WEBVTT - Episode 8: The Big Fish 0:00:15.316 --> 0:00:23.476 Pushkin Jake Alpern here before we get started, I wanted 0:00:23.516 --> 0:00:26.276 you to know that deep Cover Season two will be 0:00:26.356 --> 0:00:31.436 dropping weekly on Mondays, but the full season is available 0:00:31.796 --> 0:00:36.356 right now ad free for Pushkin Plus subscribers. That's all 0:00:36.396 --> 0:00:40.956 ten episodes right away. Fine Pushkin Plus on the deep 0:00:40.996 --> 0:00:53.596 Cover show page in Apple Podcasts, or at pushkin dot Fm. 0:00:53.636 --> 0:00:58.636 Previously on deep Cover. In nineteen eighty six, Bob Cooley 0:00:58.676 --> 0:01:02.556 began working with the FBI as an undercover operative, and 0:01:02.636 --> 0:01:07.076 he started going after smaller targets like bookies and some 0:01:07.156 --> 0:01:11.316 big ones too, including a stage senator, but he still 0:01:11.316 --> 0:01:15.876 had more work to do. Bob's ultimate target was Pat Marcy. 0:01:16.436 --> 0:01:20.676 He ran the First Ward, a powerful political district controlled 0:01:20.716 --> 0:01:24.436 by the Mob. He was a nasty, vicious human being. 0:01:25.076 --> 0:01:26.916 You could tell it. If you met the man, you 0:01:26.956 --> 0:01:32.876 would know that he's pure evil, but unbelievably powerful in 0:01:32.876 --> 0:01:35.876 every sense. Bob knew that if he really wanted to 0:01:35.916 --> 0:01:40.596 accomplish his mission, he had to nail Marcy. Marcy was 0:01:40.636 --> 0:01:47.476 the big fish. Bob Cooley wasn't the only one trying 0:01:47.476 --> 0:01:51.076 to expose Pat Marcy in the First Ward. There was 0:01:51.236 --> 0:01:54.036 a TV journalist trying to do the exact same thing. 0:01:54.636 --> 0:01:57.836 Her name was Carol Maureen. She would go on to 0:01:57.876 --> 0:02:02.036 become a big time correspondent for sixty Minutes, but back 0:02:02.076 --> 0:02:05.236 in the eighties she was a local reporter for Channel five. 0:02:06.036 --> 0:02:08.996 And Carol has this one very vivid memory from back 0:02:09.156 --> 0:02:12.916 then of going out to launch by herself. I remember 0:02:12.956 --> 0:02:16.316 one day being in Counselor's Row, which was the restaurant 0:02:16.316 --> 0:02:19.596 across from City Hall where the first Ward had a 0:02:19.676 --> 0:02:23.036 table where the first Ward guys and those who were 0:02:23.076 --> 0:02:27.396 invited would sit and have lunch. Jes. So you can 0:02:27.436 --> 0:02:32.796 picture the place. Imagine black leather booths, wood paneling, blood 0:02:32.796 --> 0:02:35.876 red carpet, lots of old black and white photos up 0:02:35.876 --> 0:02:39.236 on the wall. This is a place where deals are cut, 0:02:39.676 --> 0:02:42.756 not all of them kosher. Even the menu hinted at this, 0:02:43.076 --> 0:02:49.516 advertising a gigantic burgher called the Lawbreaker. That particular day, 0:02:49.836 --> 0:02:52.956 Pat Marcy was there sitting at his usual table. With 0:02:53.036 --> 0:02:56.996 him was John Diarco Senior, one of his most trusted confidants, 0:02:57.436 --> 0:03:01.636 father of John Junior, the poet and state senator. Anyway, 0:03:01.916 --> 0:03:05.196 Carol just goes about her business, takes a seat, looks 0:03:05.236 --> 0:03:09.116 at the menu, ordered a bowl of soup. The waitress 0:03:09.196 --> 0:03:12.916 came back and said, mister Marcy and mister Garco picked 0:03:12.996 --> 0:03:15.916 up your check, and I said, I don't want them 0:03:15.996 --> 0:03:19.236 to pick up my check. And she looked at me like, 0:03:19.516 --> 0:03:23.516 all yeah, kidding me, And so I mean, I wasn't 0:03:23.516 --> 0:03:27.356 going to trick bag her. But I went back to NBC, 0:03:28.556 --> 0:03:31.596 ordered a big fruit basket and sent it to the 0:03:31.636 --> 0:03:35.036 First Ward to cover the cost of my bowl of soup. 0:03:35.876 --> 0:03:39.316 It wasn't a coincidence that Carol just popped into Counselor's 0:03:39.396 --> 0:03:43.396 row that day. I was always drawn to sort of 0:03:43.396 --> 0:03:48.156 secret societies. The idea of penetrating something that people don't 0:03:48.196 --> 0:03:50.236 want you to see that you want to know more 0:03:50.276 --> 0:03:54.036 about has always been of interest to me, And in Chicago, 0:03:54.196 --> 0:03:57.676 there was perhaps no secret society more steeped in mystery 0:03:57.716 --> 0:04:03.396 and power than the First Ward. Technically, the First Ward 0:04:03.476 --> 0:04:07.276 was just one of the city's fifty legislative districts. Even so, 0:04:07.476 --> 0:04:10.116 back in the nineteen eighties, the First Ward was among 0:04:10.156 --> 0:04:15.396 the most important because it included downtown Chicago, Chinatown, and Greektown. 0:04:16.196 --> 0:04:19.796 But in truth, it was much more than this. The 0:04:19.836 --> 0:04:24.276 First Ward was the Mob's Ward. It always was. Everyone 0:04:24.356 --> 0:04:28.556 knew it. We had long discussions in the newsroom, other 0:04:28.636 --> 0:04:32.516 reporters and myself about how do we get into that, 0:04:32.676 --> 0:04:35.276 how do we prove it, how do we show it? 0:04:35.996 --> 0:04:39.916 And it was always a challenge. Part of the challenge 0:04:39.956 --> 0:04:42.556 was the fact that Pat Marcy flew beneath the radar. 0:04:43.476 --> 0:04:47.116 Why because he was elusive. He was not in the 0:04:47.196 --> 0:04:51.716 public view on purpose. The way it organized crime truly 0:04:51.756 --> 0:04:55.716 works is you don't know who they are. The Pat 0:04:55.756 --> 0:05:00.396 Marcy's are the people that operate behind the scenes with 0:05:00.476 --> 0:05:05.796 the real power. But Carol, she was patient. She worked 0:05:05.796 --> 0:05:09.556 her sources, talked to them on pay phones, just listened 0:05:09.876 --> 0:05:15.276 and slowly built trust. And then one day, years after 0:05:15.356 --> 0:05:20.356 cultivating sources, the phone rings and a voice says, go 0:05:20.836 --> 0:05:27.116 to counselor's row. Now, little did Carol Marine know she 0:05:27.436 --> 0:05:31.156 was about to cross paths with Bob Cooley and the FBI. 0:05:31.996 --> 0:05:34.876 Not just that she would soon find the evidence that 0:05:34.956 --> 0:05:37.956 she needed, she was about to break a major story 0:05:38.036 --> 0:05:41.156 on the first ward and this would put Bob in 0:05:41.236 --> 0:05:45.836 a very precarious situation where he might be outed or worse. 0:06:11.396 --> 0:06:15.316 I'm Jake Halbern and this is deep Cover mob Land 0:06:16.676 --> 0:06:41.316 episode eight, The Big Fish. By this point, Bob had 0:06:41.316 --> 0:06:45.196 been working undercover for over two years. The FBI referred 0:06:45.196 --> 0:06:49.476 to the whole effort as Operation Gambat, short for Operation 0:06:49.596 --> 0:06:54.236 Gambling Attorney, an apt name. Of course, Bob himself was 0:06:54.276 --> 0:06:57.876 a gambler. He also represented bookies who ran the mob's 0:06:57.956 --> 0:07:03.076 gambling operations, and in a way, this whole operation itself 0:07:03.356 --> 0:07:06.596 was one big gamble. Now it was time to go 0:07:06.636 --> 0:07:10.636 after Pat Marcy. The FBI had been trying to incriminate 0:07:10.716 --> 0:07:17.036 him for twenty years and they'd gotten nowhere. Ironically, Bob's 0:07:17.116 --> 0:07:21.316 big break came from his brother, Bill Cooley. Bill was 0:07:21.356 --> 0:07:24.956 a lawyer like Bob, but an honest one. Bill had 0:07:24.996 --> 0:07:27.316 a client with a property in the First Ward that 0:07:27.436 --> 0:07:30.556 needed rezoning. So Bill did what he was supposed to do, 0:07:30.836 --> 0:07:33.636 went to see the First Wards Alderman, a guy named 0:07:33.636 --> 0:07:37.276 Fred Rody. Rody was an elected official, but he was 0:07:37.316 --> 0:07:41.116 also very much a mob guy. People joked openly that 0:07:41.196 --> 0:07:44.716 Roodie's campaign motto really ought to be vote for Rody 0:07:44.876 --> 0:07:51.156 and nobody gets hurt. When Rodi discovers that Bill is 0:07:51.236 --> 0:07:57.996 Bob's brother, he suggests, rather cryptically that Bob should call him. Eventually, 0:07:58.156 --> 0:08:00.756 Bob gets wind of this. I knew exactly what it 0:08:00.796 --> 0:08:04.516 meant I know what he wants. He's gonna want to 0:08:04.596 --> 0:08:08.236 bribe and whatever. And this is a perfect opportunity for Bob. 0:08:08.676 --> 0:08:10.756 Bob didn't have to come up with some scheme and 0:08:10.796 --> 0:08:15.316 approach ROADI No, this was far better. Rody had solicited 0:08:15.316 --> 0:08:18.596 this bribe on his own. Just to be clear here, 0:08:18.956 --> 0:08:21.596 Rody wasn't as big a fish as Pat Marcy, but 0:08:22.076 --> 0:08:25.876 he was still an important player. Bob and the FBI 0:08:25.956 --> 0:08:29.436 cooked up a plan. Bob would bribe Roady to get 0:08:29.436 --> 0:08:33.596 the building rezoned. The FBI would provide the money, Bob 0:08:33.716 --> 0:08:37.916 would get the whole thing on tape. So Bob arranges 0:08:37.916 --> 0:08:41.756 to meet Rody at Counselor's row. They sit down and 0:08:41.996 --> 0:08:45.236 Bob lays it all out. I made up some stuff. 0:08:45.276 --> 0:08:48.036 You know, Well, they got a big building and they're 0:08:48.036 --> 0:08:50.636 gonna make millions doing this and doing that and whatever, 0:08:51.196 --> 0:08:52.676 and I want to know how much it's going to 0:08:52.796 --> 0:08:56.636 cost to take care of it. While we're talking, who 0:08:56.636 --> 0:09:00.876 comes walking up with Pat Marcy? Yeah, v Pat Marcy, 0:09:01.276 --> 0:09:04.476 the big boss. He comes around the corner and he 0:09:04.556 --> 0:09:07.836 sees us sitting there, and he said, what's going on here? 0:09:08.236 --> 0:09:12.436 It was an awkward moment. Marcy seems suspicious Bob says, 0:09:12.556 --> 0:09:14.476 Rody seemed a bit like he was a kid who'd 0:09:14.476 --> 0:09:17.436 been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I 0:09:17.556 --> 0:09:19.996 have no doubt in my mind that Rody was going 0:09:20.076 --> 0:09:23.076 to do this steel himself. I was going to do 0:09:23.196 --> 0:09:25.596 this and was going to cut Pat out of whatever 0:09:25.636 --> 0:09:29.796 it was, because he says, oh, Pat, he said, I 0:09:29.876 --> 0:09:32.876 was going to tell you about this path. Rody jumps 0:09:32.876 --> 0:09:36.196 to his feet and offers his chair to Marcy. Marcy 0:09:36.276 --> 0:09:39.836 sits down. At this point, Rody explains what's going on. 0:09:40.476 --> 0:09:43.636 Bob is here on business with a request to rezone 0:09:43.636 --> 0:09:48.196 a building. According to the transcripts, here's what's said next 0:09:48.276 --> 0:09:52.836 on the wire. Marcy says, quote, tell me who the 0:09:52.956 --> 0:09:57.036 fucking owners are. Bob explains that the owners are square, 0:09:57.436 --> 0:09:59.996 meaning they don't want to be directly involved with paying 0:09:59.996 --> 0:10:04.036 a bribe. Marcy tells him, quote, you're going to need zoning. 0:10:04.316 --> 0:10:07.556 What else are you going to need there? And like that, 0:10:08.076 --> 0:10:13.036 Marcy has taken He's now in charge. He tells Bob, quote, 0:10:13.436 --> 0:10:16.196 once we see what it is, then we'll talk about it. 0:10:16.236 --> 0:10:17.676 In other words, that you have to pay if you 0:10:17.716 --> 0:10:21.556 want to get something done, and you know what are 0:10:21.556 --> 0:10:24.036 the facts, and you know what says, and what's that? 0:10:24.156 --> 0:10:26.516 And I'll determine how much it's going to cost and whatever. 0:10:26.636 --> 0:10:30.676 But Path cut himself into the steel. To Marcy, it 0:10:30.796 --> 0:10:33.756 must have seemed like Rody was taking all the spoils 0:10:33.756 --> 0:10:38.076 for himself, and a strong man like Marcy could never 0:10:38.196 --> 0:10:42.836 let that happen. And so Marcy intervenes and walks right 0:10:42.876 --> 0:10:48.316 into Bob's hands. So Bob presses ahead with his bribery scheme. 0:10:48.996 --> 0:10:52.276 At his next meeting with Rody at Counselors Row, Bob 0:10:52.316 --> 0:10:54.676 brings a pad and a pen. He's got a bunch 0:10:54.676 --> 0:10:57.436 of notes written on the pad with made up specs 0:10:57.476 --> 0:11:00.676 on this building that needs to be rezoned, and then 0:11:00.756 --> 0:11:04.436 he looks up at Rhody and says, quote, tell me 0:11:04.516 --> 0:11:08.116 what the procedure is. Now. That's code for how much 0:11:08.196 --> 0:11:11.116 is this thing going to cost me? Rody then grabs 0:11:11.116 --> 0:11:14.356 the pen and notepad and writes down the number seventy 0:11:14.396 --> 0:11:18.996 five and underlines it. Roadie's being careful, playing it smart, 0:11:19.316 --> 0:11:22.836 not saying anything out loud. Here's what's said next on 0:11:22.836 --> 0:11:28.076 the wire, Rody, you know what I'm talking about, Bob. Yeah, 0:11:28.196 --> 0:11:32.356 little ones, not big ones. That's also code. Bob is 0:11:32.396 --> 0:11:36.996 clarifying what exactly seventy five means. He's asking if it's 0:11:36.996 --> 0:11:40.316 seventy five little ones, which would mean seven hundred and 0:11:40.356 --> 0:11:47.676 fifty dollars. Roady, No, seventy five hundred, Bingo. Roody is 0:11:47.716 --> 0:11:51.876 broken code. Apparently he got frustrated or careless, and he 0:11:51.956 --> 0:11:55.556 just says the exact amount, which is fantastic for Bob. 0:11:56.156 --> 0:11:58.276 All that Bob needs to do now is get the 0:11:58.316 --> 0:12:02.116 actual payoff on tape. So as discreetly as he can, 0:12:02.396 --> 0:12:05.556 Bob pulls out some money and says, quote, let me 0:12:05.556 --> 0:12:07.956 give you five hundred now, so you've got some lunch 0:12:08.036 --> 0:12:12.716 money in your pocket. The next step for Bob is 0:12:12.756 --> 0:12:16.756 to put cash in Marcy's hands. So three days later, 0:12:17.036 --> 0:12:20.476 Bob straps on his tape recorder again and returns to 0:12:20.516 --> 0:12:24.716 Counselor's row. Pat Marcy is waiting for him and escorts 0:12:24.756 --> 0:12:27.556 him to the back of the restaurant. Bob asks him 0:12:27.556 --> 0:12:30.716 if the figure that Rody has given him is okay translation, 0:12:31.236 --> 0:12:33.436 is seventy five hundred a big enough bribe for you? 0:12:34.116 --> 0:12:38.276 Marcy tells him, quote, the figure's okay. Bob then counts 0:12:38.276 --> 0:12:42.716 out thirty five hundred dollars the first installment. Marcy takes 0:12:42.756 --> 0:12:47.036 the money on tape and in so doing incriminates himself. 0:12:49.476 --> 0:12:52.556 Now you might be tempted to think, okay, then Bob's 0:12:52.596 --> 0:12:55.636 done here, right, He's god Marcy, why doesn't he get 0:12:55.636 --> 0:12:58.596 the hell out of Dodge? But that's not how Bob 0:12:58.676 --> 0:13:01.556 saw it. He was determined to make certain that the 0:13:01.636 --> 0:13:05.756 case against Marcy and the first ward was airtight, so 0:13:05.916 --> 0:13:09.836 no judge or jury could possibly acquit. There was more 0:13:09.836 --> 0:13:12.316 work for Bob to do. He had to pay off 0:13:12.356 --> 0:13:15.516 a second installment on that zoning bribe. He also had 0:13:15.516 --> 0:13:18.156 another scheme in mind. He was trying to get Marcy 0:13:18.236 --> 0:13:22.196 to tamper with another court case. Bob's handlers at the 0:13:22.276 --> 0:13:27.196 FBI agreed with this strategy. Here's Marie Dyson. He just 0:13:27.316 --> 0:13:31.156 kept going back to Marcy. He could do that, and 0:13:31.236 --> 0:13:33.356 then if it didn't feel right that day, he'd stay 0:13:33.356 --> 0:13:36.756 away from Marcy for a while. How dangerous was Marcy? 0:13:37.676 --> 0:13:42.956 Very deadly? And the scary part was there were so 0:13:42.996 --> 0:13:46.276 many ways he could blow his cover. Stupid little things 0:13:46.316 --> 0:13:50.076 could go wrong. In fact, this is exactly what happened 0:13:50.116 --> 0:13:53.556 a while later, when Bob returned to Counselor's Row for 0:13:53.676 --> 0:13:59.636 another visit with Marcy. That day, they're actually outside the restaurant, 0:13:59.796 --> 0:14:02.916 chatting on the sidewalk. They're getting ready to go inside. 0:14:03.476 --> 0:14:07.156 Marcy gestures for Bob to go first, and then he 0:14:07.276 --> 0:14:11.236 places his hand on Bob's lower back, on the exact 0:14:11.316 --> 0:14:15.636 spot where Bob's tape recorder is tucked away. So when 0:14:15.636 --> 0:14:18.036 he did that, I mean it was like somebody hitting 0:14:18.036 --> 0:14:22.676 me with a hammer. And I was terrified that he had, 0:14:22.916 --> 0:14:25.716 you know, that he would know what it was. Bob's 0:14:25.756 --> 0:14:28.716 mind is racing, trying to come up with his next move. 0:14:28.916 --> 0:14:31.076 I'm just acting, trying to act as non chalant as 0:14:31.076 --> 0:14:33.836 I can, but believe me, I'm a nervous rock. At 0:14:33.836 --> 0:14:37.956 this particular instant, Bob and Marcy entered the restaurant together. 0:14:38.476 --> 0:14:41.156 They head over to the first word table. I went 0:14:41.316 --> 0:14:43.356 like I was going to sit down, and then I 0:14:43.476 --> 0:14:45.996 pulled myself up as you would if you know you 0:14:46.076 --> 0:14:48.836 had a problem, as Oh my back was killing me. 0:14:48.916 --> 0:14:50.676 I said, you know, and I've got this brace and 0:14:50.716 --> 0:14:54.276 it's not helping. It's not helping a whole lot. The 0:14:54.396 --> 0:14:57.316 back injury is bullshit. Bob was just making it up 0:14:57.356 --> 0:15:00.676 on the spot, and the back brace, well, that was 0:15:00.756 --> 0:15:05.556 Bob's cover. So if by chance Marcy had felt something. Well, 0:15:05.596 --> 0:15:10.916 then there was an explanation, But would Marcy? The problem was, 0:15:11.436 --> 0:15:14.636 there was no getting into Marcy's head. Did he know? 0:15:15.556 --> 0:15:20.236 Was he suspicious? And what was his threshold for quite 0:15:20.276 --> 0:15:25.396 literally pulling the trigger. Bob and his FBI handlers were 0:15:25.396 --> 0:15:29.716 all guessing. When we come back after the break, Bob 0:15:30.196 --> 0:15:46.596 pushes his luck. It had been a close call with Marcy, 0:15:46.916 --> 0:15:49.516 and Bob still didn't know if he was safe. He 0:15:49.636 --> 0:15:52.636 talked the whole thing over with his handlers, the carpool buddies, 0:15:52.836 --> 0:15:56.356 Steve and Marie. You know you're scared, and he's scared, 0:15:56.396 --> 0:16:00.316 and everybody's scared. Anything could happen. We were going to 0:16:00.396 --> 0:16:02.596 do everything in our power not to make a mistake, 0:16:03.116 --> 0:16:07.396 because this guy could get killed just like that. Given 0:16:07.436 --> 0:16:11.156 all of this, it was inevitable that Bob started to 0:16:11.196 --> 0:16:14.756 go down some dark rabbit holes thinking about the worst 0:16:14.796 --> 0:16:18.036 case scenarios of how it might end for him. I 0:16:18.036 --> 0:16:20.676 don't think I really feared. I didn't fear dying. I 0:16:20.796 --> 0:16:24.876 feared being tortured. I did not think I would like that. 0:16:27.436 --> 0:16:30.476 Bob had once been friends with a gangster named William 0:16:30.636 --> 0:16:33.996 Butch Petrocelli, who'd fallen out of favor with the mob. 0:16:34.796 --> 0:16:37.156 Bob believes he was one of the last people to 0:16:37.196 --> 0:16:41.316 see Butch alive. Bob says they had lunched together one day. 0:16:41.756 --> 0:16:45.516 Butch disappeared a few days later. Months passed without any 0:16:45.556 --> 0:16:49.996 sign of him. Then Butch's charred body was discovered. He'd 0:16:49.996 --> 0:16:52.756 been stabbed in the chest and his body had been 0:16:52.796 --> 0:16:56.516 burned with a blowtorch. I'd wake up sweating and whatever 0:16:56.676 --> 0:17:01.356 because I saw myself being tortured. I kept seeing pictures 0:17:01.396 --> 0:17:04.596 of Butching kind of playing a blow torch to my 0:17:04.676 --> 0:17:07.436 testicles and things like that that you know that I 0:17:08.076 --> 0:17:13.236 was terrified that Bob knew he needed a contingency plan, 0:17:13.756 --> 0:17:16.156 something he could do to save himself from this fate. 0:17:16.636 --> 0:17:20.956 I had condom plated carrying, you know, carrying some kind 0:17:20.996 --> 0:17:24.276 of tablets, so I could commit suicide if you know, 0:17:24.356 --> 0:17:26.556 if they caught me. But you know, but I just 0:17:26.596 --> 0:17:29.396 never did do that. And the reason I didn't do 0:17:29.476 --> 0:17:31.436 that is because I would have gone to hell them. 0:17:31.676 --> 0:17:35.156 I believe that committing suicide, you know, is one of 0:17:35.196 --> 0:17:39.556 those sins that you can't do. It was ironic in 0:17:39.556 --> 0:17:44.996 a way. Bob was a man who enjoyed his pleasures, money, sex, power, 0:17:45.556 --> 0:17:47.556 and he was willing to bend the rules to get 0:17:47.636 --> 0:17:50.716 all of these things. But in the end, he would 0:17:50.756 --> 0:17:53.796 not compromise his own moral code to save himself from 0:17:53.796 --> 0:17:57.996 the most gruesome of endings. Instead, Bob decided to carry 0:17:57.996 --> 0:18:01.716 a gun, two guns in fact, which was a problem. 0:18:02.196 --> 0:18:06.036 Here's Bob's handler, Steve Bowen. Bob was never authorized to 0:18:06.076 --> 0:18:10.516 carry a gun under any conditions. Did I know on 0:18:10.556 --> 0:18:13.636 occasion that he had a gun on him? Yeah? And 0:18:13.836 --> 0:18:18.636 did I do anything about it? No. If I was 0:18:18.716 --> 0:18:21.076 going in to do what we're asking him to go 0:18:21.156 --> 0:18:23.516 in to do, I'd want a gun on me too. 0:18:24.036 --> 0:18:26.676 I asked Bob what his plan was. What would be 0:18:26.716 --> 0:18:29.516 his move if he walked into some back room and 0:18:29.596 --> 0:18:32.996 a group of mob henchmen were waiting for him. I figured, 0:18:33.036 --> 0:18:35.276 if I walked into the room and there's a group there, 0:18:35.756 --> 0:18:42.076 just start shooting. When it came to decompressing, Bob didn't 0:18:42.116 --> 0:18:45.276 have a lot of options. The FBI wouldn't let him gamble. 0:18:45.836 --> 0:18:48.316 Bob wasn't married, and he didn't have anyone he could 0:18:48.316 --> 0:18:52.276 totally confide in. He never went to a therapist, but 0:18:52.636 --> 0:18:56.596 he did have at least one form of Catharsis feeding 0:18:56.596 --> 0:19:00.996 wildlife yep. For a while, Bob lived in an apartment 0:19:01.036 --> 0:19:03.956 on the outskirts of Chicago. It was on the first floor, 0:19:04.316 --> 0:19:06.916 and Bob liked to open up the glass doors, sit 0:19:06.996 --> 0:19:11.476 outside and feed the animals. Birds would come, but what 0:19:11.596 --> 0:19:16.276 he really liked were the raccoons. They'd watch him eat 0:19:16.316 --> 0:19:19.436 and feed, and I'd have a little water gun because 0:19:19.436 --> 0:19:21.916 I'd have to spray the mother raccoon because she'd beat 0:19:21.996 --> 0:19:23.836 up and the kids see no fighting for the food. 0:19:23.876 --> 0:19:28.396 But I just enjoyed doing stuff like that. This image 0:19:28.396 --> 0:19:31.996 has stayed with me. I imagine Bob, after a stressful 0:19:32.076 --> 0:19:35.716 day of work undercover, coming home, taking off his coat, 0:19:36.156 --> 0:19:39.116 sending his gun down on the table, then walking through 0:19:39.116 --> 0:19:42.476 those glass doors, picking up a water gun and using 0:19:42.476 --> 0:19:45.956 it to protect the baby raccoons, making sure they got 0:19:46.036 --> 0:19:50.996 enough to eat. Bob told me he loved all animals 0:19:51.436 --> 0:19:59.036 except rats and snakes. Why because they're dirty little creatures. 0:19:59.036 --> 0:20:02.836 They remind me a lot of some people. And snakes 0:20:03.116 --> 0:20:07.036 For some reason, I just don't like snakes, although he 0:20:07.156 --> 0:20:10.916 quickly added, these are guy its creatures. Ay, all they 0:20:10.956 --> 0:20:13.596 want in life is to you know, eat and fall 0:20:13.716 --> 0:20:20.836 around and you know and survive. Sadly for Bob. Eventually 0:20:20.836 --> 0:20:24.636 he decided that the first floor apartment it wasn't safe. 0:20:25.036 --> 0:20:29.276 He just felt too exposed there, so he moved to 0:20:29.316 --> 0:20:32.476 another apartment on the fourth floor of a nearby building. 0:20:33.196 --> 0:20:36.916 He still tossed food off the balcony, but it wasn't 0:20:36.996 --> 0:20:43.196 quite the same. In so many ways, life just kept 0:20:43.276 --> 0:20:48.556 narrowing for Bob, and now even the baby raccoons were gone. 0:20:53.236 --> 0:20:56.556 Bob kept going with his undercover work. There was no 0:20:56.596 --> 0:20:59.076 way of knowing whether Pat Marcy had felt that tape 0:20:59.116 --> 0:21:03.676 recorder on his back, so cautiously he returned to Counselor's 0:21:03.716 --> 0:21:07.116 row wearing a wire and armed with his two guns. 0:21:07.836 --> 0:21:11.036 His goal was to bribe Marcy once again to get 0:21:11.076 --> 0:21:13.596 him on tape, agreeing to tamper with a court case. 0:21:14.596 --> 0:21:17.516 This time. As he answers Counselor's row, Bob is on 0:21:17.556 --> 0:21:20.836 a high alert, so is his handler, Steve Bowen, who 0:21:20.956 --> 0:21:25.036 is stationed across the street. Inside the restaurant, Bob has 0:21:25.036 --> 0:21:28.756 a look around. Almost right away, he sees a mobster 0:21:29.036 --> 0:21:33.996 named Ernest Rocky in Falie. Rocky was a burly guy, 0:21:34.356 --> 0:21:39.716 a former paratrooper with a well earned reputation for brutality. 0:21:40.076 --> 0:21:43.156 Bob plays it cool. He makes the rounds, mingling with 0:21:43.196 --> 0:21:49.116 the regular patrons, and then he sees pat Marcy cat 0:21:49.156 --> 0:21:53.276 Marcy was standing there and when he saw me, didn't 0:21:53.276 --> 0:21:55.996 say a word, just motion for me to follow him. 0:21:56.676 --> 0:22:00.956 Where too, That's the question. Bob glances about and realizes 0:22:01.076 --> 0:22:03.836 he can no longer see Rocky, but there's no time 0:22:03.876 --> 0:22:06.436 to look for him because he's got a stick with Marcy. 0:22:07.116 --> 0:22:10.836 Marcy heads outside, but instead just stopping there on the sidewalk, 0:22:11.076 --> 0:22:15.196 he continues heading towards a parking garage. Bob's trying to 0:22:15.236 --> 0:22:21.916 get his bearings and quickly. I right away was nervous, wondering, 0:22:21.956 --> 0:22:25.396 you know, this is something totally unusual. I didn't know 0:22:25.796 --> 0:22:29.156 whether the hell they we're going. That's Bob's handler, Steve Bowen, 0:22:29.516 --> 0:22:32.716 watching it all play out from across the street, whether 0:22:32.756 --> 0:22:34.556 they were going off in a car, they want to 0:22:34.596 --> 0:22:37.076 take him in a restaurant whacking, or whether they just 0:22:37.116 --> 0:22:40.756 wanted to top twing in there. Steve is in a bind. 0:22:41.156 --> 0:22:43.956 If he intervenes and rushes in too soon, he could 0:22:43.996 --> 0:22:47.156 blow Bob's cover or start a gunfight. But if he 0:22:47.156 --> 0:22:51.836 waits too long, Bob Mike get killed. Meanwhile, Bob's now 0:22:51.876 --> 0:22:55.236 walked into the parking garage with Pat Marcy. He still 0:22:55.236 --> 0:22:58.476 hasn't seen Rocky at this point. He's just going with it, 0:22:58.836 --> 0:23:01.236 and we walk through the big door where the cars 0:23:01.276 --> 0:23:05.356 come out, and we walk into a little shitty bathroom. 0:23:05.516 --> 0:23:09.676 Pat walks in there. I'm following him, and I'm envisioned. 0:23:09.796 --> 0:23:12.396 I've got two guns on it this time. What I'm 0:23:12.436 --> 0:23:15.756 thinking is I'm walking behind him. This may be a trap. 0:23:16.756 --> 0:23:20.196 When he opened that door, I'm ready to pull one 0:23:20.196 --> 0:23:22.596 of my Volbos out and start shooting in case there's 0:23:22.636 --> 0:23:24.276 people in there. I'm not going to talk. I'm not 0:23:24.316 --> 0:23:26.876 going to say a word. I'm going to start shooting, 0:23:28.116 --> 0:23:31.396 two guns at the ready. Bob stands there as Pat 0:23:31.476 --> 0:23:35.436 Marcy pulls open the door to the bathroom. I can 0:23:35.436 --> 0:23:38.276 see it's a very small room and there's nobody in there. 0:23:38.276 --> 0:23:41.396 I can see there isn't He walks over to the 0:23:41.516 --> 0:23:45.316 urinal and he takes a leak. Now he's never said 0:23:45.356 --> 0:23:48.076 a word to me. Bob just stands there in the 0:23:48.116 --> 0:23:52.276 bathroom for what seems like forever. He's still on the 0:23:52.316 --> 0:23:54.876 lookout for Rocky or some other would be a sail 0:23:54.916 --> 0:23:58.796 at who might rush through the door at any moment. Meanwhile, 0:23:58.956 --> 0:24:02.916 outside on the street, Steve can't wait any longer. It 0:24:02.996 --> 0:24:07.316 was just me and I had to go, so started 0:24:07.356 --> 0:24:09.476 to go in there after room, and then I'm going 0:24:09.556 --> 0:24:13.676 hand I I'm gonna try to find him and protect 0:24:13.716 --> 0:24:18.196 him if I acted, And just then he sees Bob 0:24:18.276 --> 0:24:22.516 and Marcy walking back out, huge sigh of relief. It 0:24:22.516 --> 0:24:25.476 had all been a false alarm. But to Bob it 0:24:25.516 --> 0:24:29.836 didn't seem like a chance occurrence, not at all. There's 0:24:29.876 --> 0:24:33.956 almost no doubt in my mind that they're testing I see. 0:24:33.996 --> 0:24:36.356 So the test is if this guy's wearing a wire, 0:24:36.396 --> 0:24:37.876 there's no way he's going to follow me into a 0:24:37.956 --> 0:24:40.836 bathroom in a parking lot, exactly. I mean, you know, 0:24:41.316 --> 0:24:46.356 I'd been dealing with these people for years. He's never 0:24:46.396 --> 0:24:50.596 done something like that before. In all this time, Bob says, 0:24:50.636 --> 0:24:55.036 he was determined to keep going. His handler, Marie, admired 0:24:55.036 --> 0:24:58.756 his courage, but she knew how risky this was for him. 0:24:58.876 --> 0:25:02.916 Every day that you continue to do this, it's a 0:25:02.996 --> 0:25:08.756 scarier day because you when should you stop. You need 0:25:08.796 --> 0:25:10.876 what you you need for evidence, you need what you 0:25:10.916 --> 0:25:14.156 need to make cases. But at the same time, it's 0:25:14.236 --> 0:25:18.876 becoming very It's the danger is increasing for Bob. This 0:25:18.996 --> 0:25:22.916 is a human being. This is a person you know, 0:25:23.636 --> 0:25:27.636 that has offered to do this and has asked very 0:25:27.676 --> 0:25:31.796 little of us, and we are putting him in harm's way. 0:25:33.156 --> 0:25:35.796 It seemed like for the moment, Bob was safe and 0:25:35.836 --> 0:25:39.676 that Pat Marcy didn't know that the FBI was onto him. 0:25:39.716 --> 0:25:42.916 But all of that was about to change. Little did 0:25:42.956 --> 0:25:46.956 anyone know, a gigantic story was about to break, thanks 0:25:46.996 --> 0:25:51.996 to the journalist Carol Marine. More on that after the break, 0:26:05.996 --> 0:26:09.516 Carol Marine had been looking into the First Ward for years. 0:26:09.516 --> 0:26:12.476 She's the journalist who visited Counselor's row, got a free 0:26:12.516 --> 0:26:14.996 cup of soup and then sent the first Ward guys 0:26:14.996 --> 0:26:18.636 a fruit basket. She kept plugging away with her reporting, 0:26:19.156 --> 0:26:22.236 and then one day her phone rang and a voice said, 0:26:22.836 --> 0:26:28.996 go to Counselor's row. Now we speed to Counselor's Row, 0:26:29.076 --> 0:26:34.516 and what do you know? There is a camera discovered 0:26:34.596 --> 0:26:38.196 by a bus boy inside the bench of a booth 0:26:38.476 --> 0:26:42.636 that sat across from the first Ward table, connected to 0:26:42.836 --> 0:26:47.836 coaxial cable up through the rafters, up through the floors 0:26:47.956 --> 0:26:51.316 up to the other first Ward office. The FEDS had 0:26:52.236 --> 0:26:57.196 bugged the first ward table, so Carol races to break 0:26:57.236 --> 0:27:01.916 her story about the bug. Meanwhile, Bob is actually en 0:27:02.076 --> 0:27:06.036 route to meet Fred Rody, the corrupt Alderman, to pay 0:27:06.076 --> 0:27:09.596 him off for his help tampering with a case. Bob's 0:27:09.636 --> 0:27:13.476 plan is to meet Rody at you guessed, at Counselor's Row. 0:27:15.476 --> 0:27:18.076 At this point, Bob has no idea that a camera 0:27:18.116 --> 0:27:21.756 has been discovered at the restaurant. In fact, Bob doesn't 0:27:21.796 --> 0:27:24.596 even know that the FBI has installed such a camera there. 0:27:25.236 --> 0:27:28.196 No one had bothered to tell him, and now he 0:27:28.316 --> 0:27:32.476