Thursday, May 14, 2015

Support From An Unlikely Source

By George Anastasia
For Bigtrial.net

Mobster-turned-government-witness Ron Previte, who was a Philadelphia police officer for 12 years, was digging into a lunch of veal parmigiana and penne pasta in a restaurant near Atlantic City this afternoon when he was informed by bigtrial.net that six former narcotics cops had been found not guilty in their federal corruption trial.

"Beautiful," said Previte. "Good for them."

Previte didn't know any of the six defendants, but he knows about police work and despite his checkered past, he still takes pride in the time he spent on the streets wearing a blue uniform.  

"I did some bad things but I was still a good cop," Previte said. "People don't understand. These same people who were calling these guys corrupt, badmouthing police, when they were getting slapped around by their husband or when their drug dealing neighbors were shooting at one another, the first person they called was a cop."

Despite playing fast and loose with the rules, Previte said he and the officers he worked with always answered the call.

"It was an us-against-them kind of thing," the 72-year-old former wiseguy said. "The story with police is this: There's total loyalty to one another."

Previte said there was never that kind of loyalty in the mob and that's why he had no qualms about becoming a government witness and helping make cases against mobsters Joey Merlino and George Borgesi.

"They were trying to guzzle me," Previte said of the scams and backstabbing that were part of every day life in the mob. "So in the end, who got guzzled?"

But during his years working with the Police Department, he said, there was never a time when one cop would turn on another.

"It just didn't happen," he said. "Never once did I see it."

Previte followed the trial of the six members of the Narcotics Field Unit in the media. He had no connection to any of the defendants or to the feds who investigated and prosecuted the case. But he was dumbfounded over the government's decision to build charges around admitted drug dealers. And he was more than surprised to see a former member of the unit -- Jeffrey Walker -- turn on his fellow officers.

"Look, it happens in the mob all the time," he said. "I'm just one example. But there isn't that kind of loyalty anymore in the underworld. Those guys I testified against weren't gangsters. They were thugs. They were trying to rob me. I had no loyalty to them."

But when he wore a police uniform, he said, the sense of camaraderie and loyalty was palpable.

"I felt it every day," he said.

And as he spoke the burly, tough-talking former mobster began to tear up.

"It meant a lot to me," he said. "I'm ecstatic that these guys were found not guilty."

George Anastasia can be reached at George@bigtrial.net.

13 comments

  1. He still mad about his book after all these years. About being " guzzled " "he was dumbfounded over the government's decision to build charges around admitted drug " What the fuck was he ? that fat fucking rat ......... This guy is a low life and rat and he just took the best deal to keep on doing what he does. He's worst then all of them. Who even cares what he thinks ?

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  2. Ur right! Nothing but a fat sloppy fat-rat-pig who is mad that no1 cares or pays attention to him anymore! What a fat sloppy pig he is! Makes me sick

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  3. Anastasia still trotting this guy out. He's relevant to this story how?

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  4. Ron Previte has never tried to hide who he is or what he's done. When he says something, he puts his name behind, unlike you on-line tough guys who hide behind anonymity.
    Previte's an ex-cop who's been on both sides of the issues that were crucial to the trial. That's why his comments were relevant. The fact that he felt more loyalty as a cop than he did as a mobster seemed to me to be something worth writing about. You don't like it? Go write your own blog. .

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    1. What's wrong George? Your canned response anytime someone disagrees with your viewpoint is " go write your own blog."I certainly didn't write any " tuff guy" comment as you call it. Previte hasn't been even close to any issues that were involved in the narco trial while he wore a uniform. Its ok to have a discussion...don't be so thin skinned.

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    2. Well spoken, George. Good piece.

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    3. excellent writing George, that's why we read you, thanks from a Canadian fan

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    4. guys, George is just reporting the story, he's not the guys partner in crime, judge, or jurist.

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  5. Police would garner more respect and cooperation if they did cops would turn on one another once in a while. We keep hearing about "bad cops" and "good cops," but no one seems interested in rooting out the bad ones. Funny how the police complain constantly about the no-snitching culture of the streets, but they have led by example.

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  6. George the only reason he puts his name behind his bullshit is the simple fact that he's DYING to be relevant and back in the spotlight for just a few seconds! That's the only way anyone will ever know he's alive, and he's as happy as fat-pig in shit that he actually made some kind of headlines. George he knows that you're the only credible reporter that will give him the time-of-day. I respect your opinion but when it comes to this previte bullshit, it makes me sick! He should be happy he's alive! What a fat-pig he is!

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  7. You love mentioning the Don of Boca Raton .....smh

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  8. Can someone clear something up for me - I've read in various different published works that Previte was a police officer. However, some say he was a Philadelphia police officer, and others say he was a Hammonton, NJ police officer. Which one was it?

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