The DeCicco truth

[Cheech]

If Decicco was a rat you would think the Castellano murder gets thwarted.

[jmack]

If Decicco was a rat you would think the Castellano murder gets thwarted.

Eh, debatable. Exhibit 1 is Scarpa and all of his nonsense while being a CI. Exhibit 2 is the 84 Commission meeting location being given up. He organized that meeting and is one of the few who could give up the location. Exhibit 3 would be Gus Salfani. He gave reliable information in the past. He made an allegation that he know could have got him killed. I doubt he took it lightly. I’m not saying he certainly was a CI, but I think the odds lean that way.

[gohnjotti]

If Decicco was a rat you would think the Castellano murder gets thwarted.

Eh, debatable. Exhibit 1 is Scarpa and all of his nonsense while being a CI. Exhibit 2 is the 84 Commission meeting location being given up. He organized that meeting and is one of the few who could give up the location. Exhibit 3 would be Gus Salfani. He gave reliable information in the past. He made an allegation that he know could have got him killed. I doubt he took it lightly. I’m not saying he certainly was a CI, but I think the odds lean that way.

True. A lot of cooperating informants lie to their FBI handlers because if they notify the FBI about anything violent, the FBI has to take them off the street. Greg Scarpa and Frankie Sparaco are two great examples. Sal Miciotta also claims he was told "Keep doing what you have to do," words to that effect, implying that he can continue committing violence (particularly in relation to his loansharking enterprise) so long as he kept it under wraps. Greg Scarpa is, of course, an extreme example because it involved the FBI being somewhat complicit, but it's somewhat representative of the overall dynamic.

[Little_Al1991]

Would a FOIA request about DeCicco clear things up?

[gohnjotti]

Would a FOIA request about DeCicco clear things up?

In my experience, they wouldn't concede whether he is a cooperating witness. Worth a shot though.

[Brovelli]

I like this one as a debate between street guys and the history nerds lol. Every street guy seems adamant there is no way whereas every historian says it’s a possibility maybe even a likelihood. Would be great if it was ever verified/dismissed

[Snakes]

Would a FOIA request about DeCicco clear things up?

In my experience, they wouldn't concede whether he is a cooperating witness. Worth a shot though.

Yeah, there would be a lot of redactions but there may be something in there somewhere that allows us to discern an identity. They have been extremely pedantic about redactions lately, though.

[SonnyBlackstein]

If Decicco was a rat you would think the Castellano murder gets thwarted.

Eh, debatable. Exhibit 1 is Scarpa and all of his nonsense while being a CI. Exhibit 2 is the 84 Commission meeting location being given up. He organized that meeting and is one of the few who could give up the location. Exhibit 3 would be Gus Salfani. He gave reliable information in the past. He made an allegation that he know could have got him killed. I doubt he took it lightly. I’m not saying he certainly was a CI, but I think the odds lean that way.

This may sound dumb, happy to concede if it is, but why couldn't the 84 commission meet have been discovered due either a tail, a phone tap or a wire???

Why does it 'have' to be through a rat.

There's 3 VERY plausible alternatives which are completely ignored.

And when you take the 84 meet out of the equation, what's left that DeCicco was a rat? Salfani?

[jmack]

If Decicco was a rat you would think the Castellano murder gets thwarted.

Eh, debatable. Exhibit 1 is Scarpa and all of his nonsense while being a CI. Exhibit 2 is the 84 Commission meeting location being given up. He organized that meeting and is one of the few who could give up the location. Exhibit 3 would be Gus Salfani. He gave reliable information in the past. He made an allegation that he know could have got him killed. I doubt he took it lightly. I’m not saying he certainly was a CI, but I think the odds lean that way.

This may sound dumb, happy to concede if it is, but why couldn't the 84 commission meet have been discovered due either a tail, a phone tap or a wire???

Why does it 'have' to be through a rat.

There's 3 VERY plausible alternatives which are completely ignored.

And when you take the 84 meet out of the equation, what's left that DeCicco was a rat? Salfani?

The informant gave the information to FBI agent Joseph F. O’Brien, who was on the Gambino squad. Unlike the bug in Castellano’s house, there was no need to shade the truth to protect trade secrets. Is it definitive, not at all. For me it does have a ring of truth though.

[SonnyBlackstein]

If Decicco was a rat you would think the Castellano murder gets thwarted.

Eh, debatable. Exhibit 1 is Scarpa and all of his nonsense while being a CI. Exhibit 2 is the 84 Commission meeting location being given up. He organized that meeting and is one of the few who could give up the location. Exhibit 3 would be Gus Salfani. He gave reliable information in the past. He made an allegation that he know could have got him killed. I doubt he took it lightly. I’m not saying he certainly was a CI, but I think the odds lean that way.

This may sound dumb, happy to concede if it is, but why couldn't the 84 commission meet have been discovered due either a tail, a phone tap or a wire???

Why does it 'have' to be through a rat.

There's 3 VERY plausible alternatives which are completely ignored.

And when you take the 84 meet out of the equation, what's left that DeCicco was a rat? Salfani?

The informant gave the information to FBI agent Joseph F. O’Brien, who was on the Gambino squad. Unlike the bug in Castellano’s house, there was no need to shade the truth to protect trade secrets. Is it definitive, not at all. For me it does have a ring of truth though.

Good info. Cheers j.

[jmack]

If Decicco was a rat you would think the Castellano murder gets thwarted.

Eh, debatable. Exhibit 1 is Scarpa and all of his nonsense while being a CI. Exhibit 2 is the 84 Commission meeting location being given up. He organized that meeting and is one of the few who could give up the location. Exhibit 3 would be Gus Salfani. He gave reliable information in the past. He made an allegation that he know could have got him killed. I doubt he took it lightly. I’m not saying he certainly was a CI, but I think the odds lean that way.

This may sound dumb, happy to concede if it is, but why couldn't the 84 commission meet have been discovered due either a tail, a phone tap or a wire???

Why does it 'have' to be through a rat.

There's 3 VERY plausible alternatives which are completely ignored.

And when you take the 84 meet out of the equation, what's left that DeCicco was a rat? Salfani?

The informant gave the information to FBI agent Joseph F. O’Brien, who was on the Gambino squad. Unlike the bug in Castellano’s house, there was no need to shade the truth to protect trade secrets. Is it definitive, not at all. For me it does have a ring of truth though.

Good info. Cheers j.

Absolutely, brother. Again, it’s not a sure thing, but this coupled with the Sclafani information is suspect. I’m not aware of sclafani’s information ever being proven wrong and he was getting information straight from the Southern District of NY where his mother in law worked. She was actually indicted in a rico case because of it.

[SonnyBlackstein]

I’m not aware of sclafani’s information ever being proven wrong and he was getting information straight from the Southern District of NY where his mother in law worked. She was actually indicted in a rico case because of it.

This poses more questions to yours than it answers. Surely only VERY few specialized FBI agents would know the identity of CI's. Especially one such as important as DeCicco.

I have no idea what position she had but I'd have thought only 2/3 agents on the squad and their supervisor would know DeCicco was a CI.

[jmack]

I’m not aware of sclafani’s information ever being proven wrong and he was getting information straight from the Southern District of NY where his mother in law worked. She was actually indicted in a rico case because of it.

This poses more questions to yours than it answers. Surely only VERY few specialized FBI agents would know the identity of CI's. Especially one such as important as DeCicco.

I have no idea what position she had but I'd have thought only 2/3 agents on the squad and their supervisor would know DeCicco was a CI.

I don’t disagree, but she had information on other informants that proved to be correct in the past. Again, it’s not hard facts, but I lean toward it being true.

[SonnyBlackstein]

I’m not aware of sclafani’s information ever being proven wrong and he was getting information straight from the Southern District of NY where his mother in law worked. She was actually indicted in a rico case because of it.

This poses more questions to yours than it answers. Surely only VERY few specialized FBI agents would know the identity of CI's. Especially one such as important as DeCicco.

I have no idea what position she had but I'd have thought only 2/3 agents on the squad and their supervisor would know DeCicco was a CI.

I don’t disagree, but she had information on other informants that proved to be correct in the past. Again, it’s not hard facts, but I lean toward it being true.

Concur. It is looking more likely than not considering the above.

Do we have a possible reason/motivation for DeCicco being a CI? Was he ever caught up in large drug deals, murders he was looking at walking from. I don't know much about his history. Usually it takes threat of serious time to roll.