Donnie Brasco: Undercover Agent Joseph Pistone

Donnie Brasco was an alias of undercover agent Joseph Pistone. Joseph Pistone was born in 1939 in Era, Pennsylvania and grew up in Paterson New Jersey. He graduated from Paterson state college. He left with a B.A. in elementary education social studies in 1965. He then worked as a teacher for one year before taking a position at the office of naval intelligence. He joined the FBI in 1969 after serving many other different roles. In 1974 there was an increase in truck hijackings. During that year Joseph’s ability to drive 18 wheelers and bulldozers made him a perfect fit for the job of being an undercover informant sent to infiltrate a gang stealing heavy vehicles and equipment. Pistone was also selected because he was of Sicilian descent, was fluent in Italian and was acquainted with the mob when he lived in …show more content…
After many gemology classes he went undercover as an expert thief named Donnie the jeweler. While in New York the FBI set him up an apartment and one in Florida. Pistone would target various restaurants and bars where known mafia or mob members would attend. When Pistone went under cover, the FBI erased any info on him. His co-workers, friends and informants had no idea what happened to him. In the beginning the plan wasn’t to penetrate the mafia but to penetrate the group that was stealing the vehicles.
The undercover operation was supposed to last six months instead it lasted six years. Pistone became an associate in the Jilly Greca’s crew in the Colombo family. His crew was mostly involved in high jacking vehicles and selling stolen merchandise. Since the FBI and the police departments had no real identity on who joseph really was they had his identity as Donnie Brasco. He later switched to the Bonanno family. One day he met his would be mentor in the bonnano crime family known as Benjamin