Mafia Miami by Jerry Hester

Author:Jerry Hester
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2023-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

15

Meet the New Boss

On a typically warm South Florida afternoon, Alex and I spotted Settineri sitting alone at his usual table at the Soprano Restaurant on Lincoln Road. We both had surveilled him dozens of times before, but on this day we were more excited than usual to see him at the Miami Beach restaurant. For this was the long-awaited day when our undercover agent, Manny, was supposed to meet with Settineri for the first time. Needless to say, a lot was riding on this meeting. Knowing how temperamental and suspicious of strangers Settineri normally was, we were just relieved that he had actually shown up.

By this time in the investigation, we had successfully recruited a few more informants whom we now had in play. One in particular had recently relayed a message to Settineri. There may be a great business opportunity available, if Settineri was willing to meet up with a “big money friend” by the name of Manny. Settineri advised that he was mildly interested, if he could find the time to meet. Days later, Settineri said that he was now amenable to meeting Manny. Set up a meeting with Manny at the Soprano, he said to the informant, and then let him (Settineri) know the date.

Not only had Settineri shown up, but our intelligence network had advised us that he was going to bring some of his “people” out to conduct countersurveillance during the meeting as well. Providing physical security for an FBI undercover is always the number one priority, even more important than the investigation itself. Based on Settineri’s stature and background, we were not surprised that Settineri would have some of his own security out surveilling this first meeting with Manny. Now that we knew for sure, we would have to tighten up our own operational security procedures. We knew that Settineri’s people would be not only watching the meeting itself but looking out for anyone else milling about the area, like law enforcement personnel, who may be watching as well. Alex and I would have to balance our duty of providing security for Manny with the need to be extra careful not to reveal ourselves to Settineri’s goons. Not an easy task, and with a lot at stake. Dressed in guayabera shirts and shorts, like tourists, Alex and I watched from our positions of cover as Manny arrived to meet Settineri for the first time.

As expected, the initial meeting between Settineri and Manny was primarily social in nature. This ingratiation period is crucial for an undercover agent, and it can sometimes take several meetings for the subject to become comfortable with his new acquaintance. An undercover must be careful not to push the target too much and just as careful not to reveal too much about himself too fast either. It is a skill that an undercover agent must master, because saying the wrong thing at the wrong time can alert the subject that something just isn’t right with this new guy. After a

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