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Giovanni Rocco
Giovanni Rocco tells Gary his experiences as he infiltrated the DeCavalcante crime family AKA The Real Sopranos. Rocco was able to gain the confidence of the DeCavalcante hierarchy. He tells about the problems and rewards of working undercover on extended investigations that took years. He uses the tough guy characters he saw as he grew up in a working-class family in Bayonne New Jersey. He was a cop’s kid but also a wayward kid who is bored and looking for action. He started working the mean streets of northeast Jersey as a telephone repairman. He joins a police department and because of his father. Once he pays his dues as a patrol officer, because of his local accent and attitude, his Chief puts him undercover in a biker gang. This starts Giovanni Rocco on a long career of working so far undercover that at times he forgets who he really is.
Charlie “The Hat” Stango
Giovanni Rocco assumes the identity of Giovanni Gatto as he moves closer to an organized crime crew headed by Charlie Stango. Giovanni Rocco was part of a DEA/FBI task force and they provide him with “swag” or property that he can use to give the appearance that he has access to stolen property. He used these high-end designer clothes and shoes to trade for cocaine. Stango takes notice of Giovanni Rocco aka Gatto and recruits him into his crew as an associate. From here he will help make cases on many New Jersey mobsters. At the end of this investigation, the Feds placed Giovanni and his wife into Witness Protection and they now live under new identities. Giovanni Rocco uses his experiences in working undercover to help other former law enforcement officers who experience PTSD from their work.
Show notes by Gary Jenkins
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