EXCLUSIVE: Joe Barone on Finding Out He Could Make $100K a Year as an Informant: I Would've Made $1.8M

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Part 6: Joe Barone Identified Over 1,000 Unknown Mafia Members for the Feds
Part 1: Joe Barone on Dad Being a Hairdresser & Mafia Hitman, Dad Involved in French Connection

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Former informant Joe Barone revealed the lucrative financial opportunity he missed while working with law enforcement. Released from prison in the mid-'90s, Barone began associating with the Bonanno crime family, becoming entangled in their operations. While working for the Bonannos, Barone also cooperated with the FBI, although initially without much financial gain. Unbeknownst to him, informants like him were entitled to earn up to $100,000 annually—an offer he was neither told about nor pursued. In hindsight, Barone estimated that he could have amassed approximately $1.8 million over his tenure as an informant. Despite not receiving his due compensation, Barone maintained his income through other ventures, including loan sharking, making roughly $80,000 annually. Today, Barone reflects on the missed opportunity, suggesting he could have comfortably retired had he received the informant payments he was entitled to.

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