Joe Pistone

I’ve got a script. It’s nonfiction. It’s about a female that spent 20 years as a goomah to a top wise guy in New York City. Lifetime bought it. We’re just finishing it up and hopefully they’ll greenlight it.

Somebody came to me and my partner Leo Rossi and told us this story. It was hard to comprehend because you’re dealing with a female and normally females don’t get involved to this extent. So we sat down, talked to the real woman over a period of a couple days. Being that I was in the life for all those years, I found that she was on the money. She was telling the truth. So we developed it and had a script written.

Shelley Evans.

It is called Regarding Undercover. That hasn’t been sold yet. We’re talking to a couple networks, but I’m not at liberty to say which ones. It’s a show about undercover agents.

Yeah.

Yeah. After 28 years in law enforcement, a lot of times you figure there’s nothing else you can do. It’s a long time to be in one profession. Then you find out there are other things you can do. I like it. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve met up with some good people in the business. I don’t know if the name Leo Rossi means anything to you.

That’s exactly right. Also Bobby Moresco who won the Oscar last year for co-writing Crash.

Were you really?

I’m hoping it does well.

No. But Bobby and I have worked on a few things. I had a TV show in 2000 called Falcone. I worked with Bobby on that. Leo and I produced a movie Bobby directed called 10th & Wolf.

So you’re in New York?

I have a book signing in New York in February.

I really don’t have photographs to be honest with you. I’m not the kind of guy that just takes pictures of stuff. That was a surveillance shot that the FBI took and they didn’t know who I was and I didn’t know that they were taking it. But with the book signings, you do what you have to do. I’ve never really ducked anything. I just take care of myself. I’ve done a couple signings where a couple guys got vocal, but after you stare them down, it’s all false.

They never rescinded it but when [Bonanno boss] Joey Massino was still the boss, the New York guys went to him and he said, “Look. As long as I’m the boss, nobody’s going to hurt him.” You know what you worry about? It’s not the hardcore guy. It’s the cowboy, the wannabe, somebody that says, “Hey. I’m going to take out Donnie Brasco.” That’s the guy that you’re concerned about and they’re going to kick him in the ass after it happens.

No. Look, what are you going to do? You going to stay in the house and not come out and not earn a living? It’s an old saying, but what’s the worse thing that can happen to you? They can kill you. What are you going to do? You got to be who you are and get it on.

That was the working title but the actual title is Unfinished Business.

Yeah, it picks up with the trials. Then it goes into stuff I did when I was undercover that I couldn’t reveal in the first book because of the upcoming trials. Then it goes how the mafia declined, work overseas in foreign countries and how the Bonanno family declined. It’s stuff that couldn’t be brought out in the first book until all the trials were settled and all the appeals were adjudicated. Guys are dead. Guys have done their time in jail. There are no more legalities involved.

Well the movie made it a little rosier than what it was. They have to take some liberties and show that the hero isn’t as stone cold as the guy he’s dealing with. You have to remember that I was with [Benjamin] “Lefty” [Ruggerio], [Dominick] “Sonny Black” [Napolitano] and guys in the crew 365 days a year. You’re with them everyday. You’re with them on holidays. You’re over at their house for dinner. You meet their wives, their kids. So unless you have no heart at all, you find something in the guy that is a plus. Lefty was a stone cold gangster, a 24 hour a day gangster. The guy had killed people but he had a grandson that he loved. The same thing with Sonny but you could sit and talk to Sonny about other things besides the mafia. Sonny loved his kids. You do have some bond with these guys but you never forget who you are. A good undercover agent does not forget who he is and what his mission is. You’re conducting an investigation to gather evidence to put people in jail that you know are gangsters. If you have that mental toughness, then you’re going to be successful.

As far as the six years of undercover, yeah. Is there other stuff that’s going to come? Sure. I’m probably going to do another novel on the Donnie Brasco character but this caps off that operation.

Probably not. Definitely not now because they’re not going to let an undercover go that long by himself. Since my operation, new policies have been implemented regarding undercovers and how long an operation is going to go on.

That’s all new policy that has been put in place by the FBI regarding undercover operations. But when I was doing it, it was new so there wasn’t a handbook on policy. There wasn’t an attorney general’s guidelines on undercover operations.

Yeah, I got a little chapter in there about working with Johnny [Depp].

He’s a great actor and I think we might be about the same in looks, I’m just a little bit older than he is [laughs]. But kidding aside, besides being a great actor, you’re talking about a great individual, a great person. You’re talking about a guy that’s gracious, a guy that’s polite, a guy that’s honest, a guy that’s straightforward, a guy that wants to get his craft to perfection. I can’t say enough about this kid. He’s 40 years old but to me he’s a kid. I still keep in touch with him and his family. He’s finally getting his due as an actor and I’m proud that Donnie Brasco was really his first mainstream role.

Al’s also very nice. I got along with Al. He showed me a lot of respect.

I could see you’re out with these guys and you’re in a restaurant and people come over and after awhile it gets to be a pain in the ass. You’re out there with Johnny having dinner and the poor guy can’t even get a mouthful. He’s the type of guy who doesn’t turn anybody away. I’ve been out with him a lot, hung out with him here, in France, in England and the guy never turns anybody away. He’s unbelievable. He doesn’t travel with 22 bodyguards like most of these actors. If somebody comes up to him, he’ll stop, chat, sign an autograph. The guy’s amazing.

We had a very successful six week run in Chicago and it’s based on my last book. Leo Rossi plays me and it’s one day in the life of Donnie Brasco or Joe Pistone working undercover. It’s the day I was called to a sitdown because I had a beef with a guy by the name of Tony Mira. It’s all that day leading up to the sitdown.

Yeah.

She’s like a saint to be married to me.

We get along terrific. The movie showed me home more often. I didn’t get home but like once every six months for maybe for a night or two. So maybe that’s the secret. You don’t see her but once every six months.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

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