Joseph D. Pistone

Joseph D. Pistone is a former FBI agent who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family in the 1970s under the alias Donnie Brasco. His undercover work produced evidence that helped federal prosecutors pursue Mafia members.

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Donnie Brasco operation: An FBI undercover operation in which agent Joseph D. Pistone infiltrated the Bonanno crime family as Donnie Brasco. This operation is the defining episode of Pistone’s career and the source of his alias.
Undercover operation: An investigation in which an officer conceals their identity to gather information or evidence. Pistone’s work was an unusually long infiltration of an organized-crime group.
Mafia: A type of hierarchical criminal organization associated with protection rackets, illegal markets, and codes of loyalty. Pistone’s infiltration exposed internal relationships within an American Mafia family.
Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia: Joseph D. Pistone’s memoir about infiltrating the Bonanno crime family as an undercover FBI agent. Pistone’s own account describes the operation and the relationships formed under his assumed identity.
Bonanno crime family: One of New York City’s Five Families, a group of Mafia organizations rooted in Italian-American organized crime. Pistone spent years gaining trust within this family’s criminal network.
Undercover identity: A fabricated personal identity used by an investigator to conceal their official role. The Donnie Brasco persona gave Pistone a credible path into Mafia social and criminal circles.
Organized crime: Coordinated criminal activity conducted by groups that persist over time and divide roles among participants. The Bonanno family was one organization within the wider phenomenon Pistone investigated.
Undercover agent: A law-enforcement officer who conceals their official identity while investigating suspected criminal activity. Pistone’s experience is a specific case of the work and risks associated with undercover agents.
Dominick Napolitano: A Bonanno crime family captain who became a close associate of undercover FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone. Napolitano sponsored Brasco’s entry into the family and was deceived by his identity.
Informant: A person who provides information to law enforcement, often confidentially, about suspected wrongdoing. Unlike a conventional informant, Pistone personally entered the criminal organization as an agent.