The Washington Times published my On Crime column on Giovanni’s Ring.
The many
fans of “The Sopranos” TV series might be interested in
reading about a cop who infiltrated the real deal. Giovanni Rocco, a New Jersey police officer,
detailed as an FBI undercover operative, infiltrated the notorious DeCavalcante
Cosa Nostra crime family in New Jersey.
Mr. Rocco offers a story of his time undercover in “Giovanni’s Ring:
My Life Inside the Real Sopranos.” The book, co-authored by Douglas Schofield, details how a
26-year-veteran New Jersey cop nearing retirement joined an FBI task force
targeting the DeCavalcante family, the organized crime group that was
reportedly the model for the fictional Soprano family in the popular HBO
series.
Raised on
the streets of New Jersey, Mr. Rocco knew the wiseguys and how they
spoke, acted, and conducted their criminal enterprises. He spent two and a half undercover with
the treacherous and violent mobsters while pretending to be a thief named
“Giovanni Gatto.” The FBI case, codenamed Operation Charlie Horse, had
Mr. Rocco aligned himself with several
mobsters until he came directly under Charlie Stango, a
capo, or captain, in the DeCavalcante crime family.
... Mr. Rocco said the “The Sopranos” depicted a genuine look into the life of the Italian American Cosa Nostra and had several similarities to the DeCavalcante crime family.
“The DeCavalcante Crime family is one of the oldest
Italian American Crime families in the United States based out of the NY/NJ
areas,” Mr. Rocco explained. “They are a very
close-knit organization with old school Cosa Nostra beliefs with a strong
propensity for violence. Their reputation is the reason that other crime
families respect them and have contracted out murder, extortion, and other
crimes to them.”
You can read
the rest of the column via the below link:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/aug/23/giovannis-ring-undercover-officer-infiltrated-the-/
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