Life and Death Phone Call with Lefty Ruggerio and Donnie, Part 1

In this episode, you will hear the real life conversation between Lefty and Joe as Donnie faced a life-and-death situation as he dealt with accusations of theft from fellow mobster Tony Mirra. 

Join co-hosts Leo Rossi and Joe Pistone as they dive into the first tape from Joe’s collection of undercover conversations. Hear from Lefty Ruggiero’s wife, as she urgently tries to contact Joe for Lefty, and then from Lefty himself as he questions Joe to find out the truth behind the accusations. 

It’s high drama on this episode of Deep Cover: The Real Donnie Brasco! If you have questions about this episode or past episodes, you can ask them here by joining the Motion Lounge, where you can also listen to the full tape used in this episode.

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Episode notes:

[00:01:30] - Introduction to Joe’s defense for his life

[00:02:18] - Louise Ruggiero’s (Lefty’s wife) concerned call to Joe about Lefty’s meeting; quick brief on Tony Mirra

[00:04:34] - Lefty’s call to Joe about Lefty’s meeting with Tony Mirra

[00:05:37] - Who is Rocky?

[00:06:52] - $250,000 accusation

[00:07:46] - Lefty probing for information

[00:09:36] - Joe explains the story he’s trying to sell

[00:11:45] - Junk money, Zips

[00:19:37] - Lefty continues to probe/explain, compares Tony Mirra’s and Donnie’s situation

[00:24:59] - Sally - head of the Bonanno family

[00:29:27] - Federal “Stool Pigeon”

[00:35:29] - Lefty and Tony Mirra’s bad blood

[00:39:00] - Lefty and Joe (Donnie) are in pinch, how will this play out in the next episode?

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