‘Mind chess,’ not threats, convinced real-life Sopranos mobster to cooperate: retired FBI agent

‘Mind chess,’ not threats, convinced real-life Sopranos mobster to cooperate: retired FBI agent

Former FBI agent Séamus McElearney describes how flipping mobster Anthony Capo dismantled the DeCavalcante crime family that inspired "The Sopranos," solving 11 murders.

‘Mind chess,’ not threats, convinced real-life Sopranos mobster to cooperate: retired FBI agent – Democratic Accent

The FBI chased the “Real Sopranos” for decades without breaking them, until one arrest changed everything. Behind the HBO hit series was a real mafia family operating in New Jersey and New York: the DeCavalcante crime family. In 1999, retired FBI agent Séamus McElearney says the Bureau finally cracked the organization from the inside by flipping a violent mob soldier and triggering a chain reaction that dismantled the family. McElearney, author …