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Making Jack Falcone: An Undercover FBI Agent Takes Down a Mafia Family | 
 enlarge | Author: Joaquin "jack" Garcia
Creator: Michael Levin
Publisher: Touchstone
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $15.38
You Save: $9.57 (38%)
New (36) Used (13) from $13.40
Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 1221
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 1416551638
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.1060973
EAN: 9781416551638
Publication Date: October 13, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 4 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Few left in stock - order soon. Code: S20081115022340S
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Product Description
"Petey Chops wasn't kicking up. And if he didn't start soon, he was going to get whacked." So begins Making Jack Falcone, the extraordinary true story of an undercover FBI agent's years-long investigation of the Gambinos, which resulted in a string of arrests that crippled the organized crime family.But long before Joaquin "Jack" Garcia found himself wearing a wire with some of the Mafia's top capos, he was one of the FBI's unlikeliest recruits. A Cuban-born American, Jack graduated from Quantico standing six-foot-four and weighing 300 pounds -- not your typical G-man. Jack's stature soon proved an asset as the FBI looked to place agents undercover with drug smugglers, counterfeiters, and even killers. Jack became one of the few FBI agents dedicated solely to undercover work. Using a series of carefully created aliases, Jack insinuated himself in the criminal world, from the Badlands of Philadelphia, where he was a gregarious money launderer, to the streets of Miami, where an undercover Garcia moved stolen and illicit goods and brought down dirty cops. Jack jumped at the opportunity to infiltrate the shadowy world of La Cosa Nostra, but how would the Cuban-American convince wiseguys that he was one of their own, a Sicilian capable of "earning his button" -- getting made in the Mafia? For the first time, the FBI created a special "mob school" for Jack, teaching him how to eat, talk, and think like a wiseguy. And it wasn't long before the freshly minted Jack Falcone found himself under the wing of one of the Gambinos' old school capos, Greg DePalma. DePalma, who cared for an ailing John Gotti in prison, introduced Falcone to his world of shakedowns, beatings, and envelopes of cash, never suspecting that one of his trusted crew members was a federal agent. A page-turning account of the struggle between law enforcement and organized crime that will rank with such classic stories as Donnie Brasco, Serpico, and Wiseguy, Making Jack Falcone is an unforgettable trip into America's underworld through the eyes of a highly decorated FBI veteran.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Going deep undercover.... October 14, 2008
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
I love undercover cop stories and this one takes the cake, better yet it is true! MAKING JACK FALCONE is true crime but it reads like a best-selling mob thriller. I am sure this story has already been optioned by Hollywood.
This is the story of Cuban born Joaquin "Jack" Garcia. A highly decoratede FBI agent who goes deep undercover to expose and bring to justice elements of the Gambino Crime family. Jack is not your typical FBI agent, at over six foot four and over three hundred pounds he is an imposing individual. But he is more than just a big tough guy. After much training he is able to pass himself off as a Sicilian mobster. In fact, he is good enough at the part to end up at the power center of Gambino crime enterprises. This is an amazing story that takes the reader into the inside of the world of organized crime, the payoffs, the retributions, earning your buttons, and the back stabbing that can lead to your demise in an instance. Jack lived his life undercover for years and that is part of the tension of the book, he is the hunter and the hunted at the same time. One mistake and he will be exposed, and the mobsters won't play nice! The vernacular of the book is also raw and unvarnished giving it the feel of the streets and I loved all the mob characters. It reminded me of the movie "GoodFellas" in that way.
This book is highly recommend for those who like stories about true crime, the mob, or undercover cops. Speaking of good undercover stories I gotta recommend "A Tourist In The Yucatan."
RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "A MAFIA SMACK-DOWN IN BLOOMINGDALE'S!" October 21, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
The author Jack Garcia has retired after twenty-six years as a special agent for the FBI. The preponderance of that time was spent undercover infiltrating every type of organized crime imaginable... drug distribution... weapon sales... jewelry theft... counterfeit money... counterfeit cigarettes... government corruption... police corruption... and in perhaps his greatest achievement of all... not only infiltrating the infamous Gambino Mafia crime family... but being next in line to be crowned a "MADE-MAN"... "A WISE GUY"... "A-KNOCK-AROUND-GUY... but then the FBI pulled the plug on the operation despite Jack's vociferous objections.
Jack was only the second FBI agent to ever be accepted as a Mafia undercover "ASSOCIATE". The first was the legendary Joe Pistone: aka Donnie Brasco. What helped Jack be so successful in his undercover status, in addition to ice cubes in his veins and a giant pair of "brass-ones" was the fact that he just DID NOT LOOK LIKE AN FBI AGENT. The FBI has strict physical guidelines that must be met including a certain height and weight ratio. It took Jack two tries to make it into the FBI because of his weight. Jack was originally six-feet-four and two-hundred-fifty pounds. Jack was told he had to lose forty pounds and come back. Jack lost the weight... came back and made the cut... but that weight class would be a forgotten memory down the road.
The FBI actually conducted a "MOB-SCHOOL" to teach potential undercover agents how to be a mobster. How to talk... how to walk... how to dress... proper slang... and... how to eat like a Mafioso. As Jack would learn firsthand, eating was almost a full-time job in the Mafia. So eat is what Jack did... and at one point his weight came very close to the FOUR-HUNDRED-FIFTY-POUND MARK! Like I said... he DID NOT look like an FBI agent. Jack's undercover name "FALCONE" was selected in honor of a "courageous Sicilian judge who had been murdered by the Mafia along with his wife and three police bodyguards a few years earlier. The FBI had honored Judge Falcone with a bronze bust at the FBI Academy because of his fortitude in his fight against the Italian Mafia." In addition to the sheer terror that Jack faced every day and night gaining influence in the Gambino family... additionally... it is an almost "IMPOSSIBLE-TO-BELIEVE" fact that he was *SIMULTANEOUSLY* working undercover in four other major cases... all with different persona's... in different parts of the country from Florida to New York... involving among other things the counterfeiting of United States one-hundred-dollar bills in North Korea using the same ink and the same paper as the U.S. Treasury. "In the eyes of the Secret Service, they were as good as real." "COUNTERFEIT MONEY POSES A GREATER THREAT THAN PRACTICALLY ANY OTHER CONTRABAND WHEN IT COMES TO NATIONAL SECURITY. IF NORTH KOREA FLOODED THE UNITED STATES WITH THESE FAKE BILLS, IT COULD TAKE DOWN THE ENTIRE U.S. ECONOMY. THESE BILLS WERE THAT GOOD."
Meanwhile Jack "Falcone" was also attempting to win the trust of Gambino "Capo" Greg DePalma who was known to take "tough" stances with people he suspected of stealing from him. Such as putting a power drill to the head of someone he believed had stolen from him at a strip joint... "And on another occasion used a cattle prod on a guy's scrotum." For a little "light" work Jack would mix in setting traps to catch crooked cops in Florida... and expose Atlantic City politicians on the take. As Jack's weight mushroomed he worried about his health... but for a number of years in a row the FBI cancelled his yearly physical due to budget constraints. In one of the "black-humor" life-is-stranger than fiction scenes in the story... the Mafia got Jack and the rest of their crew health insurance through a corrupt union official, and they all went to get a checkup... and they found that Jack had a serious heart problem and they kept him in the hospital. The FBI didn't know where Jack was... he couldn't call his wife... and after all the years worrying he'd be killed by a Mafia bullet... it turned out that his illicit Mafia "union" health insurance may have saved his life!
The stories are endless, and Jack's a natural born raconteur. One story involves a visit with Greg DePalma to Bloomingdale's because they knew that Petey Chops a Made-Man ate there. It turns out that Petey wasn't "KICKING-UP" (Which means he wasn't sharing his ill gained loot with the individuals above him in the Mafia food chain.) so "the crew" waited for Petey to show up at Bloomingdale's... and when he shows... one of the boys grabs "a solid glass Kosta Boda candleholder, nearly a foot in length, from the nearest display and whacked Petey over the head with it. When it connected, I heard a "pop" like a broken cantaloupe. Bystanders gasped. Petey Chops dropped to the floor, unconscious, blood gushing from his head." NOTE: The author provides a footnote with the exact description of the lovely product/weapon directly from Bloomingdale's website. You will not put this book down... start to finish... and luckily Jack leaves us with an ending promise that he has many more stories to tell. I hope so, because I will be the first one to buy his next book!
Great Read! November 9, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought "The Making of Jack Falcone" because I saw Mr. Garcia on 60 minutes..Talk about impressive!
I ordered buy the book that night!
I can tell you that 60 minutes didn't even scratch the surface of what this Giant of a Man accomplished!
I consider the 60 Minutes piece a just teaser because there is so much more to his story then just taking down the Gambinos.
When you read about all the other undercover personas that this Hero, (FYI consider anyone who puts the bad guys away to make us safe a Hero)it is just truely unbelivable! I couldn't put it down!
From Drug Lords to Wise Guy's Agent Garcia could do it all.
If he wasn't an FBI agent I think we would see him as an Oscar winning actor.
Speaking of which I just read that they are doing a movie based on the book. If so I predict it wil be the next great Mob Classic film. Can't wait!
I highly recommned this book!!It is a terrific read and flows nicely.. Even if you are not into Mob books,it is a great read about a truly unique indivudual!
Quick, Entertaining Read November 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Mr. Garcia doesn't glamorize the mob, but portrays them as the greedy thugs that they are. Still, it is an interesting read.
I am going to try some of the Italian restaurants mentioned in the book when I am in the NY area.
Amazing- and TRUE! November 20, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
A fun and exciting first person account of an FBI undercover agent's infiltration of an infamous NYC mafia family.
Another reviewer said it should be made into a movie. As I understand it, Paramount has acquired the rights to do just that.
Reminiscent of the story of Donnie Brasco (which was made into a Johnny Depp movie) it is amazing how Jack Garcia was able to work several undercover cases- simultaneously- and it raises many questions about why the FBI shut down the case just before Jack was about to be a "made" man. Though the case was still able to bring dozens of mafia members to justice, more might have been done and those questions are not answered- but that is certainly not the author's fault.
He seems evenhanded in expressing compliments and criticism to his higher-ups at the Bureau.
Most interesting for readers is that, not only does the author provide insight into the inner workings of the mafia, but also what he had to do to engage them and, eventually, become part of their inner circle.
Kind of like a fascinating look into the world of a real-life Tony Soprano.
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