by the mid-1980s mafia attorney Bob
Cooley can no longer endure the mobs
relentless brutality but if he leaves
they will kill him
Cooley decides to attack the outfit his
closest target is their political fit
sir Pat Marcy without him the mob has
little protection from the law on
Saturday March 8 1986 Cooley goes to see
the FBI I went to the FBI and
Strikeforce the organized crime strike
force and I said look I’d like to maybe
help try to clean up the court system
March 20th 1986 in a hotel room 15 miles
outside the city
the feds record Cooley’s story he
explains how Secretary Pat Marcy a made
member of the Mafia controls Chicago’s
judges politicians and police force the
feds think he must have a death wish
they said you know are you okay are you
sick and I said no I’m not sick but why
do you want to do this and I said it’s
just something that I want to do Jim
Wagner is one of Cooley’s FBI handlers
Wagner believes that behind the
attorneys remarkable bravery is a need
to make amends Bob had been a police
officer before he became an attorney and
he wanted to I think wipe the slate
clean and start over but Marcy is such a
powerful public figure that the feds
don’t believe Cooley’s story in
desperation he offers to wear a wire
even as I left the building I’m starting
to think to myself I committed suicide
and I have no idea if I have signed my
own death warrant as I walked out of
there wearing a small tape recorder
strapped to his back Cooley starts
gathering evidence against Pat Marcy I
wired him up dozens and dozens of times
to send him to meetings with organized
crime
people the operation is codenamed gambit
short for gambling attorney a reference
to coolies taste for gambling and to the
risk he’s taking if found out he would
be savagely tortured and killed hey you
know strapped me in some place and take
a boat torch to me if I was lucky I mean
that’s what would have happened that was
the one thing I absolutely feared over
the next three years coolie doggedly
gathers evidence against crooked judges
and politicians in the outfits pay but
catching the wily Marci is difficult
Cooley bides his time until finally an
opportunity arises june 5th 1989 Cooley
meets fred roti to discuss a legal
matter coolies brother a real estate
lawyer requires a zoning change in the
first Ward
Marcy’s territory we sat down and he
said well what’s this all about and I
said well look these people want to
build they want to do some renovation of
some buildings they wanted this and they
wanted a how big a project I said I
think it’s a million million and a half
something like that just then
Marcy walks in at Marcy right away takes
over what’s this all about
how big is it who’s the Builder and they
know the rules they know they’ve got to
pay and I said what I just want to know
how much Marcy wants $7,500 for himself
and roti I wanted to put money in both
of their hands you know just to make it
even bigger case Cooley records both men
asking for and receiving their payoff
enough proof to convict them he now goes
after other corrupt members of Marcy’s
inner circle
wearing the wire he meets with Marcy to
discuss a bribe for a crooked judge to
avoid being overheard the two men step
outside let me go to walk in being the
gentleman that Pat is he goes to escort
me and it puts his hand right on the
wire right on the wire Jim Wagner and
the FBI surveillance team are on edge
if Cooley is discovered wearing a wire
he will be killed
it was a nerve-wracking time Bob had the
belief that he could talk his way out of
anything coolies mind is racing as they
reach the table he sat down I stood
there and I started complaining about my
back I stood there and I said oh man I
said you know oh I said I’ve got this
brace I saw got this brace but it’s not
helping any my back is my back is
killing me you know I’m not gonna you
know I mean how I wanted to get out of
there and I just said I’m going to you
know and then I got to go pay and I’m
gonna go see my doctor or whatever and I
left
fortunately Marcy believes him Cooley
presses on recording conversations with
first ward regulars finally he collects
enough evidence to destroy the outfits
treacherous politicians coolies job is
done he disappears into the witness
protection program I left town in
November of 89 there wasn’t a single mob
killing for almost nine years afterwards
they didn’t all suddenly just decide to
stop killing they realized they couldn’t
get away with it
Cooley can no longer endure the mobs
relentless brutality but if he leaves
they will kill him
Cooley decides to attack the outfit his
closest target is their political fit
sir Pat Marcy without him the mob has
little protection from the law on
Saturday March 8 1986 Cooley goes to see
the FBI I went to the FBI and
Strikeforce the organized crime strike
force and I said look I’d like to maybe
help try to clean up the court system
March 20th 1986 in a hotel room 15 miles
outside the city
the feds record Cooley’s story he
explains how Secretary Pat Marcy a made
member of the Mafia controls Chicago’s
judges politicians and police force the
feds think he must have a death wish
they said you know are you okay are you
sick and I said no I’m not sick but why
do you want to do this and I said it’s
just something that I want to do Jim
Wagner is one of Cooley’s FBI handlers
Wagner believes that behind the
attorneys remarkable bravery is a need
to make amends Bob had been a police
officer before he became an attorney and
he wanted to I think wipe the slate
clean and start over but Marcy is such a
powerful public figure that the feds
don’t believe Cooley’s story in
desperation he offers to wear a wire
even as I left the building I’m starting
to think to myself I committed suicide
and I have no idea if I have signed my
own death warrant as I walked out of
there wearing a small tape recorder
strapped to his back Cooley starts
gathering evidence against Pat Marcy I
wired him up dozens and dozens of times
to send him to meetings with organized
crime
people the operation is codenamed gambit
short for gambling attorney a reference
to coolies taste for gambling and to the
risk he’s taking if found out he would
be savagely tortured and killed hey you
know strapped me in some place and take
a boat torch to me if I was lucky I mean
that’s what would have happened that was
the one thing I absolutely feared over
the next three years coolie doggedly
gathers evidence against crooked judges
and politicians in the outfits pay but
catching the wily Marci is difficult
Cooley bides his time until finally an
opportunity arises june 5th 1989 Cooley
meets fred roti to discuss a legal
matter coolies brother a real estate
lawyer requires a zoning change in the
first Ward
Marcy’s territory we sat down and he
said well what’s this all about and I
said well look these people want to
build they want to do some renovation of
some buildings they wanted this and they
wanted a how big a project I said I
think it’s a million million and a half
something like that just then
Marcy walks in at Marcy right away takes
over what’s this all about
how big is it who’s the Builder and they
know the rules they know they’ve got to
pay and I said what I just want to know
how much Marcy wants $7,500 for himself
and roti I wanted to put money in both
of their hands you know just to make it
even bigger case Cooley records both men
asking for and receiving their payoff
enough proof to convict them he now goes
after other corrupt members of Marcy’s
inner circle
wearing the wire he meets with Marcy to
discuss a bribe for a crooked judge to
avoid being overheard the two men step
outside let me go to walk in being the
gentleman that Pat is he goes to escort
me and it puts his hand right on the
wire right on the wire Jim Wagner and
the FBI surveillance team are on edge
if Cooley is discovered wearing a wire
he will be killed
it was a nerve-wracking time Bob had the
belief that he could talk his way out of
anything coolies mind is racing as they
reach the table he sat down I stood
there and I started complaining about my
back I stood there and I said oh man I
said you know oh I said I’ve got this
brace I saw got this brace but it’s not
helping any my back is my back is
killing me you know I’m not gonna you
know I mean how I wanted to get out of
there and I just said I’m going to you
know and then I got to go pay and I’m
gonna go see my doctor or whatever and I
left
fortunately Marcy believes him Cooley
presses on recording conversations with
first ward regulars finally he collects
enough evidence to destroy the outfits
treacherous politicians coolies job is
done he disappears into the witness
protection program I left town in
November of 89 there wasn’t a single mob
killing for almost nine years afterwards
they didn’t all suddenly just decide to
stop killing they realized they couldn’t
get away with it
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