Having just finished Season 2 of Prison Break (several years late, I realize) the dynamics and relationships between the guards and the guarded were fresh in my mind. Spoiler alert, Red Fox Penitentiary had its fair share of corrupt correctional officers (“COs”) willing to look past crimes, or worse, actively participate in them. There was even a business relationship between one of the COs, the crooked and detestable Brad Bellick, and fictional Chicago mob boss John Abruzzi. Well, after telling JoePuzzles about the fake Floridian induction of Anthony and Robert Finno (an ex-cop) into the Genovese Crime Family, he told me about a similar event that occurred on the opposite side of the county almost 10 years later. What started as an FBI money laundering investigation into some Cleveland/Detroit mob hangers-on, turned into a corruption sting that brought down 44 law enforcement officers. And yes, it did include a taped fake induction ceremony.   

Part 1 – Organized Crime Angle

For those for whom being a mobster constituted their primary occupation, the 1980s proved to be years with little job security. Indeed, one of the hardest-hit crime families was the one that called the City of Champions home. The family’s hierarchy was all but decapitated in the first half of the decade with James Licavoli’s incarceration and Angelo Lonardo’s turning. [1] Middle management was not faring any better. One of Cleveland’s more industrious captains, Joseph C. Gallo, found himself besieged on all sides by four indictments in 1981 on charges of narcotics trafficking, labour racketeering, and gambling. [2] Gallo’s start in organized crime was a bit lacklustre. His insurance company failed forcing him into bankruptcy and he couldn’t even manage the $85-a-week support payment to his ex-spouse. Yet, around the Danny Greene debacle in the late 1970s, Joseph turned his luck around and moved into a $200,000 home built by Beachwood developer Sam Vecchio. This man was among those atop the FBI’s target list when they launched their 1995 investigation. [3]

James Licavoli, Angelo Lonardo, Danny Greene

By the late 1980s, organized crime in Cleveland had been effectively dismantled and the FBI was keen on keeping it that way. [4] Law enforcement feared that mobsters across the nation would reconstitute and regroup as those put away by RICO in the first wave of indictments of the early 1980s started regaining their freedom. At the same time, federal officials noticed a concerning pattern of increased activity in Las Vegas by mob figures from Chicago, Los Angeles, Buffalo, and other locales. One set of characters and their adventure can be read about here (Herbie Blitzstein’s Murder). Another character that intrigued police was Ronald Marrazzo, a seemingly elderly restaurateur. Operating the cheekily named establishment, Vicious Rumors, the FBI suspected he sold things consumed with the nose rather than a mouth. After all, in 1982, he was busted as part of a massive East Harlem heroin ring connected to individuals described as members of the Purple Gang, labelled as a Genovese associate, and eventually sentenced to 25 years after they found $100,000 in cash and heroin stashed in his luxury condo. [5] Instead of offering to buy or sell drugs, however, FBI agents took a different approach to their investigation. Working undercover as “John Calabria” and “Johnny Amico”, the two approached Marrazzo and asked for his help to launder $25,000 in proceeds from the sale of “stolen” jewellery. Not one to refuse help to strangers, the restaurateur did them one better by introducing the duo to a disjointed network of Clevelander and other Midwestern criminals connected to the bygone era of 1970s-1980s organized crime. The agents paid Ronald $1,500 to put in a good word for them with his old cellmate Richard Viccarone, a Cleveland area criminal with an explosive history. [6]

Between 1973 and 1976, “The Mistake on the Lake” experienced some 60 bombing events associated with organized crime and organized labour. [7] Because the incendiary devices all featured similar construction, federal authorities figured the same one or two individuals were involved in their manufacturing. Tapping into their network of informants, the ATF became aware of two individuals affiliated with the Licavoli crime family that practised such a trade: Theodore Ricci and Richard Viccarone. An undercover ATF agent obtained an introduction to the duo who informed him that they were professional “hit men” and travelled the U.S. in such capacity. Further surveillance showed the men meeting organized crime individuals and travelling to Youngstown and Rochester. The undercover agent eventually purchased two remote-controlled devices, an act that landed the two bomber criminals 10-year sentences. Getting out of prison, Viccarone switched his focus away from bombs to something even more destructive, drug trafficking. Initially selling the agents a kilogram of cocaine in February 1997, on May 7th, 1997, the three discussed a 1,100-pound coke deal which would later prove his undoing. [8] Through Viccarone, the agents also became acquainted with a certain Frank Velotta, another Cleveland area criminal with historical ties to Licavoli’s criminal organization.

Frank was the son of the same named father, Frank “Skinny” Velotta. [9] Skinny was a proficient burglar and an associate of organized crime in both Cleveland and later California where he acted as James Fratianno’s driver. [10] Velotta managed to survive the fallout that came with “the Weasel’s” cooperation and hooked up with another low-ranking Clevelander criminal, Alfred S. Calabrese. [11] Calabrese himself was a Licavoli associate and escaped justice (and death) in the early 1980s despite being an active participant (bomber) in the Danny Greene war. He had a loose crew around him, but like so many Cleveland hangers-on, lacked the strength to re-organize crime in his image. Calabrese required funding, and much like Viccarone, realized that selling drugs was the key ingredient to success, and thus formed a partnership with the elder Velotta. Skinny apparently developed some connections with Colombian narco-traffickers and, together with Calabrese, were involved in (crack) cocaine transactions. The duo even briefly interacted with professional FBI informant Bill Breen. An account (using transcripts of their recorded conversations) can be read in his book, The Insider by Donald Goddard. I would caution against giving much credence to Velotta Sr.’s identification as the alleged underboss of the San Francisco crime family. In 1995, Calabrese was arrested once again, this time alongside Licavoli made member (and another convicted cocaine dealer) Joseph J. Iacobacci Jr. for conspiring to defraud New Jersey banks out of $3 million by using a variation of a check-kiting scheme. [12] Those two got taken off the board early, or else would have likely featured in the undercover agents’ journeys.

Richard Viccarone, Frank Velotta Jr., Alfred Calabrese

At that meeting to discuss the prospective 1,100-pound cocaine transaction, Richard Viccarone introduced the undercover agents to Frank Velotta Jr. for the services he could provide, money laundering. [13] Jr. would later be charged with money laundering and selling crack cocaine to the undercover agents. [14] Although it was never clarified how exactly Samuel Vecchio was roped into the FBI’s investigation, he and his associates became a focus for the government agents. As mentioned, Vecchio was another relic from Cleveland’s organized crime days, and although never charged, law enforcement suspected he played a role in Joseph C. Gallo’s narcotics operation. Although never tied together on the public record, Vecchio was likely familiar with either Viccarone or Velotta (or probably both) given their participation in the same network.

During the day, Samuel Vecchio was a respected Midwestern entrepreneur and owner of Development Systems and Development Unlimited, a general partner or officer in some 15 real estate partnerships, and the patriarch of the family business for which his sons and nephew worked for.[15] Since he led a double life as a criminal, however, it also meant that some family businesses were used as money laundering fronts to wash and hide proceeds of crime. This is exactly what the undercover agents had in mind when they approached Samuel and his son, James, on June 13th, 1996, to launder $10,000 in cash. [16] The criminals charged the agents a grand as their fee and issued a check for $9,000. At least $10,000 more was laundered in this way. Besides laundering what they believed were profits earned from illegal gambling and the sale of drugs and weapons, the Vecchio family also transacted in illegal slot machines with the agents. This enterprise entangled a fellah named Joseph A. Immormino of Toledo and leads us to the final interesting organized crime figure that got entangled in this case: Silverio Vitello.

Before Silverio Vitello became a drug dealer, he was an extremely successful waste hauler out of Detroit. [17] Owner of several trash cartage companies and garbage terminals specializing in steel disposal, Vitello was “partners” with Detroit organized crime leader Vito “Billy” Giacalone and even at one point employed his son Giacamo (Jack) as a manager. Indeed, Vitello would later testify that over a period of about 15 years, he paid Giacalone about a million dollars in protection money, at first because it was useful in his aggressive dealings with a local branch of the Teamsters Union, and later out of fear after Billy threatened execution. [18] When Vito went to jail in 1989 on a racketeering conviction, he referred Silverio to Jack Tocco (who in turn referred him to Tony Lapiana) to help solve labour troubles and thus had dealings with the city’s top brass. [19] The waste hauling industry in Detroit warrants a dedicated look in the future. 

Anyways, at some point in the mid-to-late 1990s, Vitello became involved in drug trafficking and together with William Kisseberth, were ready to sell the undercover FBI agents ten kilograms of cocaine beside a Lake Township restaurant. [20] When talking to “John Calabria” and “Johnny Amico” in January 1998, Silverio claimed that he had been an inducted member of the Detroit mafia for over 20 years and even described his initiation ceremony, showing the agents a scar on his thumb from the occasion. [21] When Vitello was arrested that same month alongside the Immormino brothers, who brokered a $1.25 million diamonds for (fake) cocaine swap with the agents, he offered to turn state’s evidence and confess to everything he knew. Prosecutors were intrigued given they were busy trying Jack Tocco and four other men on racketeering charges, and his testimony could be groundbreaking given he’d be the first made member of the Tocco organized crime family to testify in open court. Unfortunately, his story was too good to be true and he admitted to lying to the agents to impress them. And now with Nove Tocco’s revelation that he wasn’t actually inducted, it seems we will never have an authentic Detroit songbird. 

Samuel and James Vecchio, Angelo Santamaria (Samuel’s nephew)

To conclude this portion of the story, Samuel Vecchio and his sons did go to prison on money laundering and illegal firearm charges. Cleveland’s petty criminals were beaten down once again, sapped of the strength to reorganize the area’s underworld. But something unexpected happened and the FBI’s investigation branched off into areas the top brass did not imagine. They were now investigating fellow lawmen. As The Wire’s Lester Freeman once said:

“You follow drugs, you get drug addicts and drug dealers. But you start to follow the money, and you don’t know where the fuck it’s gonna take you.”

Part 2 – Police Corruption

Michael W. Joye, aka “Guido”, was in his mid-20s and worked as a correctional officer in Cuyahoga County Jail. [22] Unfortunately for the prisoners, much like Brad Bellick, he was not a kind man and confessed on tape to altering incident reports to hide his abuses. Clearly unsatisfied with his $20,000-per-year job, Joye sought other ways to make money and like so many of the folks discussed previously, realized the drug trade was the path for him. [23] In one instance he arranged for an informant inside his prison to get threatened with assault for telling on a drug dealer Guido protected. Besides protecting services, however, Joye dabbled in straight-up drug dealing. “Johnny Amico” worked as a manager at a seedy club known as Tiffany’s, where Michael worked as a bouncer. [24] After getting to know each other, on October 14th, 1996, they arranged their first “business deal” outside a Cleveland deli where Joye sold the undercover FBI agents crack cocaine. Compared to “John Calabria” and “Johnny Amico”, however, Guido was small potatoes and, besides, he had a much more powerful service to offer. Michael bragged about his many contacts in law enforcement, and for the right price, would function as a rent-a-cop agency that would help guard narcotics shipments and keep law enforcement away. In his own words, “My guys take care of business. If someone touches you, they’re gonna get the hand snapped off… When the cops come, they say what happened, and we show ‘em our badges… They’ll listen to a badge.”[25] Testifying to their skill and professionalism, Joye said, “This is something we do it right. We do it precise… military type. We’re in. We’re out. It’s all over… covert operation”.[26] In addition he wanted to reassure the agents of his men’s loyalty to each other, saying, “We’re family… and not one of us wants to get busted… Nobody wants to get caught… These guys I have working for me… We’re like a speciality… like a goon squad… run around…”.[27] Interested in what he had to offer, Gooner Michael began recruiting his pals for their first big protection job in November of that year. His primary confidant and recruiter was his friend John J. Evanish III, aged just 23 when this whole ordeal went down. Evanish was one of Michael’s references when he was first hired for the jailer position. [28] Together, they began to assemble a squad and prepare for their first job.

Michael W. Joye, John J. Evanish III, Freddie L. Cody Jr.

On November 13th, 1996, Joye and six Cuyahoga correctional officers “guarded” and unloaded 20 gambling machines from a truck into a storage locker on W. 117th St. in Cleveland. [29] The men were told the machines secretly contained cocaine. It all went off without a hitch and the FBI watched attentively. For this risk, Michael and his crew got a measly $5,200 in cash. The next deal didn’t occur until February of next year which incidentally made corrupt law enforcement even more eager to help out. “The one guy’s… all freakin’ out… he’s like ‘anything for money, man. Let’s go!’’’.[30] The holiday times, as it turned out, were a testy time for cash-strapped guards and a similar occurrence happened the following year:[31]

Evanish: “J man! Hey, Kashubeck called me and said he’s got five [officers] plus set up for the 15th”

UCA-1: “You sure about these guys?”

Evanish: “Uh huh, you know what? You know why he called? They’re all goin’ to Vegas for a Super Bowl party. They wanted some extra spendin’ cash.”

Ever the helpful “drug dealers”, the agents finally allowed the COs to earn on February 27th, 1997. [32] This time, the “transaction” took place at Lost Nation Airport in Willoughby where 600 pounds of marijuana was traded for fake bearer bonds and cocaine. Joye assured the agents that any police problem en route would be gone once they flashed their CO badges. And indeed, up until that point, Guido only brought along jailers to these deals. When Evanish initially suggested extending employment opportunities to police officers, Guido disagreed, saying that COs were preferable given that they were, “gung ho… [and] shoot an [expletive] five times as fast.”[33] Eventually, Michael acquiesced and by May 1997, police officers started getting on protection details. It was also in this year that Guido became serious about this opportunity as he was fired from his job in January for not showing up.[34]

On May 7th, 1997, two East Cleveland police officers accompanied Joye and the undercover agents to a Pizza Hut where an 11-pound phoney cocaine transaction took place. They utilized their city-issued marked patrol vehicles. Just three weeks later, a 44-pound phoney cocaine transaction took place, this time escorted by four East Cleveland police officers. One of the patrolmen, L. Cody Jr., was late to the meeting because earlier that day, he delivered an anti-drug speech to school children. [35] While Joye may have been an embellisher, his deep connections within law enforcement proved to be quite real. For instance, he and Evanish boasted about their connection to an FBI agent who they alleged had given them information in the past. [36] Detroit agent Joseph Callahan was apparently a childhood acquaintance of Guido but luckily was not charmed or tempted into joining the drug ring, despite Joye’s repeated attempts. He also claimed to know a DEA agent, but it is unknown if he ever tried to contact him regarding this scheme. While his hopes of getting federal agents on their side did not pan out, Michael’s recruitment efforts among Cleveland’s local law enforcement were bearing fruits. By August 1997, he had at least one Cleveland cop and two Cleveland Heights policemen on his protection roster and by September two more from Brooklyn (Ohio) joined in. The first Cleveland cop recruited, Joseph Longo, expressed that getting more of his colleagues to join in would be difficult as they were more careful and wary of getting involved in narcotics. [37] The FBI agents were clever and scheduled the transactions in different areas as a means of encouraging Joye and Evanish to hire cops from different parts of the city. Over time, Guido’s behaviour would become more erratic as his addiction to alcohol and cocaine got worse and Evanish became the primary point man and recruiter for the organization. [38]

The group performed their most complex transaction on September 3rd, 1997, with the help of thirteen police escorts. [39] Officers were told that the deal involved 160 pounds of cocaine. One group escorted one million dollars worth of purportedly stolen diamonds from Burke Lakefront Airport to the Cuyahoga County Airport. Another team accompanied 55 pounds of cocaine from a nearby hotel to the county airport. A third squad covered $100,000 in fake bearer bonds from another hotel and a final fourth crew convoyed yet another 110 pounds of yeyo. Everyone converged in an office at the airport and “John Calabria” and “Johnny Amico” paid the guards $19,000 for their troubles.

The drug ring was almost busted prematurely but was saved by what a veteran cop perceived as incompetency. [40] A barber phoned Detective Leonard Podolak to check out what he suspected was a drug deal taking place at Biddulph Plaza. Arriving at the scene alongside another cop, Leonard watched from a barber’s chair as a “big blond guy with lots of jewellery” walked back and forth from nearby Boomer’s Grille to a parked Mercedes-Benz. [41] That was Evanish, and the Mercedes was driven by the undercover agent. Lo and behold, Vincent A. Mastri and Michael L. Radike popped into the barbershop to see what was going on. Unbeknownst to Leonard, the two were in cahoots with the drug dealers and were there to make sure the deal went off without a hitch. Podolak told the two to stick around as he called in more police to stop and inspect the Mercedes. Hearing all that, FBI cameras caught the two crooks trying to wave the undercover agent off the parking lot before police arrived, but to no avail. The honest cops were to search the car, while the crooked cops were tasked with holding Evanish. The car was clean and when Leonard turned around to talk to Evanish, the corrupt CO was gone. Poof! Mastri and Radike played their best impression of Dumb and Dumber by saying they didn’t understand that they needed to detain him. Podolak chalked this up to inexperience. The crooked Brooklyn cops would continue to aid the undercover agents by tipping them off about drug stings.  

The drug deals continued throughout 1997 into the beginning of 1998, pulling more and more corrupt law enforcement into the FBI’s net. To entice Michael and (ironically) keep his violence in check, “John Calabria” and “Johnny Amico” honoured Guido with an elevation few criminals ever got to experience. On November 12th, 1997, Michael W. Joye became an inducted member of the Gambino crime family. [42] And just like with Anthony Finno, it was all caught on tape! [43] Brought into a Lakewood apartment lit by candles, two “mobsters” were waiting for Joye and his “sponsor” “Amico” to perform the ceremony. One of the men sat in a corner in a commanding position, claiming to be the Gambino’s secret street boss in Cleveland. Back in New York, they claimed the family was ruled by boss “Don Harpini” and underboss “Crazy Joe the Persecutor”. This should have been an immediate red flag for Michael, but he was swept up in the gravitas of the occasion. He was sadly completely out of his depth. After the phoney street boss proclaimed Cleveland to be a free city, he asked Joye if he knew what it meant to which he replied by saying, “There’s a lot of money to be made?”[44] “No… No one family controls Cleveland,” the Mafioso replied. [45] For supposedly being part of an extremely violent organization, the fake mobster went on an anti-violence tirade, urging the young hoodlum to temper down on violence and drug use. Satisfied with his PSA, Joye was ordered to his knees before being told to swear a solemn oath: “This family comes before everything. I will accept death for the family. I will never betray the family.”[46] Joye was anointed with oil and had hot wax dripped on his hand. “If you disappoint me one time, he dies; you die,” one of the participants in the ceremony proclaimed, pointing towards Joye and his “sponsor” who replied, “I promise you; you [Michael] go first.”[47] Guido was now officially part of the Gambino crime family, even if at one point he was so nervous he was offered a shot of whiskey by his new friends in “the Life”.

The last transaction took place on January 15th, 1998, involving yet another diamond-for-cocaine exchange at a motel in Brook Park. [48] In total, the protection ring received $120,000 for their work. A week later, on January 21st, 1998, the FBI concluded its sting operation and began to arrest the suspects en masse. When the final tally was counted, 19 police officers and 24 corrections officers were ensnared in this sting. That is 4% of Cuyahoga County’s jailers were arrested. Out of 19 policemen: 3 were from the Cleveland Heights department, 2 were from Brooklyn, 6 were from East Cleveland, 7 were from Cleveland, and one was from the Deputy Sheriff’s office. It was a massive stain on the reputation of local law enforcement. Everyone was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, a charge that carries a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison. [49]

When news first broke out of this mass arrest, neighbours and people who had known Michael Joye in his “civilian life” were in disbelief about his portrayal by law enforcement as a criminal mastermind behind such a sprawling drug protection ring. [50] To them he was a regular kid from the neighbourhood who frequented bars and boasted about tall tales to his friends. Sensing his impending doom, shortly before his arrest, Michael cleared everything out of his apartment and moved out. He was not the only one to suspect the law was after them shortly before the end and multiple people in the ring at one point or another felt “Johnny Amico” to be a policeman. In late November 1997, Evanish was heard asking a co-conspirator if he thought “Johnny Amico” was a cop, a notion that was replied to with doubt and without a concrete answer. [51] A more “astute” individual, Joseph Longo, that first Cleveland cop to join the ring, noticed that the undercover agents would always explicitly say to their hired security guards what they were protecting. “Why does he mention the word [cocaine]?”, was a question Longo posed to Evanish. [52] Longo, it seemed, was resigned to his fate and remarked his acceptance at the fact that he would be indicted for working with “Amico”. Evanish brushed it off saying, “Who cares, dude, it’s only one year in the federal pen,” to which Longo replied, “Dude… I’ll kill myself before I go there. I would never go to jail”.[53] Evanish’s words would prove to be somewhat prophetic; Longo’s were not…

When the dust settled all pled guilty and everyone but two agreed to a universal agreement that saw each criminal get sentenced to the shortest or nearly the shortest time allowed under the plea agreement. [54] For most, that meant prison sentences ranging between two to three years. Michael W. Joye and John J. Evanish III both received 9 years and change for their role as leaders and facilitators of the corrupt law enforcement for hire protection ring. Some tried to initially fight and resist the case, claiming entrapment or deception following the reveal of Guido’s fake induction into the Gambino family that came with threats of violence for misbehaviour. However, at the end of the day, the evidence was overwhelming, and it was their own voices that buried them.

It was a beautiful undercover job executed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and one that became more successful beyond their wildest imagination. Not only did they keep organized crime in Cleveland (and the Midwest in general) at bay, but they also cleaned up house and took badges away from those that disrespected their role in society. I did a pretty thorough scan of the newspaper archive, and it seems this was the last time law enforcement orchestrated an undercover induction ceremony to ensnare criminals. Shame it was not used more often, otherwise we’d have more entertaining stories to read about.

[1] John Grifith, “Licavoli, racketeers denied new trial,” The Plain Dealer, September 13, 1984, 10-A; Ronald Koziol, “Ex-Mafia Boss Says Testimony Deal Struck,” The Akron Beacon Journal, November 26, 1985, A1 and A3.  

[2] Peter Phipps, “A budding crime empire foiled,” The Akron Beacon Journal, July 5, 1981, A1 and A8.

[3] Michele Fuetsch, “Original targets were 4 relatives, affidavit says,” The Plain Dealer, January 23, 1998, 17-A.

[4] Mark Rollenhagen and Michelle Fuetsch, “Keeping local mob off balance aim of interstate sting,” The Plain Dealer, March 8, 1998, 1-B.

[5] M.J. Zuckerman, “13 arrested in major heroin raid,” The Star-Standard, December 11, 1982, A-1 and A- 10; United Press International, “Drug Mastermind Gets 40-Year Term,” Newsday (New York). May 2, 1984, 37.  

[6] Mark Gillispie, “Man snared in FBI drug sting extradited from Italy,” The Plain Dealer, August 28th, 1999, 1-B.

[7] U.S. Senate, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, Organized Crime and Use of Violence: Hearing (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1980), 405-406.

[8] Mark Gillispie, “Man snared in FBI drug sting extradited from Italy,” The Plain Dealer, August 28th, 1999, 1-B; Mark Rollenhagen and Michelle Fuetsch, “Keeping local mob off balance aim of interstate sting,” The Plain Dealer, March 8, 1998, 1-B.

[9] Mark Rollenhagen and Michelle Fuetsch, “Keeping local mob off balance aim of interstate sting,” The Plain Dealer, March 8, 1998, 3-B.

[10] Organized Crime Control Commission, First Report of the Organized Crime Control Commission, State of California, 1978, 81.

[11] John Griffith, “65-year term sought for Mayfield man,” The Plain Dealer, September 21, 1984, 2-C; “Man arrested on drug, weapons charges,” The Cincinnati Enquirer, March 22, 1984, B-8; Donald Goddard, “The Insider: The FBI’s Undercover “Wiseguy” Goes Public, 1992, 274-296.  

[12] Mark Rollenhagen, “FBI arrests 3 in bank fraud scheme,” The Plain Dealer, August 9, 1995, 1-B.

[13] Mark Rollenhagen and Michelle Fuetsch, “Keeping local mob off balance aim of interstate sting,” The Plain Dealer, March 8, 1998, 1-B and 3-B.

[14] Michele Fuetsch, “Original targets were 4 relatives, affidavit says,” The Plain Dealer, January 23, 1998, 17-A.

[15] Mark Rollenhagen and Michelle Fuetsch, “Keeping local mob off balance aim of interstate sting,” The Plain Dealer, March 8, 1998, 1-B and 3-B.

[16] Michele Fuetsch, “Original targets were 4 relatives, affidavit says,” The Plain Dealer, January 23, 1998, 17-A.

[17] U.S. Senate, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, Profile of Organized Crime: Great Lake Region: Hearing (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1984), 509-510.

[18] Ibid; Tim Doran, “Toledo businessman tells court of payments to avoid mob trouble,” Detroit Free Press, April 1, 1998, 6B.

[19] U.S. v. Tocco, 200 F.3d 401 (6th Cir. 2000).

[20] Chris Miller, “FBI expects more arrest in drug ring,” Sentinel-Tribune, January 21, 1998, 2.

[21] Tim Moran, “Prosecutors propose a surprise witness,” Detroit Free Press, March 31, 1998, 3B.

[22] Mark Rollenhagen and Mark Gillispie, “44 law officers, others arrested in FBI drug sting,” The Plain Dealer, January 22, 1998, 1-A.

[23] Christopher Quinn, “The man who caught the cops,” The Plain Dealer, January 22, 1998, 10-A.  

[24] https://groups.google.com/g/alt.prisons.officer/c/X9Wx7EeGISQ

[25] Ibid.

[26] Ibid.

[27] Ibid.

[28] Mark Rollenhagen and Mark Gillispie, “44 law officers, others arrested in FBI drug sting,” The Plain Dealer, January 22, 1998, 1-A.

[29] Christopher Quinn, “The man who caught the cops,” The Plain Dealer, January 22, 1998, 10-A. 

[30] Ted Wendling, “Agent says jailer boasted he could ‘handpick’ security,” The Plain Dealer, January 22, 1988, 12-A.

[31] Lou Mio, “Voices of the sting,” The Plain Dealer, January 23, 1998, 16-A.

[32] Christopher Quinn, “The man who caught the cops,” The Plain Dealer, January 22, 1998, 10-A. 

[33] Ted Wendling, “Agent says jailer boasted he could ‘handpick’ security,” The Plain Dealer, January 22, 1988, 12-A.

[34] Mark Rollenhagen and Mark Gillispie, “44 law officers, others arrested in FBI drug sting,” The Plain Dealer, January 22, 1998, 1-A.

[35] Ibid, 12-A.

[36] Mark Gillispie, “FBI agent refused to help sting suspects in taped calls,” The Plain Dealer, January 23, 1998, 17-A.

[37] Margaret Newkirk, “FBI describes ‘goon squad’,” The Akron Beacon Journal, January 23, 1998, B4.  

[38] Mark Rollenhagen, “Last suspect in FBI sting pleads guilty,” The Plain Dealer, May 16, 1998, 6-A; Ted Wendling, “Friends, tapes tell of erratic behaviour by suspect in FBI sting,” The Plain Dealer, January 25, 1998, 13-A.

[39] Christopher Quinn, “The man who caught the cops,” The Plain Dealer, January 22, 1998, 10-A. 

[40] Tom Breckenridge, “Detective says he was betrayed by arrested officer,” The Plain Dealer, January 23, 1998, 16-A.

[41] Ibid.

[42] Associated Press, “Man says FBI acted like Mafia,” The Akron Beacon Journal, July 10, 1998, B2.

[43] Christopher Quinn and Mark Rollenhagen, “FBI agents staged fake induction into Mafia,” The Plain Dealer, July 9, 1998, 1-A and 13-A.

[44] Ibid.

[45] Ibid.

[46] Ibid.

[47] Ibid.

[48] Christopher Quinn, “The man who caught the cops,” The Plain Dealer, January 22, 1998, 11-A. 

[49] Mark Rollenhagen, “U.S. grand jury indicts 59 in FBI inquiries” The Plain Dealer, February 6, 1998, 4-B.

[50] Ted Wendling, “Friends, tapes tell of erratic behaviour by suspect in FBI sting,” The Plain Dealer, January 25, 1998, 13-A.

[51] Lou Mio, “Voices of the sting,” The Plain Dealer, January 23, 1998, 16-A.

[52] Christopher Quinn, “The man who caught the cops,” The Plain Dealer, January 22, 1998, 11-A. 

[53] Ibid.

[54] Mark Rollenhagen and Christopher Quinn, “49 sentenced in police sting,” The Plain Dealer, August 20, 1998. Pages 1-A and 10-A.