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Blowing The Whistle

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By BOB D'ANGELO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 7, 2008

As a respected NBA referee for the past two decades, Bob Delaney has made plenty of calls on the court. But the Bradenton resident has blown the whistle in a far more dangerous setting.

For nearly three years in the mid 1970s, Delaney, then a young New Jersey State trooper, went undercover to infiltrate organized crime. As Bobby Covert, he ran Alamo Trucking and attracted a crowd of New Jersey "wiseguys" who wanted a piece of the action. His hard work and nerves of steel helped put a big dent in organized crime.

It sounds like a clone of "Donnie Brasco," but this book is much more. "Covert: My Years Infiltrating The Mob" (Union Square , $19.95) is an autobiography that is just as riveting and chilling as the book and movie that made FBI agent Joe Pistone famous.

"Covert" is co-written with St. Petersburg Times sportswriter Dave Scheiber, who originally featured Delaney in a two-part newspaper series last autumn. Scheiber shows the deft writing touch that has marked his long career, setting the scene at the beginning of every chapter. Then, he lets Delaney do the talking.

This isn't a book about sports, although Delaney does devote a chapter to his NBA career. Delaney details his moves as he, along with mobster-turned-informant Pat Kelly, slowly gained the trust of the criminals he was trying to catch. It wasn't easy, and there were plenty of tense moments.

Some funny stuff, too. Delaney writes how the crooks were watching "the movie" ("The Godfather"), and how it impacted them.

"They were all like, 'Ya gotta kiss.' Everybody was kissing on the cheek," Delaney writes.

Real life imitates art, Delaney chuckles.

While "Project Alpha" was a success, it took its toll. While fronting his trucking business, Delaney's life had become "a blur of ripoff schemes that required constant evaluation."

A rule of thumb when a trooper conducts an investigation is not to let things become personal, because it compromises his objectivity. As an undercover agent, the opposite is true.

"When you go undercover, that's what you're trying to do. You're trying to get personal," Delaney writes. "You're dropped in behind the lines, and you're going to become just like them."

That made it tougher when the investigation ended and the raids began. Delaney's testimony was crucial in crippling the New Jersey mob, but he found that he genuinely liked some of the wiseguys and their families.

Delaney also struggled to readjust to being a trooper again, suffering from post-traumatic stress. He had trouble shedding his image, still dressing and talking like a wiseguy. Seeking a new direction, Delaney quit police work and turned to basketball, a sport he had excelled in as a youth. He began officiating games, and worked his way up to the NBA.

The job was grueling, but not as stressful, although Delaney confessed he was taken aback when his mother yelled at him from the stands after he called a foul on her favorite player, Patrick Ewing.

One might think Delaney would be a target, but an appendix showing the roll of the dead (of the 12 listed as deceased, only two died from natural causes) has given him peace.

Delaney compares his undercover work to an NBA mascot, who can clown with fans - but only because he's in costume. A person out of costume would be ineffective. The same was true for an undercover agent venturing into dangerous territory. The costume was crucial.

"For me, Bobby Covert was a costume I was able to wear to enter a different side of life," Delaney writes.

Delaney's street-smart, gutsy adventure is a quick, absorbing read.

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