Undercover DEA Agent Frank Panessa on Busting The Mafia "Pizza Connection" (Flashback)
April 20, 2025
54 min
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408 of 903

April 20, 2025
Undercover DEA Agent Frank Panessa on Busting The Mafia "Pizza Connection" (Flashback)
0:00 / 54:53
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Episode 408 of 903 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
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54:53This episodeUndercover DEA Agent Frank Panessa on Busting The Mafia "Pizza Connection" (Flashback)
Summary
<p>Frank Panessa sat down for his first-ever VladTV interview, and Vlad started off by introducing him as one of the two undercover DEA agents in the “Pizza Connection Trial” that took down mafia members using pizza parlors as fronts. During the conversation, Frank started off speaking about joining the DEA, and from there, he spoke about how he got involved in the “Pizza Connection” investigation. Frank explained how he went undercover and became partners with the Sicilian mafia members by supplying them with cigarettes for machines in their pizza shops. From there, Frank detailed getting into the drug trade with the Sicilians and working with Rudy Giuliani in the operation, which he said involved getting $1 million to look legit. During the conversation, Frank detailed the inside information on the Sicilian mafia’s heroin operation, including how they laundered money and other crimes they committed. Frank also spoke about how they took down the operation, and he then detailed the trial that included one of the co-defendants being killed by someone in the Gambino crime family. To hear more, including Frank speaking about other undercover missions that he was on, hit the full interview above.</p>
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