# Informants

Canonical: https://mobfiles.org/informants/

Testimony and statements by informants, limited to what a hearing, a trial, or an agency record actually contains.

This section holds what the record itself contains: sworn testimony printed in a hearing volume, a court docket, a prison index card, an agency file. It does not paraphrase memoirs or journalism as if they were the testimony.

**Joseph Valachi.** The first informant filed here. His testimony before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in September and October 1963 is filed from the printed hearings, with page references, on the [Valachi, 1963](/valachi/) section page, and the records on the man himself are on [his page](/people/joseph-valachi/). The charts shown to the subcommittee are filed as exhibits; the names on them are chart labels, not findings, and are not copied onto any family page. In April 1988 the same subcommittee opened [Organized Crime: 25 Years After Valachi](/items/psi-1988-25-years-after-valachi/) by recalling that testimony, with the 1963 charts hung in the room; an FBI witness called him "the first member informant" the Bureau developed ([11 April 1988](/items/shrg-100-906-valachi-retrospective-1988-04-11/)).

## The 1988 hearings: "25 Years After Valachi"

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations returned to the subject in April 1988 with five days of hearings, printed as S. Hrg. 100-906 and filed here from the scan held by the National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Page references below are to the printed pages; the NCJRS PDF runs eight pages ahead in the testimony section. Three witnesses from inside or alongside La Cosa Nostra testified in person, two of them from behind a screen. Their statements are sworn testimony, not findings, and no name from them is copied onto a family chart.

## Angelo Lonardo

A cooperating member. On [15 April 1988](/items/psi-1988-lonardo-testimony/) Lonardo testified under a use-immunity order of the District of Columbia federal court. Senator Nunn's introduction (printed pages 83 and 84) records his April 1983 conviction, his sentence of life plus 103 years, and that in 1984 he became "the highest ranking member of the American LCN to testify as a prosecution witness." Lonardo's statement begins at printed page 86: "I am the former underboss of the Cleveland organized crime family." He described the Cleveland family's share of the Las Vegas skim (pages 87 and 88), the Genovese family's role in representing Cleveland on the Commission, a separate Chicago commission over the western families (pages 88 and 89), and trips to Chicago and New York about the Teamsters presidency (page 90). His attorney summarized the cooperation agreement, which was not printed, at pages 93 and 94. His [prepared statement and his sworn answers to a staff "Chronology of Violence"](/items/psi-1988-lonardo-prepared-statement/) are printed from page 529. A 1983 FBI note in the [Senate Judiciary record](/items/sjc-1983-organized-crime-in-america-part-1/) reports his conviction, and the Second Circuit names him among the witnesses in the [Commission case](/items/us-v-salerno-868-f2d-524/). See [his page](/people/angelo-lonardo/).

## Joseph D. Pistone (an FBI agent, not an informant)

Pistone was a Special Agent of the FBI who worked undercover as "Donnie Brasco." He is listed here because his testimony carried several prosecutions, not because he informed. On [22 April 1988](/items/shrg-100-906-pistone-testimony-1988-04-22/) he testified that he was sworn in as an agent on July 7, 1969 (printed page 201), began the undercover role in September 1976 (page 202), and that his "testimony in over 10 trials and even more grand juries" produced "more than 200 indictments and over 100 convictions" (page 203). The courts record his testimony and the statements made to him in [United States v. Ruggiero](/items/courtlistener-us-v-ruggiero-726-f2d-913/) (2d Cir. 1984), [United States v. Balistrieri](/items/courtlistener-us-v-balistrieri-779-f2d-1191/) (7th Cir. 1985) and the [Commission case](/items/us-v-salerno-868-f2d-524/). The FBI's own account is its [history page](/items/fbi-history-joe-pistone-undercover-agent/) and an [FBI photograph](/items/fbi-pistone-sonny-black-1970s/). The FBI Vault's "Operation Donnie Brasco Part 01," the 1980-81 requests to let an undercover agent wear a body recorder, is being filed in another section. See [his page](/people/joseph-pistone/).

## Vincent Cafaro

A member who cooperated and then withdrew. Arrested with Anthony Salerno in March 1986, Cafaro was ordered detained ([631 F. Supp. 1364](/items/courtlistener-us-v-salerno-631-f-supp-1364/)); the Second Circuit's opinion on the detention summarizes the government's proffer that he was a "captain" ([794 F.2d 64](/items/courtlistener-us-v-salerno-794-f2d-64/)), and Justice Marshall's dissent in the [Supreme Court's decision](/items/courtlistener-us-v-salerno-481-us-739/) records that he became a cooperating witness "by working in a covert capacity" in October 1986. On [29 April 1988](/items/shrg-100-906-cafaro-testimony-1988-04-29/), still under indictment and without immunity, he testified that he became "a "made" member of the Genovese family" in 1974 (printed page 223) and "a soldier in the Genovese family" (page 224), that he wore a wire for the FBI for five months and stopped cooperating in October 1987 (page 223), and that Vincent Gigante's public behavior helped "insulate him from the authorities" (pages 228 and 229). His sworn [affidavit, Exhibit 38](/items/shrg-100-906-cafaro-affidavit-exhibit-38/), is printed from page 866. The FBI's [La Cosa Nostra history page](/items/fbi-history-la-cosa-nostra/) gives the Bureau's summary. See [his page](/people/vincent-cafaro/).

## Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno

No hearing at which Fratianno himself testified has been found. The Ninth Circuit's opinion in [United States v. Brooklier](/items/courtlistener-us-v-brooklier-685-f2d-1208/) (1982) calls him "an FBI informant," describes his testimony on "the internal organization and operations of La Cosa Nostra," and holds his accomplice testimony sufficient on one extortion charge. FBI Director Webster told the [Senate Judiciary Committee in 1983](/items/sjc-1983-organized-crime-in-america-part-1/) (printed pages 72 and 73) that he was "an LCN member" and a government witness in the witness protection program. A Cleveland case summary in the [1980 "Use of Violence" hearings](/items/psi-1980-use-of-violence-part-2/) (printed pages 408 and 409) lists him among four admitted "hit men" who cooperated after the 1976-77 bombings. See [his page](/people/aladena-fratianno/).

## The 1980 "Use of Violence" hearings and Raymond Ferritto

The [1980 hearings](/items/psi-1980-use-of-violence-part-2/) also name Raymond Ferritto among the cooperating "hit men" in the Danny Greene and John Nardi bombings. The Sixth Circuit's opinion in United States v. Licavoli, 725 F.2d 1040 (1984), which records that Ferritto testified at the state murder trials and then refused to testify at the federal trial, so that his earlier testimony was read to the jury, is being filed with the Cleveland records.

## Salvatore Gravano

A cooperating member, and a living person; only court and agency records are used. The Second Circuit in [United States v. Locascio](/items/courtlistener-us-v-locascio-6-f3d-924/) (1993) records that he pleaded guilty and "testified at length at trial against Gotti and Locascio." The court in [United States v. Gigante](/items/courtlistener-us-v-gigante-166-f3d-75/) (1999) lists him among six cooperating former members, as "the former Gambino family underboss." Judge Weinstein's opinion in [Orena v. United States](/items/courtlistener-orena-v-us-956-f-supp-1071/) (1997) summarizes his testimony in the Colombo family case. The Arizona Court of Appeals in [State ex rel. Napolitano v. Gravano](/items/courtlistener-state-v-gravano-204-ariz-106/) (2002) records his 1991 plea, his cooperation, his five-year sentence, his placement in the federal witness protection program, and his February 2000 arrest in Arizona. The FBI's [Gotti history page](/items/fbi-history-john-gotti/) credits "the eventual cooperation" of Gravano.

## Abraham Reles

A Brooklyn accomplice witness. The New York Court of Appeals in [People v. Goldstein](/items/courtlistener-people-v-goldstein-285-ny-376/) (1941) called his testimony "an important factor in the People's case" and called him "concededly an accomplice." [People v. Buchalter](/items/courtlistener-people-v-buchalter-289-ny-181/) (1942) refers to him as "now dead." A retired police official, Frank C. Bals, told the Kefauver Committee on [14 February 1951](/items/kefauver-p7-bals-testimony-1951-02-14/) that Reles began to talk in about 1940 and gave his account of Reles's fall from the Half Moon Hotel (Part 7, printed page 587), and on [15 March 1951](/items/kefauver-p7-bals-testimony-1951-03-15/) that the guard detail "came directly under me" (page 1113). See [his page](/people/abraham-reles/).

## Henry Hill

The Second Circuit's opinion in [United States v. Burke](/items/courtlistener-us-v-burke-700-f2d-70/) (1983) says the government's case in the Boston College point-shaving trial "consisted principally of the testimony of Henry Hill and three other witnesses," that he was "thoroughly impeached," and that his immunity agreement was read to the jury. The FBI's [Vault file](/items/fbi-vault-henry-hill-part-01/) records his indictment at Tampa on November 18, 1970, in an earlier federal case with James Burke. See [his page](/people/henry-hill/).

## Nicholas Calabrese and the Witness Security Program

A U.S. Attorney's release of [11 January 2007](/items/usao-ndil-2007-01-11-witsec-disclosure/), on charges against a deputy marshal who disclosed information about him, is the Witness Security Program record filed here. Citing the FBI's affidavit, it says Calabrese admitted being "a "made" member of the "Chicago Outfit"," agreed in 2002 to cooperate, and was admitted to the program in August 2002 on an application describing his ability to testify about 16 murders in which he took part and 22 others. The deputy's appeal is [United States v. Ambrose](/items/courtlistener-us-v-ambrose-668-f3d-943/). The [2005 indictment release](/items/usao-ndil-family-secrets-indictment-2005/) names him as a defendant, and a separate opinion in [United States v. Schiro](/items/courtlistener-us-v-schiro-679-f3d-521/) (2012) cites "Nick Calabrese's testimony" as evidence in the Spilotro murders. See [his page](/people/nicholas-calabrese/).

## Frank Cullotta

The Illinois Appellate Court in [People v. Neumann](/items/courtlistener-people-v-neumann-148-ill-app-3d-362/) (1986) records his April 1982 agreement with the FBI, made while he was imprisoned in Nevada, and his testimony for the State under a grant of immunity. The FBI's 1980 [Las Vegas surveillance logs](/items/fbi-vault-cullotta-p01-surveillance-logs-1980/) predate that agreement and are not testimony. No opened federal opinion records his testimony against Anthony Spilotro. See [his page](/people/frank-cullotta/).

## Gregory Scarpa, Sr. (an informant who did not testify)

The FBI's own [Vault file](/items/fbi-vault-gregory-scarpa-sr-part-01/) records his designation as a Top Echelon informant on 3/20/62. Judge Weinstein found in [Orena v. United States](/items/courtlistener-orena-v-us-956-f-supp-1071/) (1997) that he informed again from 1980 and was closed and reopened in 1992. The Second Circuit in [United States v. Persico](/items/courtlistener-us-v-persico-164-f3d-796/) (1999) records the government's post-trial acknowledgment that "for many years Scarpa had been an informant for the FBI," and in [United States v. Orena](/items/courtlistener-us-v-orena-145-f3d-551/) (1998) records the November 1991 attempt on his life. See [his page](/people/gregory-scarpa-sr/).

## Joseph Massino

The Second Circuit in [United States v. Basciano](/items/courtlistener-us-v-basciano-599-f3d-184/) (2010) records that Massino, "the then-incarcerated official boss of the Bonanno crime family," advised federal authorities after November 2004 of Vincent Basciano's activities from prison. A U.S. Attorney's [2005 release](/items/usao-edny-2005-10-28-directors-awards/) records his July 2004 racketeering conviction. No record of his later testimony has been opened.

## James Bulger and Stephen Flemmi

Bulger never testified. His record as an informant is in court findings and a congressional report: the District of Massachusetts in United States v. Salemme, 91 F. Supp. 2d 141 (1999), found that he "was administratively designated an FBI informant on September 30, 1975"; the First Circuit decided United States v. Flemmi, 225 F.3d 78 (2000) and United States v. Bulger, 816 F.3d 137 (2016); and the House Committee on Government Reform reported in 2004 on the Boston FBI's use of both men as informants ([H. Rept. 108-414](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-108hrpt414/html/CRPT-108hrpt414-vol1.htm)). Those records are being filed with the New England section, and the FBI's [photograph of Bulger](/items/fbi-whitey-bulger/) is already here.

## What is not here

No memoir, profile or broadcast is used. Informants' own reporting to the FBI, such as Scarpa's or Massino's, is labelled as reporting, not testimony. Where a court gives no trial date, none is supplied. Living witnesses appear only through the court and hearing records quoted.