Posing as jewel thief "Donnie Brasco," FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone carried out the most audacious sting operation ever, working undercover for six years to infiltrate the flamboyant community of mafia soldiers, "connected guys," captains and godfathers. Now his unforgettable eyewitness account brings to pulsating life the entire world of wiseguys—their code of honor and their treachery, their wives, girlfriends and whores, their lavish spending and dirty dealings. With the drama and suspense of a high-tension thriller, Joseph Pistone reveals every incredible aspect of the jealously guarded world he penetrated...and draws a chilling picture of what the mafia is, does, and means in America today. In Donnie Brasco , FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone tells the story of working so deep undercover in the Mafia that the truth of his identity became blurry even for him. For six years, Pistone posed as jewel thief Donnie Brasco in order to pull off one of the most audacious sting operations ever. Because any small detail could blow his cover, Pistone adjusted his personality and habits to earn the trust of Mafia soldiers, connected guys, captains, and godfathers. He was so successful that many FBI surveillance teams assumed that he was yet another Mafia guy. This memoir paints a vivid portrait of the underworld of wise guys by revealing their code of honor, their treacherous dealings, their relationships with their wives and mistresses, and their lavish money habits. The suspense in Pistone's story builds as he unfurls his experience of life on the edge of good and evil and on the verge of death. Joseph D. Pistone was an FBI agent for seventeen years before retiring from active duty in 1996. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia, Donnie Brasco: Deep Cover , and Donnie Brasco: Mobbed Up . The Academy Award-nominated movie Donnie Brasco and the television series Falcone are based on his life as an undercover FBI agent. He now lives under a secret identity in an undisclosed location. Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page Dedication   Chapter 1 - THE WHIRLWIND Chapter 2 - THE BEGINNINGS Chapter 3 - PREPARATIONS Chapter 4 - HITTING THE STREET Chapter 5 - BROOKLYN: THE COLOMBOS Chapter 6 - THE BONANNOS Chapter 7 - TONY MIRRA Chapter 8 - LEFTY Chapter 9 - MILWAUKEE Chapter 10 - THE ACCIDENT Chapter 11 - FRANK BALISTRIERI Chapter 12 - SONNY BLACK Chapter 13 - KING’S COURT Chapter 14 - COLDWATER Chapter 15 - DRUGS AND GUNS Chapter 16 - THE RAID Chapter 17 - THE SITDOWNS Chapter 18 - THE HITS Chapter 19 - THE CONTRACT Chapter 20 - COMING OUT   EPILOGUE UPDATE Acknowledgements ABOUT THE AUTHORS “Thoroughly absorbing true-life adventure.” — Newsday     “The tension builds with machine-gun rapidity ... the suspense of a fictional mystery yarn but the chilling ring of reality.... Joseph D. Pistone is a true American hero!” — VirginianPilot     “Excellent ... for a view of how the Mafia operates, none can match Joe Pistone!” — SeattlePost-Intelligencer     “Truly exciting.... so skillfully written it’s worth your time.” — PalmSprings Desert Sun     “Oozes with names ... and plenty of behind-the-social-club-door gossip.” — NewYork Daily News     “Unprecedented ... a chilling chronicle of undercover work in the Mafia.” —UPI     “A penetrating look into the Mafia inner circle ... real-life drama.” — DetroitNews     “What it’s really like ... fascinating ... frightening ... daring.” — FortWorth Evening Telegram     “Compelling, gripping, revealing ... raw, hard-hitting nonfiction at its best.” — TorontoStar     “Immense!y satisfying!” — OaklandPress     “Chilling ... not since Nicholas Pileggi’s Wiseguy has the day-to-day life of the Mafia been so entertainingly captured.” — BuffaloNews     “New ground is broken! ... There are few ways, short of participating in it, that you’ll get a better look at the business of crime than by reading Pistone’s recollections of his life in it.” — CantonRepository     “An unforgettable eyewitness account!” — RollaNews     “Fascinating!” — DaytonNewslJournal Herald SIGNET Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0745, Auckland, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd.