Al Sharpton: I Was No FBI Informant

[DonViejo]

CATHERINE THOMPSON – APRIL 8, 2014, 7:57 AM EDT

Rev. Al Sharpton is disputing a report that said he helped bring down mobsters in the '80s as an FBI informant.

The Smoking Gun published a lengthy investigation Monday, based on hundreds of pages of documents obtained from the FBI under Freedom of Information Act requests, that said Sharpton cooperated with an FBI/NYPD task force aimed at taking down the leaders of the Genovese crime family. As "CI-7," or confidential informant No. 7, Sharpton allegedly recorded conversations with mafia bosses that provided valuable information to investigators.

Sharpton acknowledged Monday in an interview with the New York Daily News that he had assisted the FBI beginning in 1983, but challenged some of the facts in The Smoking Gun report. He said that he contacted authorities after he received death threats from mobsters including Joseph Buonanno, a member of the Gambino crime family, over his activism.

“If you’re a victim of a threat, you’re not an informant — you’re a victim trying to protect yourself," he told the Daily News.

more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/al-sharpton-denies-report-fbi-informant

[el_bryanto]

1. That's an interesting thing to dispute

While I understand that there are a lot of civil liberties questions and issues surrounding law enforcement these days, surely taking on the Mob is something positive? As much as I love mobsters in the movies, in reality, they are kind of terrible.

Best movie mobster - James Cagney in "The Roaring Twenties."

Bryant

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

5. Never admit to being a mob informant in public

Deny it if you are accused.

Just sayin'.

[Hip_Flask]

6. Not in the "Snitches get stiches" part of the community...

[Larry the Cable Dude]

2. Nothing nefarious about this report

Sharpton received death threats. He then helped jail those who threatened him.

[razorman]

3. Whether the story is true or not is irrelevant.

He is not going to court over this. All that matters now is whether the Mob guys believe it.

[rudolph the red]

4. I heard this discussed on AM640 this morning,

they were spinning that the SG documents suggest that Sharpton turned informer in order to avoid federal drug and tax charges.

[PaulKersey]

7. lol Surprised the mob would do business with him