Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob - Softcover

Delaney, Bob; Scheiber, Dave

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1402767145 ISBN 13: 9781402767142

Publisher: Union Square Press, 2009

Synopsis

In a riveting page-turner, NBA referee Bob Delaney reveals the clandestine life he led before becoming one of professional basketball's most respected referees. In 1975, whilst working as a New Jersey State Trooper, Delaney was approached with a tantalising yet dangerous undercover assignment: to infiltrate the Mob. He accepted. At the height of The Godfather era, Delaney wore a wire and lived among wise-guys who modelled themselves on their on-screen counterparts, quoting lines from 'The Movie' and boasting of how often they'd seen it. Delaney knew that all the while a single slip could get him killed, but he ultimately gathered enough evidence to convict 30 members of the Bruno and Genovese crime families. He struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and traces of Stockholm syndrome after getting too close to those he investigated, which therapy helped him overcome. Once a college basketball star, Delaney began officiating high school games as a way to rebuild his life - eventually working his way up to the NBA, where he has been a referee for more than two decades. This is his amazing true story, with a foreword by NBA commentator Bill Walton.

About this title

Review

"Delaney's story. . . becomes more intense than overtime in the playoffs."--"Boston"" Globe" "Delaney's heroic performance during his perilous assignment represents the finest traditions of the New Jersey State Police. My father, the first superintendent of the New Jersey State Police Department, would have been proud of him."--"General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, U.S. Army (ret.)"
"[F]ascinating...a must-read..."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A slam dunk, a bull's eye and any other glowing mafia or basketball metaphor you can think of."--"Kirkus" "Gripping...Fans of such undercover-themed books as Donnie Brasco, or organized-crime exposes like The Valachi Papers, will devour this one." --"Booklist"

Edition details

• Publisher: Union Square Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1402767145
• ISBN 13: 9781402767142
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 296