233: Part 1: Inside the Mafia, How the FBI Infiltrated the "Sixth Family," with Seamus McElearney

Game of Crimes

True Crime

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 February 2026

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode pulls back the curtain on the high-risk world of informants, the fragile trust required to flip a capo, and the relentless challenges of witness protection, where one mistake can cost lives. Seamus also opens up about the personal toll these investigations took on him and his family—and why cooperation between federal, state, and local agencies is essential in taking down organized crime.

Drawing from his book Flipping Capo, Seamus delivers firsthand insight into how the Mafia actually operates, how informants are protected, and why the war against organized crime is far from over.

Transcript

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0:00.0	And the reason that he was killed is because he got involved with John Gotti from the Gambino family.
0:04.6	John Gotti was paranoid.
0:06.4	John Gotti thought he was cooperating.
0:08.2	The reason that he thought he was cooperating was because Fred Weiss, who was arrested in June of 89, switched lawyers.
0:15.9	That's the only reason why he thought he was cooperating.
0:19.2	So this man got killed for nothing. Horrible. Now,
0:22.8	that murder, years later, becomes probably the most indictable mob murder ever, where at least
0:28.9	15 people from two different families, the Gambinos di Caloacantis, have either pled guilty
0:34.0	or were convicted of that murder. Unbelievable. So Fred Weiss should have never
0:37.7	gotten involved with John Gotti should never got involved with Fred Weiss. I'm Steve Murphy,
0:42.9	DEA Special Agent Retired and now host of the Game of Crimes podcast. If you've seen the Netflix
0:48.4	series Narcos, then you know my story. I now bring you stories of heroism and bravery from our law enforcement
0:55.5	and military heroes and occasionally from the criminals that they faced. Welcome to Game of Crimes. Hey, gang, here we go again.
1:17.4	The new episode of Game of Crimes with Murph in the morning, just like we always do.
1:22.0	Got another fantastic gifts for you here today.
1:24.9	Somebody that has the most Irish name I've ever heard in my life.
1:29.8	And I think you'll agree with me after we get to that part. But just want to say thank you for
1:33.4	continuing to come back every week. Support the show. Supporting me. If you don't know,
1:38.2	Game of Crimes has a Patreon subscriber channel. Just go over at patreon.com slash game of crimes.
1:43.6	A lot of stupid stuff. I mean,
1:44.8	really important stuff goes on over there. So come over and check us out. And you can actually
1:48.6	join for free and hear the first five minutes of every episode that we put out every month.
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