New Books Network Seamus McElearney with Barbara Finkelstein, "Flipping Capo: How the FBI Dismantled the Real Sopranos" (Chicago Review Press, 2025)
Feb 26, 2026
Séamus McElearney, a former FBI agent who spent over two decades hunting organized crime, tells the story of flipping a made man to unravel the DeCavalcante family. He recounts sting recordings, the unprecedented cooperation of Anthony Capo, and the cascade of flips that led to major RICO convictions. The conversation covers informant management, witness protection, and how one turncoat can topple a criminal network.
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Mob as Vertical Business Enterprise
- The DeCavalcante family operated like a vertically integrated business by controlling unions, training and job access, and then extracting value via bid rigging and no-show positions.
- McElearney recounts the asbestos union and its school as examples of controlling supply, labor, and jobs from the ground up.
Pair Recordings With Surveillance Every Time
- Listen meticulously to consensual recordings because mobsters speak in code and the 'golden nugget' can appear in any setting from diners to cars.
- Pair recordings with surveillance photos and witness testimony to create airtight evidence for prosecutors.
How 300 Tapes Sparked the Case
- Séamus McElearney described how proactive witness Ralph Guarino launched the investigation by making about 300 consensual recordings between Jan 1998 and Dec 1999.
- Those tapes led directly to the December 1999 arrests including Anthony Capo, who was the first made member of the DeCavalcante family to cooperate.
