably make a claim until Richie comes home next month. Then again, I'll be shocked if Richie doesn't head to Florida and sit in the sun with his compare .


That's his job. If he made them out to be a bunch of pussies, no one would buy the books. But Vaccaro isn't a punk, if that's what you mean.