Podcasts about Steeler

Ben Roethlisberger said that McCarthy understands the Steeler way and thinks it's a great hire. Ben is happy the Steelers finally have an offensive head coach. The Steelers are reportedly hiring James Campen as their new offensive line coach. He worked with McCarthy as Green Bay's o-line coach from 2007-2018.

Hour 2 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Troy Polamalu said that the Steelers had the mentality in practice that week that they needed to block and be set for an interception and runback from Mike Tomlin. Belichick might be kept out of the Hall for L.C. Greenwood to get in. Ben Roethlisberger said that McCarthy understands the Steeler way and thinks it's a GREAT hire.

Coaches nuevos en Steeler, Ravens, Bills, Browns y el desaire a Belichick Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ohio State's full schedule was released on Tuesday, complete with specific dates for each game. We already knew the teams the Buckeyes would play in 2026, so we were fully aware this was going to be a daunting slate. How daunting? Three teams that will begin the season likely ranked within the top-5 (at Indiana, at Texas, Oregon), two more that will be ranked within the top-15 (at USC, Michigan) and two more that will be ranked in the top-25 (at Iowa, Illinois). Whew, that's a doozy. However, Buckeye fans should still be confident about their team's chances in the 2026 season, and Dave Biddle and Matt Baxendell explain why on today's show. We also get Steeler-fan-Bax's take on new OSU offensive coordinator Arthur Smith (we know Biddle likes the hire) and more. That is coming your way on the Wednesday 5ish. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this hour, Adam Crowley and Dorin Dickerson acknowledge the responses of Pittsburgh fans to Mike McCarthy getting hired as the Steelers' head coach. Also, former Steeler Trai Essex comes on The Fan Hotline. January 27, 2026, 8:00 Hour

This week the guys recap the Divisional round and get you caught up with what has happened this week with coaches, key injuries and controversial calls. All this and more on this episode of Guys Without Helmets! Season 5 Episode 22#arizonacardinals #AZCardinals #BirdGang #AtlantaFalcons #RiseUp #DirtyBirds #BaltimoreRavens #RavensFlock #PurplePain #BuffaloBills #BillsMafia #GoBills #CarolinaPanthers #KeepPounding #PantherNation #ChicagoBears #DaBears #BearDown #CincinnatiBengals #WhoDey #BengalsPride #ClevelandBrowns #DawgPound #BrownsNation #DallasCowboys #CowboysNation #AmericasTeam #DenverBroncos #BroncosCountry #GoBroncos #Detroit Lions #OnePride #LionsPride #GreenBayPackers #GoPackGo #PackersPride #HoustonTexans #WeAreTexans #TexansPride #IndianapolisColts #ColtsNation #ForTheShoe #JacksonvilleJaguars #DUUUVAL #JagsNation #KansasCityChiefs #ChiefsKingdom #RedKingdom #Las Vegas Raiders #RaiderNation #JustWinBaby #LosAngelesChargers #BoltUp #ChargersPride #LosAngelesRams #RamsHouse #GoRams #MiamiDolphins #FinsUp #DolphinsNation #MinnesotaVikings #SkolVikes #VikingsPride #NewEnglandPatriots #PatsNation #GoPats NewOrleansSaints #WhoDat #SaintsNation #NewYorkGiants #NYGiants #BigBlue #NewYorkJets #JetUp #GangGreen #PhiladelphiaEagles #FlyEaglesFly #EaglesNation #Pittsburgh Steelers #HereWeGo #SteelersNation #SanFrancisco49ers #NinersFaithful #GoNiners #SeattleSeahawks #GoHawks #12s #TampaBayBuccaneers #GoBucs #RaiseTheFlags #TennesseeTitans #TitanUp #TitansNation #WashingtonCommanders #HTTC #CommandersPride #NFL #NFLFootball

Cam Heyward and Hayden Walsh return after a tough playoff loss to the Texans and an even tougher week in Pittsburgh as Mike Tomlin officially steps away as head coach of the Steelers. Cam opens up about the loss, the emotional weight of Tomlin's decision, and what it felt like inside the building when the news broke. From favorite Tomlin moments and legendary one liners to the uncertainty of what comes next for the franchise. The guys also touch on the national championship, favorite moments from the season, and where Cam's head is at personally after one of the strangest weeks of his career. In this episode:

Notorious 93.7 The Fan caller Paul from Washington, PA reached out to Adam Crowley and sent this message to any national commentator that wants to criticize Steeler fans that are relieved at the resignation of Mike Tomlin.

Evan, Michelle, and Courtney Cronin react to the somewhat stunning news of Mike Tomlin stepping down as Pittsburgh coach after 19 seasons. What is next for both parties? Evan unleashes another edition of the Hot Mess Rankings and ends up disagreeing with his own list! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Evan, Michelle, and Courtney Cronin react to the somewhat stunning news of Mike Tomlin stepping down as Pittsburgh coach after 19 seasons. What is next for both parties? Evan unleashes another edition of the Hot Mess Rankings and ends up disagreeing with his own list! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Evan, Michelle, and Courtney Cronin react to the somewhat stunning news of Mike Tomlin stepping down as Pittsburgh coach after 19 seasons. What is next for both parties? Evan unleashes another edition of the Hot Mess Rankings and ends up disagreeing with his own list! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Evan, Michelle, and Courtney Cronin react to the somewhat stunning news of Mike Tomlin stepping down as Pittsburgh coach after 19 seasons. What is next for both parties? Evan unleashes another edition of the Hot Mess Rankings and ends up disagreeing with his own list! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Evan, Michelle, and Courtney Cronin react to the somewhat stunning news of Mike Tomlin stepping down as Pittsburgh coach after 19 seasons. What is next for both parties? Evan unleashes another edition of the Hot Mess Rankings and ends up disagreeing with his own list! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tobin fills us in on the Lakers drama involving Rich Paul (Lebron's agent) and Austin Reeves's agent following Paul's recent comments on the Lakers moving Reeves elsewhere. Tobin then makes something out of nothing per usual as Giannis was caught booing back at the Bucks fans last night during a 40 point loss. We dip into the mixed bag to round out the second hour as we hear from Spo on Mike Tomlin stepping down from the Steeler head coaching job, and one of Mike McDaniel's childhood friends had choice words for the Dolphins and the city of Miami.

The guys are looking for Frank Thomas to start the show worried about their T level this morning...which sport is best to watch when the game is blowout...Tomlin steps down are Steeler fans rejoicing or concerned...and where will Harbaugh likely end up?

Adam Crowley listens to former Steelers' head coach Bill Cowher react to Mike Tomlin stepping away from the team, and Adam wonders if at least part of Tomlin's decision was from feeling a lack of appreciation from fans in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers do it again: playoff game, offense disappears, season ends, and Steeler fans immediately want Mike Tomlin gone. The guys debate whether it's actually Tomlin who might be ready to walk away, Sean Payton-style, take a TV break, and reset. They break down the never-ending Pittsburgh QB problem, why the timing makes a Giants move tough (contract and trade compensation), and why a one-year Tomlin hiatus could be a Jets fan's dream scenario down the line. Plus, Aaron Rodgers' early exit turns into a bigger conversation: what's his next move, and has he stopped being the “difference-maker” at this stage of his career? The hour also hits the record-setting coaching vacancy chaos, fan reaction clips, and the bigger “great coach vs. postseason ceiling” debate.

Another January, another familiar ending in Pittsburgh. The Steelers bow out early, the offense goes silent, and Steeler fans immediately turn their frustration toward Mike Tomlin. But the conversation shifts to a more uncomfortable question: what if Tomlin is the one who's ready to move on? The guys break down the post Ben Roethlisberger quarterback void, the never-ending coordinator carousel, and why the Steelers' constant playoff appearances may actually be trapping them in mediocrity. They explore the Sean Payton comparison, the idea of Tomlin stepping away to reset, and why that scenario could quietly benefit the Jets while complicating things for the Giants. Plus, Aaron Rodgers' latest playoff exit raises real questions about his future and whether this version of Rodgers can still lift a team when it matters most.

Ken and Anthony talk about whether or not Mike Tomlin is on the hot seat following the Steeler's wild card loss to the Texans, if Browns fans should want him as a head coach if he's fired, and they compare him to John Harbaugh.

Discutimos la eliminación de Steeler a manos de Texans, el futuro de Mike Tomlin en Pittsburgh y las líneas de apuesta en Ronda Divisional.=============

Right before we hit the airwaves the news broke that Mike Tomlin stepped down from the head coaching job of the Pittsburgh Steelers BK and Prime Time give there reactions. Does the Steeler's job automatically become the best open job?

Craig Carton & Chris McMonigle kick off the show debating the Giants strategy to wooing John Harbaugh when news of Mike Tomlin stepping down as Steeler head coach starts to circulate.

Nicholas "Harry" Callas reacts to the Steelers' loss, making it their nine consecutive seasons now without a playoff win.

Adam Crowley reacts to this former Steelers' RB expressing disappointment in fans of the team based on the events from Sunday's win over the Baltimore Ravens.

Mike Tomlin gave credit to Davis Mills for the Texans success in his press conference, for some reason. Former Steeler and Super Bowl champion Bryant McFadden joins the show. Bryant calls the killer B's Ben Roethlisberger “different”. He also says that the Texans play defense how his Steeler teams used to play. He says that he's not worried about this matchup because the Texans offense does not worry him.

What's a snowline? Well, you're about to find out with YOUR Brothers in Arms! Tonight we discover we're real live here, Philip is Alex as a time traveler, Vermont has better maple syrup - fight me, father-in-law taps the tree, I've already shrunk, you can be my Bucky, beer belly below the waist, henchmen Nicknack is not Short Round, same place same server every single day last, we're grateful for furlough, we all slept through the ball drop, we are officially old, this don't taste like Denver ya'll, backwards hands that last forever, a Steeler's bar in South Cali, he whiffed that ball, BITS training, Seven Nevers, be my friend on STRAVA, Sarah McLachlan eyes, your drawers are shot, it makes me uncomfortable but I like it, kangaroos will mess you up, and a solitary Dad joke that slaps. All this and a round of military medical on this week's episode of Brothers in Arms!   Where you can reach us: YouTube: BrothersinArmsPodcast Instagram: Yourbrothersinarmspodcast Twitter: @YourBIAPodcast Gmail: yourbrothersinarmspodcast@gmail.com Twitch: Twitch.tv/brothersinarmspodcast (schedule varies due to life) Website: https://brothersinarms.podbean.com

In this hour, Adam Crowley wonders how long Steeler fans will remember the win on Sunday over the Baltimore Ravens. Is it the moments or is it what the moments lead to that's more memorable? January 6, 2026, 6:00 Hour

Adam Crowley wonders if winning at least one playoff game will be enough to re-establish universal confidence from Steeler fans into Mike Tomlin.

Marty talks about Steeler game and ticket pricing with Ticket Nick. He also talks about Jesus figures and the miracle of people caring for one another and the magic of kindness and attitude of Joy

Bill Reiter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy New Year! U.D.O., Steeler, JetBoy, Stone Fury and so much more ~ Hear the starting gun 

For the last episode of the year-- David and Nicole talk about the NFL playoff picture, the Eagles and Steeler's offensive issues and some basketball updates! See you next year!

Ken Carman and Anthony Lima talk about whether or not Shedeur Sanders has shown enough for the Browns not to go after a different quarterback in 2026. Ken gives his reasoning for why he's completely sold after the Steeler game.

Myself and Garrett are back with another episode of steel and teal and goes off the rails real quick Steeler jaguar talk attempted to be discussed enjoy

Steeler's DK Metcalf was involved in an altercation with a fan at Ford Field during the second quarter of Sunday's 29-24 win over the Detroit Lions. The guys get into it.

The NFL is wide open with no clear Super Bowl favorite at this point after week 15, so we take a full look at the league landscape. We discuss the Steeler's legitimacy, why Aaron Rodgers appears to be peaking at the perfect time, the Dolphin's recent slump and whether it's time to move on from Mike McDaniel , and the Broncos extending their win streak to 11 games. We also name our favorite team to run the table right now (with the right to change our minds week to week). To close, we shift to college football and break down LSU, the transfer portal, and why DJ Lagway could be the best target Lane Kiffin could land at QB. Enjoy!Subscribe to YouTube: Opinionated Benchwarmers

Steeler dolphins talk giants dart concussion issues are the Mets shipping Lindor off next and much more

Adam Crowley and Dorin Dickerson wonder how Steeler fans might feel about current head coach Mike Tomlin breaking this record held by former, highly-esteemed head coach Chuck Noll.

Adam Crowley and Dorin Dickerson give praise to all the Steeler fans who attended the game against the Miami Dolphins on Monday despite the weather being frigid.

Mark dives into the Steelers Dolphins matchup tonight without Watt and JB joins the show to discuss the Penguins' latest collapse.

Mark dives into the Steelers Dolphins matchup tonight without Watt and JB joins the show to discuss the Penguins' latest collapse. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this hour, Adam Crowley, Dorin Dickerson and Pat Bostick wonder if this season's Steeler team could be considered "great." Also, will Miami Dolphins' QB Tua Tagovailoa continue to have poor trends in cold weather when he plays in Pittsburgh on Monday? December 12, 2025, 9:00 Hour

Ron Keel returns to RadioBypass with one of the most action-packed updates of his career. In this new conversation, we dive into several exciting creative ventures that prove Ron is far from slowing down.We kick things off by talking about his recent movie role, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at how the opportunity came about and what it was like stepping onto a film set. Ron also shares the inspiration behind his brand-new comic book, expanding the Metal Cowboy universe in a whole new medium.Of course, we dig deep into his powerful new single, “The Last Ride,” exploring the story, the music, and what the song means to him at this stage in his life and career. Fans of his legendary band Steeler will also love hearing Ron discuss the long-awaited Steeler documentary, which aims to pull back the curtain on some of the most defining moments of '80s metal history.Ron then gives us updates on what's happening with RFK Media, his growing business venture dedicated to releasing and promoting rock music that truly matters. From new artists to upcoming projects, Ron reveals what fans can expect in the months ahead.And to cap off the episode, we play the full new single, “The Last Ride,” and video viewers will get to see the official music video seamlessly rolled into the interview.This is rock and roll storytelling at its finest — straight from the Metal Cowboy himself.RadioBypass: Rock and Roll Music That DESERVES to Be Heard.

Cam Heyward and Hayden Walsh are joined by Steelers legend Joey Porter Sr. fresh off the win against the Baltimore Ravens. The guys celebrate the victory but also keep it real about the biggest concern going forward: the run defense still isn't where it needs to be. Joey brings his trademark honesty as he breaks down standards, leadership, and what accountability truly looks like inside a Steelers locker room. In this episode:

In Episode 3.8 of "Buy That Guitar," host Ram Tuli is joined by Freeman Arthur, who is known worldwide for boosting the profile and appeal of the pedal-steel guitar. He is an active session musician and has performed/recorded with artists across diverse genres. Links: https://www.freemanarthur.com Sponsored By: The VG 2026 Price Guide https://store.vintageguitar.com/price-guide.html Subscribe to our "Overdrive" newsletter for the latest happenings at Vintage Guitar magazine: https://www.vintageguitar.com/overdrive Please feel free to reach out to Ram at Ram@VintageGuitar.com with any questions or comments you may have. Like, comment, and share this podcast!

December 5, 2025 - Season 16, Episode 59 of The Terrible Podcast is now in the can. In this Friday morning episode, Alex Kozora and I get right to talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers as they prepare to play the Baltimore Ravens on the road on Sunday afternoon. We open this show by going over the latest regarding former Steelers CB Darius Slay, who was waived by the team this past week. We discuss him not reporting to the Buffalo Bills after they claimed him off waivers and whether he will now just go ahead and retire. We make sure to tackle a few things that Slay said about the Steelers and HC Mike Tomlin during his Thursday night podcast interview with Emmanuel Acho. Alex and I move forward in this show by looking at the Steelers' most recent transactions made and the team's Thursday injury report. We talk about the team likely not having backup T Calvin Anderson this week due to a knee injury and how it's looking like rookie CB Donte Kent won't make it back from the Reserve/Injured list this season. We also discuss the Steelers secondary seemingly being dinged up heading into Sunday's road game against the Ravens. The Ravens are dealing with several key injuries this week as well and so Alex and I recap what their Thursday report said and how there are really just three players to watch closely on Friday's report. We discuss Ravens QB Lamar Jackson likely playing through his ankle injury on Sunday. On Thursday, we once again heard from two of the Steelers' coordinators, Arthur Smith and Teryl Austin, so Alex and I recap the main talking points to come out of those media sessions. We discuss whether the team will finally start playing TE Pat Freiermuth more than TE Jonnu Smith based on what Smith had to say about the two players on Sunday. A few comments made by Austin concerning the team's defense get our attention in this show as well. Steelers S DeShon Elliott and OLB Alex Highsmith are both in the news this week for their off-the-field community activities, so we recap those items. New Steelers WR Adam Thielen talked to the media on Thursday, so we go over a few things that he had to say. We discuss the level of potential impact that Thielen might be able to make on Sunday against the Ravens and which wide receivers might lose some snaps should the newest Steeler indeed be active against the Ravens. We welcome Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Banner back to the show on Friday, and he helps us preview the Steelers-Ravens game. Shaffer has covered the Ravens for many seasons, and he certainly knows that team inside and out. We get his thoughts on several things related to the Sunday afternoon game in Baltimore and his recap of the Ravens' season to date in addition to his outlook for the team moving into Sunday. If not already doing so, make sure to follow Jonas on X/Twitter at @jonas_shaffer and make sure to read his work here: https://www.thebanner.com/author/jonas-shaffer/. After finishing with Shaffer, Alex and I provide our own preview of the Steelers-Ravens game. We break down what we are looking for out of each team on both sides of the football Sunday afternoon. Alex and I then give our picks against the spread for the remainder of the Week 14 NFL games provided by show sponsor MyBookie.ag. We also give our final score predictions for the Steelers-Ravens game. This 131-minute episode also discusses several other minor topics not noted above and we end this episode by answering several emails we received from listeners. steelersdepot.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send JD a text message and be heard!Go @kennesawstfb in tomorrow's @conferenceusa championship game @jaxstatefb with Owls going for 10th #cfb win this year.  Head coach #jerrymack was named #conferenceusa COY #hootyhoo I'll be watching mañana.   @thechicagopro @thebigtexan I want to take on the 75oz #steakchallenge give me five minutes tops.  @companyadjace @thecoachbaileype @downtimetv @brianbarnaby @call_me_tca_prez @kevdu_theman @rob.p1156 @thomaswdonovan @bmtlive07 @donna.fender @rho212 & @sfniners__vault @yankees the beard ban was misreported so far plus Barns called in to @kayster61 show and we need more moves than @trentgrisham signing. @thejudge44 deserves the best possible team around him.   #cfp will have our matchups on Sunday with a lot of talk on @partylikearochkind & @dominic.etienne @texasfootball team.  @ndfootball @vandyfootball & @canesfootball all have a beef to get into the tournament.   Can't discredit #canes win over the #irish but had two non ranked losses to @accsports @louisvillefb & @smufb but all teams should play more conference games.  @dukefootball getting into chip game vs @uvafootball on a tiebreaker is egregious.  I realize you can't play every conference team but enough of the cream puff games.  That's why I give props to #longhorns opening up this season @ohiostatefb that's what the fans want to see.   @vandyfootball was trying to add a 13th game to give something extra to voters but alas it didn't come to fruition.  Give them props for trying.  @steelers @strangerthingsnetfliix @nyjets @nygiants @abdu1carter WTF @mets @devinwilliams @aleksandrovechkinofficial @nyrangers #fantasyfootball & #sportstrivia too.  All sports. One podcast. (even hockey) PODCAST LINK ON ITUNES: http://bit.ly/JDTSPODCAST

Time to Get Up an NFL playoff game - the duel in Detroit for Dak and Dallas will put one team out - we'll tell you which has a decided edge entering! (0:00) Meanwhile - it's getting ugly in Pittsburgh - could it be time for Tomlin? You'll hear his biggest former Steeler stars say the end is drawing near! (12:30) And - it's March style Madness in December! As the committee makes bubble decisions that are going to have a major impact on college football's future! (23:00) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Jim Rome Show HR 1 - 11/26/25 It's been rare to hear a former Steeler call out Mike Tomlin, but James Harrison says the defense is trash and they're being outcoached. Is this the end of Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh? Then, Jim takes some calls from the Clones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Gangland Wire, host Gary Jenkins sits down with former FBI agent Séamus McElearney, author of Flipping Capo, for a deep dive into one of the most remarkable Mafia investigations and how he took down the DeCavalcante Family. McElearney recounts his unlikely path from the world of banking to the FBI, driven by a lifelong fascination with law enforcement. Despite being told he didn't have the “right background,” he pushed forward—eventually landing in New York's Organized Crime Squad C-10, where he investigated both the Bonanno and DeCavalcante crime families. He describes the rare and demanding experience of working two Mafia families at once, and the teamwork required to dismantle them from the inside out. As the conversation turns to his book, Flipping Capo, McElearney explains the years-long process of writing it and the rigorous FBI review needed to ensure no sensitive investigative techniques were revealed. He shares early memories of notorious boss Joe Massino, and the high-stakes surveillance and arrests that defined his career. A major focus of the episode is the arrest and flipping of Anthony Capo, a feared DeCavalcante soldier—and the first made member of that family ever to cooperate with the government. McElearney walks listeners through the tension of that operation, his calculated approach to treating Capo with respect, and the psychological tightrope that ultimately persuaded Capo to talk. That single decision triggered a domino effect of cooperation that helped bring down the New Jersey mob family many believe inspired The Sopranos. Gary and Séamus dive into the proffer process, cooperation agreements, and the behind-the-scenes strategies used to turn high-level mobsters. McElearney also draws comparisons between real mob figures and the fictional world of The Sopranos, revealing how much of the hit series was grounded in the actual cases he worked. The interview closes with McElearney's reflections on how organized crime continues to evolve. While today's mob may look different from the one he battled in the '90s, he stresses that the methods—and the money—still flow. His candid insights offer a rare look into the changing face of the American Mafia and the ongoing fight to contain it. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app. 2:26 Seamus’ FBI Journey 6:26 Inside the DeCavalcante Family 9:05 The Process of Flipping 10:27 Comparing Families 12:30 The First Cooperation 17:43 The Proffer Process 25:03 Protecting Cooperators 27:44 The Murder of Joseph Canigliaro 29:42 Life on Trial 30:28 The Real Sopranos 39:43 Leading the Columbo Squad 44:15 Major Arrests and Cases 50:57 Final Thoughts and Stories Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire Click here to “buy me a cup of coffee” To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here To rent ‘Brothers against Brothers’ or ‘Gangland Wire,’ the documentaries click here.  To purchase one of my books, click here. Transcript [0:00]Well, hey, welcome all you wiretappers. Good to be back here in studio of Gangland Wire. This is Gary Jenkins, retired Kansas City Police Intelligence Unit detective. [0:07]Welcome to Gangland Wire [0:07]I have a former FBI agent as my guest today. And, you know, I love having these FBI agents on. I’ve had a lot of them on and I worked with a lot of the guys and they’re really good guy. Everyone I ever met and worked with was a really good guy. Now they got their deadhead just like we did. But these aggressive guys are the ones that write books and I’ve got one on today. Seamus McElherney. Welcome, Seamus. Thank you. It’s great to be here. All right. Well, an Irish name now working on the Italian mob, huh? How come you weren’t working on the Westie? So they were maybe gone by the time you came around. There’s no such thing. [0:47]Oh, yeah. You got your code. You Irish guys got your code, too. All right, Seamus, you got a book, Killing, or Killing, Flipping Capo. I want to see it back up over your shoulder there. Really interesting book, guys. He flipped a guy named Anthony Capo. And he really took down the real Sopranos, if you will. So Seamus, tell us a little about how you got started with the FBI, your early career. Okay. When I got out of school, I really didn’t know what to do. And I got into banking and I just decided that was really not for me. And I got lucky where I got to meet an FBI agent. and I was just so fascinated by the work. It seemed like every day was different. You know, one day you could meet a CEO and another day you could be doing surveillance. It just, the job just seemed really interesting. [1:38]Like fascinating to me. So I decided to try to become an agent. And I was constantly told, Shane, you should never become an agent. You didn’t have the background for it. And one, one, a motto in life to me is persistence beats resistance. And I was just determined to become an agent. And back then in the late 1990s, it was a long process and it took me close to two years to actually become an agent. And I was selected to go down to training and I was very fortunate to be selected to go down to training. Now it was your first office back up in New York and the, one of the organized crime squads, or did you go out into boonies and then come back? I actually was born and raised in New York, and I was fortunate to be selected to be sent back to New York. So my first squad, I was sent back to the city, back to 26 Federal Plaza, [2:26]Seamus’ FBI Journey [2:24]and I was assigned to a squad called C-10. And C-10 was an organized crime squad, which was responsible for the Bonanno family, and then later became the DeCavocanti family as well, which I can explain to you yeah yeah we’ll get we’ll get deep into that now now let’s let me ask you a little bit about the book tell the guys a little bit about the process of writing a book from your fbi experiences. [2:47]It’s a long process. First of all, I was contacted by someone who was interested [2:55]Writing a Book [2:53]in writing a book based upon my career. People had encouraged me to write a book because I had a very successful career. And when you work organized crime, it’s never just about you. It’s about the people that you work with, right? It’s definitely a team. It’s never just one person. I had great supervisors. I had great teammates. I had a great partner. And so I was approached to write a book. So then I had no idea. So there was an agent, a famous agent, an undercover agent named Jack Garcia. So I kind of really leaned on him to kind of learn how to write a book. And it’s a long process. You have to get an agent, the publisher, a co-author I had. And then when you finally have all that, and you do have the manuscript ready to be written, you have to send it down to the FBI. And that is a long process. The FBI, in this instance, probably took over a year for them to review the book because what they want to make sure is you’re not revealing any investigative techniques. Fortunately for me, a lot of the information that is in the book is public information because of all the trials that I did. Interesting. Yeah, it is. It is quite a I know it was quite a process. [4:00]Now, the banana squad, you work in a banana squad. You know, we know a little bit about the banana squad. [4:07]Was Joe Pacino the boss when you first came in? Yes, he was. And I actually had the pleasure of arresting Joe as well. Ah, interesting. I did a show on Joe. He’s a really interesting guy. I know my friend, who was at the banana squad, I think just before you were, and he talked a lot of, to me personally, he won’t go on the show, but he talked a lot about Joe Massino. He said, actually, saw him in the courtroom one time later on, he hadn’t seen him in several years. And, and Joe looked across the courtroom. He said, Doug, how are you doing? He said, Joe was that kind of guy. He was real personal. He was. [4:44]Yeah, so when I first got to the squad, the supervisor at the time was a gentleman named Jack Steubing, and he had the thought process to go after Joe and his money. So there was two accountants that were assigned to a squad at that time. It was Kimberly McCaffrey and Jeff Solette, and they were targeted to go after Joe and his money. And it was a very successful case. And when we arrested Joe, I think it was in January of 2003, I believe it was, I was assigned to be part of that arrest team. Interesting. You know, McCaffrey and Sled are going to be talking about that case out at the Mob Museum sometime in the near future. I can’t remember exactly when it is. And it was a hell of a case. I think it just happened, actually. Oh, did it? Okay. I actually just spoke to Jeff, so I think it just happened about a week or two ago. Okay. Yeah, I tried to get him to come on the show, and I think maybe he was committed to doing something else, and I didn’t keep after him. And I don’t like to pester people, you know. [5:44]And Fensell was the one that said, you got to get Jeff Sillett. You got to get Jeff Sillett. When I looked into that money angle of it, that was pretty interesting about how they were laundering their money through the parking lots and just millions. And when he gave up, like $10 million or something? I mean, it’s unbelievable. Yes. And that’s that’s one of the reasons why I wrote the book is because I don’t think the public or the press really put this together where that squad, C-10, is a very unique squad where we were dismantling the two families at the same time. Half the family was working the Bonanno family and half the family was working the Cavalcanti family. So it’s a very unique squad during that six or seven year time period where we were dismantling two families at the same time. [6:26]Inside the DeCavalcanti Family [6:26]Interesting and and that gets us into the dekavocante family i could always struggle with that name for some reason but that’s all right guys know i butcher these names all the time. [6:37]Forgive me guys anyhow so you ended up working on the dekavocante family down in new jersey now that you know that’s unusual how did that come about we got we got a new jersey branch of the fbi down there too, Yes, we do. So what happened was I went to training in February of 1998. The case actually starts in January of 1998, where an individual named Ralph Guarino was the mastermind behind this, but he had the idea of robbing the World Trade Center. So he had three people that actually tried to execute that plan. They did rob the World Trade Center, but when they came out, they took their mask off and they were identified by the cameras that were actually there. So those individuals were actually arrested pretty quickly. I think two were arrested that day. The third person, I think, fled to New Mexico and was found pretty quickly. Ralph was smart enough to know that he was going to be apprehended pretty quickly. So he reached out to an agent named George Hanna, a legendary agent within the office, and George was able to convince him to become a proactive witness, meaning he would make consensual recordings. That was in January of 1998. I think it was January 14th. [7:51]Approximately nine days later, there was a murder of an individual named Joseph Canigliaro. Who was a ruthless DeKalocanti associate assigned to a wheelchair. How he got in a wheelchair was back in the 70s, a DeKalocanti soldier and him went to go collect money from a loan shark victim. And the story goes that Jim Gallo, James Gallo, actually shot Joseph Canigliaro by accident and paralyzed him. No hard feelings. It was just the course of doing their business back then. But he was paralyzed from the 70s to the 90s. He was a ruthless individual. though. And the reason that they killed him is his crew around him had him killed. They actually killed him because he was such a ruthless person and who would extort people and just really was a bad person. There were stories that he would call people over to him in his wheelchair and shoot them. So a ruthless guy. And he was killed in, I think, January 23rd of 1998. [8:50]So that’s how this case starts. Ralph Guarino, as I said, became a proactive witness. When you have a proactive witness. You just don’t know where they’re going to go. What I mean by that is you would direct him through mob associates and many guys, and you’re trying to gather evidence on tape. [9:05]The Process of Flipping [9:06]Where Ralph Guarino led us was the Brooklyn faction of the DeCavalcanti family, namely Anthony Capo, Anthony Rotondo, Vincent Palermo. [9:17]Joseph Scalfani, a whole host of DeCavalcanti people that were located in Brooklyn. And that’s how we start to build this case. Now, granted, I was just in training at that time in February of 1998. I don’t get sent back to New York until May of 1998. And from May of 1998 until December of 1998, they put you through a rotation, meaning I go through the operations center, I go through surveillance, and then I finally get assigned to C-10 in December of 1998. At that point in time, Jeff and Kim are already on the squad, so they’re operating the case against Messino. I come to the squad, and the Decalvo Canty case has now started. So I’m assigned to the Decalvo Canty portion of the squad to work them. And as I said, that’s why we’re working two parallel cases at the time. One is against the Bananos, the other is against the Jersey family. And we operate, Ralph, proactively from January 1998 up until the first set of indictments, which was in December of 1999. So compare and contrast the Banano family structure and how they operated in [10:27]Comparing Families [10:24]a DeCavocante family structure and how they operate. Were they exactly the same or were there some differences? [10:31]They’re into the same types of the rackets that the Waldemar people are into, but I would say related to the Decalvo Canty family, since they’re based in Jersey, they really had a control of the unions out there. There was two unions that they basically controlled, Local 394, which was the labor union, and they also started their own union, which was the asbestos union, which was Local 1030. [10:53]And those were controlled by the Decalvo Canty family, so that was the bread and butter of the Decalvo Canty family. So, as I said, the first set, you know, we operated Ralph proactively for almost close to two years. And then in December of 1999, we executed our first set of arrests because there was whispers that Ralph, why wasn’t he arrested yet? Where he was the mastermind behind the World Trade Center being robbed, but he hasn’t been picked up yet. So there was whispers that he might be cooperating with the government. And for his safety, that’s why we took him off off the street and we executed our first round of arrest in December of 1999. [11:33]I’m a relatively new agent. I’d only been on the squad now for a year and we arrested 39 people that day. I get assigned to arrest Anthony Capo, who’s a soldier within the Decavacanti family based out of Staten Island. And I was really surprised by that because, as I said, I was just an agent for about a year. Usually when you’re a new agent, you’re assigned to the back, you know, like we are security. I was even surprised that I was going to be on a team. And I was fortunate enough to be the team leader, which is very surprising to me. And the case was out of the Southern District of New York. And in New York, just for the public, there is two districts. There’s a Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York. And the Eastern District of New York also had charges on Anthony Capo as well. So for my arrest team, I had members from the Eastern District of New York as well. There was a separate squad that was looking into Anthony Capo there. [12:30]The First Cooperation [12:27]So I got the ticket to arrest Anthony Capo in December of 1999. And that’s how this case starts. [12:33]Interesting. Now, nobody’s ever flipped out of the DeCavocante family before, I believe. It’s been a pretty tight family, really rigidly controlled by this Richie the Boot. I mean, he’s a fearsome, fearsome guy. I mean, you did not want to get crossways with him. And a smaller, tighter family, it seems to me like, than the New York families. That was right. Well, like up and up until that point, up until that point and unbeknownst to me that no made member in the DeKalbacanti family had ever cooperated with the government before. [13:08]So I had watched George Hanna, how he operated Ralph Guarino for those two years, and he always treated him with respect. And prior to going to arrest Anthony Capo, Anthony Capo had had a reputation of being an extremely violent person, hated by law enforcement and even hated by a lot of people within the mob. But I was going I wasn’t going to let that, you know, use that against him. I was going to treat him with respect regardless. Right. I didn’t know I didn’t know him. I never dealt with him before. And I would basically before I went to go arrest him, I was going to study everything about him, learn everything about him. And I was going to use the approach of treating him with respect and using some mind chess when I was going to arrest him. What I mean by that is I was going to learn everything charges about him, everything about his family. I wanted him to know that I knew him like the back of my hand from head to toe, the start of the book to the end of the book. [14:02]And when I went to arrest him, I remember when we went to his house, he wasn’t there. So all the planning that you do related to going into an arrest, the checks that you do, he’s at the house, you knock on his door, and guess what? He’s not there. So his wife basically tells us that he’s at his mom’s house. So then that throws all the planning out the window, and now we go to his mom’s house. And when I met him, you know, I saw that he had a relationship with his parents, which, you know, it gives me a different perspective from what I heard from him. Interesting. And that says something about him, that’s for sure. So everything that I heard of this violent person and hated person, the way he treated law enforcement, he wasn’t that way with me. [14:49]So when I get him in the car and I start to read him his rights and start to ask him questions, every question that I would ask him, I already had the answer to, like, your date of birth, social security number. And then he would invoke his right to counsel, and then you’re not allowed to ask him any more questions. So what I would do is I would let the mind game start then. And I would ask him, you know, tell him about the charges that he had at that point in time. He was only charged with a conspiracy to murder Charlie Maggiore, who was an acting panel boss of the Decalvo Canty family. At that time, that point in time, they had three panel bosses. It was Charlie Maggiore, Jimmy Palermo and Vincent Palermo. Vincent Palermo was known as the stronger personality and really known as the acting boss. And they wanted to kill Charlie Maggiore. So he was charged with that. conspiracy to murder. And he was also charged with, I believe, stock fraud or it was mail fraud that would lead to stock fraud. So when I would question him, I would tell him, since he already invoked his right to counsel, don’t say anything, just listen to me. For an example, I would say your plan was to murder Charles Majuri. Your plan was to ring his doorbell and shoot him right there with James Gallo, Joe Macella. But you guys didn’t do that because there was a cop on the block. So instead of just doing a ring and run, you guys were going to ring and shoot him, right? [16:17]And now you’ve got to think, I told him, don’t say anything. Just listen to what I just said, right? Because I can’t have him answer any questions. And this wasn’t a question. This was a statement. Yeah. So that gives him food for thought, because you got to think, how would I know that? He doesn’t know at that point in time, this is an indictment. How do I know that? He doesn’t know who the cooperator is. He doesn’t know who made a recording. So I’m just throwing this at him. And this is the first time he’s hearing this. So it’s got to make him think, like, what else does this agent know? And I did this with the other charges as well. And then I would just throw these little tidbits at him. And then I would speak to the driver. How are you doing this? just give him food for thought. And then we just developed a bond that day, just talking sports back and forth. He actually was a cowboy fan. I’m a Steeler fan. So we have that little intensity going back and forth about that. And then we just developed a bond that day. I think that was the first time that he had an interaction with law enforcement, where it was more of a respect thing, as opposed to someone yelling at him or being contentious with him. I don’t think he’s ever or experienced that before. [17:27]Also because of his delivery as well, right? You know, it works both ways where you can, he can have his delivery really angry and that could, you know, provoke law enforcement to be angry towards him too. [17:43]The Proffer Process [17:40]So I think that helped it that way that day. And then just throughout the whole day. And I think one of the things that I do talk about within the book is just explaining processes to people, which is generally, I haven’t seen that done in a book before about how pretrial works. So what is pretrial? How cooperation works? How trial works? So I think there’s a lot of tidbits within the book that kind of explain things like that. Even some crimes, too. Like everyone hears what loan sharking is. I go into detail as to what loan sharking is and how it really works, because it’s a very profitable way to make money. So we have our day together. And, you know, then I had to meet his stepfather. I think he had heard that I treated his stepfather with respect. And then approximately a week later, I get a call from his lawyer and I basically almost fell out of my chair when his lawyer said he wanted to cooperate. [18:37]I bet. And then, yeah. And, you know, keep in mind, I’ve only been on the job for a year and I immediately call the assistant who is a seasoned assistant. Maria Barton, what was her name? And she’s really concerned, like, what did I say? Right. So I told her in these situations, less is more. I just told her I was going to call you. That’s all I said. I didn’t say anything else. Didn’t promise anything at all. I said I was going to call you. So, you know, that started with the process and then you go through a proffer. So I explained what the proffer is and how that process works. Interesting. Yeah. A proffer, guys is is like a kind of agreement you know and you you have to be totally open and admit to every crime you ever did and and we’ll cover you but to a certain point the basis you’ll lie down the basics. [19:31]Right. So what, you know, what we kind of like call it is queen for a day, right? Where you come in, we can’t use your words against you unless you lie to us, right? If you were, if you were to lie to us and then go, go to trial and, you know, we could, if you were to take the stand, we could, we could use it against you. But as long as you come in and you tell us the truth and you tell us everything, all the crimes that you’ve done. And the beauty of the mob is when they do a crime, they never do a crime alone, right? They involve a lot of people within a crime. So that’s the beauty of that. So when we have our first proffer, you know, in time, you only have a short amount of time to actually speak about this because you can only be away from jail for a certain amount of time right before the bad guys start to realize that something might be up. Right. So he comes in. And even even before that, on his on his way back, when we’re taking him back to 26 Federal Plaza, one of the things that he tells us is and it makes sense when we went to his house, he wasn’t there. He was at his mom’s house in the car ride back. He throws a little shot at me and he goes, we knew you were coming. [20:33]Meaning that there was a leak. They got a leak. Yeah. Right. So then when we have the first proffer, he explains the leak to us. And it appears allegedly there was a court reporter within the Southern District that was feeding them information. So that’s not good. And then in the proffer, he tells us about two murders. So, and there might be the bodies, a body might be buried up in Phil Lamella, who was a DeCalvo County soldier, up in Marlboro, New York. So that’s the first thing that he tells us. So these are jewels to us, right? He tells us about a leak. He tells us about two murders. Bodies might be buried. So we have to huddle and we have to decide, is he telling us the truth or not? We all decide that he’s telling us the truth. The proper takes place with George Hanna, as I mentioned him before. Kenny McCabe, a legendary Southern District investigator, and me. And in these situations, again, I’m a new agent. Less is more. I don’t want to say something stupid. So I kind of keep my mouth shut, right? And just listen. So that went really well. And that kind of started this whole process. So now, as we said before, you have… No one cooperated in 100 plus years of this family. And now we have the first [21:49]A Spiral of Cooperation [21:48]made member to cooperate. And basically, Anthony starts a spiral effect of cooperation. [21:56]After he where he reported to in the family at that particular time, since he was such a violent person and hard to control within the family himself. Well, he reported to Vincent Palermo, who was the acting panel boss out of that panel that I talked about, but viewed as the acting boss because of his strong personality. So you have Anthony cooperating. He reports to the acting boss. So from our perspective, our perspective, that’s golden, right? Because now Vinny is going to have to make a decision. Is he going to cooperate or not? And then about three months later, guess what? Vinny decides to cooperate. So now we have a soldier and we have the acting boss who’s going to cooperate. So we go from no one in a hundred years to basically two people in three months. [22:45]Then we have an associate, Victor DiChiro, decides to cooperate. So we go and we arrest him. So now we have three people in four months. So we take all their information, and they have to plead guilty, and they get a cooperation agreement. I explain all that. And when you have a cooperation agreement, as I mentioned before, Anthony was initially arrested for conspiracy to murder, and I believe it was stock fraud. When he pleads guilty, he has to plead guilty to all his crimes that he committed throughout his entire life. Off the top of my head, I remember he pled guilty to two murders. [23:23]11 murder conspiracies, boatload of extortions, and basically every other crime you could think of. And then the same thing with Vinny and Victor. We take all their information, and then we have our next series of indictments. So the first series was 39 indictments. And then the second series of indictments is in October of 2000, October 19th, which we just we just passed the 25th anniversary of that. And that was known as the hierarchy arrest, where we arrested the official boss, John Riggi. We arrested the two other panel bosses, Charlie Maggiore and Jimmy Palermo. We arrested the consigliere, Steve Vitabli, a bunch of captains and soldiers. So that’s a significant arrest, right? So now, as you know, when you have an arrest, there’s trials, there’s plea negotiations. So now we arrested 39 people plus another 13. We’re already up to like 50 something like something people out of that arrest. We get a little shockwave in the sense is that there’s an associate named Frank Scarabino. Frank Scarabino comes forward one day and tells us that there’s a contract on Anthony Capo’s family and Anthony Capo. [24:43]And also, there’s a contract on law enforcement. They want to go back to the old Sicilian ways and basically send a message. So, you know, that’s basically a little bit of a jolt where now we have to try to move Capo’s family. [25:03]Protecting Cooperators [24:59]And Capo’s in prison. He’s defenseless. And I explain all that. People have this sense of you go into the witness security program, you get a whole new life and you’re off and having a great time. They don’t realize that there are prisons within the United States that you have to go to prison. So I can’t say where the prisons are, but I kind of explain that process of how the WITSEC program works, which is run by the marshals. So that’s in that’s in the book as well. Yeah, they have a whole prisons that are just for people in WITSEC. I heard about a guy that said he was in one out west somewhere. Yeah. So and, you know, for those prisons, it’s not like you have to prove yourself. They’re all doing the same time. So they’re basically just trying to do their time and try to get out and get into the next phase of the WoodSec program. So that was kind of a jolt, right? So now we have Frank Scarabino cooperate. So now we have another person. So it’s the list is just getting more and more now. You got to stop taking cooperators and start putting people in jail for the rest of their life, man. [26:03]So it got to after that, we had like two more people cooperate. So we went from having nobody to having seven people cooperate in this period. And it’s interesting. And I know we’re going to go back and forth, but we went from 100 years of having no one to having seven people during this three year period. And since that time period, no other members have cooperated since. So we’ve started the clock again. I think we’re at 25 years plus again since no one cooperated during that period. And I mentioned the murder that we started this case, Joseph Canigliaro. So he was the guy that was in the wheelchair. So as I said, they wanted to kill him because he just tortured his crew. We were able, one of the guys who was initially arrested as part of the December 1999 arrest, he sees everybody’s, he is deciding to cooperate with the government. So he decides to cooperate. His name is Tommy DeTora. So Tommy DeTora decides to cooperate. He’s out on bail. So since he’s out on bail, we decide, let’s make him make a consensual recording. And he makes one of the best consensual recordings the Bureau has ever made. He gets everyone involved in that murder together. [27:28]And they talk about the murder from A to Z. It’s a priceless consensual recording that we used at trial. And it just, you know, one of the things that does stick in my mind is the shooter was Marty Lewis, who got a life sentence. [27:44]The Murder of Joseph Canigliaro [27:45]Marty Lewis is describing when he shot him. And he’s like, I shot him like five or six times in his car. Right. And then Marty Lewis gets out of the car. Joseph Canigliaro drives away, gets to the top of the block in Brooklyn, puts a signal on, put a signal on. And drove the traffic laws, drives to Joseph Wrightson’s house. A guy who was part of the murder conspiracy honks his horn for Joseph Wrightson to come downstairs. So can you imagine Joseph Wrightson looking down the window seeing the guy that’s supposed to be dead right now and telling him to get in the car to go to the hospital with him? [28:32]Unfortunately, when they go to the hospital one of the things that does happen is joseph brightson has uh unfortunately an nyp detective cop who’s a cousin and involves him in this as well and the cop takes shells from the car and he becomes he gets locked up by us as well they all go to trial they get convicted and. [28:55]You know, we also arrested a Genevieve’s captain related to the leak. So in total, I think the numbers were 71 defendants were convicted, 11 murders were solved, seven trials transpired. You know, as everyone knows, you have the arrest, but then you have the trials, right? And I know that from December 2002 up until November of 2003 was the year that I was on trial. There was three trials that I had, and then there was another trial. There was two trials that one was a mistrial. Then we had another trial. So during that one year, we had a year of trials, and the biggest trial I had went on for two months. [29:42]Life on Trial [29:38]So I basically had a year of no life where it was just trials. And as you know yourself, when you have trial, it’s not just you just show up at trial. You have trial prep beforehand. And then when you’re actually on trial every day, it’s 20, it’s 24, seven, you have a trial, you have trial, then at night you have to prep a witness. So there’s just constant stuff throughout the day. Yeah, really? It’s a, it’s a long, boring process for you guys. [30:05]You know, these are like what we would say the real Sopranos, you know, the Sopranos, Tom Soprano, and that’s kind of based on this New Jersey family. I tell you, that Soprano, so much of it was ripped from real life. I don’t know. They interviewed you for details. They interviewed some agents and looked some court cases in order to write those scripts. I know that. And in particular, I think of the gay member that was killed. [30:28]The Real Sopranos [30:27]You know, you guys had that down there. So there’s a lot of references in your book or things in the book that the guys will say, oh, yeah, they did that in the Sopranos. Can you tell us about some of them? [30:37]Well, the thing that was great, especially for trial, is in March of 1999, the show starts in January of 1999. And we have a consensual recording in March where we have DeCavocanti members talking about the show and them saying, saying, this is you, this is you, and this is you, which was priceless for trial. Right. It’s like a jury’s going to hear that. And even during the trial, the judge had to give the jury instructions about the show to make sure that it wouldn’t sway their decision. Then if you watch the show, the first season, the official boss in the show dies of stomach cancer. In real life, that’s happened in real life. In June of 1997, Jake Amari was the acting boss of the Decaval Canty family. He dies of stomach cancer. So that’s a… [31:40]It’s a part of the show right there. Then I know everyone sees the strip club, right? Well, the acting boss, as I told you at the time, Vincent Palermo, he had a strip club in Queens, Wiggles. [31:53]So there’s a similarity there. Then they have the meat market that they go to, right, back and forth in the show. That’s a real meat market. I don’t want to say the name of the real meat market here, but there is a real type of meat market there. We discussed the union angle, the two unions that they have. So there’s so many scams related to the unions. There’s the no show job, right, where you don’t have to show up to work. There’s the no work job where you come, but you don’t have to do any work at all. [32:26]Back then, what it was called was they had union halls, right, where you actually had to show up early in the morning. There’d be a line of people, and you would show up. It was called the shape up. and you would wait online and hopefully that you would get work that day. Well, the DeCable Cante members, they wouldn’t show up early and wait online. They would show up whenever they want and they would cut the line and they would get work. So these were their types of unions that they had. Then, as you mentioned, there was the gay angle too. So on the DeCable Cante real side, there was a guy named John D’Amato. And John D’Amato basically made himself the acting boss when John Riggie went to jail in the early 1990s. John D’Amato was part, was very close to John Gotti. There was a murder. It’s probably the most indictable murder in mob history called the murder of Fred Weiss. John Gotti wanted Fred Weiss killed because John Gotti thought that Fred Weiss was cooperating with the government. all because Fred Weiss switched lawyers. [33:35]He was paranoid that Fred Weiss was cooperating. So it became a race to kill Fred Weiss. So you had two mob families trying to kill him, the Decalvo Canty family and the Gambino family. So in total, I think either 15 people at least have either pled guilty or have been convicted of that murder. That murder happened on 9-11-1989, a horrible day, right? So, where I’m going is that happened in 89. In 1990, 1991, John D’Amato becomes the acting boss of the family. So, now he’s the acting boss of the DeKalb Alcanti family. John D’Amato had a girlfriend. His girlfriend starts to tell Anthony Capo that John D’Amato is going to sex clubs with her and they’re having sex with men. So this is this is brought to Anthony Capo’s attention. And he has to tell his superiors that we have a gay acting boss representing our family. And in his eyes, this cannot happen. Right. So he brings it to Vincent Palermo, brings it to Rudy Ferron, and the superiors that this is what’s happening. And they decide that he has to be killed. Now, also what he was doing was, and you speak to Anthony Rotondo, who also cooperated with the government. [34:58]John DeMotta was also stealing money from the family. He was borrowing money from the other families, telling him that it was for the DeCalbacanti family, but it was really to cover his game of the gambling losses that he was incurring. So those are two things that he was doing. Right. He was he was if you ask Anthony Rotondo, he says he was killed because of the gambling that he was incurring the losses. And if he asks Anthony Capo, he was killed because it was looking bad for our family, for their family, that he was a gay acting boss. And at that time, it wasn’t acceptable. Times have changed. But back then, it wasn’t an acceptable thing. And that’s similar to the show. There’s a gay angle within the show as well. [35:41]The Gay Angle in the Mob [35:42]Interesting. It’s the real Sopranos. I remember I watched that show, even going back and watch some of them every once in a while. And I just think, wow, that’s real. So, so even though the director says no one was speaking to them, it’s kind of ironic that there are a lot of like similarities between the show and real life. Yeah. And especially down there in New Jersey and, and, and their connection to the Bonanno family or to a New York, the New York families. And then also, and then also within the show is, is, is the stock stood. There’s also stocks. Oh yeah, the stock fraud. Yeah. They did a boiler room or something. And they were pumping and dumping stocks and Tony was making money out of that. So, yeah, that’s I’d forget. And then from and in real life, Bill Abrama was like the wizard of Wall Street. [36:37]So interesting. Well, you’ve had quite, quite a career. What do you think about New York organized crime now that today, you know, we just had quack, quack, Ruggiero, Ruggiero’s son and some other guys that were connected to families indicted for gambling. He’s got my gambling fraud. I haven’t really studied it yet. It is like they had some rig gambling games, which is common. Like in Kansas city, when I was working this, they would have, they would bring in guys who would love to gamble and had money businessmen. And then they’d, they’d play them for sure. They would cheat them and take a bunch of money from them. This was much more sophisticated, but that’s a, that’s a story that’s been going on a long time. You think that Bob is on a comeback from that? Ha, ha, ha, ha. [37:24]The mob has been around for 125 years. They’re not going to go away. Okay. They get smarter and they adapt. And it’s like, I haven’t read the indictment from head to toe, but they’ve used some, you know, sophisticated investigative techniques just to kind of con people. So they’re getting better, right? So some of the techniques that they use when you hear, it’s like some of the things that I saw where the poker tables that they use, the tables that they use were able to see the card. So they use some pretty, you know, slick techniques, you know, and then like some of the glasses or the contact lenses. So, you know, they’re not going to go away. They’re just going to keep on trying to rebuild. That’s why you have to continue to put resources towards them. Yeah. I think what people don’t understand for these mob guys, it’s if they don’t get out and go into legitimate business selling real estate or something like that. It’s it’s a constant scam a constant hustle every day to figure out another way to make money because they don’t have a paycheck coming in and so they got to figure out a way to make money and they got to make it fast and they got to make it big and in a short period of time it’s just constant every day every time they walk by knew a drug addict one time as a professional burglar and he said every time he’s in recovery he said every time i’ll buy a pharmacy he said in my mind I’m figuring out how to take that pharmacy off. So that’s the way these mob guys are. [38:52]And sports betting has been a staple of theirs forever. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And the apps are getting into them a little bit, but I see what’s going on now. Also, we had these players, Trailblazers coach and a couple, three players, are now helping people rig the bets. And you go to the apps, and you bet a bunch of money on some guy who’s going to have a bad day. And then he just doesn’t show up to work. You end up being the supervisor of the Columbo squad, I see. Same as after that DeCavoconte case, and you spent all that time, you ended up getting promoted to a supervisor and you must’ve been good because they kept you right there in New York and gave you another mob squad. I know one agent here in Kansas City that was promoted and he kept the one squad here, as they called it. [39:43]Leading the Columbo Squad [39:40]And that was really unusual. Usually it’d be somebody in from out of town. So that says something about you. So tell us about your experiences doing that. [39:48]Well, after we did this case, which was about six years, I was requested to go down to run the Columbo squad. And at that time, I think the Columbo squad had eight supervisors in eight years. I really thought I was too young to be a supervisor because I only had six years on. So I was basically voluntold, I would say, to go down there. And guys, that is young. I want to tell you something. I’ve seen a lot of different Bob squad supervisors come through here in Kansas City. And and they were all you know like 20 year agents 15 18 year agents that came from somewhere else so yeah so you know again I thought I was just way too young to be a supervisor as I said I was just on the job for about six years and I was voluntold to go down there yeah and I said if I’m going to go down there there’s a couple of things just based upon what I saw a I’m not a yes man and two the squad needs some sort of stability so I went down there and I was able to stay there I was there from actually December of 2004 all the way up until June of 2013. [40:51]So we at that time when I first got there we really didn’t have a lot of cases going trying to go on so I was able to change the tactics right because I think juries had changed at that point in time where instead of having a historical witness just go on to stand and tell things, now we had shows out there, right? You had NCIS where the whole DNA-type stuff came in, so I had to change our approach, and proactive witnesses making consensual recordings were the way to go. And I think during a seven-year time period, our squad. [41:24]Did an amazing job. Now it went from C10. I went, the squad went down to, it became C38. And we made probably 1,800 recordings in a seven and a half year time period. So, which is an amazing amount of recordings. So, a lot of transcriptions too. A lot of transcriptions. And I, you know, a three-hour tape could take you a day to listen to because you’re just trying to find that little piece of information. Yeah. Because a lot of it is just talk, right? Yeah. So I think our first big case was in June of 2008. And we took down the acting boss, a bunch of captains. And that’s when things really started to take off. We had a violent soldier cooperate named Joseph Compatiello. And, you know, we talk about proffers. His first proffer, he comes in and he basically tells us that there are three bodies buried right next to each other. So the layman would think, OK, they’re right next to each other. They weren’t right next to each other they were about 1.1 miles apart from each other. [42:28]And you could be in your your room there and we’re trying to find a body it’s really hard to find so we were actually able to find two of the bodies one of the bodies was a guy named while Bill Cattullo he was the under boss of the Colombo family we found him in Formingdale Long Island he was behind a berm we were out there for about eight days and each day you know I’m getting pressure from my superiors. We’re going to find something because there’s a lot of press out there. There was another victim named Cormone Gargano who was buried. He was killed in 1994 and buried out there. Unfortunately, there was a new building built. [43:06]And we could not find him there, but he was initially killed at a body shop in Brooklyn, and they buried him in Brooklyn, and then they decided to dig him up and bring him out to Long Island. So we went back to the body shop. What the Colombo family used to do, though, is they used to kill you, bury you, and put lime on top of the body. What lime does is it kills the smell, but preserves the body. Oh, I didn’t realize that. I thought it was supposed to deteriorate the body too. I think most people bought that. So good information. So, so when we found wall of bill, basically from his, from his hips up were intact. Oh, And when related to Cormier Gargano, because they had killed him in the body shop and then dug him up and brought him out to Long Island. We went back to the shop and figuring, let’s see if we can actually see if there’s any parts of him there. And there actually were. And we’re able to get DNA and tie it back and confirm it was him. [44:15]Major Arrests and Cases [44:12]So that’s how that dismantling of the Colombo family started. And then just to fast forward a little bit in January 2011, we have I spearhead the largest FBI mob arrest where we arrested 127 people that day across the states and also went to Italy, too, to take down people. [44:32]And after that, the Bureau decides to reduce the resources dedicated to organized crime. And I then get the Bonanno family back. So C-10 merges back into my squad. And then I have the Bananos, the Columbos, and the Decafacanthes as well. So now I have all three families back. And I basically run that for another two years. And I guess my last official act as a supervisor is related to Goodfellas, where Jimmy Burke had buried a body in his basement. We saw a 43-year-old cold case murder where he killed an individual named Paul Katz, buried him in his basement. And when he went away for the point shaving, the Boston College point shaving case, well, he killed him in 1969, buried him in his basement. Then he goes to jail in the 80s. He gets fearful that the cops that he had on his payroll back in the 60s were going to talk. So he decides to have our witness at the time, Gaspar Valenti, who came forward back in the 80s, moved the body with Vincent S. Our son so they move the body but again they’re not professional so pieces are going to be back there so in 2013 we go back and we dig and we actually find pieces of paul cats and we tie that to dna to his son to his son and we confirm that it was him. [45:57]So that was my last official act as a supervisor. Talk about art, art, imitating life again, you know, in the Goodfellas, they dug up a body. In the Sopranos, they dug up a body. I think I saw another show where they dug up a body. One of them, they were like, man, this smells. [46:13]I mean, can you imagine that going back and having to dig up a body? And then, you know, and, you know, they’re just wearing t-shirts and jeans and maybe leather gloves. And they’d have to deal with all that stuff and put it in some kind of a bag can take it somewhere else oh my god you know i have a question while bill cutello that this guy was part of the the hit team that took him out do you remember anything about right i’m trying to remember i’ve read this story once he was kind of like more of a peacemaker and and if i remember right you remember what the deal was with him well back like what happens is in the early 1990s there’s a colombo war right you have the persicos versus the arena faction and one thing about the Colombos and the Persicos, they never forget. So in the early 1990s, while Bill Cotullo was on the arena side, and as I said, there was a war where approximately 13 people were killed. In the late 1990s, Ali Persico was going to be going to jail, and while Bill Cotullo thought that Ali was going to go to jail and that he would take over the family, Ali didn’t want that to happen. So basically while Vilcunzulo thought he was getting the keys to the kingdom and they were going to kill him. [47:28]And what they did is they lured him to Dino Saraceno’s house in Brooklyn and Dino Calabro lured him into the basement and shot him in the back of the head. And we had all these guys then decide to cooperate. As I said, Joe Caves was the first person to cooperate. Dino Calabro cooperated. [47:48]Sebi Saraceno cooperated. So we had a whole host of people cooperate and we were able to dismantle the Colombo family. And I’ve been extremely blessed to be part of teams that have dismantled three families, Bananos, the Columbos, and the D. Calacanti family. So, you know, as I said, and it’s never just one person. It’s always teammates, partners, and also other supervisors that I’ve had. Yeah, interesting. Yeah, it does take a lot of people to take those down. When you’re writing books, you try to make sure everybody gets a little bit of credit. Yeah. And, you know, I think, you know, the thing that was that was, you know, crazy when related to the recovery of Wild Bill is we had our evidence response team out there. And, you know, the witness takes us out there to show us where he thinks the bodies are buried. And related to Wild Bill, it was in the back of a field. And he kept on saying it was behind a berm. So we took him back there and he showed us where he thought it was. So we had our evidence response team dig. And they basically dug us an Olympic-sized pool. [48:57]We could not find him. So there was two other sites that we were trying to look at because Richie Greaves was supposed to be next to the train tracks. And as I mentioned, Cormac Gargano was next to a building that had been replaced. So my squad, actually our squad, C-38, decides, Seamus, do you mind if we get some shovels? So I was like, sure. So there was, because we were just looking at each other at the time. So my team, Vincent D’Agostino, they’re pretty close by. He got some shovels and came back. And there was like six of us. And we just started digging ourselves. So we dug in one area, nothing. Then another agent basically said, let’s dig over here. [49:38]And sure enough, like talk about, you know, I always say hard work leads to good luck. We started digging and then we found the white stuff. We found the line and jackpot. It was while Bill, he was hogtied face down with his feet up. And as soon as I saw the white stuff and then I saw, you know, like his foot, then we stopped and I said, let me go get the professionals. I ran over, I drove over, and I got the team leader from ERT. She got in the car. And, you know, of course, she’s very excited. I was like, you know, we F.M. got him, you know. And so I drove her back over there. And that’s when you kind of contain the crime scene. And we were able to find him. But, you know, it was our squad that found him. And then, as I said before, then, you know, our squad decides to go back to the body shop. And we found remnants of Carmine Gargano there. So the squad just did an amazing job but really we basically found two bodies ourselves you know and i think in my career i’ve been extremely blessed to find five you know which is just crazy well that’s not something those accountants and lawyers and stuff were trained for you need to get those former cops out there on those shovels and digging for bodies. [50:57]Final Thoughts and Stories [50:57]Well interesting this this has really been fun seamus any any other stories you can think of You want to you want to just want to tell just busting to make sure people know that’s in this book. I tell you what, guys, this is an interesting book. It’s it’s, you know, as I said, those kinds of stories and the procedures and how FBI works. There’s there’s a lot of stories in there. I don’t want to give to give the book away. You know, there’s a lot of stories even. Yeah. You know, there’s an even during that year of trials. There’s plenty of stories there. There was a blackout that that year, too. So there’s a lot of stories related to that. You know, even even the trials, there’s a lot of things that came up at trial. So I don’t want to give to give those stories away. But I think it’s a good read. As I said, I think it’s one of the few books that actually explains things because, you know, I think the public hears these words, but they don’t know what these words mean. And I just think it’s important that they do know what it means, because there’s a lot of things that go on behind the scenes, especially with the jury. Right. You know, the jury only sees what they see. There’s a lot of things that go on when the jury leaves the room between the government, the judge and also the defense attorney. So I try to bring to shed some light related to that as well. [52:13]Interesting. Well, Seamus McElherney. And the book is Flipping Capo. That’s Anthony Capo. The first guy to be flipped in the Cavalcante family ever, which led to a cascade of other mob guys flipping, didn’t it? [52:32]Sure did. Just like in a Bonanno family, you know, they start flipping there. And it just, I didn’t know where it was ever going to end. Finally, it ended. [52:41]It sure did. Well, I have to say, it’s been great to meet you. I wish you continued success. And this has been a lot of fun. All right. Yeah, it’s been great to have you on Seamus. Thanks a lot. Don’t forget, I like to ride motorcycles. So when you’re out on the streets there and you’re a big F-150, watch out for those little motorcycles when you’re out. If you have a problem with PTSD and you’ve been in the service, be sure and go to the VA website. They’ll help with your drugs and alcohol problem if you’ve got that problem or gambling. If not, you can go to Anthony Ruggiano. He’s a counselor down in Florida. He’s got a hotline on his website. If you’ve got a problem with gambling, most states will have, if you have gambling, most states will have a hotline number to call. Just have to search around for it. You know, I’ve always got stuff to sell. I got my books. I got my movies. They’re all on Amazon. I got links down below in the show notes and just go to my Amazon sales page and you can figure out what to do. I really appreciate y’all tuning in and we’ll keep coming back and doing this. Thanks guys.