Joseph D. Pistone aka “Donnie Brasco” – Full Movie

Joseph Dominick Pistone, alias Donnie Brasco, (born September 17, 1939), is a former FBI agent who worked undercover for six years infiltrating the Bonanno crime family and to a lesser extent the Colombo crime family, two of the Five Families of the Mafia in New York City.[1][2] Pistone was an FBI agent for 17 years and is considered to be an FBI legend.[3]
Pistone was a pioneer for deep long-term undercover work. J. Edgar Hoover originally did not want FBI agents to work undercover because it could be a dirty job and might end up tainting the agents, but Pistone’s work helped convince the FBI that using undercover agents instead of just using informants was a crucial tool in law enforcement.

Pistone was born in Erie, Pennsylvania and grew up in Paterson, New Jersey. He graduated from Paterson State College (now William Paterson University) with a B.A. in elementary education social studies in 1965, then worked as a teacher for one year before taking a position at the Office of Naval Intelligence. Pistone joined the FBI in 1969; after serving in a variety of roles, he was transferred to New York in 1974 and assigned to the truck hijacking squad.
His ability to drive 18-wheel trucks and bulldozers led to being chosen for what would become his first undercover operation, infiltrating a gang stealing heavy vehicles and equipment. His penetration of the group led to the arrest of over 30 people along the Eastern Seaboard in February 1976 – described at the time as one of the largest and most profitable theft rings ever broken in America. The name Donald (“Donnie”) Brasco was chosen to be Pistone’s alias.

Pistone was born in Erie, Pennsylvania and grew up in Paterson, New Jersey. He graduated from Paterson State College (now William Paterson University) with a B.A. in elementary education social studies in 1965, then worked as a teacher for one year before taking a position at the Office of Naval Intelligence. Pistone joined the FBI in 1969; after serving in a variety of roles, he was transferred to New York in 1974 and assigned to the truck hijacking squad.
His ability to drive 18-wheel trucks and bulldozers led to being chosen for what would become his first undercover operation, infiltrating a gang stealing heavy vehicles and equipment. His penetration of the group led to the arrest of over 30 people along the Eastern Seaboard in February 1976 – described at the time as one of the largest and most profitable theft rings ever broken in America. The name Donald (“Donnie”) Brasco was chosen to be Pistone’s alias.
[edit]Operation Donnie Brasco (1976–1981)
Pistone was selected to be an undercover agent because he was of Sicilian heritage, was fluent in Italian and was acquainted with the mob from growing up in New Jersey. He also said that he did not perspire under pressure and was aware of the Mafia’s codes of conduct and system. The operation was given the code name “Sun-Apple” after the locations of its two simultaneous operations: Miami (“Sunny Miami”) and New York (“The Big Apple”). After extensive preparation including FBI gemology classes and again using the alias Donnie Brasco, he went undercover as an expert jewel thief.
In September 1976, Pistone walked out of the FBI office and did not return for the next six years. The FBI erased Pistone’s history (making it seem like he never existed) and anyone who called asking for him would be told that no one by that name was employed there. His co-workers, friends and informants had no idea what had happened to him. Pistone stated that it was not the original aim to penetrate the Mafia; rather, the focus was to be on a group of people fencing stolen property from the large number of truck hijackings taking place each day in New York (five to six a day). It was intended that the undercover operation last for around six months.