Daily Commentary – Thursday, April 10, 2014 – The Reverend Al Sharpton is a CAT…not a RAT!

• He helped the FBI secretly record mobsters, but Rev. Al Sharpton said that he’s no rat. Says he went to the Feds after his life was threatened by the mob

Daily Commentary – Thursday, April 10, 2014 Download

Things That Make You Go Hmm … The Rev. Al Sharpton was an FBI Informant

And now for something completely different … From The Smoking Gun, Al Sharpton was an FBI mob informant.

It is almost simply implausible to believe that the Reverend Al was an FBI mob rat. Al Sharpton was known by the FBI as “CI-7”  worked for the FBI in the mid-1980s and regularly interacted with members of four of New York City’s five organized crime families, specifically leaders of the Genovese family, and he secretly recorded their conversations. Where was the microphone, in his medallion? Just when you thought you had heard it all.

The former mob snitch has become a regular in the White House, where he has met with the 44th president in the East Room, the Roosevelt Room, and the Oval Office. He has also attended Obama Christmas parties, speeches, policy announcements, and even watched a Super Bowl with the First Family (an evening the man has called “one of the highlights of my life”). During these gatherings, he has mingled with cabinet members, top Obama aides, military leaders, business executives, and members of Congress. His former confederates were a decidedly dicier lot: ex-convicts, extortionists, heroin traffickers, and mob henchmen. The man’s surreptitious recordings, FBI records show, aided his government handlers in the successful targeting of powerful Mafia figures with nicknames like Benny Eggs, Chin, Fritzy, Corky, and Baldy Dom.

The ex-informant has been one of Obama’s most unwavering backers, a cheerleader who has nightly bludgeoned the president’s Republican opponents in televised broadsides. For his part, Obama has sought the man’s counsel, embraced him publicly, and saluted his “commitment to fight injustice and inequality.” The president has even commented favorably on his friend’s svelte figure, the physical manifestation of a rehabilitation effort that coincided with Obama’s ascension to the White House. This radical makeover has brought the man wealth, a daily TV show, bespoke suits, a luxury Upper West Side apartment, and a spot on best seller lists.

Most importantly, he has the ear of the President of the United States, an equally remarkable and perplexing achievement for the former FBI asset known as “CI-7,” the Rev. Al Sharpton.

A lengthy investigation by The Smoking Gun has uncovered remarkable details about Sharpton’s past work as an informant for a joint organized crime task force comprised of FBI agents and NYPD detectives, as well as his dealings with an assortment of wiseguys.

Beginning in the mid-1980s and spanning several years, Sharpton’s cooperation was fraught with danger since the FBI’s principal targets were leaders of the Genovese crime family, the country’s largest and most feared Mafia outfit. In addition to aiding the FBI/NYPD task force, which was known as the “Genovese squad,” Sharpton’s cooperation extended to several other investigative agencies.

TSG’s account of Sharpton’s secret life as “CI-7” is based on hundreds of pages of confidential FBI affidavits, documents released by the bureau in response to Freedom of Information Act requests, court records, and extensive interviews with six members of the Genovese squad, as well as other law enforcement officials to whom the activist provided assistance.

Like almost every other FBI informant, Sharpton was solely an information source. The parameters of his cooperation did not include Sharpton ever surfacing publicly or testifying on a witness stand.

Check out the pics of Al Sharpton at The Daily News … Rev. Al Sharpton worked as FBI informant, taping conversations with mob pals to help bring down Genovese crime family.

Sharpton became an informant after he was caught on tape with a drug kingpin discussing cocaine deals, and the feds threatened him with charges unless he flipped and snitched on mafia acquaintances, according to The Smoking Gun. In an interview with the Daily News on Monday, Sharpton disputed much of the report, saying he turned to authorities after receiving threats from Gambino family member Joseph (Joe Bana) Buonanno and others.

Five Mobsters Arrested Three Decades After the 1978 Lufthansa Heist at JFK Made Famous in the Movie ‘GoodFellas’ (Update: Bonanno Crime Family Suspect Vincent Asaro, Jerome Asaro, Thomas DeFiore, John Rigano & Jack Bonventre Arrested)

Five men believed to be reputed mobsters associated with New York’s Bonnano crime family have been arrested Thursday in connection with the 1978 Lufthansa heist at JFK  International Airport. The “heist” was made famous in the 1990 movie. ‘GoodFellas’. Huh, I would have thought at this point either those involved in the multi-million dollar heist would have died of old age or been whacked for their involvement in the crime. Many of those who took part in the crime turned up dead to keep their silence. Mastermind of the heist James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke was a member of the the Lucchese crime family and died in prison in 1996. However, it would seem that Jimmy the Gent had some secrets in the basement of his home, now owned by his daughter.

Original VIDEO from NBC of the 1978 Lufthansa Heist

VIDEO – NBC

Five men believed to be mobsters were taken into custody on Thursday on charges of murder and other crimes linked to an long-unsolved 1978 Lufthansa heist at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, an FBI spokeswoman said.

The arrests in the three-decades-old crime, made famous by the 1990 film “Goodfellas,” were the result of an FBI search last summer at the New York home of James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke, said FBI spokeswoman Kelly Langmesser.

Burke, the suspected mastermind of the heist, died in prison in 1996 while serving time for the murder of a drug dealer. Robert De Niro played a character based on Burke in the film.

Those arrested were Bonanno family suspects Vincent Asaro, Jerome Asaro, Thomas DeFiore, John Rigano and Jack Bonventre.

Vincent Asaro

File this one under, better late than never … Arrests Made in Cold Case Investigation, Including ’78 Lufthansa Heist.

The investigation looked at numerous crimes, some predating even the airport heist, including a homicide committed in the late 1960s. The federal investigation first became public in June, when F.B.I. agents descended on a home in the South Ozone Park neighborhood of Queens and began digging in the basement, soon finding human remains, the person familiar with the investigation said.

The property was owned by the daughter of the late James (Jimmy the Gent) Burke, the underworld figure whom investigators have long suspected of masterminding the Lufthansa theft.

One of the men who has been arrested, Vincent Asaro, 78, is expected to face charges in connection to the airport robbery, according to a second person familiar with the investigation. It is not immediately clear what investigators believe to have been his role.

The other men under arrest are not accused of that particular crime.

Boston Gangster James “Whitey” Bulger Sentenced to Two Life Sentences Plus 5 Years in Prison

BYE, BYE WHITEY …

James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger, the former organized crime figure from South Boston, Massachusetts and head of the Winter Hill Gang was dressed in his orange prison jump suit as he was sentenced today to two life sentences in prison plus five years by a federal judge. Ha, because after 2 life sentences, those extra 5 years just put the cherry on the sundae. The 84 year old Bulger was convicted earlier this year of charges that he participated in 11 murders, drug trafficking, racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and pretty much every crime that took place in South Boston. Good riddance, this man will spend the rest of his life in a cage.

James “Whitey” Bulger … Then and Now

Notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger was sentenced today to two life sentences in prison plus five years by a federal judge who cited the lives that Bulger wrecked as he rampaged for decades through the city’s underworld under the protection of corrupt FBI agents.

The testimony of human suffering that you and your associates inflicted on others was at times agonizing to hear and painful to watch,” said US District Court Judge Denise J. Casper, who recited, one by one, the names of the people Bulger murdered.

“The scope, the callousness, the depravity of your crimes, are almost unfathomable,” she said in the stillness of a courtroom filled with teary-eyed relatives of the killer’s victims.

Bulger, 84, was convicted earlier this year of charges that he participated in 11 murders, drug trafficking, racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and other crimes. Bulger fled Boston shortly before his 1995 racketeering indictment. One of the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted — along with Osama bin Laden — he eluded a worldwide manhunt until he was captured in June 2011 in Santa Monica, Calif.

The Outlaw and the Lawman from 2001

For those of you not familiar with Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger, the VIDEO below is a good watch. “Whitey” Bulger,
one of the most noted legendary Boston crime bosses, who was the inspiration to the movie, The Departed.”

James “Whitey” Bulger Found Guilty on 31 of 32 Counts, Including Extortion, Money Laundering, Drug Dealing, Weapons Possession & Responsible for the Murder of 11 People

In the end a jury found “Whitey” Bulger guilty on 31 of 32 counts.

James “Whitey” Bulger,  the reputed and feared former head of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang evaded the law for 16 years; however, justice has finally been served. A jury today found “Whitey” Bulger guilty on 31 of 32 counts that included extortion, money laundering, drug dealing, weapons possession and responsible for the murder of 11 individuals, including a woman. However, the jury found that in 7 cases of murder the jury found that there was not enough evidence and 1 had not determination. On a personal note, I am not sure how the jury came to such a determination on the murders that Bulger was not responsible for. Every Southie knows exactly who was responsible for the murders. Whitely Bulger, the head of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang, was a heinous individuals and should never have been provided the befit of the doubt. This mob POS actually killed women.  In the end, the 83 year old Bulger will be spending the rest of his life in prison.

The turn of events was capped Monday when a federal jury found the former mob boss guilty on 31 of 32 counts — including extortion, money laundering, drug dealing and weapons possession. The jury held Bulger responsible for the murder of 11 people.

The 83-year-old Bulger faces a maximum sentence of up to life, plus 30 years in prison.

“So many peoples’ lives were so terribly harmed by the criminal actions of Bulger and his crew. And today’s conviction does not alter that harm, and it doesn’t lessen it,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, speaking about the victims and their families.

“However, we hope that they find some degree of comfort in the fact that today has come, and Bulger is being held accountable for his horrific crimes,” she said.

Bulger was accused of involvement in killing 19 people, including two women.

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