367: Donnie Brasco – Following in the Footsteps of Uncle Joe Pistone (Part 1)

FBI Case File Review

Jerri Williams

True Crime, Interviews, Fiction, History, Fbi, Government, Truecrime

4.6 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 27 August 2025

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In part one of this two-part episode, retired agent Donnie Brasco reviews his career navigating as an FBI agent with his infamous name and following in the footsteps of his uncle, legendary undercover agent Joe Pistone. Until now, most people were unaware of Donnie and Joe’s family ties. I call it the worst-kept secret in the FBI. Joe drops in at the end of the episode to share why he chose the name "Donnie Brasco" for his alias. Donnie served in the FBI for 21 years.

Check out episode show notes, photos, and related articles: https://jerriwilliams.com/367-donnie-brasco-following-in-the-footsteps-of-uncle-joe-pistone-part-1/

Join my Reader Team to get the FBI Reading Resource - Books about the FBI, written by FBI agents, the 20 clichés about the FBI Reality Checklist, and to keep up to date on the FBI in books, TV, and movies via my monthly email. Join here. http://eepurl.com/dzCCmL

Buy me a coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JerriWilliams

Check out my FBI books, non-fiction and crime fiction, available as audiobooks, ebooks and paperbacks wherever books are sold. https://jerriwilliams.com/books/

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	So when I got into the business of undercover with the FBI, I needed a name.
0:09.0	You know that, Jerry.
0:10.0	You needed an alias.
0:12.0	Only one name kept popping up was Donnie Brasco.
0:16.0	And why?
0:17.0	Because he made such an impression on me as a young guy and as I got older.
0:23.7	So I went and I asked him, I said, Donnie, I need an alias. Do you mind if I use your name?
0:30.2	And he said, of course not. No. He said, not a problem.
0:34.6	But little did we know where it would go. After it did explode, I was kind of, oh, my God, what did I do here?
0:41.7	But I talked to Donnie after, and he said, don't worry about it. He said, I gave you my approval, so, you know, we'll just deal with it.
0:53.8	Welcome to episode 367 of FBI case file review with Jerry Williams.
1:03.2	I'm a retired agent on a mission to show you who the FBI is and what the FBI does through my books, my blog, and my podcast case reviews
1:13.4	with former colleagues. Today, we get to speak to retired agent Donnie Brasco, who served
1:20.5	in the FBI for 21 years. In part one of this two-part episode, Donnie reviews his career navigating as an agent with his
1:30.4	infamous name and following in the footsteps of his uncle, legendary undercover agent Joe Pistone,
1:39.6	who infiltrated the mafia using the alias Donnie Brasco.
1:45.4	Joe Pistone joins us at the end of the episode to share why he used a family name as his
1:52.7	alias.
1:53.8	Donnie also reviews the importance of developing confidential sources, why he became a certified undercover agent, and his undercover role in Operation
2:05.3	Black Eagle. FBI Case File Review is usually audio only, but we recorded video for this episode,
2:13.4	which you can watch on the FBI Case File Review YouTube channel.
2:18.1	In your podcast app's description of this episode,
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 17 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jerri Williams, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jerri Williams and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.