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January 22, 2025 84 mins
Retired NYPD Detective Louis Balestrieri shares his story of growing up alongside mafia "wise guys" and his path to taking down organized crime in Operation Wasteland. In an era marked by rampant violence, homicides, crack epidemics, and out-of-control robberies, Louie found himself at a crossroads—raised in a neighborhood where mobsters and cops walked the same streets. He opens up about how he could have easily ended up on the wrong side of the law, but instead played a key role in the largest organized crime bust in NYC history—Operation Wasteland, a case that unraveled the Mafia’s stranglehold on NYC’s private sanitation waste industry.

Don’t miss this insider’s look into the Mafia’s shady dealings and the rigged system they controlled and still control to this day.

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#NYPD #OperationWasteland #MafiaStories #OrganizedCrime #WiseGuys #TrueCrime #MobLife #LouisBalestrieri #PrivateCarting #NYCHistory #LawEnforcement #CrimeBusting #InsiderStory #MafiaCorruption #DetectiveTales #wtfricklive
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