The Informant Files: Ron Previte, the 300-Pound Wire in Philadelphia
Mobsters DailyRon Previte was the Philadelphia crime family's own capo-turned-microphone: a roughly 300-pound bookmaker and soldier who, after the FBI squeezed his gambling business, spent years in the 1990s recording his bosses and crew — and later recounted it all, laughing, in the memoir The Last Gangster.
A bookie business as leverage
Previte was no reluctant witness dragged from a quiet life. He was a working criminal — bookmaking, loans, stolen goods — who calculated, correctly, that cooperation was cheaper than the prosecutions the FBI laid on his table. What made him devastating was access: as a trusted earner in the turbulent post-Nicky Scarfo years, under John Stanfa and then the young Joey Merlino's circle, Previte was in the rooms where murders, splits and grudges were discussed — with a recorder running.
Most informants flip out of fear or spite; Previte treated the wire like another racket, and ran it better than his book — which is why November rewatch season belongs to the Tony Soprano Ugly Christmas Sweater, Tony in black-and-white stencil with full gabagool energy, made for holiday parties and long nights back in this world.
The tapes and the trials
His recordings and testimony helped federal prosecutors dismantle much of Philadelphia's leadership in the trials around 2000–2001, including testimony against Merlino's regime — though Merlino himself beat the murder counts. Previte entered witness protection, then cheerfully un-protected himself in print, the rarest move in the informant playbook that began with Joseph Valachi, the first canary. He died in 2017, having outlived, out-talked, and out-laughed nearly everyone he recorded. In a city whose mob history is written in blood, from Angelo Bruno's murder onward, Previte's chapters are written in tape.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Previte cooperate? The FBI threatened his bookmaking operation with prosecution; he chose to wear a wire instead.
Whose trials did Previte testify in? The Philadelphia racketeering trials around 2000–2001 targeting Joey Merlino's regime and associates.
What is The Last Gangster? Previte's 2004 memoir, written with William Morrow journalist George Anastasia.
Keep reading: Greg Scarpa, hitman and informant · why Big Pussy became an informant · is Joey Merlino still a mobster?
From the shop: Shadows of the Underworld — the real-mafia history behind the names in this story.
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