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Sunday, August 11, 2013

Deal With the Devil - the FBI's Sordid History With the Mob



Hollywood loves to portray FBI agents as incorruptible heroes. I'd like to see a movie about some of the scum that infest some of the FBI's offices. I've been reading a fascinating book by author Peter Lance, Deal With the Devil, that shows how the top anti-Mafia lawyer in New York City was for years in bed with one of the most brutal Mafia kingpins. Visit Lance's website here.

The Mafia thug was Gregory Scarpa, who quit counting his murders after 50. He had a long history with the FBI. In the 1960's, they used him to kidnap and torture klansmen to solve the murders of civil rights workers. I wrote a short story a few years ago that won second place in the Texas Bar Journal short story contest based on Scarpa in Mississippi. Hoover himself knew and approved.

Roy Lindley DeVecchio was the head of the Columbo squad in NYC. He was Scarpa's handler, although it may be more accurate to say that Scarpa handled him.

Scarpa or one of his crew murdered a DEA agent and got away with it. He sold millions of dollars of drugs, ran the biggest stolen credit card racket, and a stolen car ring. Lance alleges that DeVecchio and his superiors knew it and protected Scarpa to keep the tips on other mobsters coming in.

Meanwhile, in the James 'Whitey' Bulger trial, witnesses are telling lurid stories of how Boston FBI agents helped Bulger murder informants and competitors.

1 comment:

  1. Try to imagine the potential for FBI corruption with the Mexican Cartels. Here is an interesting story on point:

    http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/09/27/dea-boss-mexican-drug-cartels-are-so-deeply-embedded-in-chicago-we-have-to-operate-like-were-on-the-border/

    If the FBI worked with Bolger and the Mafia, are they working with the Cartels?

    ReplyDelete